Chicken Tortilla Soup (Sopa Azteca)

A easy Chicken Tortilla Soup ready in just a couple of minutes!

This Chicken Tortilla Soup, also known as Sopa Azteca, is a traditional Mexican food that only takes a few minutes to cook but surprises everyone who tries it. It is an incredibly easy recipe that you have to try.

Why This Recipe Works

Making a deep, good chicken tortilla soup at home usually takes hours of simmering. This recipe changes the game entirely by roasting the tomatoes and aromatics in the air fryer. It unlocks good smoky flavors in a fraction of the time.

Want to taste an authentic Mexican dish? The secret formula is adding a special touch at the end. The real trick is blending toasted corn tortillas into the broth. You also add a secret dash of dark chocolate. We know exactly what you are thinking… chocolate?, are you sure? But YES. That is the ingredient that is going to completely blow your mind, wake up your taste buds, and make your mouth water!

Also, if you love avocado as much as we do, you can use the extra tortillas to dip in a little guacamole while you wait.

Ingredients

• Paneer Cheese: Paneer is a fantastic, firm cheese that does not melt away in the hot broth. If you can find traditional Mexican Queso Panela or Queso Fresco, use that! Alternatively, you can use mozzarella to have a melty, cheesy texture.
• Dried Chilies: The combination of guajillo, ancho, and chipotle provides the authentic smoky backbone of this soup. We tried before with just standard chili powder and the flavor falls completely flat. You need the actual dried pods for this. If you cannot find them, a high-quality chipotle paste can work in a pinch. Tracking down the dried ones is highly recommended to get the right flavor.
• Corn Tortillas: These are used in two ways. Two are blended right into the soup for texture. The rest are cut into strips for the crunchy topping. Stick to corn tortillas to get the correct consistency and genuine flavor.
• Dark Chocolate: It sounds unusual, but this is the secret ingredient. That single square adds color and cuts the sharp acidity of the roasted tomatoes. Milk chocolate will ruin the flavor profile entirely. Make sure you use at least 70% dark chocolate.

Note: Please see recipe card for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Customizing Your Soup

We love how versatile this recipe is. You can easily switch things up depending on what you have in the pantry.

• Extra heat: Craving a much spicier kick? Throw a few fresh jalapeños right into the blender with the roasted vegetables. You can also use canned diced green chilis.
• Bulk it up: Sometimes we want to make the meal even more filling. We stir a can of rinsed black beans directly into the soup. Do this while it simmers on the stove.
• Flavor shortcut: Dried pods are the secret to an authentic flavor. Missing an ingredient? A quick dash of taco seasoning can help boost the spices in a pinch.
• Adjusting the texture: Did you load up your pot with extras? The base might become too thick. Just whisk in extra warm chicken broth until you reach the consistency you want.

Whatever variations you try, make sure you always finish your bowl with crispy tortilla strips!

On the stove

Start by getting your ingredients ready for the air fryer. Since most air fryers have one basket, cook these in quick batches at 200°C.

• Batch 1: Toss the quartered tomatoes, red onion, and peeled garlic with avocado oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes until soft and blistered. Once done, place them straight into your blender.

While your first batch is roasting, get your broth ready. Pour your chicken stock into a saucepan. Add the smoked paprika, salt, fresh coriander, and the deseeded dried chilies. Bring it to a rolling boil. Immediately turn off the heat. Letting the chilies steep in the hot liquid softens them. This step releases all their smoky flavor.

• Batch 2: Spray two whole corn tortillas with cooking oil. Air fry for 5 to 10 minutes until crisp. Take them out and drop them directly into the blender with the vegetables.
• Batch 3: Cut two more tortillas into thin strips. Spray with oil, season with salt and pepper. Air fry for 10 minutes until golden and crunchy. Set these aside in a small bowl.

Blending and Serving

Now, pour the warm infused chicken stock into the blender. Add the dark chocolate to your roasted vegetables and tortillas. Blend everything for a couple of minutes until completely smooth.

II always pass the blended liquid through a strainer into a large saucepan. This trick catches any tough chili skins. Let that silky broth simmer gently on low-medium heat.

To serve, divide the shredded chicken and half of the cheese among four bowls. Ladle the hot soup over the top. Finish with the remaining cheese, diced avocado, the tortilla chips, and fresh coriander.

EXTRA: Drizzle the sour cream and lime juice mixture right on top before serving.

Extra Tips for a reliable Sopa Azteca

• Use stale tortillas: If you have corn tortillas that are a day or two old, use them. Because they have less moisture, they crisp up much faster in the air fryer. They also act like a sponge when blended, thickening the broth perfectly without ever turning it gummy.
• Safety when blending: You are going to be blending hot roasted vegetables and warm chicken stock. Always remove the small center cap from your blender lid and cover the hole loosely with a folded kitchen towel. This lets the steam escape and prevents the lid from blowing off from the heat pressure.
• Controlling the thickness: Not all corn tortillas are the exact same size or thickness. If your soup feels a little too thick after you pass it through the strainer, just whisk in an extra splash of warm chicken stock while it simmers on the stove until you get the consistency you like.
• Flash-toast the chilies: The hot stock does a great job of softening the chilies, but if you want to take the smoky flavor to a true restaurant level, press the dry, deseeded chilies into a hot, dry skillet for about 30 seconds per side. Do this right before dropping them into the broth. It wakes up their natural oils instantly.

More Easy Recipes

If you love how fast and simple this soup is, we have a few other go-to meals that save us on busy days. Since you already have the air fryer out, you have to try making some easy air fryer cheese sticksa batch of feta smashed potatoes or this garlic bread with red pepper flakes to go with your next dinner.

For busy weeknights, we always fall back on a simple onion spicy pasta where everything cooks together, so there is barely any cleanup. And if you have half an avocado left over from your soup garnishes, keep it in the fridge! It is exactly what you need to throw together a quick breakfast bagel the next morning.

Cook notes

A traditional Mexican base relies on roasted tomatoes, onions, garlic, and dried chilies like guajillo and ancho. The distinct flavor comes from steeping those chilies in broth and blending them with toasted corn tortillas and a tiny bit of dark chocolate.

a reliable way to thicken the broth naturally is by blending a couple of toasted corn tortillas directly into the liquid.

It has a mild, smoky heat rather than an intense spice. If you want it spicier, you can always blend in a fresh jalapeño with your roasted vegetables.

If you can find traditional Mexican Queso Panela or Queso Fresco, use that! Mozzarella works perfectly well if you prefer a cheesier texture.

What you need

• 8 roma tomatoes quartered.
• 1 Red onion quartered
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp avocado oil
• 3 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 1 chilli guajillo deseeded dried
• 1 chilli Anjo deseeded dried
• 1 chilli chipotle deseeded dried
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp coriander leave fresh
• 2 tsp dark chocolate
• 2 regular tortillas crispy
• 1 cup shredded chicken
• 1 cup paneer cheese cut into small cube.
• 1 large Avocado cut into little cube.
• coriander Fresh leaves roughly chopped.
• 2 regular tortilla cut into little stripes and crispy.
• 1/3 cup Sourcream
• 1/2 tbsp lime juice

Method

1. In the Airfryer bowl, add quartered Roma tomatoes, quartered red onion, a garlic clove (skin off), avocado oil, salt, and pepper, then stir to coat everything.
2. When tomatoes are cooking, in a saucepan, add the chicken stock, smoked paprika, 1/4 tsp salt, coriander leaves, chilli guajillo, Anjo, and chipotle. Cook on high heat until it's boiling, and stop the heat and reserve.
3. In the air fryer, add 2 regular tortillas and spray with cooking oil and cook for about 5/10 min at 200°C until tortillas start to be golden brown and crispy.
4. For the third air fryer batch, add 2 regular tortillas cut into strips and spray with cooking oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and mix to coat all tortilla strips.
5. In a blender, add the cooked tomatoes, the warm chicken stock, the 2 crispy tortillas, and 10g of dark chocolate. Blend for about 2 minutes until the soup is smooth, and everything is well combined.
6. Using a strainer, pass the liquid through to catch any pieces of chili or tortilla that did not fully blend. Pour the liquid into a large saucepan and simmer over medium-low heat
7. To assemble, start by dividing your shredded chicken evenly among them.
8. Add half of the paneer cheese cubed on each bowl.
9. Add the soup on top of the chicken and paneer until no soup left.
10. Garnish each bowl with the remaining half of the paneer cheese and the cubed avocado.
11. Add the crispy tortilla stripes on top.