Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe is the absolute best comfort food and it is so simple to make in the slow cooker. This recipe can feed a crowd and it is so easy on the budget while tasting incredible.
Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup is one of the first meals my family asks for when the weather turns cool. I add everything to the slow cooker in the morning and come home to dinner ready to serve. With eight kids, I love setting out tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, and avocado so everyone can build their own bowl.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe!
- Truly dump-and-go. There’s no searing, no sautéing, and no pre-cooking — everything goes into the slow cooker raw, so morning prep takes about 5 minutes.
- Budget-friendly. This whole pot costs about $18.35, or roughly $3.06 a serving — an easy way to feed a crowd without a big grocery bill.
- Freezer-friendly. Make a double batch and freeze half for a night when cooking isn’t an option at all.
- Build-your-own toppings bar. Set out cheese, avocado, and crushed tortilla chips and let everyone customize their own bowl — an easy win for picky eaters.
- Ready when you walk in the door. Load the crockpot before you leave in the morning and dinner is done by the time you’re home from work or school pickup.
After 14 years of developing recipes I know that the best slow cooker soups are always the ones that taste like they simmered all day with almost zero effort from you — and this Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup proves that every single time for just $3.06 a serving.
If you love easy slow cooker soup recipes like this one you will also love our Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe, Crockpot Taco Soup Recipe, and Crockpot Minestrone Soup Recipe. They are all budget-friendly, made with simple ingredients, and the kind of hearty warming soups your family will request every single fall and winter on repeat.
Ingredients
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
- Black Beans
- Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles (roasted tomatoes are also good
- Onion
- Corn
- Chicken Broth
- Chili Powder
- Cumin
- Garlic Salt
A Note on Spice Level: As written, this soup has a mild, gentle warmth from the chili powder and diced tomatoes with green chiles — it’s not a spicy soup. For an even milder version, use a can of plain diced tomatoes instead of the diced tomatoes with green chiles. If your family likes more heat, stir in a diced jalapeño with the onion or top bowls with hot sauce.
How to Make Chicken Tortilla Soup in the Crock Pot
Step 1 – Place Ingredients in the Slow Cooker – Toss everything in your crockpot (not including chips, cheese, and cilantro) in the morning.
Step 2 – Slow Cook Chicken Tortilla Soup- Cover and cook on low all day (6 to 8 hours).
Step 3 – Shred Chicken – The chicken is ready when it reaches 165°F on an instant-read thermometer and shreds apart easily with two forks. Once cooked, shred the chicken and place it back into the crockpot and stir.
Step 4 – Serve and Enjoy – To Serve, spoon into a bowl, top with crushed tortilla chips or add tortilla strips. We also like to add shredded cheese and fresh cilantro if you have it.
Tips for Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Prepare in Advance: You can chop the onion and measure out the spices the night before to save time in the morning. If you’re prepping ingredients ahead to freeze, freeze them in a bag and thaw completely in the fridge before adding to the slow cooker — for food safety, chicken should be fully thawed before it goes into the crockpot.
- Cooking – We like to cook on low for about 6 hours, but you can cook on high for about 4 hours if you prefer.
- Slow Cooker Size: This recipe is written for a 6-quart slow cooker. If you only have a smaller 4-quart size, you can still make it — just check that the chicken and liquid don’t come within an inch of the rim before cooking, and add a little extra time if needed.
What to Serve with Chicken Tortilla Soup
This soup is perfect served by itself but we like to serve it with a side of tortilla chips or crushed chips. You can even let your kids do the chip crushing, because that is the best part with this dinner. My kids love this easy slow cooker soup.
It’s really good with fresh lime juice squeezed on top.
- Chips and Queso – Anytime we make this soup, I love to have a side of chips and queso. This queso recipe is creamy, delicious and easy to make.
- Guacamole – A side of guacamole is perfect served with this soup or to serve on top.
- Salsa – Chips and salsa is an amazing side for this soup recipe.
- Cornbread – This cheddar jalapeno cornbread recipe would be delicious served with this soup. It give this soup a little extra kick because of the jalanpeno.
Recipe Variations
- Chicken: We used chicken breast in this recipe, but you can easily use chicken thighs or chicken tenders. If you have leftover or rotisserie chicken, stir in about 3 cups of shredded chicken with the rest of the ingredients and cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high for 1.5-2 hours — just until everything is heated through and the flavors have combined.
- Meatless – You can even make this soup without the chicken for a hearty veggie soup.
- Beans – We used black beans in this recipe, but you can use any type of beans. Pinto beans would also be a good addition or substitute for this recipe.
- Change the Seasoning – Instead of the seasoning in the recipe, substitute them for a packet of taco seasoning or make homemade taco seasoning.
- Enchilada Sauce – Add in a can of enchilada sauce for flavor and a creamy broth.
- Cream Cheese – You can try making Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup slow cooker recipe by adding cream cheese. Yum!
- Add Extra Veggies: Want to stretch this soup further or use up produce on hand? Diced zucchini, yellow squash, or sweet potato can all be added right in with the other ingredients at the start of cooking.
How to Store Leftovers
Refrigerate any leftover soup in an airtight container for up to 5 days. We really enjoy this soup leftover as the ingredients marinate together overnight which makes it very flavorful.
How to Freeze Chicken Tortilla Soup
This recipe freezes great. Sometimes I make a double batch of Chicken Tortilla Soup to have the extra to freeze. The consistency is the same as the day you made it. Just reheat and you have delicious soup for those busy nights.
We like freezing this soup in freezing safe individual containers. This makes a perfect lunch for my husband. If you need to tips and tricks on How to Freeze Soup, we have all the details here.
If stored properly this soup will stay good for about 3 to 4 months.
How to Reheat
We recommend heating the leftovers on the stovetop. This ensure that it heats thoroughly. This soup can be heated in the microwave in a microwave safe container.
If heating in the microwave, heat in 1 minute intervals until heated thoroughly.
How to Thicken this Chicken Tortilla Soup
The broth on this chicken tortilla soup is usually thin because of the chicken broth. But you can easily thicken the soup with cornstarch, flour or a roux.
We have even added some cream cheese for a creamier and thicker broth.
Topping Ideas
We like to top ours with crushed up tortilla chips. Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla soup is also good with tortilla strips made from corn tortillas.
Other ideas include:
- Shredded Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Avocado
- Green Onion
- Hot Sauce
- Fresh Lime
We have even used strips of corn tortillas. You can easily what you have.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes to both! For the stovetop, add everything except the toppings to a large pot, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 30-40 minutes, or until the chicken shreds easily. For the Instant Pot, add everything except the toppings and cook on high pressure for 10-12 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before shredding the chicken.
No, as written this soup has a mild, gentle heat from the chili powder and green chiles. See our spice level note above if you’d like to make it milder or spicier.
Yes! Most of the time I forget to set out chicken so I always just toss my frozen chicken in the slow cooker and it cooks perfectly.
Yes! Stir in about 3 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken with the rest of the ingredients and cook on low for 3-4 hours or high for 1.5-2 hours, just until heated through.
Yes — diced zucchini, yellow squash, or sweet potato are all great additions if you want to stretch the soup further or use up what’s in the fridge.
More Easy Crock Pot Chicken Soup Recipes
Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 boneless chicken breasts
- 1 can black beans (Rinsed and Drained)
- 1 cup corn
- ½ onion chopped
- 1 can Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies
- 1 can Crushed Tomatoes (14.5 oz)
- 4 cups Chicken Broth
- 2 tsp Chili powder
- 2 tsp Cumin
- 1 Tsp Garlic Salt
- Tortilla Strips (optional for topping)
- 1 Cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese (optional for topping)
- Fresh cilantro (optional for topping)
- 1 Avocado (optional for topping)
See how we calculate recipe costs.
Instructions
- Place the chicken, black beans, corn, onion, diced tomatoes with green chilies, crushed tomatoes, and chicken broth in the crock pot.
- Add the chili powder, cumin, and garlic salt. Stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on low for 6–8 hours or on high for 3–4 hours, until the chicken shreds easily.
- Remove and shred the chicken, then return it to the crock pot and stir.
- Serve topped with tortilla strips, shredded cheddar cheese, sliced avocado, and fresh cilantro. Enjoy!
This was super good. It was my first time making this. I will definitely be making it again. And my family LOVED it.
Rosa – So glad to hear this was a hit with the family. Thank you for leaving a comment.
Has anyone added other vegies, such as zucchini, yellow squash, sweet potato?
Hey Dee- I have not tried adding these, but I think it would be wonderful!
Swanson makes a new spicy chicken broth do you think that it would work well? How long would you heat in crockpot if you had rotisserie chicken?
Marcy – I think the spicy chicken broth would be delicious in this recipe! If using already cooked chicken, I would cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high for 1.5-2 hours just until all the flavors are combined. Let me know how it turns out Marcy!
How long is it suppose to stay in the crockpot? Step 1&2 both say to keep the stuff in there for 6-8 hours.
I’m so sorry for the confusion. I have fixed the recipe. I cook this soup on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours in the crock pot until the chicken shreds easily.
So delicious. I did add more cumin and cayenne than the recipe called for (I measured out 2 tsp each then just eyeballed some more) and added some cayenne powder to give it some more spice. Really easy, cheap, and yummy recipe that I will be repeating often. Thanks!
I made this with leftover rotisserie chicken. It was yummy. Even my brother loved it. Definitely something I will make again this winter
This was really good. I am freezing in lunch size portions for quick lunches!
Love how tender the chicken turned out. Definitely will make again! Great with cheese quesadillas!
This was really yummy. I used a rotisserie chicken so I had to double the broth. Still turned out so good.