5 Delicious Upgrades For Chick-Fil-A's Chicken Tortilla Soup

If you're craving chicken tortilla soup but don't want to make it from scratch, you can find it at a popular fast food chain: Chick-Fil-A. The chain's chicken tortilla soup — which is a seasonal item – consists of a creamy white soup base with veggies, peppers, navy and black beans, shredded chicken, as well as seasoned tortilla strips. The soup comes in two sizes: a cup and a bowl.

Of course, like any dish from a fast food joint, the soup is not going to be quite as good as if you made chicken tortilla soup from scratch. However, there are a few ways you can upgrade Chick-Fil-A's soup at home without too much effort, so that the end result is a tastier version. These simple ingredients will elevate your to-go soup into something heartier and more flavorful.

Many fans of chicken tortilla soup would agree that the dish is not complete without either a dollop of sour cream or a sprinkle of shredded cheese. If you agree with this sentiment, then this should be the first thing you do when you bring home a bowl of the Chick-Fil-A soup.

Adding sour cream will help balance out the spiciness of the dish so the heat isn't too overpowering with its cool, tangy, and creamy nature. If you're not a sour cream person, then a good amount of shredded cheese can have a similar effect and it will add some extra richness to the dish. Try cheddar, monterey Jack, Cotija, or whichever cheese you think will work best. Or go ahead and add both!

Chick-Fil-A's soup already has some heat to it — it contains green chilies and chili powder — but, if you have a high spice tolerance, it may need more of a kick. All you have to do is add hot sauce. As for what hot sauce to use, a Mexican-style hot sauce like Tapatio, Cholula or Valentina would work well. If you need more recommendations, you can check out our list of the best hot sauce brands, ranked. 

Or, you can mix in a spicy seasoning to increase the level of heat. Try a pinch of cayenne pepper or chili powder. Whatever method you choose, be sure to taste the soup before you add in any spicy ingredients to get a sense of how much you need.

Chick-Fil-A's chicken tortilla soup comes with a bag of seasoned tortilla strips, but for some, that may not be enough crunch. Try adding a generous handful of full-sized tortilla chips, either for dipping or to crush and add to the soup. This will make the soup a heartier meal.

You'll want some good tortilla chips with lots of crunch. In our ranking of the best store-bought tortilla chips, we placed the lesser known Xochitl salted corn chips in the top spot. Of course, whatever bag of tortilla chips you have in your pantry will also suffice.

As is, the chicken tortilla soup from Chick-Fil-A contains onions, corn, bell peppers, and celery. You could bump up the amount of these veggies with the addition of your own, or add something new, like fresh or pickled jalapeños, red onion, diced tomatoes or green onion.

Another delicious addition? Avocado. Of course, avocados are technically a fruit, but sliced avocado is often added to tortilla soup for a reason. If you've got a container of guacamole in the fridge, a scoop of that would also work. Another fruit that would add extra flavor would be a squeeze or two of fresh lime.

If you're looking to upgrade Chick-Fil-A's chicken tortilla soup into a bigger meal, the obvious choice would be to add more chicken. Shredded rotisserie chicken is a delicious way to make the tortilla soup heartier. (And hit your protein goals.) You could grab the famous $4.99 rotisserie chicken from Costco — the store uses rotisserie chickens to make other prepared foods once they've sat out for two hours. 

But if you already have leftover chicken in your fridge, this is a great use for it. Just slice up what you have left over, heat it up, and add it to your bowl. To make the ultimate loaded chicken tortilla soup, combine all of these upgrade tips in one delicious bowl — and top with fresh cilantro.