Simple Tortilla Soup

I seriously debated even sharing this recipe with you all. It’s hardly a recipe and I wasn’t in love with the photos, but it is Fiesta Fridays and time for another favorite Mexican recipe made healthier! I am a huge fan of Tortilla Soup (which, by the way, is apparently the same thing as Sopa Azteca), and so I wanted to share a super simple version of this with you. I have yet to figure out why there are two names for the exact same soup, but that’s beside the point.

Tortilla Soup can be made with a variety of add-ins, so you can choose what you like best. The base is simply tomatoes and chicken or vegetable broth with some spices and herbs. My favorite add-ins are cubes of Mexican cheese and avocado, dried ancho or pasilla chiles, lots of lime juice, and of course, tortilla chips.

In an attempt to make this recipe as simple as can be, I used store-bought tortilla chips instead of making my own. This cuts out the frying process, which I know would have ended with me burning myself and oil all over the kitchen. You can choose whatever tortilla chips you like best. If I were in the States, I definitely would have used Tostitos Hint of Lime. Those chips can’t be beat in my opinion.

Garnish with a little fresh cilantro and you’re good to go. The soup base is something you can make ahead and then just chop up your add-ins right before serving. I like serving this dish with the add-ins on the side since I think it’s fun to plop them all in right before eating. This also prevents the tortilla chips from getting soggy since you can crumble in a few at a time.

Finally, I skipped the somewhat time consuming step of peeling the tomatoes, which would make the broth a bit smoother, but I was feeling lazy when I made this. If you want a completely smooth broth with no bits of tomato then you can boil water to peel the tomatoes (note on how to do this in the recipe). This step is definitely not a requirement though, and I certainly won’t judge if you take the easy way out like I did. Or better yet, you can use a 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes and avoid all this confusion.

Bottom line: It’s pretty hard to mess up this soup. Go with what you like and trust your tastebuds.