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The 25 Most Popular Recipes of 2022.
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This simple one pot spicy Salsa Verde Chicken and Rice Tortilla Soup is the perfect bowl of wholesome, filling soup to warm up to on the coldest of days. Made with poblano peppers, shredded chicken, and a mix of chili powder, paprika, and oregano. Mix in rice and enjoy with salty chips on top. It’s spicy, cozy and so delicious. Top each bowl of tortilla soup with plenty of cheddar cheese, fresh cilantro, and avocado. And of course, plenty of tortilla chips.
As we reach the end of December and those bitter cold January days are just ahead, I’m already looking forward to sharing wholesome, yet cozy recipes to start off the new year. We’ve been getting snow on and off all week, so everyone has been craving bowls of soup.
We love tortilla soup over here, but this tortilla soup is a little different. It’s more of a salsa verde and rice soup with plenty of chips on top – and on the side.
It’s so easy to make, using just one pot or the crockpot. I’ve been making this recipe for years, we just love it with the salsa verde and rice.
When I was first working on this recipe, I knew I wanted it to be simple, but cozy, and full of flavor.
You can use a single pot on the stove, or use the crockpot, whatever is easiest for you.
I start with an onion, add poblano peppers, then chicken, and a mix of chili powder, smoked paprika, and dried oregano. If you’re making this on the stove, cook the spices with the chicken until you can really smell them in the air.
At this point, I just pour over the chicken broth. Actually, I’ve been using a mix of chicken broth and chicken bone broth. I love the Kettle and Fire Bone Broth if you’re looking for an easy-to-access store-bought broth.
Then the salsa verde. Cover the pot and simmer until the chicken is cooked and you can easily shred it. I usually pull the chicken out of the soup and then shred. But you can also easily shred the chicken directly in the soup.
The rest is really pretty darn simple. Simmer the soup for a few hours to really help the flavors meld and intensify. Or simply serve once the chicken is cooked.
If you have the time, I find the soup is best after a few hours of simmering.
To finish the soup, you can either add rice to bowls, then pour over the soup. Or you can stir the rice right into the soup.
If you know you want to enjoy leftovers, add the rice to bowls, then pour over the soup. If the rice sits too long in the soup, it’s going to end up soaking up most of the broth.
The toppings are the real secret here, they make this tortilla soup really good. You have to do them all!
I layer as follows: a thick layer of shredded sharp cheddar cheese, a dollop of Greek yogurt, and sliced avocado. Then sprinkle on lots of fresh cilantro, green onions, and cotija cheese.
Lightly crush tortilla chips on top, and use lots. Then lime zest and sea salt. Holy freaking YUM. It might be simple as can be, but every spoonful is so delicious. Think a little spicy, smoky, filled with chicken, peppers, rice, cheese, and all those toppings.
Perfect for wintery days.
Looking for other warming winter dinners? Here are a few ideas:
Better For You Chicken and Spinach Ramen
Creamy Butternut Squash Butter Chicken
30 Minute Spicy Indian Butter Chicken
Coconut Milk Braised Black Pepper Chicken
Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup with Rice
Lastly, if you make this Salsa Verde Chicken and Rice Tortilla Soup be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
This was fantastic, and filling! It totally hit the spot after a weekend of very cold tent camping, it felt like elevated comfort food! Thanks for another amazing recipe and making me love cooking again!
Thank you Kristen! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This was some kind of wonderful!!!!
My husband loved it! My daughter bought me your cookbook and show me this website, and now we are both obsessed.
Love, love, love your recipes!!
Wow that is so amazing to hear! Thank you Lisa! xTieghan
I got your cookbook for Christmas! Yay! But unfortunately my first recipe to try had issues! ? Apparently I need some help with this recipe. Im making the salsa verde brown rice tortilla soup and got the dreaded “burn” message on my instant pot. I took off mid and stirred it well. Three times this happened. Ugh! It never was able to get to pressure. 🙁 I finally just tossed it in a pot on the stove. We will be having a late dinner. What am I doing wrong?? Thanks!
Hi Summer, honestly that sounds like it is an issue with your Instant Pot. I have never once received the burn message, so I am really not sure how best to advise. The fact that you got the message 3 times makes me think something might be off with your instant pot. Has this happened before?
Made this in the instant pot and it was delicious!! Found this recipe because I was looking to use up some leftover broccoli greens and chard. Used uncooked quinoa instead of rice, and Cookie & Kate’s recipe for easy homemade salsa verde. Put everything in the pot except the cilantro and lime and pressure cooked for 10 min. So easy, yummy, and pretty healthy!! Thanks Tieghan.
Hi Emma! I am so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for trying this!
Made this for dinner last night and it was delicious! Can’t wait to try another recipe!
Thank you so much Heather!
I am so glad you loved this and I hope you love the next one you try as well! Thank you Heather!
I have made this several times and it is absolutely delicious! Passed the recipe on to a friend’s mom and she said her family begs her to make this soup. Highly recommend!
Wow that is so amazing to hear! I am so glad you and your friends family have been loving this recipe, Katherine! Thank you!
This, by far, is the best chicken soup I have ever had. I love the addition of the kale and the homemade chips are worth it. I cannot wait to prepare this dish for my husband. Thanks!
Made this soup tonight in the crockpot, OMG Delicious!! Can’t stop eating!
Thank you! I am so glad you loved this!
Made this tonight and it was next level flavorful!! I’m the type that usually adds more of the spices than a recipe requires… not necessary with this! If you are considering making this.. do it already! I added extra kale because I cleaned too much and ditched the cilantro because after tasting it, I didn’t feel it needed it. The lime juice is essential however! I also baked the tortillas because I’m lazy 🙂 took longer for my chicken breasts to become shred-able but they were large, more like 1.4 lb— took around 40 minutes simmering.
I am so glad you loved this Erin! Thank you!!
…..and I used chopped baby kale. ??
Hands down, the best soup I’ve ever made/tasted!! Absolutely delicious!!!! I used thighs and quinoa.
Wow, thank you so much Margaret!
Loved the soup. It was easy and delicious. BUT….since we didn’t finish it all in one sitting our mistake was adding the rice to the pot. It sucked up all the soup and we had to toss it. Next time, I will add the cooked rice to the serving bowls and label the soup over it. And there will be a next time.
So happy you liked it Karen! Yes it needs to be served over the top if you don’t want it to get soaked up into the rice. Thanks for making it and hope its delicious next time as well!
Made this the other week…Amazing recipe, family loved/great presentation. This is comfort food for me!
Thank you.
Perfect! I am so happy you liked this soup, thanks Karen!
I made this last week & it blew my mind! Soooo delicious.
This was so good! I used chard because that’s all I had in the fridge and I was worried that it would mess up the taste, but it didn’t. Added corn and some roasted garlic too, adding this to my recipes folder!
So happy you love the recipe! Thank you!