Chicken and Quinoa Tortilla Soup
Everyone’s FAVORITE chicken tortilla soup, except made healthier and heartier with added quinoa. This cozy soup is full of fiber and protein to keep you full all day long! You can also add the easiest homemade crispy BAKED tortilla strips!
So I went to a Lakers vs Pacer basketball game last night.
I didn’t watch much of the game. Instead, I focused all of my attention on the chili cheese tots, carne asada nachos, and cinnamon sugar pretzel that were in my lap.
To say that my hands were full is an understatement.
Except, I came home feeling very, very sick. It could have been the tots. Or the nachos. Or the combination of all three.
So as my punishment, I’ll be home the entire weekend, staying away from all sorts of stadium food, and loading up on this quinoa soup.
It’s cozy, it’s warm, and it keeps you full the entire day so you’re not reaching for that bag of glazed donut holes you love so much.
Except, I will load up on the tortilla strips. They’re baked, not fried, so a little bit of extra strips on top of the soup is completely warranted.
![Chicken and Quinoa Tortilla Soup](jpg/chicken-and-quinoa-tortilla-soupimg_2621-200x200.jpg)
Chicken and Quinoa Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 ½ cups corn kernels, frozen, canned or roasted
- ½ cup quinoa
- Juice of 1 lime
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
For the baked tortilla strips
- 4 corn tortillas, cut into thin strips
- ½ teaspoon chili powder, or more, to taste
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
- Spread tortilla strips in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet; season with chili powder, salt and pepper; coat with nonstick spray.. Place into oven and bake until crisp and golden, about 10-12 minutes, stirring halfway; set aside and let cool.
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Add chicken to the stockpot and cook until golden, about 2-3 minutes per side; set aside.
- Add garlic, onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in tomato paste, chili powder, cumin and oregano until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in chicken stock, tomatoes, black beans, corn and chicken. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until chicken is tender and cooked through, about 20-25 minutes. Remove chicken from the stockpot and shred, using two forks.
- Stir quinoa and chicken into the stockpot. Simmer, uncovered, until quinoa is tender, about 15-20 minutes. Stir in lime juice and cilantro; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately with baked tortilla strips, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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Love this recipe, perfect for meal prep lunches! I use frozen fire roasted corn, salsa-style fire roasted diced tomatoes, and add a jalapeño and it is DELISH.
Delicious!! I used died tomatoes with green chilies and added a jalapeno. So good!
I’m not vegetarian or vegan, but my 4y old son doesn’t really like meat (except chicken nuggets of course! lol) he wanted soup so I suggested we try this recipe since the rest of the family lovesss the chicken tortilla soup recipe from this site as well, and it is sooo sooo good. Everyone absolutely loves it. Thank you Chungah. Every recipe I’ve made from here is literally so good. Especially the Mexican tacos. Thank you! ❤️❤️
You had me at quinoa! I was so interested in trying this soup because Ive never seen a receipt that called for it. I literally had to tell myself to put down the spoon. Great flavor and so easy. Thank you for another great soup receipt to add to my soup rotation.
Can you substitute a red onion for the regular onion?
This was very good. I used a rotisserie chicken which cost $5 at my local wholesale club. It saved a ton of time and tasted delicious. I didn’t add the quinoa since I was short on time, but will probably add it tomorrow since I have leftovers. I added shredded cheddar cheese to the top when I served it as well as a dollop of sour cream. Yum.
Delicious. I followed the recipe as it is. Perfection. Thank you!
I accidentally used cinnamon instead of cumin. Added the cumin when I realized the mistake and it turned out really well!
Oh that’s good!
you inspired me to add a dash of cinnamon ! This recipe was amazing.
What about using rotisserie chicken? I am just learning how to cook and “meats” can be a little tricky for me. Thanks
🙂
Yes, rotisserie chicken is great!
I made this soup 10 days ago. It was delicious. I made so much that I gave 1/2 of it to neighbors. They all loved it. I didn’t add the corn, cause I don’t care for corn. But it was very good. My neighbors didn’t know what quinoa was. But they loved it. I’ll make it again!
Hi!
Do you know if this would serve well if made to freeze? I am trying to pre-plan and pre-make meals for a ski trip!
Thanks
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself. Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
I need this in my life asap!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
I made this in the crock pot today. I cooked it on high for 5 hours. I added the quinoa, frozen corn, and canned tomatoes with 1.5 hours left. Turned out great!
Made this today for lunch/dinner with some guacamole on the side and it was fantastic. Super filling and so flavorful. Can’t recommend it enough!
Would this recipe work with barley or Farro? I’m not a quinoa fan.
Yes, but please be mindful of cooking time.
Do you have the nutritional facts of the soup?
It’s added now. Thank you for your patience.
Do the listed nutritional facts here include the tortilla strips? Or is it just for everything else?
The tortilla strips are included in the nutritional facts 🙂
Totally throwing it all in a slow cooker. #rebel
Amazing – let me know how it turns out!
Wow what an awesome way to use tortillas! The soup looks incredible!!
How much corn did you add? Looks delicious and want to make it next week.
The recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups corn kernels.
The soup includes corn in the photos. Was this deliberately left out of the recipe or did I just overlook it?
The recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups corn kernels.
Nutritional Information?
It’s added now. Thank you for your patience.
Is that fire roasted corn in there? Looks great.
I used Trader Joe’s frozen roasted corn kernels.
Can’t wait to m make this soup, sounds delicious. Love your recipes.
This looks awesome! Really pretty too in the photo with the red onion, cheddar and jalapeño. Do you know if this can all be dumped into a slow cooker? Chicken and veg I’m sure would turn out fine, I just don’t know about the timing on uncooked quinoa. Maybe just add precooked quinoa at the end. If you have experience with this I’d love to know. Thanks!!
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Hi Laurie.
Quinoa cooks the same as adding rice to a soup recipe. It absorbs the flavors and juice
I always cook a big batch of Quinoa, then freeze iti in one cup packages to use when i want. It will work fine adding it at the end. Let it set so it is heated through.
Either way turns out fine. Have fun with it.
Thank you!!
This was so good! Cut down some of the spices and still very flavorful. Thanks for the yummy and healthy recipe!
How can you convert to an INSTANT POT?
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
I would do all steps of the recipe in the Instant Pot on Sauté. Then when you get down to the part where you would normally boil it, cook it on high pressure for 8 minutes then do a quick release. That has always worked well for me for this type of recipe with chicken, beans, corn, etc.
Sounds perfect for a chilly Saturday.