This Fiesta Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup is, hands-down my favorite slow cooker recipe. It takes just a few minutes to throw into the crockpot and cooks up full of flavor!
I’ve shared a lot of recipes over the years with friends and family but, this slow cooker chicken tortilla soup is hands down the one that gets requested the most often. Honestly, I’m really surprised I haven’t already shared it if only to prevent me from having to email it to someone new. Forwarding emails are such taxing work, you know. I’d much rather sit and eat bon bons and watch Parenthood (do bon bons still exist?).
Here are a few reasons why I think this slow cooker chicken tortilla soup is a favorite (in no particular order):
- It’s absolutely the BEST tortilla soup I’ve ever tried. Lots of trial and error has gone into making this soup my be-all-end-all. If soup eating were a sport, I would win something while eating this and you would too.
- It’s drop dead easy. Put (mostly) all of the ingredients into the slow cooker in the morning and come dinner time you have a hot, hearty soup that took you 10 minutes to make.
- It makes you feel amazing and has healing abilities. This is the direct result of #1 and #2. People will love it. You’ll feel really cool. You’ll start day dreaming about cooking for Graham Elliot on Master chef. You’ll eventually realize Graham will want you to cook more than just tortilla soup and decide not to audition. You’ll feel sad until you realize there’s still soup in the fridge. All is well. All is well.
- It’s a texture thing. Crunchy tortilla chips topped with cheese turn magical when you add a ladle-full of hot soup brimming with beans and chicken. Throw some diced avocado and a dollop of sour cream into the mix, and you just created a euphoric textural symphony of taste in a bowl. The only thing that could make it better would be a unicorn sitting at your dining room table with you. And maybe some flan.
Now that I’ve pretty much covered the “why,” let’s focus on the “how.” You’ll start by adding red enchilada sauce, chopped green chiles, diced tomatoes, and black beans into your slow-cooker.
Followed by some frozen corn kernels…
…spices like cumin and chili powder, salt, oregano, and a bay leaf. You’ll also chop up an onion and a few cloves of garlic and add them into the mix. You’ll then pour a few cups of chicken broth over everything and stir it.
As a general rule, I never like to add frozen meat to my slow-cooker since it takes so long for it to come up to temperature. But, I break that rule whenever I make this soup. Such a rebel, I know. But I reason that the chicken breasts are individual, and the soup itself is brothy so they defrost really quickly and it saves me a step. Add two boneless skinless chicken breasts into the slow-cooker.
Let it rip and roll and do it’s thing on HIGH for 3-4 hours or on LOW for 6-8. It’s ready when the chicken shreds easily. Remove that easily shred-able chicken from the soup and shred it up. Meanwhile, stir a big handful of chopped fresh cilantro and the juice of 2 limes into the soup.
Return the chicken to it’s home and serve hot with corn chips and cheese for maximum effect. The melted cheese paired with the still-slightly-crisp tortilla chips is heaven.
Other Soup Recipes You Might Like
- Southwest Potato Corn Chowder
- Keto Chicken Soup
- Award Winning Best Crockpot chili recipe
- Slow Cooker Tortellini Soup
- Thai Ramen
- Instant Pot Lentil Soup
- Chicken Salsa Chili
- BBQ Chicken Chili
- Instant Pot Chicken Dumpling Soup
Tools used in making this Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ninja 3-in-1 Cooking System: I’ve owned this slow cooker for about six years (when they were first introduced), and I still love it. The stovetop feature allows me to sear and cook meats before allowing them to slow cook (fewer dishes) and there’s a bake feature as well.
Ingredients
- 1 can 15oz petite diced tomatoes
- 1 can 10 oz red enchilada sauce
- 1 can 4 oz diced green chilies
- 1 can 14.5 oz black beans, drained
- 10 oz frozen corn kernels
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 4 C chicken broth
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 C fresh cilantro chopped
- 2 limes juiced
- tortilla chips cheese, sour cream, avocado for serving
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients except for the cilantro and lime juice in a slow-cooker.
- Cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours or LOW for 6-8 hours.
- Remove chicken from soup, shred into bite-sized pieces and return to soup.
- Stir in chopped cilantro and lime juice.
- Serve with tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, and avocado if desired.
Quick suggestion. The print button under the photo doesn’t display very well. I t took me a while to find it. Perhaps it could be more prominent? Also, is it possible to provide a printed version that fits a recipe card? Meanwhile I am looking forward to serving this at a luncheon meeting I am hosting tomorrow. Looks wonderful but will make it overnight and keep warm for the lunch.
Can this be made without the chicken (veg.)?
Yum this makes me really want to invest in a slow cooker, which brand do you use? Is there a difference between a crock pot and slow cooker?
This is easily my favorite crock pot recipe. I have made it four times already, and I keep sharing it with all my friends.
So great to hear! It might be one of the slow cooker recipes I make the most, too!
We are not fond of cilantro…is there something else I might substitute?
You can just omit it all together or just parsley in its place.
Was going to make albondigas for our cinco de mayo recipe then stumbled on this I don’t have time to do this in the slow cooker but I’m going to try it over the stove and see what magic happens I love that gooey crunchy magic cheese and tortillas make in mexican sopas
Oh my goodness. I usually don’t blindly follow recipes off the internet but I followed your recipe exactly. And I have to say I was a bit skeptical about the lime. But oh no. It was delicious. And easy. – I’m a mother to a 11 month old and am 5 months pregnant. I thank you for a delicious EASY meal. Hubby loved loved loved it. Yay! Thanks again.
My grandson is allergic to tomatoes. Do you think I could substitute a green enchilada sauce? Soup sounds so yummy!
Absolutely! Green enchilada sauce will make for a tangier soup (I think) but sounds good to me!
This would not fit in my slow cooker so I have it on the stove on low. It smells amazing and the broth is delicious.
I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of the breast meat due to personal preference. I also added some smoked paprika and used ancho chili powder because that is what I had on hand.
I can’t wait for the finished soup! I have my avocado, sour cream, cheese and blue tortilla chips waiting! Thank you for the amazing recipe!
I just made this tonight. It was delicious! I didn’t have time for the slow cooker method so I used the breasts of a precooked chicken and simmered on my stove top for about 45 min. till onions were translucent. It was so incredible. I can’t wait to taste it slow simmered in the crock pot! Will be making this again, soon! Thank you for sharing!
Fabulous recipe! Thanks! I added a bit more chicken broth and about a cup of macaroni noodles. Delicious served with shredded cheese and avocado! Thanks!
This looked so inviting after reviewing several of the recipes via Google Search. I used left over rotisserie chicken, but otherwise followed the recipe as written. It’s been in the crock pot for 1 hour now and the scent is heavenly. Can’t wait to have family meal together tonight!
I think that this may be gluten free if you use your homeade chicken broth, I have just started a gluten free diet yesterday and think that this may fit the diet. This is great!
So I finally made this soup and it was good. I was sceptical
at first with the enchilada sauce, since I make my own, but it was fine. I used the tomatoes with green chilies in it but next time I will add more green chilies. The avocado
and lime were the finishing touch to this fantastic meal. Gracias. Muy Rico!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! It was sooooo easy, which is a must for me since I do not love to cook! I followed the recipe exactly and it was amazing!! Even my kids loved it! My picky son had four bowls! They are already asking me to make it again!! 🙂
I was going to share this on facebook… but all your thumbnails are horrid.
Good recipe though.
Sorry about that, I wonder why they are so bad. Hmmm..
I want to try this but have a question, do I put raw whole boneless skinless chicken breasts in or precook them. Thank you. Can’t wait to try it.
VERY EASY!!!!!
Two changes…….I used the leftovers from a whole chicken AND I added it half way through ….unlike the directions.
Enjoy!!!!!
I had to pick your recipe because I’m Heather and I, too, like food! I’m trying this today! I cannot wait until it’s done. 🙂
I live overseas and can not find red enchilada sauce. Do you have any suggestions for substitution? Thanks!
Hi Lucy. You can make your own enchilada sauce depending on the availability of chilies!! I use New Mexico whole chilies or Colorado chilies. I boil the whole chilie pod with onions, garlic, some tomato sauce or tomatoes. When it’s all boiled put it in the blender and mix it all up. Add seasoning like salt, cumin, and mix away. If it’s too hot add water. Enjoy.
I make my own enchilada sauce. Take a quarter cup of oil and mix it with 1/8 cup chili powder. Next, add two tablespoons of flour to it and let it simmer for two minutes. Next, add an 8oz can of tomato sauce, 1 cup of water and one tablespoon of onion powder, garlic powder, and cumin each.
We made this with leftover turkey from Thanksgiving…..holy cow it was amazing!! Making it again today. This is one soup that will always be a favorite in our house..thank you!!