30-Minute Chicken Tortilla Soup – Max and Erma’s Chicken Tortilla Soup Copycat Recipe
30-minute chicken tortilla soup is by far one of my family’s favorite chicken soups and is the copycat recipe of the restaurant Max and Erma’s chicken tortilla soup. This chicken tortilla soup is made with lots of cheese, including Velveeta, and grilled chicken, and has lots of flavors from onions, garlic, green chilis, and fire-roasted tomatoes. Topping it off with some air-fried tortilla strips and cheese just makes this soup so over the top. But my favorite part is the fact that I can make it in 30 minutes.
The chicken tortilla soup is velvety in texture with lots of smoky flavors and a hint of heat. This soup will definitely be a regular weeknight meal option for us.
Max and Erma’s Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe Ingredients
There are many variations and versions to this recipe. A lot of recipes I looked at use 6 cans of cream of something soup. I decided I could figure out how to make this without so much premade soups. The recipe creation worked like a dream.
Here are the ingredients I used for my Max copycat recipe of chicken tortilla soup:
- Diced cooked chicken
- Onion
- Garlic
- Butter
- Flour
- Chicken Base
- Fire-Roasted Tomatoes
- Green Chilis
- Cumin
- Chipotle Powder
- Adobo Seasoning
- Smoked Paprika
- Velveeta
- Cream of Chicken Soup
- Milk
- Water
How to Make 30-Minute Chicken Tortilla Soup
Begin making this soup by dicing onions and garlic and adding them to your favorite soup pot or Dutch oven with butter. Saute for several minutes until they start to soften. Then add the chicken base to the onions and butter to the mix. Next, add the flour to the pot to make a roux.
Stir to form the roux and then start adding the water and milk to the roux to make the base for the soup. Alternate between the water and milk.
When the liquid is all added and it begins to boil, stir in the cubed cooked chicken. Then follow that with the tomatoes, chilis, cream of cheddar soup, and seasonings.
Stir to completely combine and then drop the cubed or shredded velveeta into the soup. Continue stirring until the cheese is completely melted.
The finished product of this 30-minute chicken tortilla soup is just like a queso soup. It is spectacularly delicious. But to take it up a notch, I totally recommend making some tortilla strips.
How to Make Crispy Tortilla Strips in the Air Fryer
I have found the low-carb tortillas
get crispier for this. And we like crispy tortilla strips. Start by using a pizza cutter to cut the tortillas into strips.
Then melt butter to drench the tortilla strips in before dropping into the air fryer.
Then air fry them on 400° for 5 minutes or until crispy to your liking.
Then you have the most amazing crispy tortilla soup toppings.
Low-Carb Soup Recipes
If you are looking for a low-carb version, I have perfected this Crock Pot Low-Carb Chicken Tortilla Soup or the Crock Pot Low-Carb Taco Soup.
Easy Soup Recipes
Max and Erma’s Tortilla Soup Copycat Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup flour
- 2 tablespoons chicken base
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups milk
- 3 cups diced cooked chicken
- 1 can cream of cheddar soup
- 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes
- 4 ounces green chilis
- 1 teaspoon chipotle pwder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon adobo seasoning
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 8 ounces velveeta cheese
Instructions
- Start by sauteing the onions and garlic in butter. After it has cooked for several minutes and the onions have softened, stir in the flour.
- Next stir in the chicken base. Then slowly add the water and milk.
- To the mixture stir in the cooked and diced chicken into the base. Next, add the canned ingredients of soup, tomatoes, and green chilis.
- Stir the seasonings and velveeta into the mix. Cubed or shred the velveeta. Stir until melted.
- While the soup simmers, cut the tortillas into strips.
- Dip the cut strips into the melted two tablespoons of butter and air fry on 400° for five minutes.
- Serve the soup with shredded cheese, tortilla strips, and cilantro.
Nutrition
Shared on Weekend Potluck
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WOW!!! This is SPOT ON!!! I’ve been weeping for months since Max & Ermas are ALL GONE now!!! I expected at least they’d put products in the frozen foods debts at the groceries but nooo!! and So I tried this… with all the ingredients you listed, and WOWEE!! it’s just perfect!! I’m in love!! Great recipe!!
Been many years since I had max n sense tortilla soup,your recipe was excellent added cooked bacon on top.
This was amazing! I didnโt have chicken base so I used broth. It was perfect, thanks!
Wow, this is so good! My husband had tortilla soup at a restaurant recently and wanted me to duplicate it. He likes this better. Easy to make, too. Thanks for sharing a fantastic recipe!
Amazing!!! Will definitely be making it again! So much better than the ones that call for 6 cans of this soup, 6 cans of that soup, 3 cans of this, etc. Thank you!!
So glad you loved it!
This soup looks so good and I am anxious to try. Just 1 question.,,, Your blog ingredients list include Cream of Chicken Soup, but the recipe states Cream of Cheddar Soup. Which should be used?
This is one of my familyโs FAVORITE soups. I crank up the spice level, add a bell pepper, corn, black beans and some more tomatoes but the basic recipe is *chefs kiss* thank you!