The BEST slow cooker chicken tortilla soup is filled with chunks of chicken, beans & corn. It is easy to make and full of flavor!
A classic and popular soup recipe – this chicken tortilla soup is always a hit! Filled with so many great ingredients and being so simple, we love to make this all year long along with our other favs – Enchilada Soup and White Chicken Chili.
THe best & easiest soup!
I’m in Soup Mode right now and taking advantage of this cool fall weather to try out even more soups.
I mean, how can you NOT love them?
Today’s recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup tastes so good and is so simple that we wanted to make sure you could try it too. Being Hispanic, our family loves anything with tortillas, so this recipe was right up our alley.
We ended up topping it off with some homemade tortilla strips and cubed avocado, which made it even that much better!
If I’m going to be honest, if a recipe calls for Chicken and Avocados, I pretty much know I’ll love it. 😉 Put it in a soup form, and I love it even more. This really is the best and easiest soup!
How to Make Tortilla Soup
CHICKEN. Cook the chicken and shred (or cube) it – for tips on shredding chicken GO HERE. You can also buy a rotisserie chicken and shred.
COOK. Add the shredded chicken, chicken stock (or chicken broth), corn, diced tomatoes, onion, green chiles, black beans, garlic and seasonings (cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper) to the crock pot and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, or HIGH for 3-4.
SERVE. Stir in cheese just before serving.
TORTILLA STRIPS. If you want to make homemade tortilla strips for sprinkling on top, cut corn tortillas into strips with a pizza cutter. You can either flash fry in hot oil, or bake at 425° for 8-10 minutes turning halfway through. You can also crush tortilla chips as well.
Aside from the tortilla strips, here are other topping ideas:
- Dairy: more shredded cheese, sour cream, queso fresco
- Diced avocado
- Chopped green onions
- Cilantro
- Limes
Stovetop Instructions
To make tortilla soup on the stovetop:
- BOIL. Simply put all the ingredients (minus the cheese and toppings) into a large pot, and cook on medium-high heat to bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
- GARNISH + SERVE. Dish into bowls. Add cheese just before serving, and top with your favorite toppings!
Recipe Tips
Change it up: Add any other favorite ingredients to make it how you like it: pinto beans, kidney beans, chopped bell peppers, etc. You can also add other seasonings like taco seasoning for added flavor.
How to make it vegetarian: To make this soup vegetarian, just eliminate the chicken and use vegetable broth instead of chicken stock. For a dairy free version, leave out the cheese and don’t top with sour cream.
How to thicken it: Our favorite way to thicken tortilla soup is to use masa harina, which is traditional Mexican flour used to make tortillas. You can whisk a little bit of this in to give it a distinctive flavor and to thicken. If you don’t like the flavor of masa harina, you can use regular flour to thicken the soup.
How to make it creamy: This slow cooker chicken tortilla soup is definitely more on the broth-y side, but can also be made creamy. In the last 30 minutes of cooking in the crock pot, just add 2/3 cup heavy cream and ⅓ cup sour cream, and it will be nice and creamy!
FAQ
How to store? To store, place in a tupperware and store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
How to freeze? To freeze, let the soup cool first, then freeze in an airtight container or freezer bag, making sure you omit the toppings.
When you’re ready to REHEAT, let the soup thaw overnight in the fridge (if frozen) and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
What to serve it with? Some of our favorites include:
For more chicken soup recipes:
- Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Crock Pot Enchilada Soup
- Chicken Tortellini Soup
- White Chicken Chili
- Chicken Dumpling Soup
Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 cups chicken stock or chicken broth
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 1-2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes drained
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can corn drained
- 1 (15.25-ounce) can black beans drained
- 1 (4-ounce) can diced green chiles
- ½ cup chopped onion optional
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ¾ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
Toppings (Optional)
- corn tortilla strips (store-bought or homemade), sour cream, shredded Monterey Jack cheese, chopped avocado, cilantro
Instructions
- In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients except the toppings.
- Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 3–4 hours.
- Add cheese, tortilla strips and other favorite toppings right before serving.
I have been looking for a recipe for a chicken tortilla soup. AMAZING!!!!
My favorite tortilla soup recipe right now! It’s in our dinner rotation. Easy to make and delicious!
Made this for dinner last night and the family loved it. Definitely will be on rotation. Thx
in your nutrition facts I would like to know what is the serving size?
It’s about 1 cup.
WOW. That’s all I have to say! It was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S 🙂
I cooked the chicken in the crock pot at first so I could have all the flavor in my soup and I added some Knorr “Caldo de Tomate” along with the chicken stock to add a little kick…. I really liked it!
This is a recipe that I’ll keep… and I don’t keep a lot of recipes usually, so yah, it’s THAT good 🙂 Thanks!!!
Oh thank you so much!! I’m so happy to hear that you loved the soup! Thanks for sharing what you did too.
I love your recipes! They are easy to follow
and my family and friends always ask for
seconds!
Thank you!
Oh thank you so much for the kind words. I’m so glad you enjoy the recipes!!
OMG, this is the easiest and BEST chicken tortilla soup ever.
Thank you! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed it!
We will be having this April 13 at a family gathering. Perfect for our group!
Oh that’s so awesome! Hope the gathering goes well!
Absolutely delicious. This is the 2nd time I have made this for my family and there is never any left. So easy to make and so good.
So good love this my husband is also in love thank you and god bless
This was such a hit at my house. My daughter loves Newk’s chicken tortilla soup and she said this soup was “Newk’s good!” I cooked this on the stove and used a rotisserie chicken. I did double all of the ingredients except for the chicken broth and chicken but I used a large can of crushed tomatoes instead of the diced. I sautéed the onions, green chili’s, garlic and spices until the onions were soft and garlic was fragrant then added all other ingredients. I let it simmer for around an hour and it was perfect! Topped with sour cream and cheese with tortilla strips! Excellent!! Will be in the rotation from now on!!
Yummmmm!!! Will definitely make this again 😋
So, there was this restaurant called Reata Grill I used to work at in Woodland Hills, California back in 2005. This restaurant originally is from Texas… anyway… they opened a location in CA, then this restaurant closed around 2005/06.
My favorite item on that menu is their tortilla soup. I have never…. NEVER found the same type of tortilla soup in any other restaurant till this day. I had even searched the internet for YEARS! “Reata Grill tortilla soup”…. I could never find it. All recipes have that red broth and none of them tasted the same…
Until today… let me tell you… you have THAT tortilla soup recipe. It was nostalgic! I almost cried! 😂
That’s 17 years of searching for this recipe and you my dear, gave me that. Kristyn, thank you.
Almost reminded me of that scene from ratatouille where he tasted something that just reminded him of his childhood. I now know what he experienced from this soup.
Please, be proud of what you do, because you just gave me happiness. Food is always a way to reach people from all around the world, and some may disagree, but also reaches their hearts. You are amazing and again thank you for this recipe. It may seem silly, but it’s something I will never forget.
Thank you so much! It’s messages like this that bring me even more joy and fulfillment with my job! So happy you found this recipe and it could bring back those fond memories. Thanks for sharing!
I absolutely love your recipes!! The Taco Salad Casserole was fantastic! I used canned biscuits & cut them in half sideways to save time. My husband loves casseroles & he really enjoyed this one. Thanks again for giving us all great recipes. My next recipe is going to be the Minestrone Soup. It is raining a lot & this sounds like it will be the perfect dish to have!!🫶🫶🫶🫶🫶
Oh, that makes me so happy to hear!! Thank you for sharing that & I hope you like the soup!
Delicious soup. A hit at my ladies lunch.
Siri, is there a method to use for an Insta pot?
You could make this in an instant pot! Add ingredients to the IP (you could use raw chicken), then cook for about 10 minutes on high, then let naturally release for 10-15 minutes. Shred the chicken then add back to the soup and season as needed. Then add your toppings! Should taste delicious!
My new favorite soup! This recipe is so easy and full of flavor. I added the heavy cream and sour cream because I prefer a creamy soup. You can’t go wrong with this one.
Thank you! I’m so glad you enjoyed… the creamy variation is delicious too!