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Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup garnished with crispy tortilla strips and sharp cheddar cheese. Soup in the crock pot is the best!
It’s day 4 of soup week! All week long I’ve been sharing some of my favorite soup recipes with all of you, starting with Loaded Baked Potato Soup on Monday, Broccoli Cheese Soup on Tuesday, and cheesy Lasagna Soup yesterday. Each of those recipes are some of my go-to choices, in fact, I’ve entertained with all of them, but none of them has been around longer in my stash of recipes than today’s recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup!
How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
If you can dump a few ingredients into a slow cooker, you can successfully make this soup! Now is probably a good time to mention that you do need a 6 quart or larger slow cooker to make the full recipe. For those of you with a smaller slow cooker, go ahead and cut the recipe in half, or just cook it on the stove top in a large stock pot.
- Add ingredients to slow cooker: onions, garlic, diced tomatoes, chicken stock, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, bay leaves, and chicken to the crock pot.
- Stir to combine
- Slow Cook – on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours
- 30 minutes before it’s done – remove bay leaves, and remove the chicken to shred. Return it to the slow cooker. Add in corn, cilantro, lime juice and tortilla pieces.
- Continue cooking for 30 more minutes
- Prepare the homemade tortilla strips– heat oil in a non-stick skillet then sauté tortilla strips until crispy.
- Serve – sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese over each bowl of soup and top with crispy tortilla strips.
Chicken Tortilla Soup Variations
Make this soup your own with any of these variation suggestions:
- Add more flavor with fire-roasted diced tomatoes in place of regular diced tomatoes.
- Spicy – add in jalepeño’s and/or cayenne pepper!
- Vegetarian – skip the double and add beans for a vegetarian, plant-based version.
- Garnish – top with sour cream or chopped avocado
Storing and Freezing Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
This soup is a great make ahead option because it stores well in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and it can be frozen for 3 months.
To store in the refrigerator –
- Allow soup to cool completely.
- Store soup in an air-tight container.
- Reheat in the microwave or on the stove until heated through.
To freeze –
- Allow soup to cool completely
- Portion soup into individual containers – resealable freezer bags, freezer containers, or mason jars work. Label and date the containers.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
To reheat frozen soup –
- Allow the soup to thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Heat in the microwave or on the stove until warm.
More Slow Cooker Soup Recipes
Soup made in the slow cooker is convenient and delicious. Here are more soup recipes made in the crock pot that you need to try!
- Cream of Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
- Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup
- Slow Cooker Minestrone Soup
- Slow Cooker Chili
- Slow Cooker Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Stew
Give this Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup a try and let me know what you think. I love to hear from you! Enjoy!
Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
Equipment
- 1 Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 5 tortillas cut 2 of them into thin (about 1/4 inch) strips, and tear the remaining 3 into large pieces
- 1 onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 29 ounces diced tomatoes
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 bay leaves
- 4 boneless chicken breast halves uncooked
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped
- 14 ounces frozen corn
- Juice from 1 lime
- Shredded cheddar cheese for garnish
Instructions
- You will need a 6 quart or larger slow cooker. If you do not have a slow cooker big enough, reduce the recipe by half, or cook in a large stock pot on the stove.
- In a 6 quart slow cooker, combine diced onions, minced garlic, 2 cans diced tomatoes, 8 cups chicken stock, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, bay leaves, and 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (uncooked). Stir to combine.
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through.
- 30 minutes before you’re ready to eat, remove the bay leaves from the soup, take the chicken out of the slow cooker and use two forks to shred it. Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker. Add in frozen corn, chopped fresh cilantro, fresh lime juice, and the 3 tortillas that you tore into pieces. Cook for 30 minutes longer on low.
- Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet. When the oil is hot, add in the tortillas that you cut into strips. When the tortilla strips are nice and crispy, remove them from the pan.
- To serve, sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese over each bowl of soup and top with crispy tortilla strips.
