Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Give your slow cooker supper a spicy kick with this easy slow cooker chicken tortilla soup recipe that cooks all day by itself into deliciousness!

Why we love this recipe

 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 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!    

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 this super soup recipe some love!

Ingredients you need

Ingredient notes and substitutions

• Chicken: We like chicken breasts for this recipe, but you can also use boneless chicken thighs.
• Corn: Either fresh or frozen corn will work!
• Enchilada Sauce: You can swap in taco sauce if you prefer, and this is one of the ways you can adjust the spiciness of this soup. Use the mild version if you want to keep things less spicy, or the regular (or hot!) version if you want to sass things up! Look for this canned sauce in the international foods section of your supermarket.
• Chicken Broth: As always, we recommend the boxed version for the freshest taste.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.

How to make this recipe

STEP 1: Pour some chicken broth into your slow cooker and and stir in some enchilada sauce, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper and a bay leaf.

STEP 2: Add some boneless chicken, canned tomatoes with their juices, chopped onion, canned green chilis, garlic and corn. Give it all a stir, put the lid on the slow cooker, set it for 8 hours on low and go enjoy your day!

STEP 3: After 8 hours are up, scoop out the chicken and shred it into bite sized pieces. If you see the bay leaf, fish it out and toss it – it’s work is done.

STEP 4: Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup. And…you are ready to serve it up!

We like to pass a bowl of crush tortilla chips around the table and let folks sprinkle them on top, but a dollop of sour cream would also be delectable.

Recipe FAQs

Want to round out your meal?

We love this polenta with corn on the side of this soup, and we also are always happy with a slice of warm sheet pan focaccia.

And for dessert, let’s cool things down with this peanut butter and chocolate ice cream cake!

Other chicken soup recipes we love

Could you leave us a review?

If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section.

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

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Give your slow cooker supper a spicy kick with this easy chicken tortilla soup recipe that cooks all day by itself into deliciousness!

• Author: Kate Morgan Jackson
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 6 hours
• Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Slow Cooker
• Cuisine: Mexican
• Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 10 ounce can enchilada sauce
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/5 pounds boneless chicken breast
• 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 medium sweet onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 4 ounce can chopped green chile peppers
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups corn (fresh or frozen is okay)
• Crumbled tortilla chips

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Instructions

1. Pour chicken broth into your slow cooker and stir in enchilada sauce, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and a bay leaf.
2. Stir in tomatoes, onion, green chiles, garlic and corn.  Add the chicken.
3. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours.  Remove the chicken, shred it into bite sized pieces and return it to the slow cooker.  Give everything a stir.
4. To serve, sprinkle crumbled tortilla chips over soup…I like to have a bowl of these on the table so everyone can sprinkle their own!

Notes

• • Chicken: We like chicken breasts for this recipe, but you can also use boneless chicken thighs.

• • Corn: Either fresh or frozen corn will work!

• • Enchilada Sauce: You can swap in taco sauce if you prefer, and this is one of the ways you can adjust the spiciness of this soup. Use the mild version if you want to keep things less spicy, or the regular (or hot!) version if you want to sass things up! Look for this canned sauce in the international foods section of your supermarket.

• • Chicken Broth: As always, we recommend the boxed version for the freshest taste.