Celebrity chef Bobby Flay has been a huge part of the American food scene for decades. Many people know him as the most famous chef of his time. Chefs like Jonathan Waxman, Wolfgang Puck, and Jeremiah Tower influenced him.
People know him for his Mesa Grill restaurants and his Grillin’ He made his dishes approachable for home cooks in his more than a dozen cookbooks. As his restaurant empire grew and he became a Food Network staple with “Beat Bobby Flay” and as an “Iron Chef,” his innovative takes on classic recipes became a highlight.
Chef Flay knows whats good and wont abandon dishes and techniques that he still believes in. For example, chicken tortilla soup was a mainstay at his first restaurant, Mesa Grill. Decades later, a version remains on that menu at his Las Vegas location. As the soup has become ubiquitous enough for Chick-fil-A to offer a rendition, its doubtful his appreciation for this classic dish will waver.
It’s no surprise that chicken tortilla soup is a crowd-pleaser. Its spicy, tomatoey broth, tender chicken, and crunchy tortilla strips make it the perfect comfort food. But many home cooks have trouble getting the right consistency when they make chicken tortilla soup. If your soup turns out too watery and thin, don’t worry—there are easy ways to make it thicker!
In this article, I’ll share 12 simple methods to achieve the perfect thickness for chicken tortilla soup. Whether you prefer using thickeners, purees, or reducing the broth, you’ll find a technique here that works for you. Let’s dive in!
Use Cornstarch or Flour
The easiest way to make any soup or sauce thicker is to use a starch-based thickener, like flour or cornstarch. If you want to use cornstarch, mix a few drops of it with cold water to make a slurry. Slowly stir this into the hot soup, and then let it cook for 5 minutes to make it thicker. You can also whisk in 2 tablespoons of flour until the broth is smooth. Just be sure to cook the flour taste out.
Blend Some of the Soup
Add Dairy
Another simple way to improve and thicken chicken tortilla soup is to add a little cream, half-and-half, or milk. Heavy cream or full-fat dairy works best. Full-fat coconut milk is a non-dairy option that adds thickness and richness. Add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup near the end of cooking and heat through slowly.
Cook Down the Broth
Mash Some Beans
Pureeing a portion of beans into the broth is a great way to add body. Mash about 1/2 cup cooked beans with a fork or potato masher. Black or pinto beans work well. Stir the mashed beans into the hot soup until fully incorporated. The starch from the beans will act as a natural thickener.
Add Mexican Chorizo
Use Masa Harina
Puree Vegetables
Add Cooked Rice
Stirring in some pre-cooked rice like Spanish rice, cilantro lime rice, or Mexican red rice provides starch to thicken along with texture and flavor. Cook the rice fully in chicken broth for best flavor. Stir in 1 to 2 cups cooked rice just before serving. Allow it to soak up liquid as it simmers briefly.
Grate in Raw Potato
Add Some Refried Beans
Finish with Cheese
Pureed chiles easily thicken tortilla soup
Bobby Flays Instagram recently posted a recipe for tortilla soup with avocado relish, which includes one crucial step that makes a huge difference. His technique for adding a chile paste does double duty as a vehicle for big flavor, while also serving as a thickening agent. A dried ancho chile gets re-hydrated in hot water for 15 minutes, and once its pliable, its pureed in a food processor, with some of the soaking liquid, until a paste forms. Adding this to the broth brings all of that great heat and flavor, but as this simmers, it also helps thicken the broth.
While Flay uses a mild ancho chile that even beginners can tolerate, any dried chile would work. For the heat-inclined and curious, Spices Inc explains the bevy of dried chiles you could use to customize your tortilla soup. They say to take out the seeds before using dried chiles because that will make them less spicy and get rid of the bitter taste that the seeds add.
For an extra bit of thickening that wont bring more chile spice, you can puree some tortillas into the soup. The New York Times adds most of the tortillas to the broth, then blends it till smooth, before adding the chicken, and other garnishes. The result is “like a light bisque.”
30 MInute Chicken Tortilla Soup
FAQ
Can you add cheese to chicken tortilla soup?
Cheese is one of my favorite toppings for Chicken Tortilla Soup. You can add cheese to the actual soup or hold it and add to individual servings. Feel free to go crazy and mix it up with Pepper Jack or Monterrey Jack and of course Cheddar is always amazing. How do I thicken Chicken Tortilla Soup?.
How do you cook chicken tortilla soup?
Add garlic and sauté 30 seconds. Add all remaining Chicken Tortilla Soup Ingredients (except ADD LATER). Cover the soup and heat it up until it boils. Then, turn the heat down to medium-low (or low if your stove is really hot).
Is chicken tortilla soup easy to make?
This Chicken Tortilla Soup is almost dump and run for the ideal easy weeknight dinner or fabulous for crowds. It’s warm and comforting, hearty, savory, filling, and healthy, requires minimal effort (seriously one of the easiest soups you will ever make) and is destined to become a new family favorite!.
How do you thicken soup?
Just puree a cup or two of the soup, leaving the chunks behind, until it’s smooth and creamy. Return it to the pot and stir. This will thicken your soup and preserve the chunkiness at the same time. Although a blender or food processor works equally well in this circumstance, there are times when that isn’t true.
How do you make soup thicker & creamier?
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that adding something thick and creamy to soup will make it thicker and creamier. There are almost unlimited options here, depending on your preferences and what you happen to have on hand. Possibilities include cream, coconut milk, yogurt, or even pureed avocado.
What can I use to thicken my tortilla soup?
Pureed chiles easily thicken tortilla soup – Adding this to the broth brings all of that great heat and flavor, but as this simmers, it also helps thicken the broth. While Flay uses a mild ancho chile that even beginners can tolerate, any dried chile would work.Jan 12, 2023
How do you thicken watery chicken soup?
And starches are the most common and effective thickening agents in cooking—think of corn starch, the flour in a roux, or how grains like oats, rice, and porridge thicken when cooked in water.
How to thicken up chicken enchilada soup?
Add Flour Or Cornstarch – You can thicken soup by adding flour, cornstarch, or another starchy substitute.Jan 15, 2025
What makes chicken tortilla soup creamy?
I like to pull the chicken out of the soup and shred it. Then mix in the cream cheese. If you want to make the soup even creamier, add a 1/2 cup or so of heavy cream. To finish this off, mix in a big handful of white cheddar cheese and let it melt into the soup.