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The BEST slow cooker chicken tortilla soup is filled with chunks of chicken, beans & corn. It is easy to make and full of flavor!
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!
We are always in soup mode when the cool fall weather approaches!
One of our all-time favorite chicken soup recipes is our Chicken Tortilla Soup. My grandma Luna has been making this for my mom and then her for us for decades.
Why we love it:
- So easy – so yummy! This is one of the easiest soup recipes out there! Prep time only takes 15 minutes and the flavor is incredible.
- Made on stove or in slow cooker. Whether you have a little more time or not, this soup can be made any way.
- Toppings galore. With all the fixings that go on top, like tortilla strips, sour cream, tomatoes, avocado, fresh cilantro, lime wedges and more – this recipe is hard NOT to love.
Tortilla Soup Ingredients
- Chicken Stock or Chicken Broth – Both work great!
- Shredded Cooked Chicken – Cook the chicken breasts and shred (or cube) them – for tips on shredded chicken GO HERE. You can also buy a rotisserie chicken and shred it or even used cooked chicken thighs.
- Diced Tomatoes – You can also use canned fire-roasted tomatoes.
- Corn – It’s the perfect addition to this soup.
- Black Beans – Use pinto beans or kidney beans too.
- Diced Green Chiles – Mild or hot work, but we typically do mild.
- Onion (optional) – Instead, you can add minced onions or onion powder. For other veggies, try chopped bell peppers.
- Seasonings + Spices: We use minced garlic, salt, black pepper, ground cumin, chili powder.
How to Make Tortilla Soup
This chicken tortilla soup recipe is a dump-and-go favorite!
- COMBINE. In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients except the toppings.
- COOK. Cook on LOW for 8 hours or on HIGH for 3–4 hours.
- GARNISH. Add cheese, tortilla strips, and other favorite toppings right before serving.
Stovetop Instructions
Easily make tortilla soup on the stovetop with these simple instructions:
- 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!
Instant Pot Instructions
To make this chicken tortilla soup recipe in an Instant Pot, follow these steps:
- Select the sauté function on the Instant Pot and heat a small amount of oil.
- Add chopped onions and minced garlic to the pot and sauté until they become fragrant and softened.
- Next, add the shredded cooked chicken, diced tomatoes, corn, black beans, diced green chiles, chicken stock, salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder to the pot. Stir well to combine.
- Close the Instant Pot lid and set the vent to sealing.
- Select the manual or pressure cook function and set the timer for 10 minutes on high pressure.
- Once the cooking time is complete, allow for a natural pressure release for about 5 minutes. Then, carefully perform a quick release for the remaining pressure.
Note: The cooking time may vary slightly depending on the specific model of your Instant Pot.
Recipe Tips
- Make it creamy. This slow cooker chicken tortilla soup is definitely more on the brothy side, but can also be made creamy. In the last 30 minutes of cooking in the crock pot, just add ⅔ cup heavy cream and ⅓ cup sour cream, and it will be nice and creamy!
- Make Homemade Tortilla strips. Simply cut corn tortillas into strips with a pizza cutter. You can either flash fry in hot oil or bake at 425°F for 8-10 minutes turning halfway through. You can also crush tortilla chips as well.
- Toppings. 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
Storage
- STORE. To store, place tortilla soup in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
- FREEZE. To freeze, let the tortilla soup recipe cool first, then freeze in an airtight container or freezer bag, making sure you omit the toppings.
- To reheat. Let the recipe for chicken tortilla soup thaw overnight in the fridge (if frozen) and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
- Serving suggestions. Serve this with: Homemade Tortillas, Mexican Cornbread, Cheese Quesadillas, Cheese Crisps.
For more soups:
Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
The BEST slow cooker chicken tortilla soup is filled with chunks of chicken, beans & corn. It is easy to make and full of flavor!
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.
Video
Notes
Stove top directions. In a large pot, combine all ingredients except the toppings over medium-low heat. Simmer for 20–30 minutes, or until soup is heated through. Ladle into bowls and add cheese, tortilla strips, and other favorite toppings.
Variations. This slow cooker chicken tortilla soup is more on the brothy side. For a different texture, during the last 30 minutes of cooking in the slow cooker, just add ⅔ cup heavy cream and ⅓ cup sour cream to make the soup nice and creamy!
CORN TORTILLA STRIPS: To make homemade corn tortilla strips, slice corn tortillas with a pizza cutter into thin strips. Heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat and flash fry strips in the oil until golden and crispy, 30–60 seconds. Or, toss strips in a bowl with 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil and spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in the oven at 425°F for 8–10 minutes, turning halfway through.
Nutrition
Serving: 1cup, Calories: 95kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 7mg, Sodium: 927mg, Potassium: 285mg, Fiber: 0.4g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 37IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 16mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Yum. I used your recipe as a base and as always I can’t leave anything in the original form. :). I used two cans drained of fire roasted tomatoes and also added cilantro in the mixture. Because of time I pulled apart a rotessiere chicken. Other than that I followed the recipe and it’s delish.
Hi, I’m planning on making this for my husband n his family, we’re a total of 5, and I was wondering how many servings does this recipe call for?
Made this soup on Sunday and it was really good, my daughter took it back to school with her. This was a big hit, yesterday made it again but used a large can of crushed tomatoes instead of the diced tomatoes. Totally changed the soup up a bit.
SO glad you guys liked it! I’m curious… which did you like better? The can of crushed tomatoes or the diced tomatoes?
We preferred the crushed tomatoes. There is a difference in the thickness of the broth. The next time I fix this I am going to double the recipe and try one can of diced tomatoes and 2 cans of crushed tomatoes. Also wanted to mentioned that the avocado really topped this soup off, will try sour cream on it.
Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Made your chicken tortilla soup for dinner tonight. SO GOOD!!! I made a couple of minor tweaks because we were snowed in today – I had to add some dried Georgia Flame chile peppers and some pickled poblano & jalapeño peppers from our garden in place of canned chili peppers. I also added a can of crushed tomato in place of the diced because it was on the shelf. I tweaked the spices a bit to taste – added a dash of smoked paprika, a dash of Badia Sazon and some extra cumin. By the time we had dug out and the storm had passed, the soup was ready. We hit the store for the toppings – avocado, diced fresh tomato, low fat monterey jack, diced red onion, tortilla chips and some fresh cilantro. Added a little dollop of sour cream and baby, that was some good eats! Thank you so much for sharing this great recipe! Sue
Hi there, just made your recipie today and I used diced tomatoes and habanero for extra kick to the soup. They were 10 oz cans so I used two since your two ingredients were mixed. Turned out great. I only wish the chicken stock would be a little bit thicker. Any advice?
Paulina, I didn’t have any diced canned tomato, so I added a large can of crushed tomato. I think that helped to thicken the soup. We also topped it off with a dollop of sour cream, which also added thickness and richness when served. Delish!