On a chilly evening, nothing beats a bowl of warm and spicy chicken tortilla soup with hominy. This recipe tastes deliciously authentic but is still very simple to make.

Why Hominy?

Hominy is made from whole corn kernels. The kernels are soaked in lime and then the hull and germ are removed. Hominy is one of the best secrets for making incredible salsa, chili, and tortilla soup!

Hominy adds just the right mild sweetness and chewy texture to this easy chicken tortilla soup. You can switch it out for fresh or frozen corn if you’d like, but I recommend trying your soup with hominy. It tastes amazing!

Topping Ideas for this Chicken Tortilla Soup with Hominy

Make this soup your own by choosing your favorite toppings. I like to add a few different toppings for flavor and texture. Here are a few ideas:

• Homemade fried tortilla strips (see below)
• Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• Lime wedges
• Sour cream
• Avocado chunks
• Chopped cilantro
• Chopped jalapenos (or your favorite peppers)

How to Make Your Tortilla Strips

I love the taste of freshly fried tortilla strips. You can buy them premade or use tortilla chips, but I promise you are missing out! It’s worth a few minutes to make them fresh.

• I use about 20 small white corn tortillas to make tortilla strips for this soup. I like to eat a few by themselves – they’re addictive!
• You can use whichever vegetable oil you prefer for frying. I used a 48 oz bottle of canola oil for this recipe (you’ll use less oil if you pan-fry your strips).
• Any deep fryer will work for these tortilla strips. You can also fry them in a pan on the stovetop.

Directions:

1. Heat oil in the deep fryer.
2. While oil is getting hot, cut up the tortillas into 1/8-1/4 inch strips.
3. Carefully put the tortilla strips into the deep fryer and cook until they are a light brown. (Be careful not to burn them!)
4. After they are lightly browned, place onto several paper towels so the grease can drain off. Immediately sprinkle with salt and let cool.

FAQs for this Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

Have a question? Here are a few of the most common questions about this recipe:

What supplies do I need to make this easy chicken tortilla soup?

All you need are the following:

• Large skillet
• Large soup pot
• Cutting board
• Pizza cutter or knife to cut the tortilla strips
• Deep fryer or a pan to fry the strips on the stove. (Deep fryer from Walmart: Presto 6qt Kitchen Kettle Multi-Cooker & Steamer 06006.)
• Soup bowls

Do I have to use the Better than Bouillon Chicken Base? 

I definitely recommend that you use the chicken base for this soup. It’s is one of the main ingredients that give this recipe such a delicious flavor. Using a substitution will change the taste completely. 

Can you freeze chicken tortilla soup?

Yes! This recipe freezes well. Put into freezer bags and the soup will keep for 3-4 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and heat in the microwave or on the stovetop. Then add your tortilla strips and toppings, and you’re ready to go!

Share Your Creations with Me!

Did you make this easy chicken tortilla soup with hominy? I’d love to see your creations on Instagram! Make sure to tag your post with #azbrecipes or #azestybiterecipes, so I’ll be sure to see them. Enjoy!

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Chicken Tortilla Soup with Hominy

Yield: 8-10 bowls

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

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Ingredients

• 3 large boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 3/4 inch cubes
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 (48 oz. container) Chicken broth
• 1 (48 oz.container) Beef broth
• 1 medium yellow onion -sliced thin and chopped
• 1 (25 oz.) can hominy - drained and rinsed
• 1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes
• 11/2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• Pinch of red pepper flakes ( depends on how hot you like it)
• 1 heaping tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of Better than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base
• Small bag of white corn tortillas - cut into strips 1/8-1/4 inch and deep fried )
• 1 48 oz container of Canola oil - for deep frying the tortilla strips

Garnish Ingredients

• Homemade fried tortilla strips
• Monterey Jack Cheese
• 4 Limes - wedged
• Sour Cream
• 4 Avocado -cut into chunks
• Cilantro - chopped

Instructions

1. In a large skillet melt the butter on low, add chicken cubes sprinkle in pepper. You will be cooking this slowly and on low heat. I recommend using butter only as it gives the chicken an amazing flavor and makes the chicken very tender. When the chicken is cooked, leave it in the butter and set it aside. This will take about 15 min.
2. In a large pot, bring to a boil, both the chicken and beef broth, and sliced onions, boil until the onions are tender.
3. After the onions are tender, add the chicken, butter mixture, hominy, tomatoes, cumin, chili powder, red pepper flakes and better than bouillon chicken base to the large pot of broth. Simmer on low for about 30 minutes.
4. While the soup is simmering, fry up your tortilla strips. I used my Presto Deep fryer. I used a small bag of white corn tortillas and cut them up in about 1/8 inch strips long. Dropped them into the hot oil in the deep fryer. Once they are lightly browned, carefully remove from the hot oil and place onto several folded paper towels for the grease to drain off. Salt immediately, before they cool.
5. After simmering the soup for 30 minutes, it should be ready to serve.
6. Give it a taste test to see if it needs any salt and add if needed. You can also add 1 teaspoon at a time of the chicken base instead of salt.  ( I didn’t add any salt to mine, since the better than bullion was plenty salty.)
   
   

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