Qdoba's Tortilla Soup

 

Qdoba-ish chicken tortilla soup

I love Qdoba's tortilla soup, although I haven't had it in quite a while.  I wanted to make some soup on this rainy fall day, and tortilla soup sounded awesome. Surprisingly, Qdoba has posted this recipe on their Facebook page, so I didn't even have to go around trying "copycat" recipes. Now, it's been so long since I've had the soup there, I can't say whether this tastes like it or not. I'll have to go there soon to see, but this soup was delicious nonetheless. Spicy, warm, vegetabley, and satisfying. A great tortilla soup.
*Update 8/11/19: I had the real Qdoba soup yesterday at the Atlanta Airport (concourse E), and it was so delightful that I tried to make this soup today. I used the tomatoes our neighbor dropped off, and I think it made the soup taste not quite right. Still good, but not what I was going for. I'll have to make it again soon. I have changed the recipe below to reflect what I think makes it more like the original. Still guessing a bit, though.
Oh, and the FB post seems to have been removed since I first wrote this post.

Qdoba's Tortilla Soup
     --adapted from Qdoba's Facebook Page

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 
• ½ cup red onion, minced 
• ½ cup poblano pepper, diced into 1/4” pieces 
• 3 cups vegetable or chicken broth (I recommend not using reduced sodium)
• 4 corn tortillas 
• 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced 
• 2 teaspoon jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed (leave those in for spicier soup)
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin 
• 1 teaspoon ground chili powder 
• 2 cups fire roasted tomatoes, diced (use the ones in a can)
• ½ cup tomatoes, crushed 
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1/2 cup grated jack cheese (optional)
• crushed tortilla chips (optional)

Instructions:
In a 2 quart sauce pot over medium heat add oil, onions, and poblanos and cook for 5 minutes.
Add garlic, jalapeno, cumin and chili powder and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
In blender, place broth and tortillas, and puree until just about smooth.
Add tortilla-broth mixture to pot along with fire roasted tomatoes and crushed tomatoes, bring to a boil.
Add shredded chicken and reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes on medium-low heat.
Season to taste and serve with cheese and jack cheese for garnish (Qdoba's original recipe on Facebook has several suggestions for garnishes that I will need to try).
Makes 6 cups

My delicious Qdoba soup at the Atlanta Airport