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Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup is a quick and easy meal that you can put in your slow cooker and forget about. This soup is packed with flavor and could be a great addition to your next taco night. 

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup in bowl

SLOW COOKER CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

When we eat out at a Mexican restaurant I always start with Chicken Tortilla Soup if they have it on the menu. It is one of my favorite soups! This Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup is one of my go-to soup recipes that I make all of the time. I love it because I can put all the ingredients in my crockpot and go about my day, returning to a warm, delicious bowl of soup.

I like to make a batch of this for taco night to accompany our meal and then use the leftovers throughout the week for lunches.

I actually think it tastes better the second or third day so the leftovers are well worth it. This soup uses chicken breasts, diced tomatoes, bell peppers, spices and chicken broth. I always offer a lot of garnish options including cheese, tortilla strips, sour cream, cilantro, green onion, lime wedges and jalapeños.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup with cilantro

I know we are heading into spring but when football season comes back around this is a great recipe to bookmark for those days. I don’t know about you but I love cozy soup recipes.

You can control the level of spice in this soup by adding extra jalapeños and cayenne pepper. I am a fan of spice so I always go with a little more than is in the recipe.

WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE IN TORTILLA SOUP?

CHICKEN: Chicken breasts are my favorite cut of chicken to use in this recipe because I think they cook best in the slow cooker. You can also use chicken tenders or chicken thighs if you want. 

LIME: Lime juice adds a nice sweet and citrusy flavor to the soup which works nicely if you add jalapeños or cayenne red pepper. 

BEANS: I like to use black beans in my Tortilla Soup recipes but you can feel free to use kidney beans, white beans, chickpeas or red beans. 

VEGETABLES: The more vegetables the better. I used diced tomatoes, green chiles, onion and bell pepper.

SPICES: The mixture of chili powder, cumin, paprika and cayenne pepper work so well together to create a warm, rich flavor. 

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup with spoon

Another bonus with this recipe is that it freezes well so if you aren’t going to eat the leftovers for lunch, freeze the soup for later. When you are ready to eat the soup just pull it out and let it sit in your fridge overnight to thaw. It is that easy and makes a great dinner when you don’t have time to cook.

I am all about quick and easy recipes these days and this is just that. Quick, easy and seriously delicious!

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup with spoon

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Yield: 6-8
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 4 hours
Total Time: 4 hours 10 minutes

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup is a warm, flavorful soup that cooks in the slow cooker while you go about your day. Garnish with your favorite toppings including avocado, lime, cilantro, sour cream, cheese and tortilla strips.

Ingredients

  • 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts {about 1 lb. of chicken}
  • 2 - 15 ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 - 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes
  • 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1- 4 ounce can chopped green chilies
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 small sweet onion, chopped
  • 1 bell pepper of your choice, seeds removed, chopped
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper {optional}
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 lime, juiced

Garnishes:

  • Cheese
  • Avocado
  • Cilantro
  • Lime Juice
  • Sour Cream
  • Tortilla strips
  • Jalapeños

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients except the lime juice and the garnishes.
  2. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 5-6 hours.
  3. With 30 minutes left in the cooking time remove chicken and shred with a fork, return to slow cooker. Add the lime juice, stir, cover and finish cooking the remaining 30 minutes.
  4. Garnish with your favorite toppings and serve warm.

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