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Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe is the best comfort food. Loaded with shredded chicken in a creamy broth with tons of Mexican flavor, this soup is sure to be a family favorite.
We love to make soup recipes once colder weather hits. This creamy chicken tortilla soup is the best comfort food and a delicious crock pot recipe.
The creamy texture and the delicious flavor makes it a family favorite soup recipe. This quick and easy soup recipe is similar to our Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup but creamier. You may also love our Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe.
Table of Contents
Why We Love This Recipe
Making this soup in the slow cooker has never been easier. The ingredients cook easily with tons of flavor in the slow cooker. Feel free to also make this soup on the stove top in a Dutch Oven or a large pot, if you prefer.
We love that there is no need to cooked the chicken before placing in the slow cooker. The ingredients are simple and can be changed to what you prefer.
Ingredients
- Chicken Breasts
- Chicken Broth
- Green Chilies
- Corn
- Taco Seasoning
- Sour Cream
- Cheddar Cheese
- Cilantro and Tortilla Strips
Variations:
- Use Cream Cheese – You can use cream cheese instead of sour cream in this recipe to make a creamy and cheesy soup. You can also use heavy cream. You can use plain greek yogurt instead for a lower calorie count.
- Add Beans – You can add your favorite type of beans. Black beans, pinto beans or any white beans would be delicious in this soup. I love the beans, corns and chicken combination in any soup.
- Use a different type of cheese. – I love using cheddar cheese in this recipe but Monterey Jack or pepper jack cheese (for a little) kick would be delicious in this soup too.
- Chicken – Chicken thighs would also work for this recipe. We have even used leftover chicken or a rotisserie chicken.
- Chicken Broth – You can use water if you don’t have any broth on hand but I really recommend broth when making soups as it adds a creamy and delicious flavor.
- Green Chiles – Generally, I used canned but fresh diced up would work as well.
- Corn – Frozen or canned corn is needed for this recipe. If you use canned, make sure to drain it first.
- Spices – I use homemade taco seasoning but a packet will work too. You can also add in chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin and garlic powder or garlic cloves instead of the packet.
- Toppings – Feel free to add your favorite toppings. We love the crunch that tortilla chips add to the top of the soup. I also love the way the soup tastes with the fresh cilantro.
Step by Step Instructions
Step 1 – Place the chicken in the slow cooker.
Step 2 – Place the remaining ingredients on top of the chicken except the sour cream and cheese.
Step 3 – Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. You can cook on high for 3-4 hours if you prefer. Shred the chicken once everything is finished cooking and place it back in the slow cooker.
Step 4 – Now, it is time to add the sour cream and the shredded cheese. This is what makes it all so creamy and delicious. Cover and cook until everything is melted and blended together. This generally takes about 15-20 minutes.
Recipe Tips
- Shredded Cheese – I recommend shredding your own cheese over using the pre-shredded as it melts more evenly in the soup. Pre-shredded cheese as added ingredients that are not needed for this soup recipe.
- Shredding Chicken – Learn how to shred chicken with a mixer. This makes it so much easier and saves time.
- Chicken – You can put raw chicken in the slow cooker and it will cook perfectly. We have even put frozen chicken in for a delicious success.
- Adding in Sour Cream – If you are adding in sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream it is best to add towards the end of cooking time. This helps to keep the soup smooth and creamy.
Topping Ideas
This easy chicken tortilla soup is even better with your favorite toppings. I love to set out different toppings so everyone can add their own.
- Shredded Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Tortilla Strips, crushed up tortilla chips or pieces of corn tortillas
- Avocado
- Green Onion
- Diced Tomatoes
- Hot Sauce
- Fresh Lime Juice
- Cilantro
- Yellow Onion
Frequently Asked Questions
Refrigerate the leftovers in an air tight container for up to 4-5 days. You can also freeze these leftovers for up to 3 months.
Yes, you can. However, I would put everything but the sour cream and cheddar cheese in a freezer bag when freezing the ingredients together.
Then all you have to do is dump the freezer bag ingredients in your crock pot and dinner will be easy. Then just stir in the sour cream and cheddar cheese at the end of the cook time.
Reheat the leftovers in the microwave or on the stovetop. Allow the soup to simmer while stirring until soup has been reheated. Serve in bowls with your favorite topping. We think it taste even better the next day.
More Easy Chicken Soup Recipes
- Crock Pot Crack Chicken Soup
- Best Crockpot Chicken Soup Recipes
- Crockpot Italian Chicken Soup Recipe
We love hearing from you. If you make this crockpot creamy tortilla soup recipe, please leave a comment or a star review.
Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 can green chilies
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 2 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 cups cheddar cheese hand shredded
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro optional
- tortilla strips or tortilla chips crushed
Instructions
- Place the chicken in the slow cooker.
- Top with the chicken broth, green chilies, corn, and taco seasoning.
- Cover and cook on low for 7 hours, or high for 4.
- Remove the chicken, shred and return to the crock pot.
- Stir in the sour cream and the shredded cheese.
- Cover and cook until melted.
- Serve with your favorite toppings, like tortilla strips, more cheese and cilantro.
This is my go-to recipe, so quick and absolutely delish!
Yes it would
Would it taste OK if I omitted the corn?
Thanks so much for commenting and leaving your tips. 🙂
Used this recipe 2 times, It is so great.
I recommend using less cheese and adding 1/2 cup to 1 cup heavy cream and 1 can black beans!
And it gives some many leftovers. Its a great weeknight meal so you can pack your hubby and hot lunch the next day!
Great soup!
Sorry, I don’t at this time. I do think it can be made in the crock pot. I would use cooked shredded chicken and simmer all the ingredients on low for 50-60 minutes until the flavors are well combined. You may need to add more broth as it cooks so I would watch it closely. Good luck and I hope you enjoy it!
Do you have a conversion for a stove top version? This soup sounds AMAZING but I don’t have a crock pot. 🙁
Yes, if you used pre-cooked chicken, this would only need to cook for 2-3 ours on low in the crock pot.
If I used already cooked and shredded chicken, do you think I could get away with cooking it for less time, like 4 hours?
Made this tonight for dinner and have some mixed emotions on it. It did have very good flavor but I wasn’t happy over all with it. The recipe calls for 2 cups of broth, I added 2 more and even then there didn’t seem to be enough. The chicken seemed to clump up I’m thinking because of the cheese I followed the recipe to the letter. Next time I will make a few changes.
Yes, that would work great!
Hi Carrie, can you sub plain Greek yogurt for the sour cream?
You can substitute the sour cream for cream cheese if you would like for a different flavor. Thank you!
The comments talk about adding in cream cheese but there is no cream cheese in the ingredient list?
I cut it into small pieces, the cover the crock pot and let it cook for approximately 15-30 minutes on low, then uncover and stir well to incorporate the cream cheese into the soup. If your crock pot has a sauté setting, you can also switch it over to that setting to melt the cheese faster. Thank you!
How do you add the cream cheese? Last time I added cream cheese it was left in lumps. It didn’t melt in and looked curdled. I’d like to know the trick to make it melt properly and make my soup creamy not lumpy. Thanks so much
Great to hear thanks for sharing!
I added an extra cup of broth after reading the reviews and it was perfect! Not too thin and not too thick. Although next time I will wait to put the corn in until the end. It seemed to be over cooked and a little tough from cooking so long. Definitely making this again!
That sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing!
Added another cup and a half or so of broth and about 2 tsp extra taco seasoning just to stretch it for servings …. otherwise, it was excellent! No leftovers. This recipe is a keeper!
MMM this is so good! I used a homemade taco season as well. I just added some black beans to this as well!
Absolutely wonderful soup! I added some extra water and chicken bouillon along with cumin to the recipe. We used Doritos sweet chili nachos for the topping. ??? My guys love it ?????
I attempted to make this tonight and I went strictly by the recipe. However, the ratios seemed off with 4 cups of shredded cheese & only 2 cups of chicken stock made the consistency so thick and way to cheesy. It almost seems like a dip vs. soup. Am I off & not reading recipe right?
I’m seriously going to try this. Like in half an hour.