The Easiest and Tastiest Chicken Tortilla Soup

It has been freezing here the past week… like in the 30s. Oh Minnesota. I’ve found myself making a lot of soup. This was a soup I made this past weekend for a Halloween party with friends. It is seriously delicious! I always find myself not loving tortilla soups—whether at a restaurant or if someone else makes them because they are usually too runny and feel like they’re just filled with lots of dumped in ingredients (canned beans, corn, etc.).

A woman at church handed out this recipe after she’d made it for a church event. Hers was the first tortilla soup I'd ever really liked! I adapt her recipe slightly to make it a little thicker. It is delicious!! And the consistency never fails… due to the secret ingredient: nacho cheese dip. I know it sounds gross but the texture is so much better than real milk or cheese which can curdle in soups. Add this to your winter recipe list! It can easily simmer in the crock pot all day or be thrown together in 5 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 1 whole rotisserie chicken (use all meat, shred meat in chunks, removing skin and bones)
• 3 T. butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 tsp. hot sauce
• 2 cans of chicken broth or 2 chicken bouillon w/ 2 c. water
• 1 (32 oz.) jar salsa
• 1 jar of nacho dip or cheese dip
• 8 oz. of grated cheddar cheese or MORE tortilla chips, a teaspoon of sour cream for topping

Saute onion in butter until transparent. Add diced green pepper and continue cooking until soft. Add hot sauce and stir together. Put everything in crock pot except the grated cheese, chips, and topping. Add more broth until desired thickness. If using the crock pot, cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours. If using a stovetop pot and you don’t have as much time, let boil for 5 minutes then simmer for 15-20 minutes. The tsp of hot sauce gives it a nice kick but feel free to add more if you like. We love it spicy!

The best thing about this soup is how easy it is, but how it still has so many flavors… the salsa adds so many seasonings and flavors easily to the soup without having to add them each individually. Enjoy!!