Save yourself a trip through the drive thru by making our copycat Chick-fil-A chicken tortilla soup at home. Warm up from the inside out and enjoy a large bowl of this hearty soup year round and on Sundays.
Love hearty chicken soups? You'll definitely love our recipes for Panera chicken noodle and Greek lemon chicken soup.
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Why This Recipe Works
- Saute the aromatics. Start building the layers of flavor for this soup by sauteing the aromatics and the freshly chopped cilantro. When the cilantro is added in early, it takes away the soapy taste that some people experience with cilantro.
- Bloom spices, brown tomato paste, and deglaze the pan. These three steps continue to build the flavor that sets this copycat recipe apart.
- Chicken. For the best flavor and the lowest sodium, use skinless chicken breast that is submerged in the soup. For ease, use shredded rotisserie chicken.
- Thickener. This soup is thickened with a slurry of masa harina (fine cornmeal) whisked with warm water to give it a Tex Mex flavor.
- Tempered sour cream. Once the soup is done cooking, whisk in a bit of the hot broth with the sour cream before adding to the soup.
Ingredients
The ingredients for our copycat Chick-Fil-A chicken tortilla soup are easy to find. Let's talk about some of the key ingredients.
- Vegetables: We used yellow onion, red bell pepper, celery, and garlic for a winning flavor combination to get the base started off right.
- Fresh Herbs: We also used chopped fresh cilantro in with the aromatics. Putting the cilantro in early will get rid of the soapy taste some people experience with cilantro.
- Thickener: This uses fine cornmeal (or masa harina) from the Mexican grocery section. Don't confuse it with regular cornmeal from the baking section, as that would be too gritty.
- Meat: We used shredded rotisserie chicken for this photo shoot, but we used boneless, skinless chicken breasts that were cooked right in the soup and shredded.
- Dairy: We used a mixture of heavy cream and sour cream.
How to Make
Gather all the ingredients for our copycat Chick-fil-A chicken tortilla soup.
- Heat up the oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat until it's shimmering. Cook the aromatics and the fresh cilantro until they are soft, roughly 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic and the dried spices and cook for a minute.
3. Brown the tomato paste by mixing it with the other spices and aromatics and cook until it has changed color, then deglaze the pot by pouring in a little broth and scraping the bottom with a wooden turner.
4. Pour in the rest of the broth.
5. Add the green chilies and sugar.
6. Dump in the rinsed navy beans, black beans, corn, and shredded chicken and stir until well mixed. (Note: If using two large skinless boneless breasts, submerge into soup after stirring in the thickener which is in the next photo.)
Make a slurry with the fine cornmeal by whisking it with 3 tablespoons of warm water. Add it in and stir well. (If using chicken breasts, now is the time to submerge them.)
Cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. During the last 15 minutes, taste and adjust seasonings. (Note: If using skinless, boneless chicken breast remove after 20 minutes and check with meat thermometer (165°F). Allow to cool enough to handle then shred with two forks and return it to the soup.)
7. Temper the sour cream by whisking in 2 tablespoons of hot broth. Remove from the heat and add the heavy cream and tempered sour cream.
8. Add the lemon juice (that's what Chick-fil-A uses).
9. Stir until well combined and adjust seasonings to taste.
10. Garnish our copycat Chick-fil-A chicken tortilla soup with crunchy tortilla strips just before serving.
Recipe FAQs
Chick-fil-A uses shredded chicken, original and spicy, along with navy and black beans. They also use a blend of vegetables and spices in this creamy broth, and a packet of seasoned corn tortilla strips is included.
In past years, chicken tortilla soup has been available at Chick-fil-A restaurants during mid November to mid March, which are the some of the chilliest months of the year in the US. If you choose to make our recipe, you can have it any time of the year.
This side item from the Chick-fil-A is packed with flavor, but isn't spicy hot.
Our copycat version isn't spicy, so if you want to increase the heat, for some of your guests or family members we suggest adding hot sauce.
For a medium soup serving at CFA (1 cup), there are 260 calories, 6g fat, 29g carbs, 3g fiber, and 11g protein. For the same serving size, our copycat recipe has 220 calories, 8g fat, 22g carbs, 6g fiber, and 15g protein. For more nutritional information, please scroll to the end of the recipe card.
Serve
At the restaurant, Chick-fil-A tortilla soup is served with a small packet of crunchy tortilla strips, but at home you can also add a sprinkle of freshly chopped cilantro if you want to add a bit of color.
Other toppings you might enjoy are sliced or diced avocado, sliced jalapeño, or grated cheese. You can also serve it with crumbled bacon, a squeeze of lime juice, tortilla chips or hot sauce. These options help each guest customize their bowls.
Since this soup is filling from the beans and chicken, you'll want to serve this with a light salad and some fresh fruit.
Store
Make Ahead: This copycat soup can be made the night before your event. You will need to add a bit more chicken broth and adjust the spices when you are reheating the soup.
Leftovers: Any leftover tortilla soup can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freeze: If you plan on freezing this tortilla soup, omit the dairy, allow it to cool, then freeze for up to 3 months. The reason for this is that sour cream and heavy cream don't freeze well, making the broth separate and become watery when reheated.
Reheat: When ready to use, allow it to defrost in the fridge overnight. Reheat it on the stovetop over medium heat, then remove from the heat and pour in the heavy cream and tempered sour cream and stir.
Variations
- Need this vegan? Omit the chicken and use full fat coconut milk instead of sour cream and heavy cream. Use vegetable broth.
- Want a different protein? Use shredded pork.
- Need this gluten free? Make sure the broth and tortilla strips have no gluten in them.
- Need to reduce the fat? Switch the heavy cream and sour cream for condensed milk.
- Need to reduce the sodium? Use boneless chicken breasts instead of rotisserie, reduced sodium chicken broth, and no salt added canned beans and frozen corn.
Expert Tips
- For the most flavor, cook the chicken breasts in the broth, but if you're in a hurry, use shredded rotisserie chicken.
- Bloom the spices and brown the tomato paste for added flavor.
- Use fine cornmeal or masa harina mixed with warm water to thicken.
- To make your own tortilla strips, on the stovetop fry them in hot oil in a skillet or bake in the oven at 425°F for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring half way through.
- Crock Pot: Follow steps 1 to 4, then transfer the veggies into a slow cooker and add the rest of the ingredients (except the dairy and lemon juice). Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 3 to 4. Turn the heat off, then and add the tempered sour cream, dairy and lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed.
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Recipe
Chick-fil-A Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
Aromatics
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups yellow onion, diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 1 cup red bell pepper, diced
- ¼ cup cilantro, minced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
Spices
- 2 ½ teaspoons coarse kosher salt
- 2 ½ teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/16 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Other Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 6 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- 4.5- ounce can green chilies
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 2 15- ounce cans navy beans, rinsed
- 1 15- ounce can black beans, rinsed
- 1 15- ounce can yellow corn, rinsed
- 4 cups shredded chicken or 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons fine yellow cornmeal
- ½ cup heavy cream
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ½ cup tortilla strips
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a 6-quart, heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat until it is shimmering, then saute the onion, celery, red bell pepper, and cilantro until soft, roughly 5 minutes.
- Add the minced garlic and the dried spices and stir constantly.
- Add the tomato paste, mixing it in with the spices and aromatics, and cook until its color is less vibrant, roughly 2 minutes.
- Slowly pour in ¼ cup to ½ cup of chicken broth to deglaze the pot. Use a wooden turner to scrape the brown bits off the bottom.
- Pour in the rest of the chicken broth, green chilies, sugar, navy beans, black beans, corn, and shredded chicken. Mix well. (If you're cooking chicken breasts in the soup, add them after the thickener is added.)
- Make a slurry with 2 tablespoons fine cornmeal and 3 tablespoons of warm water. Whisk to combine, then pour into the soup and stir very well. (If you're cooking the skinless, boneless chicken breasts in the soup, submerge them in the broth after stirring.)
- Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes. During the last 15 minutes, taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary. (If using two whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts, remove after 20 minutes. Check temperature with a meat thermometer - it should read 165F when done. Allow it to cool enough to handle, 10 minutes, then shred with two forks and return to the pot.)
- In a separate bowl, gradually mix a little of the hot broth into the sour cream. Whisk until it's smooth. Remove from heat, then pour in the heavy cream, tempered sour cream, and lemon juice. Stir to mix, then taste and adjust spices as desired.
Notes
- Crock Pot: Follow steps 1 to 4, then transfer the veggies into a slow cooker and add the rest of the ingredients (except the dairy and lemon juice). Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or on high for 3 to 4. Turn the heat off, then and add the tempered sour cream, cream and lemon juice. Taste and adjust seasonings, if needed.
- For the most flavor, cook the chicken breasts in the broth, but if you're in a hurry, use shredded rotisserie chicken.
- Bloom the spices and brown the tomato paste for added flavor.
- Use fine cornmeal or masa harina mixed with warm water to thicken the soup.
- To make your own tortilla strips, on the stove top: fry them in hot oil in a skillet then sprinkle on seasonings or coat toss in oil. Oven method: sprinkle on seasonings and bake in the oven at 425°F for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring half way through.
Nutrition
Serving sizes and nutritional information are only an estimate and may vary from your results.
Our copycat Chick-fil-A chicken tortilla soup was originally published on September 17, 2021 and was updated on October 7, 2022 with updated content and resized photos.
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