Chicken Tortilla Soup with Pumpkin

Chicken Tortilla Soup with Pumpkin

It was hot out yesterday, but I had a crazy craving for Chicken Tortilla Soup. I've made a lot of recipes for this soup over the years; I was craving a brothy version. I have been reading recipes on the Internet the last few days, but never had quite all the ingredients on hand and did not want to go to the store. I raided the refrigerator and the cupboards and came up with a really nice soup! 

Chicken Tortilla Soup with Pumpkin

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

1 medium sweet onion, diced

1 carrot, finely diced (I used about 15 baby carrots)

2 cloves garlic, finely diced

2 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken broth 

1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce

1/2 cup canned pumpkin purée

1/2 of a taco seasoning packet

3 tablespoons diced green chiles (from a can)

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded

Toppings:

Greek yogurt

Small soft corn tortillas

Directions:  

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add in the carrots and onions. Sauté, stirring frequently, until the veggies begin to soften, about 5 minutes. 

Add in the garlic and the taco seasoning; stir to combine and cook an additional minute. 

Add in the chicken broth, tomato sauce, green chiles, and pumpkin. Bring soup to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover pot with a lid and allow to simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. 

If you desire a smooth soup, ladle the soup into a food processor or blender to purée. Better yet, purée the soup in the pot using an immersion blender. USE CAUTION: when blending hot soup, pressure builds up. I blended my soup in my Ninja blender just a few ladles at a time.  Return soup to the pot; add in the cooked chicken. Simmer until ready to serve. 

Makes 5 servings. 

I served each bowl of hot soup with one small corn tortilla, chopped into small pieces, and a dollop of Greek yogurt. Stir it all together and enjoy!

I used 1/2 of this packet of Taco Seasoning in my soup. It's very spicy but the Greek yogurt cooled it down a bit.