Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Slow-cooker recipes are usually geared towards the fall and winter seasons, but I think slow-cooker meals are perfect all year round! This chicken tortilla soup is incredibly easy to make: just chop the ingredients, dump everything in the slow-cooker, and leave it. It’s nutritious, with plenty of vegetables and virtually no fat. This soup also freezes and reheats without losing any texture or flavor. It’s a great option for convenient, make-ahead meal prep. I like to make this on the weekends so that I have several meals in the freezer for the next couple weeks. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 large onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
4 cups black beans (fully cooked)
28 ounces canned tomatoes
8 ounces of salsa
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 chicken stock cubes + 2 cups water OR 2 cups chicken broth
8 ounces frozen corn, thawed
1/2 cup taco seasoning
salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste

Method

1. Mix the onion, bell pepper, celery, canned tomatoes, salsa, taco seasoning, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper in the slow-cooker.
2. Add the black beans and mix in thoroughly.
3. Add the water and the chicken stock cubes (or the chicken broth), and stir to combine.

4. Submerge the chicken breast in the liquid.
5. Cook on low for 6 hours.
6. Remove the chicken and shred it. Stir the shredded chicken and the thawed frozen corn into the soup.
7. Cook on low for 30 minutes.
8. Enjoy!

Serves 6 to 8

Notes:
If you prefer more chicken, or less of the beans, just adjust the amounts. One chicken breast doesn’t seem like a lot, but once you shred it, it goes a long way.
I use all kinds of canned tomatoes to make this depending on what I have on hand. Crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, and even stewed tomatoes will work. I don’t use tomato sauce or tomato paste because they don’t have any tomato pieces and they have a different taste. I have used fresh tomatoes before, but I find that their flavor just gets lost in the slow-cooker.
There’s obviously no tortilla in the soup itself, but I like to eat this with tortilla chips, sour cream, shredded cheese, and diced avocado on top if I’ve got any.

Print-Friendly Recipe
Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
by halite & piper

Ingredients
1 large onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
4 cups black beans (fully cooked)
28 ounces canned tomatoes
8 ounces of salsa
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 chicken stock cubes + 2 cups water OR 2 cups chicken broth
8 ounces frozen corn, thawed
9 tablespoons taco seasoning
salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste

Method
1. Mix the onion, bell pepper, celery, canned tomatoes, salsa, taco seasoning, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper in the slow-cooker.
2. Add the black beans and mix in thoroughly.
3. Add the water and the chicken stock cubes (or the chicken broth), and stir to combine.
4. Submerge the chicken breast in the liquid.
5. Cook on low for 6 hours.
6. Remove the chicken and shred it. Stir the shredded chicken and the thawed frozen corn into the soup.
7. Cook on low for 30 minutes.
8. Enjoy!

Serves 6 to 8

Equipment
1 slow-cooker
1 chopping board
1 knife
1 measuring cup
1 measuring spoon
1 large mixing spoon
2 forks