This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.

Poblano Corn Chicken Tortilla Soup | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

I can see how this poblano corn chicken tortilla soup could easily become a once a week late summer/fall meal.

I have been wanting to make this soup all summer long, but felt I needed to wait until the end of August, or early September, when the nights started to get cool and the mornings crisp. For some reason I just really can’t do soup in the summer. To me, soup is a fall thing and I can’t seem to break that mentality.

And yes, I know it’s totally not fall…yet, but again this is one of those great transition recipes that’s light enough for summer, but cozy enough to warm us up on a fall day. Can you tell I am way too exited?

Poblano Corn Chicken Tortilla Soup | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Anyway, after my brother Kai requested tortilla soup for dinner the other week, I finally decided it was time to make this recipe. I’m not going to lie, I am kicking myself just a little bit for not making it sooner because it’s just SO good.

Side Note #1: I did not even know Kai ate tortilla soup (he’s one of the pretty picky eaters in the family), but apparently he had a bowl while in Mexico and loved it.

Side Note #2: speaking of Mexico, after spending the end of July and most of August here in Colorado, Kai finally headed back to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico where he was supposed to be living all summer long. If you’ve been following along the last few weeks then you know that my grandma recently passed away. Since Kai was already in the states on one of his little trips back to film with me (he films all the videos you see here), he ended up just staying until my grandma’s service. He finally flew back to Mexico on Tuesday and will now be driving home to LA tomorrow. Fingers crossed his drive goes smoothly…everyone’s a little on edge about it.

Okay and done with the side notes.

Moving right along…

Poblano Corn Chicken Tortilla Soup | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

This soup!

It’s not your traditional tortilla soup, which I think is why I love it so much. I have three not so secret secrets to this recipe. 

Secret #1: use fresh tomatillos. I know that this looks like a classic red tortilla soup, but I actually used a decent amount of tomatillos for the soup’s base. I am a huge fan of the flavor they add. And while you might not be able to pinpoint the taste of the tomatillos upon first bite, they are what make this soup really stand out from all other tortilla soups.

Secret #2: enchilada sauce. Whenever I make tortilla soup I also use enchilada sauce instead of canned tomatoes. The amount of flavor the enchilada sauce gives off is unbeatable to anything else. ps. my favorite homemade (and EASY) enchiladas sauce recipe is in my cookbook.

Secret #3: poblano peppers. These have got to be one of my favorite peppers. So much flavor. I basically add them to all my Mexican inspired recipes these days. See these stuffed peppers and these enchiladas.

Nothing crazy, but I swear these three ingredients are what make this tortilla soup so special.

Okay. Okay. And I also love that everything is made in one pot. Been doing a lot of these recipes lately and I am loving them…hope you guys are too!

Just like with any tortilla soup recipe, the toppings are very, very, very, important. Meaning, you need lots of tortilla chips (extra salty with a little lime are my favorite), plenty of chopped avocado, good sharp cheddar cheese, and then if you like heat, some fresh jalapeños.

Add a margarita and you’ll have Thursday night dinner perfection.

Oh and lastly? This is naturally gluten-free and loaded with protein and veggies. So going back for seconds is totally the right thing to do…Healthy-ish Food.

Poblano Corn Chicken Tortilla Soup | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Poblano Corn Chicken Tortilla Soup

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories Per Serving: 500 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • 1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes or until fragrant. Stir in the tomatillos, carrots, and poblano peppers, and continue cooking another 5 minutes or until the tomatillos release their juices and soften. 
    2. Pour in the enchilada sauce and chicken broth and bring the soup to a boil. Add the chicken and corn, cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Shred the chicken with two forks.
    3. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro. Divide the soup among bowls and top with tortilla chips, avocado, and cheese. Squash a lime over top. EAT!
View Recipe Comments

Poblano Corn Chicken Tortilla Soup | halfbakedharvest.com @hbharvest

Tomorrow’s recipe however? We’ll it’s birthday inspired, so I will just leave you with that…

Add a Comment

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Comments

    1. Hey Maggie,
      Amazing!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! Have a great weekend!! xT

  1. 5 stars
    This was THE BEST chicken tortilla soup I have made so far (we have a restaurant with daily soup specials -so we’ve made a bunch!). At home, for the kids, we quartered the poblanos to pull out later. We also used rotisserie chicken for speed.

    1. Hey Shandra,
      Awesome!! Thanks a bunch for testing this recipe out, so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT

  2. 5 stars
    Delicious! As always… I did add a couple jalepenos that were hanging around in the fridge and used frozen corn, because it’s the end of December. Tieghan, love everything you make… BUT there is NO WAY this is 4 servings…. A solid 6… more like 8-10.

    1. Hey Deborah,
      Happy Friday!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear this was enjoyed! xT

  3. 5 stars
    I made this last night for my boyfriend and I and it was absolutely amazing! Best chicken tortilla soup I had ever made 🙂

    1. Hey Keri,
      Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe out, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xx

  4. 5 stars
    Made this last night and my family said it was the best soup I’ve ever made. It was delicious and had the right amount of heat. In the future, I may add hominy because we like it. So good!

    1. Hey Traci,
      Awesome!! I am so glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! Have the best weekend! xTieghan

  5. 5 stars
    Made this tonight, it’s a keeper for sure! So flavorful and just the right amount of heat. I love all of your recipes!

  6. 5 stars
    This was so so SO good. I have a tortilla soup recipe I’ve used for years but figured I’d give this a try. We practically (ok we did) lick the bowls when we finished.