Ingredients
Soup
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast 454 g
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 medium white onion 150 g, diced
- 1 green or yellow bell pepper 150 g, seeded and diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 medium tomatoes 300 g, diced
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth 1.44 L
- 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt adjust after tasting the broth
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice 45 mL; plus lime wedges for serving
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro plus a few leaves to garnish
Crisp topping
- 4 6-inch corn tortillas about 100 g, cut into thin strips
Equipment
- 1 Large soup pot
- 1 Rimmed baking sheet
- 1 Food thermometer
- 1 Cutting board and knife
- 2 Forks for shredding chicken
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400°F (200°C). Toss tortilla strips with 1 tablespoon oil on a rimmed baking sheet and spread in one layer. Bake for 8–12 minutes, turning once, until crisp and lightly golden. Watch closely near the end.
- Meanwhile heat the remaining tablespoon oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Cook onion and bell pepper for 6–8 minutes until softened. Add garlic, tomatoes, oregano, cumin and pepper; cook for 3 minutes.
- Add broth and chicken breasts. Bring to a gentle simmer, partly cover and cook for about 15–20 minutes, depending on thickness, until a thermometer in the thickest part of each breast reads 165°F (74°C). Avoid a hard boil.
- Transfer cooked chicken to a clean board and shred with two forks. Return to the pot and heat through. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and chopped cilantro. Taste before adding the measured salt, then adjust only if necessary.
- Ladle into 4 bowls. Add crisp tortilla strips and cilantro leaves immediately before serving, with lime wedges alongside.
Nutrition
Calories: 310kcalCarbohydrates: 25gProtein: 30gFat: 11gFiber: 4g
Video
Notes
This is an adaptation using common grocery-store limes, not a claim that they taste identical to Yucatecan lima. Optional lime wedges are not included in estimated nutrition. Keep raw chicken and its juices away from ready-to-eat garnishes; do not wash raw chicken. Refrigerate soup without tortilla strips in shallow containers within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F (32°C), at 40°F (4°C) or below. Use within 3–4 days and reheat to 165°F (74°C); add fresh crisp strips afterward. Estimated nutrition per bowl includes all 2 tablespoons oil and tortillas; calculated from about 545 kcal chicken, 240 oil, 210 tortillas, 180 vegetables/citrus and 60 broth/seasonings, divided by 4, with ingredient and yield variation. Estimated cost basis: $4 chicken + $2 broth + $2.50 vegetables/limes + $1 tortillas/oil/seasoning + $0.50 cilantro, about $10 total; store prices vary. Instructional video by 2 Cooks in the Kitchen demonstrates the soup with roasted poblano, cooked shredded chicken, warm spices and grapefruit-lime citrus. This version instead gently poaches raw chicken, uses sweet pepper, bakes the tortilla strips and finishes with lime alone.