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Santa Fe Taco Soup

Santa Fe taco soup is a hearty Tex-Mex bowl made by simmering shredded chicken with black beans, corn, green chiles, and fire-roasted tomatoes until the flavors meld. Finish with cool sour cream and avocado, plus cotija and crispy tortilla strips for contrast.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Calories: 420
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Chicken breast
  • 1.5 lb chicken breast, cooked and shredded
Black beans
  • 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained
Corn
  • 1 can (15 oz) corn, drained
Green chiles
  • 1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles
Rotel tomatoes
  • 1 can (10 oz) Rotel tomatoes
Fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  • 1 can (14 oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes
Taco seasoning
  • 1 packet (1 oz) taco seasoning
Ranch dressing mix
  • 1 packet (1 oz) ranch dressing mix
Chicken broth
  • 4 cup chicken broth
Ground cumin
  • 1 tsp cumin
Smoked paprika
  • 0.5 tsp smoked paprika
Santa Fe toppings
  • 1 sour cream
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 cotija cheese
  • 1 cilantro
  • 1 lime wedges
  • 1 tortilla strips
Salt and pepper
  • 1 salt and pepper to taste

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Make the taco soup
  1. Add shredded chicken, black beans, corn, green chiles, Rotel tomatoes, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, taco seasoning, ranch dressing mix, chicken broth, cumin, and smoked paprika to a large pot. Stir until the chicken and beans are evenly coated.
  2. Bring the soup to a boil over medium-high heat. When it reaches a rolling boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
  3. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Taste and adjust, then simmer 2 more minutes if you want a stronger seasoning presence.
Serve with Santa Fe toppings
  1. Ladle the hot soup into bowls. Top each serving with sour cream, diced avocado, crumbled cotija, fresh cilantro, and lime wedges.
  2. Finish each bowl with crispy tortilla strips. Serve immediately so the strips stay crunchy.

Notes

Pro tip: If your soup tastes flat, add more lime juice at serving instead of just more salt. Store leftovers in the refrigerator up to 4 days in an airtight container; freeze up to 3 months (add toppings after reheating). For a lighter option, use low-fat sour cream and swap part of the chicken broth for water to reduce richness without changing the simmered texture.