El Pollo Loco Chicken Tortilla Soup (Copycat)

This El Pollo Loco Chicken Tortilla Soup is an amazing meal in a bowl. 

I love, love, love this chicken tortilla soup. It's loaded with shredded chicken and pico de gallo, and is topped with crispy tortilla strips. 

El Pollo Loco is a California based fast food chain featuring "flame-grilled citrus-marinated" chicken. Their ingredients are so fresh compared to most fast food places. If you are ever in California, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, or Utah, and you spot an El Pollo Loco, you definitely need to visit. 

To experience the original El Pollo Loco menu, I recommend ordering the "two piece combo with beans and rice." It's so good. I spent years in outside sales, driving around calling on clients and grabbing lunch on the run. El Pollo Loco was a regular stop for lunch. This chain has a special place in my heart.

When I changed careers and got a job on a college campus, one of the food courts on campus actually had an El Pollo Loco outlet! I thought I pretty much struck gold.

El Pollo Loco typically offers this chicken soup during the winter and fall months, and it's pretty amazing. 

Ingredients for El Pollo Loco Chicken Tortilla Soup:

Chicken: I used grocery store rotisserie chickens for this soup, which made preparing the soup really easy, but you can roast your own chickens. 

Chicken broth: You can use homemade or low sodium. 

Chile: Either an Anaheim or Poblano chile. 

Corn: Either fresh or frozen corn kernels. 

Fresh Pico de Gallo: You can either use store bought or your own recipe. 

Vegetables: Carrots and celery.

Herbs and spices: Ground cumin, oregano, coriander seeds, granulated garlic, fresh cilantro, salt, and pepper, plus fresh lime juice. 

Garnishes: Tortilla strips, cilantro, Cotija cheese, and avocado slices. 

I ended up frying my own tortilla strips too. You don't have to, but I love casera (homemade) style corn strips. The only problem is that I could eat them all and have none left for the soup. For the pico de gallo, I used my homemade recipe, but you can use store bought fresh pico de gallo. 

This soup, paired with a salad, is hearty enough for a meal by itself. It's also a fantastic make-ahead recipe.

This soup only takes about thirty minutes to cook once you have all of the components. 

This soup is pure comfort food. 

If you make this soup in advance, just keep the soup separate from the garnishes and tortillas before serving. 

This week we are making Take-Out Recipes! This is one of my favorite themes. 

Take Out Recipes:

• Beef and Broccoli from Hezzi-D's Recipe Box
• Chalupa Burger from A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
• Chicken Tikka Masala from That Recipe
• El Pollo Loco Chicken Tortilla Soup (Copycat) from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Golden Carolina BBQ Chicken Tenders (Cracker Barrel Copycat) from Palatable Pastime

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Originally posted August, 2017. Updated April, 2024. 

El Pollo Loco Chicken Tortilla Soup (Copycat)

Yield: 8 servings

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

Prep time: 30 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 1 Hour

This El Pollo Loco Chicken Tortilla Soup is an amazing meal in a bowl.

Ingredients

To Make the Soup

• 2 (1 1/2 pounds each) rotisserie chickens
• 2 quarts homemade or low sodium chicken broth
• 1 fresh Anaheim or Poblano chile
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 1 cup fresh pico de gallo
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Homemade or store bought corn tortilla strips (see below for homemade)
• Garnishes: cilantro, Cotija cheese, and avocado slices

Instructions

To Prepare the Soup

1. Remove the meat from the chickens and shred it (discard the skin and bones). Place the shredded chicken in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the chicken broth.
2. Slice the chile in half lengthwise, remove the stem and seeds, and brush with oil. Place the chile halves on a foil lined baking sheet, skin side up, and broil on the middle rack, until blackened. Place the hot chile in a plastic bag, and let rest a few minutes to steam. Remove the skin and discard, and dice the chile. Add to the chicken in the pot.
3. Add the corn, pico de gallo, carrots, celery, and spices, and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Add the lime juice, cilantro, salt, and pepper, and serve topped generously with corn tortilla strips and garnishes of your choice.
5. For homemade tortilla strips, cut 8 corn tortillas into 1/2 inch strips and fry in 2 cups of 360 degree vegetable oil in batches, until crispy and light brown, about one to two minutes. Drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

481

Fat (grams)

31 g

Sat. Fat (grams)

9 g

Carbs (grams)

12 g

Fiber (grams)

1 g

Net carbs

11 g

Sugar (grams)

5 g

Protein (grams)

38 g

Cholesterol (grams)

164 mg

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2017/08/el-pollo-loco-chicken-tortilla-soup.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

chicken tortilla, copycat,

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Adapted from Recipe Goldmine.