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The chicken tortilla soup from McAlister’s has been one of my favorites for decades! This copycat recipe is spot on and easy to make – creamy, just a little spicy, and perfect with chips and ice tea!
What Makes This Recipe So Good
- This recipe is a PERFECT copycat for McAlister’s chicken tortilla soup. Creamy and deliciously cheesy, with a little touch of spice and juicy rotisserie chicken. Pair it with a giant sweet tea and you’d never know the difference!
- Soup makes a wonderful meal prep or freezer meal. It’s so easy to portion into individual containers and reheat when you’re ready to eat. You can refrigerate the cooled soup up to 4 days, or you can freeze it in containers or freezer bags up to 3 months. Just let it defrost in the fridge overnight and then reheat it in the microwave or on the stovetop until it’s heated through.
- If you compare the nutrition information between this soup and an actual bowl of McAlister’s chicken tortilla soup, ours comes out ahead in several areas! The calories are roughly equal (McAlister’s is slightly lower), and ours does contain more grams of fat per serving than their version. Ours has a higher protein count and a much lower carb count, though. There’s also less sodium in our version.
Chef’s Tips
- There’s a decent amount of dairy in this recipe, and when you’re adding dairy to hot liquids, there are some real must-dos to… well, do. It’s really important that the heavy cream and the cheese are at room temperature when you start the recipe. If they’re too cold, they’ll curdle or separate when they’re added to the hot broth mixture. If you forget to take them out of the fridge early enough, you can warm them very gradually, but be careful not to get them too hot or heat them too fast. Rapidly heating dairy products can also cause them to separate.
- Another must-do that’ll help ensure the dairy products incorporate smoothly is to move the stockpot off the heat and let the broth cool slightly before adding the cream and cheese. The lower the temperature difference between the broth and the dairy products, the less risk there is of curdling.
- We’re only using 1 cup of rotisserie chicken, which keeps the recipe similar to McAlister’s chicken tortilla soup. You’re absolutely welcome to double or even triple the amount of chicken for a soup with more protein. You also don’t have to use rotisserie chicken if you’d prefer not to. If you’ve got boneless, skinless chicken breasts on hand, check out my recipe for the absolute BEST shredded chicken EVER.
Try These Soup Recipes While You’re Here
- Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Pork Stew
- Creamy Everything Bagel Chicken Soup
- Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Instant Pot Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Instant Pot Clam Chowder
- Creamy Keto Taco Soup
- Instant Pot Cajun Chicken Pasta Soup
- Whole30 White Chicken Chili
- Oyster Brie Soup (from Hollywood Brown Derby)
- Homemade Southwest Chicken Soup (Chili’s Copycat)
- Buffalo Chicken Soup
- Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup
McAlister’s Chicken Tortilla Soup
A perfect copycat for McAlister's famous chicken tortilla soup – creamy, a little spicy, and perfect with a giant sweet tea.
servings
Equipment
- medium stockpot
- Large wooden spoon
- small mixing bowl
- whisk
Ingredients
For the Chicken Soup
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup minced yellow onion approximately half of 1 medium yellow onion
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic approximately 2 large cloves
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 14.5-ounce can crushed tomatoes undrained
- 3 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 cup heavy cream at room temperature
- 1 cup shredded Mexican-style cheese blend at room temperature
- 1 10.5-ounce can cream of chicken condensed soup
- 1 cup shredded rotisserie chicken
- 1 4-ounce can chopped green chiles undrained
- ½ tablespoon chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt more or less to taste
For the Cornstarch Slurry
- ½ cup chicken broth
- ¼ cup cornstarch
To Serve
- chopped green onions
- white corn tortilla chips
Instructions
- Heat medium stockpot over medium heat. When stockpot is hot, add 2 tablespoons butter to pot. Heat butter, swirling pot occasionally to distribute butter evenly around bottom of pot, until butter is melted.
- Add ½ cup minced yellow onion and 2 teaspoons minced garlic to pot with melted butter. Sauté until onion and garlic have softened, approximately 5 minutes.
- Once onion and garlic are soft, add 1 teaspoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 14.5-ounce can crushed tomatoes, and 3 ½ cups chicken broth to stockpot. Stir to incorporate ingredients. Let mixture simmer while preparing cornstarch slurry.
- Add ½ cup chicken broth and ¼ cup cornstarch to small mixing bowl. Whisk until fully incorporated, then pour slurry mixture into stockpot. Stir to incorporate.
- Increase heat under stockpot to medium-high. Bring mixture to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 5 to 10 minutes, or until broth is slightly thickened.
- Move stockpot to cool stovetop burner. Let mixture cool slightly, then add 1 cup heavy cream and 1 cup shredded Mexican-style cheese blend. Stir until heavy cream is incorporated and shredded cheese has melted.
- Once cheese has melted, return stockpot to heat. Add 1 10.5-ounce can cream of chicken condensed soup, 1 cup shredded rotisserie chicken, 1 4-ounce can chopped green chiles, ½ tablespoon chopped cilantro, 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir until ingredients are fully incorporated, then let mixture simmer 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, ladle soup into serving bowls. Top with chopped green onions and serve warm with white corn tortilla chips if desired.
- Cold dairy products can clump, seize, or curdle when added to hot liquid, so make sure they’re at or close to room temperature before you begin. They can also have those reactions if they’re heated too quickly, so be sure to remove the skillet from the hot stove burner before adding in the cream and cheese.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Serving Size: 1servingCalories: 375calProtein: 15gFat: 28gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 97mgSodium: 1488mgPotassium: 201mgTotal Carbs: 17gFiber: 2gSugar: 5gNet Carbs: 15gVitamin A: 1114IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 187mgIron: 3mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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I have used this recipe several times and it always comes out so tasty. Thanks for sharing it.
We’re so glad you love it! Thanks for sharing, Casey!
I like to cook, and I’d like to think I’m pretty good at it. My favorite soup in a local restaurant is the Chicken Tortilla Soup at McAlister’s Deli. I love Chicken Tortilla and I have tried many different recipes and most have immediately gone down the drain.
I found this one the other day. It looked good, so I tried it today in hopes that we would have a good soup for the cold weather coming into town. To my delight I can report that it is very good, and about a 90-95% perfect copycat of McAlister’s Chicken Tortilla. The best thing is that this soup is very adjustable so that I can make it exactly to my taste.
I like the idea that it uses a lot of store ready products, so the process is easy. I prepare everything in little containers before I cook, and this one was easier because the items were, for the most part, straight out of the can.
I made a double batch, using the meat from an entire Rotisserie Chicken which is much more than the recipe calls for. I delivered some to elderly friends and relatives, so I used only one can of the Green Hatch Chili peppers thinking that two would be too much. I was wrong, I could have, and should have, used two cans as the recipe called for.
If you like to make soups, this is a good one to try. If you have children, the recipe is actually easy enough for a 10-year-old to make with parental supervision. It is my opinion that young people need to learn their way around the kitchen as children. That way when they become adults they can not only take care of themselves, they can cook and create nice recipes.
Thank you for this recipe. It is excellent!
What a kind gesture to bring it to some elderly friends and relatives! We’re so happy it was a hit. Thanks so much for sharing, David!
Going to try this recipe
Be sure to let us know how it turns out! 😊
I just made the Chicken Tortilla soup today. I had leftover rotisserie chicken so it was perfect. It was easy and delicious. I used half cream and half and half with just cheddar cheese. It worked with what I had on hand.
We’re so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing, Barb!