Chile Verde Tortilla Soup is a green chile-packed twist on the classic chicken tortilla soup. This recipe starts with a base of aromatic vegetables, including red onions, celery, and green bell peppers, and then joined by poblanos, green chiles, tomatoes, and salsa verde. Gold potatoes and crushed tortilla chips add body to the broth, while tender chicken makes it satisfying and protein-packed. It’s a zesty, vibrant soup you’ll want to make again and again!
The Surprise Hit of the Season
The harsher-than-usual winter weather this year has had me jamming on the thick and hearty soups that I’ve come to depend on to revive and energize me. Like long-cooking beef soups and bean soups. So, I wasn’t quite expecting to fall head over heels for something on the brothier side of the soup equation.
But, that’s exactly what happened. After stuffing an early run-through of this soup full of green chiles and tender chicken and aromatic veggies, that first spoonful was fireworks wonderful. Warming and flavorful and zesty. It was exactly what I needed on that day, when the first snowflakes of the season fell.
And now, because it’s a fairly quick-cooking soup, it’s one I return to often, even on weeknights, because it’s warming and inviting, and the leftovers are amazing for lunch the rest of the week. I made this soup with winter in mind, but honestly, I can’t wait to make a big batch this summer, when all of the chile peppers and veggies have been freshly harvested from my very own vegetable garden. It’s gonna rock the party!
Chile Verde Tortilla Soup is —
- Full of vibrant flavor: Green chiles, salsa verde, and zesty seasonings pack every bite with deliciousness.
- Versatile: Use leftover or rotisserie chicken, or take it vegetarian with white beans or cubed tofu.
- Customizable: Easily adjust the spice level to your liking by adding more or fewer chiles, and use your favorite toppings.
- Great for leftovers: Flavors deepen over time, making it even better the next day.
Main Ingredients and Substitutions
Green Chile Peppers — Of course, with a name like Chile Verde, you know that green chiles are going to be the stars of the soup. This recipe as written leans to the milder side of the caliente spectrum, with green bell peppers, poblanos, canned mild green chiles, and a mild salsa verde. You can add or substitute hotter chiles to your heart’s content. Include a jalapeno for a little extra zest. Or a serrano for a bit more. If you have a favorite medium or hot salsa verde, go for it!
I’ll give a warning, though: no matter how mild you try to go, chile peppers are always going to have a little bit of a kick. So, if you have family members who find any spice level to be too much — true story, my mom once sent back chicken noodle soup at a restaurant because it was too spicy (there was the tiniest shower of black pepper on top, lol) — this soup probably isn’t for you. Go with straight-up Chicken Tortilla Soup instead.
Aromatics and Seasonings — We start by making a savory soup base with onions, celery, garlic, and green bell peppers. This is the classic Holy Trinity mix that flavor-charges many a Southern dish, and is just perfect here. Rotel tomatoes add a vibrant acidity to the soup, and a generous helping of taco seasoning finishes the Mexican-inspired flavor profile.
Chicken — This soup is a popular weeknight meal here at Casa SoupAddict, so I like to opt for a rotisserie chicken, or any of the leftover frozen chicken that I always seem to have in my freezer, no matter how many chicken soups I make. Lol. You can absolutely cook up some fresh chicken breasts — do that first in the pot, then remove, cool, shred, and add according to the recipe.
For a different take, you could actually leave out the chicken altogether. I had originally intended this to be a vegetarian soup, and the idea is intriguing — basically, a salsa made into a robust soup. Perfect for those days when something hot and brothy hits the spot. If you want a meatless protein punch, though, try a can of drained white beans or some cubed tofu.
Tortilla Chips — Used in two ways in this soup, tortilla chips add that lovely masa flour flavor that’s key to Mexican dishes, including tortillas, tamales, and yes, sopa. While masa flour is not terribly hard to find, I don’t use it enough to justify having an entire bag, and most of it goes to waste. So, tortilla chips are an acceptable substitute, adding that savory corn flavor without a lot of effort. First, we use crushed tortillas to help thicken the soup as it cooks. And then whole chips are served with the soup for dipping and noshing.
Cook’s Notes
- Chiles are fascinating vegetables. As a lifelong gardener, I’ve learned that the same variety of chile peppers can have very different heat levels from plant to plant (and sometimes even on the same plant!). Poblanos are famous for this. You can buy two poblanos from the same bin at the store, and one will be mild while the other is a bit fiery. As Forrest Gump said, you never know what you’re gonna get! So, when you get your poblano home, cut off a piece and give it a taste, so you can control the heat of your soup. If it’s too hot, maybe use just half of the pepper.
- Why the pinch of sugar? There’s a lot of acidity in this soup, as you would expect from chiles and tomatoes. A small amount of sugar balances out any harsh edges. The soup is not meant to be sweet, just brightly flavored.
- I try not to mention specific brands of ingredients, in case they’re hard to find, but I really like the Siete brand of taco seasoning. Some blends go really heavy on the cumin, but Siete (pronounced, see-eight-tay, which means “seven” in Spanish) has an intriguing blend of chili powder, tomatoes, garlic, nutritional yeast … and yes, cumin … that I find to be perfectly tempered.
How to Make Chile Verde Tortilla Soup
Ready to make the recipe? Skip to the recipe card now to get the full ingredient list, quantities, prep/cooking times, and printable, detailed instructions. Or, keep scrolling for a visual walk-through of making the soup.
Prep notes
Here are some helpful guidelines for prepping the recipe ingredients. Anything that simply needs to be measured out of a container – such as dried herbs and liquids – is not addressed here. Note that you can absolutely measure everything out into separate bowls or containers ahead of time, a classic organizational technique called mise en place — literally, “everything in its place” — that helps the cooking workflow run smoothly.
- Peel the red onion and cut off the stem end and the root end. Slice the onion into small dice.
- Scrub the celery ribs clean and cut off the raggedy ends. Slice into small dice.
- Wash the exteriors of the green bell pepper and poblano. Cut off the stem tops of each pepper and remove and discard the seeds. Chop the pepper flesh into small dice.
- Break off 2 cloves of garlic from the main bulb. Peel the hard skin covering from the garlic clove and slice off the flat ends, woody end. Mince finely or send through a garlic press
- Scrub the potato and peel the outer skin. Slice into small dice.
- Rinse the cilantro leaves under running water, then pat dry with a paper towel. Tear off a fistful of the leaves, picking the thick stems (slender stems are okay). Chop finely.
- Slice the lime in half and squeeze the juice into a small bowl.
- Place the tortilla chips in a small sandwich bag and crush into fine pieces. A rolling pin makes fast work of it.
Step 1: Saute the chile peppers and aromatics
Heat the oil in a large soup pot and saute the aromatics and potatoes until softened.
Step 2: Add the remaining vegetables and seasonings
Add the tomatoes, canned green chiles, salsa verde, garlic, crushed tortilla chips, and taco seasoning, and stir well to combine. The mixture should be very fragrant.
Step 3: Finish the soup
Pour in the broth, raise the heat, and bring the soup to an active simmer. Cook for 10 minutes, reduce heat to low, then stir in the chicken and cilantro and heat through (the chicken’s in there ^^^ it sank before I could take the picture lol.)
Add the juice from half of a lime, along with a big pinch of sugar. Taste, and add more salt if needed. Serve with your favorite toppings and whole tortilla chips.
Storing
This soup stores very well and tastes even better the next day. It freezes beautifully, too.
I hope you’ll get a chance to try my Chile Verde Tortilla Soup, especially as we start to transition from winter to spring, and lighter soups sound extra appetizing.
Chile Verde Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive or avocado oil
- 1 small red onion , diced
- 2 ribs celery , diced
- 1/2 green bell pepper , diced
- 1 medium poblano pepper , diced
- 4 ounces gold potatoes , cut into small 1/4″ cubes
- 10 ounces Rotel diced tomatoes & green chiles , drained of most of their juices
- 12 ounces salsa verde
- 4 ounces canned mild green chiles , drained
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 8 tortilla chips , crushed*
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 cups shredded , pre-cooked chicken (e.g., leftovers or rotisserie chicken)
- 1/2 of a lime
- salt , as needed
- pinch of sugar
- 2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro.
- whole tortilla chips , for serving
Suggested toppings:
- additional chopped fresh cilantro
- sliced green onions
- sliced avocado
- shredded pepper jack cheese or crumbled cotija
- chopped red onions
- pickled jalapenos
- sour cream or Mexican crema
Instructions
- Heat the oil over medium in a 4 to 5 quart soup pot or Dutch oven until the surface of the oil shimmers.
- Add the onions, celery, bell pepper, poblano pepper, and potatoes, and saute until softened, about 8 minutes.
- Pour in the Rotel, salsa verde, and green chiles, along with the garlic, taco seasoning, and crushed tortilla chips. Stir well to mix with the aromatics.
- Add the broth and bring the soup up to an active simmer over medium-high heat. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Reduce heat to low and stir in the fresh cilantro and the pre-cooked chicken.
- Add a squeeze of lime and a big pinch of sugar. Taste, adding salt as needed. (Because there are a lot of astringent peppers and vibrant acids in this soup, a pinch of sugar will balance the flavors.)
- Serve with whole tortilla chips and your favorite toppings.