Are you looking for a quick weeknight meal? This “Sopa Azteca” or tortilla soup recipe is perfect for chilly school nights. It is very adaptable for different tastes, and most of the steps are simple enough that kids can master them. I love that you can triple or quadruple the tortilla soup recipe for big families, and that it pairs well with your other favorite Mexican food. Make a big batch, and it tastes even better the next day! This tortilla soup is a favorite of everyone.
Ingredients for Tortilla Soup
For the broth:
- tomatoes (I use about 1-2 per person)
- onion
- garlic
For the toppings/add-ins:
- tortillas
- dried chiles (guajillos, anchos, or pasillas, 1-2)
- queso fresco (or any cheese you love)
- avocados
- onions
- cilantro
- (some people add shredded chicken- we like ours without meat)
How to Make Tortilla Soup
1) Halve the tomatoes, onion, garlic. Add about a cup of the broth into the blender for easy blending, and blend all of the ingredients for the broth. If you would like this to be vegetarian, use veggie broth. Add this to the saucepan, and simmer on low to reduce it.
2) Cut open your dried chiles and remove the stem and all of the seeds. Chop or have kids tear them into pieces. In a dry pan, roast the chiles until you can smell the oils releasing. Pop them in a bowl.
3) Using a pizza cutter, slice the tortillas into long strips. This is definitely the kids’ job! Prepare more tortilla chips than you think- my kids love to keep adding them into their soup. I am going to be honest- if you have no time, just crush some tortilla chips! So simple and fast.
4) We bake our tortilla strips, but you can also fry them (both taste great!). Put the oven on 350, and watch them crisp up.
5) Kids can dig into the fresh cheese and crumble it into small pieces for another topping. If you only have grated cheese, that works too!
6) Chop the onions and avocados. This job usually goes to an older child in our family!
7) Halve some limes, because…. everything in Mexico tastes better with limes :).
8) Have one of your kids pick the leaves off a bunch of cilantro (no matter how much positive PR I give it, in our house, cilantro-duty is considered the worst job, for the youngest child).
There you have it! Everyone is served a bowl of tomato broth, and invited to add in their favorite toppings! We frequently serve our tortilla soup recipe with tostadas, refried beans, lettuce, and shredded chicken (because my kids love to eat!). What I love about this “soup bar” is that everyone can add in what they like. It’s super healthy, very quick and easy, and everyone loves it!
I love this soup! Everyone can add their own ingredients to to make it their own. It’s so easy! It’s also perfect for kids to help make.