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 forย maximumย effect. The melted cheese paired with the still-slightly-crisp tortilla chips is heaven.
Other Soup Recipes You Might Like
- Southwestย 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.
Fiesta Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
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 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ยผ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
- ยฝ 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.
Kei Lara says
Oh my word! I found your recipe today and had to make it for dinner! It was so delish! I didn't have enough room in the crockpot for the enchilada sauce and it was so amazing. I can't wait to make it again!
Kat Riley says
Just made this, didn't stray from the recipe. Wasn't sure I'd like it but it was really good. Think the leftovers will be even better tomorrow once the flavors meld. Good job!
Danielle T. says
I have this recipe in my crockpot right now! I can't wait to get home tonight and see how it turns out. I did two adjustments, however: I added a can of hominy (cut the corn by an ounce or two), and a third of a green pepper, chopped. We'll see what happens!!
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Cher says
Hi - currently making this soup and hoping it will be delicious. I figured out the nutrition info (I used 1 lb of chicken total and used 99% reduced fat chicken broth)
Per Serving (for 6 servings in the recipe)
Calories: 295
Carbs: 35
Fat: 5
Protein: 32
Monica says
this soup is pretty close to amazing! i have three children...7, 5 and 1 and they all enjoyed it as well. The only thing i did differently was i used three skinless thighs and they were partially frozen. I also put a few tortilla chips in my bowl and ladled the soup over the top before serving...YUM! Other than that, i wouldn't change a thing.
Heather says
Haha, isn't it? My favorite way to eat it is to make a little mound of tortillas and cheese in the bottom of the bowl and then ladle the soup over the top to melt the cheese. MMmmm.
Pam says
I made this today for dinner. I am expecting my mom any minute now and I have finished squeezing the limes and shredding the chicken. My daughter and I tested a little and OMG, I am already in LOVE with this recipe. Southwestern/Mexican flare is by far my most favorite cuisine!!! I can NOT wait to eat dinner with the garnishes to get the full effect. This soup rocks!!!
Lisa says
Wonderful soup!! I will definitely make again and again. I would like the nutritional information per serving if anyone has it.
Anne says
This soup was so good and super easy! Making it for the 2nd time. Doesn't even need the tortillas but it hey do kick it up a notch.
Rosanne says
I doubled this recipe. It seems really watery.
Heather says
Sorry it was watery after doubling, it's a pretty brothy soup to begin with but the flavor shouldn't have been off.
Karin says
I am wondering on how many adult servings are in the recipe. I would love to make this for my small book group of 12...should I double the recipe?
Heather says
It makes about 6-8 servings so I would double it for sure.
holly says
This was excellent! My only adjustments next time will be to reduce the lime juice to only one lime (i had super juicy limes and 2 was too much) and maybe cut the amount of chicken to one and half breasts. There was so much chicken that there wasn't quite enough broth.
S Gilliam says
This was absolutely wonderful...I used the medium hot enchilada sauce and added 1 jalapeรฑo....I also took fresh white corn tortillas, cut them in strips, fried them and laid them on a paper towel to drain...salted them and sprinkled them on the soup....delish!
A definite keeper.
Heather says
ooh, I love fresh cooked tortilla chips! Sounds wonderful!