Hearty Chunky Beef Tortilla Soup
This Hearty Chunky Beef Tortilla Soup recipe transforms a tough cut of beef into incredibly tender, flavorful bites in a rich and smoky broth. It's perfect for a weekend or a day when you can let the soup simmer.
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 3 hr 30 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 ½ lbs beef chuck roast (cut into 1-inch cubes)
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion (chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 15-ounce can corn, drained (or 1 ½ cups frozen corn)
- 1 14.5-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 4-ounce can diced green chiles, undrained
- 4 cups beef broth
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 5 bay leaves
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Tortilla chips or fried tortilla strips
- Shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt
- Avocado
- Fresh cilantro (chopped)
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- 1
Sear the Beef: Pat the beef cubes dry with a paper towel and season generously with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding, brown the beef cubes on all sides. This creates a deep, rich flavor. Remove the browned beef and set it aside.
- 2
Sauté Aromatics: Reduce the heat to medium. Add the chopped onion to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping up the browned bits from the bottom, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant.
- 3
Build the Soup Base: Stir in the chili powder, cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika. Cook for one minute to toast the spices.
- 4
Simmer: Pour in the beef broth, scraping the bottom of the pot to release any remaining flavor. Return the seared beef to the pot. Add the fire-roasted tomatoes, green chiles, black beans, and corn.
- 5
Cook for Tenderness: Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot and let the soup simmer for at least 3 to 4 hours, or until the beef is fork-tender and falls apart easily.
- 6
Serve: Ladle the hot soup into bowls. Top with your favorite garnishes and serve immediately.
- 7
Sear First (Optional but recommended): While you can skip this step, browning the beef in a skillet before adding it to the slow cooker will significantly improve the depth of flavor. Follow Step 1 from the stovetop method.
- 8
Combine Ingredients: Place the seared beef cubes (or raw cubes if skipping the sear), chopped onion, minced garlic, all the spices, beef broth, fire-roasted tomatoes, green chiles, black beans, and corn into the slow cooker.
- 9
Cook: Stir to combine, then cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours, until the beef is incredibly tender.
- 10
Serve: Ladle into bowls and top with desired garnishes.