Have leftover roast turkey? Make a pot of yummy Turkey Tortilla Soup, garnished with cheese, tomato, cilantro and baked tortilla strips!
If you enjoy the flavor of Southwestern-style soups or chilis, then I believe you will really love this turkey tortilla soup! The soup can be made quite simply, and features cooked turkey, so it’s a perfect soup to use any leftover cooked turkey you might have!
Typically once Thanksgiving is over, or any time we cook a whole turkey or turkey breast, we have leftover turkey. I usually make turkey noodle soup with leftover turkey, but this tortilla soup is now (also) an option. You only need 2 cups of cooked turkey to make this soup, and it is so yummy!
Corn tortillas are used in two ways for this soup. They are used uncooked IN the soup and used (baked ’til crispy) ON TOP of the soup, adding flavor and texture.
The turkey tortilla soup is garnished with crispy tortilla strips, and then can be topped with cheese, tomatoes, sour cream, avocado and cilantro, if desired! YUM! Turkey tortilla soup not only LOOKS great… it tastes great, too. Here’s how to make it:
Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page
Prep The Corn Tortillas
Preheat your oven to 450°F. Place the corn tortillas in two piles of 5 each, stacking 5 tortillas on top of each other. Slice the tortillas into ½” wide strips. Reserve and set aside one stack of strips from 5 tortillas until later.
The reserved stack of tortilla strips will go (uncooked) into the soup, and the remaining strips will be baked until crispy to garnish the finished soup.
Take the remaining stack of strips (from 5 tortillas) and place them on a large baking sheet, in a single layer. Lightly coat the strips with non-stick cooking spray, then turn them over and spray the other side.
Bake the tortilla strips at 450°F for 9-10 minutes, turning them over once, halfway through the cooking time. Once crispy and browned, remove them from the oven, let cool, then place in an airtight container, plastic wrap or bag until you’re ready to serve the soup.
Let’s Make Some Turkey Tortilla Soup!
Now you’re ready to make some delicious turkey tortilla soup! TIP: If you start the soup while the tortilla strips are baking, you will save time! Heat olive oil on MEDIUM in a large soup pot or Dutch oven.
Once oil is hot, add chopped onion, minced garlic and jalapeño. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring often (so garlic doesn’t burn), until onions are softened and slightly browned.
Pour in the chicken broth, then add the reserved (unbaked) tortilla strips to the soup pot. Stir to combine, and cook on MEDIUM heat for 3-5 minutes. This cooking time will soften the tortilla strips which helps to slightly thicken the broth.
The next step is to add canned (mild-flavored) enchilada sauce, chopped turkey and ground cumin to the soup.
Stir these ingredients in, then cook the turkey tortilla soup for 7-8 more minutes on Medium heat. Do NOT let the soup boil. The soup is done when the turkey and the soup is fully heated through.
NOTE: If you feel the soup is too spicy (depending on the brand of enchilada sauce you used), simply add a little more water or chicken broth to even it out a bit.
Serving Turkey Tortilla Soup
To serve the turkey tortilla soup, ladle the hot soup into serving bowls. Place several baked tortilla strips on top of each serving of soup. At this point, the soup is ready to serve, unless you want to add optional toppings (which I recommend!).
OPTIONAL, BUT GOOD: If desired, garnish each serving with shredded cheddar cheese, chopped tomatoes, and cilantro leaves. A dollop of sour cream or avocado chunks can also add to the presentation and taste of this dish, too.
These extra toppings are completely OPTIONAL, but they really do add additional flavor and color to the soup. Serve immediately, and enjoy this delicious soup!
I truly hope you enjoy this tasty soup… we LOVE it, and trust you will, too! This soup is such a wonderful way to use up turkey leftovers!
Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you will come back again for more delicious recipes. Take care, may God bless you, and have a GREAT day!
Looking For More SOUP Recipes?
You can find ALL of my recipes in the Recipe Index, located at the top of the page. I have many delicious soup recipes for you to enjoy, including:
- Mom’s Old-Fashioned Chili
- Grandma’s Southern Style Chicken n’ Dumplings
- Easy Tortellini Soup
- Creamy Turkey Wild Rice Soup
- Albondigas Soup
- Turkey Mulligatawny Soup
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Original recipe source: “Southern Living Best-Loved Christmas Classics”, page 242, published 2013 by Time Home Entertainment, Inc./ Oxmoor House
↓↓ PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW ↓↓
Have leftover roast turkey? Make a pot of yummy Turkey Tortilla Soup, garnished with cheese, tomato, cilantro and baked tortilla strips!
- 10 6" corn tortillas cut in ½" strips, divided use
- vegetable cooking spray as needed
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 1 small jalapeño pepper , seeded and minced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 32 ounces chicken broth
- 2 cups chopped cooked turkey breast meat used in caloric calculation
- 10 ounce can MILD enchilada sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Place tortillas in two piles of 5 each, stacking 5 tortillas on top of each other. Slice tortillas into ½" wide strips. Reserve/set aside one stack of strips from 5 tortillas until later. Take remaining strips (from 5 tortillas) and place them on a large baking sheet in a single layer. Spray strips with cooking spray; turn and spray other side. Bake strips at 450°F for 9-10 minutes, turning them over once halfway through cooking time. Once crispy/browned, remove them from oven, let cool, then place in airtight container, plastic wrap or bag until ready to serve soup. TIP: If you start soup while tortilla strips are baking, you'll save time!
Heat olive oil on MEDIUM heat in large soup pot or Dutch oven. Once oil is hot, add onion, garlic and jalapeño. Cook 5-6 minutes, stirring often (so garlic doesn't burn) until onions are softened/slightly brown.
Add chicken broth and reserved (unbaked) tortilla strips to soup pot. Stir to combine; turn heat down to MEDIUM; cook 3-5 minutes. This will soften the tortilla strips which help to slightly thicken broth.
Add turkey, enchilada sauce, and cumin to soup. Stir well, then cook 7-8 minutes on MEDIUM heat until soup is fully heated through. Do NOT let soup boil.
To serve, ladle soup into serving bowls. Place several baked tortilla strips on top. OPTIONAL: If desired, also garnish with cheese, tomatoes, cilantro, avocado or sour cream. Serve immediately, and enjoy this delicious soup!
NOTE: Caloric calculation made using a serving size of 1 cup, and using turkey breast meat. It does NOT include optional garnishes of cheese, avocado, cilantro, tomato or sour cream, but DOES include baked tortilla strips.
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!