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Nothing like a warm bowl of tortilla soup on a chilly winter day! This lighter version of chicken tortilla soup is healthy, flavorful, and packed with delicious ingredients.
We love a good soup—especially ones that are light and healthy. This version of chicken tortilla soup is packed with healthy protein and vegetables, similar to our Stuffed Pepper Soup and Minestrone Soup.
Light Chicken Tortilla Soup
I love a good chicken tortilla soup – in fact, we have a favorite recipe on the site. But this chicken tortilla soup recipe that we’re sharing today is light, healthy, and packed with tasty veggies and beans. Plus, it has tender shredded chicken in every bite!
This tortilla soup calls for enchilada sauce and it takes the flavor to another level! So so yummy.
Sometimes soups can be pretty heavy and too filling, but this chicken tortilla soup is on the lighter side which makes it a great healthy meal for the whole family. However, just because it’s healthy doesn’t mean it lacks in flavor.
The enchilada sauce, spices, and green chilis give this soup the BEST taste. No need to sacrifice on taste with this recipe! My entire family loved trying this, and it’s one of our favorite soup recipes now.
Chicken Tortilla Soup in the Slow Cooker
Since this soup is a crock pot recipe, it’s SO EASY to cook up for dinner/lunch or have an hand as a freezer meal.
THROW & GO. Just throw all of the ingredients into your crock pot or slow cooker (except the cheese and other toppings) and cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 3-4 hours.
CHICKEN. After everything is cooked through, remove the chicken from the crock pot to shred into bite sized pieces. Then add it back to the soup and stir to mix.
Can I use precooked chicken for chicken tortilla soup? Yes! If you have leftover shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken, you can definitely use that. Just add it to the crock pot for the last 10-15 minutes of cooking.
stovetop instructions
If you’re in a time crunch, you can make this soup on the stove top. Cook your chicken separately, and shred. Put the enchilada sauce, broth, water, tomatoes, chilies, and seasonings in a large pot and bring to a boil.
Turn the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes. Then, add the remaining ingredients (black beans and corn) and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Add in the cooked chicken last, then serve.
Storing + FREEZING
Leftover soup is my favorite, and this soup stores really well! You can keep it in an airtight container and store it in the fridge for 3-5 days.
It also freezes really well! Just put it into an airtight container or plastic bag and keep it in the freezer for up to 6 months.
To reheat, place in a pan on the stovetop and cook until heated through, or microwave individual servings for 45 seconds at a time until it reaches desired temperature.
Best Toppings
This soup is so flavorful that you don’t even need to add cheese if you don’t want to! Not adding cheese will definitely keep this soup on the healthier side. Other topping ideas include:
- sliced avocado
- a little lime juice
- sliced jalapeño
- low fat sour cream or greek yogurt
- low fat shredded cheese
- cilantro
- freshly chopped tomatoes
- tortilla strips
You can also easily make your own tortilla strips at home if you don’t want to buy them. Slice up your tortillas with a pizza cutter. You can either flash fry them in hot oil or bake in the oven at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Make sure to flip halfway through! Easy right? And super tasty.
For more chicken soups, check out:
- Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
- Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Chicken Taco Soup
- Chicken and Rice Soup
- Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
- King Ranch Chicken Soup
- Buffalo Chicken Soup
Healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken
- 10 oz can enchilada sauce
- 1 (14.25) oz can chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 1/2 (15) oz can diced tomatoes drained
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 can black beans drained & rinsed
- 1 can diced green chilis
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1/4 tsp chili powder
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp pepper
- 15 oz can corn
- cheese for topping
- 7 corn tortillas
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients, except the cheese, corn tortilla strips and avocados to your crock pot. Cook on low for 8 hours (or high for 3-4 hours).
- Take out the chicken, shred it, and add it back to the soup.
- Add cheese just before serving, and top each serving with your favorite toppings (we like corn tortilla strips and avocado).
- To make homemade corn tortilla strips, slice up corn tortillas with a pizza cutter. Flash Fry in hot oil or bake in the oven at 425 for 8-10 minutes turning halfway through. ENJOY!
- * For stove top: heat all ingredients 30-40 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe calls for 1 1/2 15 oz can diced tomatoes. Does that mean 1 can plus another 1/2 can or just 1/2 can?
At the top of the recipe is a choice of 1x 2x 3x. By pressing 2x it changes tomatoes to 3 cans so 1x is definitely 1.5 cans
This was amazing! I have a question obout the nutritional facts. The calorie amount listed is 223kcal. I never saw a k listed with calories and when I googled it they number was an insane amount. I also read that cal and kcal is sometimes used interchangeably. Can you verify if you used kcal as the same as cal?
Love the recipe. Would you cover it if making it on the stovetop? Thanks.
Yes, you can cover when the recipe calls for simmering.
I live in Florida and I make this at least twice a month all year long. It’s my absolute favorite.
Yay! That makes me so happy to hear!
How many cups is a serving?
About 1 cup
So good and easy! I put all the ingredients together the night before (minus the chicken) in the slow cooker and kept in frig. Added (frozen) chicken breasts in the morning before work. The chicken pretty much shredded itself 8 hours later when I took it out. I added a little cayenne pepper to spice it up a bit. I skipped the tortilla strips because I was too lazy, but stirred in some cheese and it was DELISH. The only thing I think I might be missing are onions. Will try that next time. Thanks for the recipe!
Is the nutrition info for just the soup? Or are the strips and avocado included?
Have not made the soup yet I need a question answered. Is this safe for a diabetic to eat?
Omfg!!! This is SOOOOO good! The flavored and the spices and just everything about it. I said mmmmm the whole time I ate it haha thank you!
What is the serving size?
About 1 cup.
excellent -made it in the pressure cooker in 30 minutes with frozen chicken!
Thanks for sharing what you did!! So glad you enjoyed!
Easiest & best chicken tortilla soup!
So good! I have a picky eater in my house (my husband) but this was a winner. So easy, healthy and great for leftovers. I added a bit of cumin to the recipe for my preference.
Thank you!! So so happy to hear it was a hit!
Your Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe looks great and I hope to make it today! I have one question on your Nutrition information page. It all looks good and listed for one serving but doesn’t include what size the serving is. Is one serving one cup?
Yes the serving size is one cup. Thanks for the question! Hope this helps!
Tortilla soup is my favorite, go-to soup! This recipe is super flavorful & love that it’s a healthier option.
One of the best soups I have ever had. It was light, but filling.everything came together easily. I even chose these leftovers over In in out on Sunday. This was easy enough to make dairy free, and soy free. This will Be on repeat in our house for a long time.
Yay!! Happy to hear that! Thank you for letting me know 🙂
Can green enchiladas sauce be used instead of red. I love both but green is a whole nother level
I haven’t tried, with this recipe, but I am sure it would still be great!
Super easy recipe, just dump everything in and let it cook all day. I added a dollop of plain greek yogurt in my serving to thicken it up a bit. My tortilla strips were a bust bc I only had flour tortillas but my second batch I seasoned with olive oil spray, chili powder, onion powder and cumin.
Thanks for the recipe!
You are so welcome! Glad you liked it! Thank you!
Sooo good! And easy! I made it on the stove top and it turned out perfect!
Yay! Glad you tried it! Thank you!
Delicious and so much flavor. Side that are an absolute must are tortilla strips, avocados and lime!
Love tortilla soup and it’s a bonus that it freezes so well! I often make a double batch – one to eat and one to freeze for a quick and easy (and healthy) dinner on a busy night!
That’s what I love to do!! Thank you!
My family loved this soup! I knew it would be a hit, we love anything Mexican!!! I’m definitely making this again!♥️
So good! Definitely a keeper for the winter months
Pretty good and healthy! I did not add water as mine was a little watery. The directions with the beans was confusing (typo I guess), so I drained the can 3/4 way. I also added sour cream which made it so much better, Greek yogurt would be yummy too!
Sorry about that, I fixed it 🙂 Thank you so much!
Do you use red or green enchilada sauce?
I use green 🙂
WhaT brand of enchilada saUce do you use?
I like Las Palmas 🙂
Unfortunately Las Palmas has MSG in the ingredients…. Have you tried other brands?
You can definitely use other brands. You can also use homemade sauce. We’ve got a homemade red and green sauce that are yummy! https://lilluna.com/red-enchilada-sauce/ https://lilluna.com/green-enchilada-sauce/
Super easy, super yummy!!
Happy you liked it!! Thank you for letting me know what you thought!!
Do i have to add the beans, got a couple kids that wont eat them or if i must can i puree th so they are a hidden flavor?
You definitely can leave them out or add something else they might like.
Amazing recipe! The flavor turned out great with the recommended seasonings and spcies 🙂
I am so glad you think that! It’s one of my favs! Thank you for letting me know!
Is the calorie count including cheese and tortillas?
Great recipe – we love tortilla soup! DELICIOUS and so easy to make!
Why does the recipe state:
“1 can black beans divided”
What am I missing?
It shouldn’t..it is the whole can 🙂 I will need to fix that. Thank you! Enjoy!!
Tortilla soup is probaBly my favorite soup. So full of flavor and in my opinion one of the healthiest because its not cream based. You can basically add all the things you like.
Made this for the family and it was a hit!
I love soups in the slow cooker! It makes the whole house cozy on a chilly day. Great recipe!
Tortilla soup has always been one of my favorite soups! I love that this has so many delicious flavors & so hearty!
What is the serving size for the nutritional info listed?
This recipe was so, soooo yummy! Even my extreme Picky mom enjoyed it. I rinsed my beanS, used low sodium chicken broth, anD fresh instead of canned tomatoEs, and it was still DELICIOUS and very flavorful!
Yay..glad your mom liked it! Thank you so much for sharing that.
This is wonderful and super easy to make! I actually made it in the instant pot and it worked perfectly. I put everything in for 20 minutes and when the steam vented, the chicken literally fell apart and was easily shredded. Definitely will be a repeat in our householld!
Thank you for sharing that!! I will have to use this recipe in the instant pot!
Do you use green or red enchilada sauce in this?
What is the serving size of the tortilla soup?
About 1 1/2 cups 🙂
I love a soup i can do in the crock pot!! My family loves tortilla soup!
The perfect winter dinner!
This soup is a big hit at my house! My favorite topping is AVOCADOS. They make it extra yummy!