Chicken Tortilla Chowder
As a student attending college full-time, I find my time in the kitchen is limited. This recipe helps me have a hot meal on the table when my husband gets home. He's a real meat-and-potatoes man, but he absolutely loves this thick, creamy chowder with tortilla strips that puff up like homemade noodles.
As a student attending college full-time, I find my time in the kitchen is limited. This recipe helps me have a hot meal on the table when my husband gets home. He's a real meat-and-potatoes man, but he absolutely loves this thick, creamy chowder with tortilla strips that puff up like homemade noodles.
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 1/2 oz sliced mushrooms drained
- 14 1/2 ounces chicken broth
- 10 3/4 ounces condensed cream of chicken soup undiluted
- 10 3/4 ounces condensed cream of potato soup undiluted
- 2 cups chicken cubed cooked
- 11 oz mexicorn
- 4 oz chopped green chilies
- 1/4 cup green onions thinly sliced
- 4 flour tortillas cut into 1/2-inch strips
- Carbohydrate 35.0080481702504 g
- Cholesterol 111.855868567742 mg
- Fat 30.8691956485582 g
- Fiber 1.65812817537318 g
- Protein 32.5606616853098 g
- Saturated Fat 11.6234988166079 g
- Serving Size 1 1 -10 (355g)
- Sodium 1182.65069946517 mg
- Sugar 33.3499199948772 g
- Trans Fat 2.60771082015804 g
- Calories 549 calories
Step-by-step
- In a Dutch oven, combine the broth, soups and milk.
- Stir in the chicken, corn, mushrooms, chilies and onions.
- Bring to a boil.
- Add the tortilla strips.
- Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until heated through.
- Add cheese; stir just until melted.
- Serve immediately.
Unlike a thin, broth-based tortilla soup that relies on clear chicken stock and fried garnishes, this chowder builds body from condensed cream soups and dairy. Managing the dairy requires strict temperature control because high heat causes milk proteins to curdle and separate into an unappealing graininess. Keep the Dutch oven at a gentle simmer rather than a rolling boil once the milk is incorporated.
Scaling for Different Pot Sizes
Halving this recipe safely requires adjusting your pot volume to prevent rapid evaporation, which concentrates the sodium from the canned soups and broth. Use a 3-quart heavy-bottomed pot instead of a Dutch oven when cutting the batch in half. Conversely, doubling the yield for a crowd demands a wider vessel so the flour tortilla strips submerge evenly without sticking to the bottom.
Avoiding Common Mistakes
Adding the shredded cheddar cheese too early is the most frequent error cooks make with dairy-heavy chowders. Introduce the cheese off the direct heat source or over the lowest possible flame, stirring continuously until melted. High heat turns melted cheese into a stringy, rubbery mass that refuses to emulsify into the liquid.
