Give your slow cooker supper a spicy kick with this easy chicken tortilla soup recipe that cooks all day by itself into deliciousness!
If there is any kitchen appliance more helpful, cooperative and just plain satisfying than the good old slow cooker, I don’t know what it is.
Sure, the food processor is all dramatic with the instant chopping, and the KitchenAid mixer is the 800 pound gorilla, towering over all the other gadgets.
And every once in a while, my trusty rice cooker comes out to work on some rice or oatmeal or grits.
But my heart belongs to the slow cooker, for two reasons.
First of all, pretty much anything you throw in there comes out tasting great. Beef barley soup. Bolognese sauce.
Even a chocolate pudding cake that Is one of the very favorite dessert treats in our house!
And second of all — and this happens to me every time — you toss whatever it is into the slow cooker first thing in the morning.
Then you go off about your day while whatever it is cooks in perfect slowness for eight or ten hours.
Then you slog back in the door at the end of the day, weary from the day, working up your energy to make dinner…and HAPPINESS!!
You’ve forgotten that dinner is already made because you put it in the slow cooker that morning. And not only is it MADE, but it is scrumptious, because there is nothing to bring out the flavor in a whole lot of things like cooking them at a really low temperature for hours on end.
Which brings me to this soup, which is a spicy, hearty, easy mixture of shredded chicken, corn, chopped chili peppers, chopped tomatoes, some chicken broth and a bunch of spices that will open up your sinuses, and I mean this in a good way!
The chicken should be cooked already, so this soup is a perfect thing to have on the menu for a day or two after you are making chicken for something else – just throw a few more pieces on the grill or in the oven or where you are making it.
I serve it with a little bowl of crumbled tortilla chips right at the table so people can sprinkle some crunchiness right into their bowls.
So go find those slow cookers – I know you have one somewhere – and it give it some love!

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes
Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Category: Dinner
Method: Slow Cooker
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 2–3 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
- 1 10 ounce can enchilada sauce
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 4 ounce can chopped green chile peppers
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups water
- 1 14.5 ounce can chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups corn (fresh or frozen is okay)
- Crumbled tortilla chips
Instructions
- Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker.
- Pour in water and chicken broth and stir in cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn.
- Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.
- To serve, sprinkle tortilla chips over soup…I like to have a bowl of these on the table so everyone can sprinkle their own!
Yummy Yummy Yum Yum Yum!!!,,,,Thank you! :-) And…Uh….don't be such a 'SLOW COOKER' about that chocolate pudding cake….HUH?!! ^_^
Can you remind me that the slow cooker exists the next time I have five million things to do and really don't have time to cook? because I always seem to forget. This tortilla soup looks delicious!
I'm a big fan of my crockpot. And I'll be trying this soon…looks great!
yum, I've always wanted to try making tortilla soup! I'm adding this recipe to my list of things to try out :)
This looks wonderful! I have to add "slow cooker" to my list of things to buy when I get my own apartment. I think I would also have a little bowl of shredded cheddar cheese to sprinkle on the soup :)
What a simple lovely soup. Anything with tortillas is a winner in my book.
This looks wonderful!! I love the idea of doing it in the crockpot.
this looks so tasty and perfect for a raining summer day! or a baseball game!
looks amazingly delicious! can't wait to try it!
Thanks all! And yes…everyone NEEDS a crockpot. It's just the best. :)
This looks so good! Featured your recipe in my Food Trend article today on the RecipeLion blog. http://is.gd/QgEcu4
Simone, thank you so much! :)
This looks very similar to my favorite tortilla soup recipe—"Michele's Crock Pot Tortilla Soup" from the label of Hatch enchilada sauce. At the time, we lived near Hatch, NM, and even went to the Hatch Chile Festival. We've since moved to the NW, but I found one local store that carries Hatch products. I've made the soup several times this holiday season, and it's always a big hit! Hatch is THE BEST for green enchilada sauce and green chiles. Yum. I can still smell them roasting. . .
Hatch – I hadn't heard about them but now I will look – thanks! :)
I have made this countless times over the years, and it never disappoints. It couldn’t be easier, I follow the recipe to a T, and it’s the best chicken tortilla soup recipe I’ve come across – I’ll be using this one forever! My sister recently had her second child, and I’ve been preparing meals ahead of time for her and her family. Her three year old is a picky eater, and even he loves this recipe! Stop what you’re doing and save this recipe – you will not be disappointed!
★★★★★
Ashley! Thank you so much for these sweet words, and congrats to you on your new niece or nephew! I love it that the three year old loves it too. :)