Who doesn’t love a good chicken tortilla soup? I love eating it, so I wanted to add it to my arsenal. This recipe is based on one from 365 Easy One-Dish Meals by Natalie Haughton. Her version is much tamer, with bell peppers and no spice, which you can completely pivot to if you want to avoid burning.

We had a good crop of anaheim, guajillo, and cascabel peppers, so I substituted those along with a dried chipotle pepper instead of using bell peppers. This definitely added the kick I was looking for, and then some! I decided to follow it up with a potato and milk, which toned it down just enough with the cheese and tortilla strips. Depending on your personal heat tolerance, feel free to doctor this in either direction.

2 tbsp. vegetable oil
4-5 Anaheim/guajillo/poblano peppers, or 2 green peppers, chopped
2 hot red peppers, or 1 red bell pepper, chopped (optional)
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes
3 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped -OR- 1 14-oz. can tomatoes, drained and chopped
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. frozen corn
6 c. chicken broth
juice of 1 lime
1-2 tsp. liquid smoke
milk or cream as desired
1 1/2 c. shredded cheese
sour cream
tortilla strips

In a 5-qt. Dutch oven, heat 2 tbsp. of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the peppers, carrots, and onion. Cook, stirring often, until onion is soft. Push to the sides of the pot and add the chicken. Add the salt and cook until it starts to brown.

Add the tomatoes and garlic and reduce heat to medium. Stir occasionally for about 5 minutes.

Add the cumin, corn, chicken broth, lime juice, and liquid smoke. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 20-ish minutes.

Taste and decide if you want to add some milk or cream. Adjust other seasonings as desired.

Serve hot with tortilla chips and cheese on top.