Chicken tortilla soup has never been easier or more delicious! Throw everything in your crockpot and make our favorite slow cooker chicken tortilla soup.
The BEST Chicken Tortilla Soup
This 5-star slow cooker chicken tortilla soup has been a Fit Foodie fave for years, and so we decided to give her a little photo refresh — ain’t she preeeetty!? This is such a great soup for SO many reasons. You’ll absolutely love it 😀
Why you’ll love it!
It’s a set it and forget it, one-pot meal!
Serve a crowd, or freeze leftovers for later.
So many vegetables in every serving.
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Chicken Tortilla Soup Ingredients
This chicken tortilla soup comes topped with crispy spicy tortilla strips. And don’t skip the toppings, obviously 😀 Here’s what you need:
- Crushed tomatoes
- Canned black beans
- Canned pinto beans
- Sweet corn
- Green chiles
- Bell peppers
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Chili powder
- Ground cumin
- Paprika
- Garlic powder
- Coarse salt
- Hot sauce
- Chicken broth
- Chicken breasts
- Greek yogurt
- Lime juice
spicy tortilla strips
- Corn tortillas
- Avocado oil
- Garlic powder
- Chili powder
- Paprika
- Ground cumin
- Kosher salt
Optional Toppings
- Fresh cilantro
- Chopped avocado
- Sour cream
- Shredded cheese
- Sliced jalapeños
Tutorial
How to Freeze Soup & Chili
Learn how to freeze soup and chili with this easy How to Freeze Soup tutorial. We’ll share all of our tips and tricks to perfect freezer soup.
How to Make Chicken Tortilla Soup
Canned Ingredients & Spices in Slow Cooker
Add the crushed tomatoes, black beans, pinto beans sweet corn, green chiles, bell peppers, onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, salt, hot sauce, and broth to the slow cooker and stir to combine.
Submerge Chicken Breasts
Submerge the chicken breasts in the tomato broth and cover the slow cooker. Cook the soup for 3-3.5 hours on high or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165ºF.
Prepare Tortilla Strips
Preheat oven to 400ºF and line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray it with non-stick cooking spray.
Thinly slice the tortillas into 2-3 inch long strips that are about 1/4 inch thick. Drizzle on oil and toss, and then season the strips with the garlic powder chili powder, paprika, cumin, and salt.
Bake the tortilla strips at 400ºF for 5 minutes. Toss and then put back in for 5-10 more minutes until golden brown.
Shred Chicken Breasts
Remove the chicken breast from the slow cooker and set aside 2 cups of the broth in a bowl to cool. Then shred the chicken and transfer the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker.
Whisk In Greek Yogurt
Add the Greek yogurt to the broth that has cooled off and whisk until smooth and there are no lumps. Pour the creamy broth into the slow cooker and stir.
Garnish & Enjoy!
Pour the lime juice into the slow cooker, stir and serve with fresh cilantro and the tortilla strips.
Top Tips
Make it spicier: our recipe only calls for 2 tablespoons of hot sauce, but if you like things hot hot hot, feel free to up the hot sauce to 3 tablespoons (or more!).
Make it creamier: the 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt that this recipe calls for will give you a slightly creamy consistency. Feel free to increase this to 1/2 cup or use sour cream for an even creamier soup.
Choose your cut of chicken: if for whatever reason you don’t want to use chicken breasts, boneless thighs will also work. Just be mindful it may change the cook time. Make sure to cook the chicken to an internal temperature of 165ºF.
Check it out!
6 Crockpot Chicken Recipes
Looking for more crockpot chicken recipes? Look no further! Check out 6 similar recipes below. And for an added bonus, check out our Crockpot Freezer Meals post where we teach you how to turn all of these slow cooker recipes into freezer meals.
FAQs
What is chicken tortilla soup made of?
Traditional chicken tortilla soup contains chicken, tomatoes, broth and is topped with fried tortilla strips. Our variation also contains corn and beans.
How do I thicken chicken tortilla soup?
We thicken our chicken tortilla soup by adding Greek yogurt, which also gives it a creamy consistency. You can also use sour cream.
Storage
Store leftover chicken tortilla soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezer Instructions
- Let your soup cool completely.
- Then, transfer it into an airtight container or gallon-size plastic bag.
- Remove as much air as possible and seal.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- 28 oz. crushed tomatoes
- 15 oz. can black beans drained and rinsed
- 15 oz. can pinto beans drained and rinsed
- 2 cups sweet corn canned or frozen
- 4.5 oz. green chiles
- 2 bell peppers diced, any color
- 1 small yellow onion minced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon coarse salt
- 2-3 tablespoons hot sauce any kind
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt*
- 1/4 cup lime juice ~1 lime
Spicy Tortilla Strips
- 6 small corn tortillas
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Optional Toppings
- Fresh cilantro
- Chopped avocado
- Sour cream
- Shredded cheese
- Sliced jalapeños
Instructions
- Add the crushed tomatoes, black beans, pinto beans sweet corn, green chiles, bell peppers, onion, garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, salt, hot sauce, and broth to the slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Submerge the chicken breasts in the tomato broth and cover the slow cooker. Cook the soup for 3-3.5 hours on high or until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165ºF.
- While the soup is cooking, prepare the tortilla strips.Preheat oven to 400ºF and line baking sheet with parchment paper or spray it with non-stick cooking spray.
- Thinly slice the tortillas into 2-3 inch long strips that are about 1/4 inch thick. Drizzle on oil and toss. Season the strips with the garlic powder chili powder, paprika, cumin, and salt. Toss again and spread them evenly over the baking sheet.
- Bake the tortilla strips at 400ºF for 5 minutes. Toss and then put back in for 5-10 more minutes until golden brown. Remove them from the oven and set aside.
- Remove the chicken breast from the slow cooker and set aside 2 cups of the broth in a bowl to cool.
- Shred the chicken and transfer the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker.
- Add the Greek yogurt to the 2 cups of broth that has cooled off and whisk the Greek yogurt into the broth until smooth and there are no lumps. Pour the creamy broth into the slow cooker and stir.
- Pour the lime juice into the slow cooker, stir and serve with fresh cilantro and the tortilla strips.
Tips & Notes
- If you want this soup to be spicy, use a spicy hot sauce and as much as you’d like.
- Feel free to add more Greek yogurt for a creamier soup. You can also use sour cream.
- This recipe was updated on January 10, 2023. Get the original recipe HERE.
What a wonderful, easy soup to make! It also yields a lot; I froze two full mason jars of soup and had lunches for the week.
Such a great soup to freeze for later!
I made this soup for dinner tonight, not in the slow cooker, just in my ditch oven. It was delicious! I will definitely make this one again!!
Oops! Didn’t snap a picture but leaving a review to stay accountable to our goal of making each of the foodie club picks this year! We left the hot sauce off the side so my 2 year old could enjoy too! He said “this spicey…me like the beans.” I love this as a meal we can eat on Sunday night and pack in lunches for the week!
Love it!
Delicious! Nothing beats a soup that’s got great flavor and is healthy too. And it was easy to make! Mine did end up taking more than 3.5 hours – maybe because my crockpot was really full and also because I kept checking the temp of the chicken at the end. Nonetheless, I loved this recipe and would make it again.
So much great flavor!! Easy to make, this will definitely become a new go-to recipe!
I only have an Instant Pot, so I cooked the chicken in the broth, onions, and spices, and then shredded the chicken and added everything else. Set on the Instant Pot Slow Cooker setting, this made for a great dinner when that time came. Thanks for a great recipe!
This was delicious! I threw this together after being out of town and I had most of ingredients, but didn’t have bell peppers so I substituted 3 carrots and celery. I also added cream cheese when I added the Greek yogurt. Turned out great!
The flavor of this was SO delicious. It was perfectly creamy and cozy for a rainy evening and made a ton. Love not having to think about dinner the rest of the week!
This is such a simple and delicious soup! It also makes a ton – I had enough for lunches for the week and put two mason jars full of soup in the freezer.
This was fantastic! I made it a few weeks ago and topped with Avocado and lime. I attempted the yummy tortilla strips but mine burned 😅 I’ll definitely make this one again.
Recipe was easy to follow and super tasty!!
Beauuuutiful!
Love this chicken tortilla soup! So simple to make and customizable! Thank you fit foodie!!!
This was loved by my spice loving husband and my toddler palate self! Amazing and so filling!
So happy to hear you and your hubby both loved this soup, Em!
Love a slow cooker meal! Super easy to make, and was a big winner on a cold MN night.
Such a perfect MN winter meal!
Deliciousness in a bowl!! My boys devoured all of it!! Can’t go wrong with this soup!! It’s a keeper !
I made this for dinner tonight. It’s super flavorful and delicious! My toddler loved it as well.
This soup had really really good flavor and was so quick and easy with very minimal prep. I used frozen chicken breast and they still came out very tender. The homemade tortilla strips were a tasty addition with a good crunch and way better than store bought! Will definitely be making this again!
Made this today. It turned out great! The recipe was so easy to follow and it took me less than 30 minutes to throw in the crockpot before I ran out the door. This recipe has so much flavor and there’s lots of ways to change it up throughout the week with the garnishings. I’ve even prepared half of it for the week and half for the freezer for a go to meal for later. I have a feeling I’ll be making this over and over again!
Such a great freezer soup!
We loved this soup! I didn’t have all the ingredients listed. With a pivot we used diced tomatoes instead of crushed and Rotel instead of green chilis. Turned out great! Thanks!
This was so good! Both my teen and husband came home and said whatever I was cooking smelled good. They both asked for seconds and said I should add it to my list of favorites. I just used store bought tortilla chips and cooked it over low heat on the stove for a couple of hours.