This Whole30 and paleo chicken tortilla soup comes with added kale for extra nutrients. This Mexican favourite doesn’t have any tortilla chips but the pumpkin seeds provide extra crunch. This healthy recipes only takes 25 minutes and can be served for dinner or lunch. I’d love to know if you make it, so let me know in the comments and don’t forget to rate this recipe.
What Is A Tortilla Soup?
Tortilla soup is a classic Mexican dish made with a tangy, savoury tomato and garlic broth and crispy tortilla chips or strips over the top. Often, the soup will also have chicken, corn or beans and a range of garnishes such as avocado, chopped onions, cheese, and extra coriander and lime. Another similar soup is Sopa de Lima.
Although nobody is quite sure of its origins, this hearty and zesty soup has become a real darling of Mexican fusion cuisine. The purists will have to forgive me but as this is a paleo-friendly version, the tortillas no están incluidos! Also, I’ve gone on my own adventure with the traditional recipe so this is another Irey’s special. Es muy delicioso (it’s very tasty) and I hope you like it.
Chicken Tortilla Soup Nutrition
As with most of my recipes, I always try to make them as nutritious as possible. This recipe uses lots of nutrient-dense ingredients and superfoods like kale, pumpkin seeds and tomatoes. If you look at the nutritional breakdown below, this soup is high in many essential vitamins and minerals. It’s high in protein and low-to-moderate in carbohydrates, with a hefty dose of dietary fibre that will keep you nicely satiated.
This chicken tortilla soup is gluten-free, paleo, Whole30 and great for anyone looking for a quick nutrition boost.
How To Make Paleo Chicken Tortilla Soup
There are many versions of tortilla soup and this is my own take on it. I wanted to create a recipe that’s really quick and easy to make, perfect for a mid-week dinner or lunch, and this one should only take you 25 minutes.
I wanted to use pre-cooked chicken to speed up the prep time but feel free to use fresh, raw chicken instead. Simply pan fry it for 6-8 minutes before dicing and adding to the soup. The rest of the ingredients are simple and easy to pick up from any supermarket.
To make it, everything is cooked together in one pot and you can prepare all your garnishes in the meantime. Beware, this soup is a little spicy but you can modify the heat by adding fewer jalapeños.
MORE SOUP RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE
- Broccoli Soup With Nut Pesto
- Cleansing Spinach & Leek Soup
- Anti-inflammatory & Healing Turmeric Zucchini Soup
- Fall-off-the Bone Chicken Soup
Want to Save This Recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cooked & Loved
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 large red pepper diced
- 1/4 cup pickled jalapeños finely diced (the ones you get in a jar like these)
- 2 cloves garlic finely diced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1.5 cups cooked diced chicken (breast or thigh meat is good, I picked up some roasted chicken from the supermarket)
- 2 cups torn kale leaves
- 1.5 cups chopped tomatoes tinned, 400 g
- 2 cups chicken stock or broth, I love Kettle & Fire one
- Zest and juice of 1 lime grate the zest first
- 2/3 teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
- 2 tablespoon diced spring onion/scallions
- 3 tablespoon fresh coriander/cilantro leaves a good handful
- 1 avocado sliced into strips (a half per person)
- A little dusting of paprika if you're feeling fancy
Instructions
- Heat a medium saucepan with olive oil and add the diced onion. Cook for a minute or two and add the red peppers. Stir and cook for another minute while chopping other ingredients.
- Add the jalapeños, garlic, oregano, coriander seed and cumin powder. Stir and cook for about 30 seconds to release the aromas.
- Now add the chicken, kale, diced tomatoes, chicken stock, lime zest and juice and stir. Taste for salt. I added about 2/3 of a teaspoon of sea salt but you may need less depending on how much salt is in your chicken stock.
- Bring everything to a boil and cook on high heat for 5 minutes. Then, let it sit for 2-3 minutes off the heat while you prepare the garnishes.
- Place pumpkin seeds in a small frying pan and cook on medium heat for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Keep your eyes on them so they don't get burnt. We simply want to toast them for extra crunch and nuttiness.
- Serve soup in bowls, topped with fresh coriander, green onions, toasted pumpkin seeds and sliced avocado. If you want, you can add corn chips or a paleo/Whole30 alternative like baked sweet potato chips.Â
Notes
Nutrition
SAVE THIS CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP TO PINTEREST
Hi…what is a spring onion?
Scallions or green onions
Thank you!
Butter is not paleo. 🙂
But it’s so tasty and nutritious 😛 You don’t have to use it, by the way, olive oil is fine.
if you use butter, they say to use grass fed 😉 sometimes it’s okay to use!
I can’t tell you just how much my hubby and I enjoyed this soup! I used avocado oil throughout (no coconut oil or butter/ghee). Also, the package of diced tomatoes was 750g, used all of it! Even used a little of the jalapeno juice! Made it last night, we had enough for lunch for each of us today. Lunch couldn’t get here fast enough today!! And now my lips, my mouth, and my belly are all doing a Mexican happy dance! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!
Thanks Polly 🙂 That’s very kind of you Glad you guys enjoyed it.
Hi Irena!
Just made this soup and it’s delicious :P. I wasn’t sure how the kale would taste in here, but I love kale and was willing to give it a try. The kale gives an earthy flavor that parallels black beans!, which is common in tortilla soups. Very nice job! And being from Texas, I was hoping it would have that taste of home (currently live in Colorado) and it does :D. Will be making this again for sure, thanks for sharing!
Thank you for your kind feedback. I am super happy you enjoyed the soup AND the kale 🙂 Irena
Can’t wait to try this! Looks fantastic. How about some extra-thin fried plain strips in lieu of tortilla chips?!
Sure, why not? Enjoy!
The store didn’t have a ripe avocado, but this was still delicious without it!