This Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup is packed with flavor, easy to prepare, and absolutely delicious. Made with tender chicken, peppers, onions, and plenty of deliciousness, it makes a big batch that’s perfect for sharing and always a crowd favorite.
I use my crockpot year-round, especially for soups. From classic tomato to hearty Chicken Tortilla Soup, I love making simple dinners my family enjoys—and meals that can easily feed a crowd. Chicken Tortilla Soup is one of our family’s favorite recipes.
I have a few recipes that are my “go-to’s” when using my crockpot, and Chicken Tortilla Soup is one of them. I love this version of Chicken Tortilla Soup Crock Pot because it’s versatile.
My Favorite Kitchen Tools To Make This Recipe
From trusty pots and pans to handy gadgets, I’ve curated a list of products I use and love.
You have your core ingredients and then all the additional toppings or ingredients you can add in or not, and make this soup exactly how you want it or how your family will eat it. While I love it fully loaded, as pictured above, my husband hates beans and corn, so to make it his way, I don’t add those to the soup and serve them on the side instead. So we both walk away with a bowl of soup we love.
This slow cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup is flavorful, easy to make with just a few ingredients, and perfect for busy days. With its rich broth, fresh vegetables, and chicken, it’s a colorful and hearty meal.
I don’t just love using my crockpot in the cold months—I rely on it year-round, especially during the busy fall and winter seasons filled with sports, carpools, and appointments for our five kids.
Having a comforting, homemade meal ready when we walk in the door after all that running around is pure joy.
This Chicken Tortilla Soup is one of my favorite dishes to make around the holidays because it’s easy to prepare in a big batch and works beautifully for feeding a crowd.
You can serve it fully assembled or set out the base with toppings on the side so everyone can customize their own bowl. Either way, it’s hearty, colorful, and always a hit with guests—so much so that you’ll likely be asked for the recipe.
Don’t let the busy days stop you from creating easy, wholesome, and flavorful meals for your family.
More simple recipes for dinner
pin to pinterest.
Chicken Tortilla Soup Crock Pot
Video
Ingredients
Chicken Tortilla Soup
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 red pepper diced
- 1 yellow pepper diced
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons salt divided
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts about 2-3 breasts
- 2 cans chicken broth 14.5-ounce cans
- 14 ounces red enchilada sauce
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 1 1/2 cups half-and-half or heavy cream if desired, for a creamier soup
- 2-3 tablespoons flour or cornstarch if desired to make a thicker soup
- 1 can pinto beans drained, optional
- 1 1/2 cups frozen corn optional, do not use canned
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped, for garnish
- 1 can black beans drained, optional
Instructions
- Melt butter in a saute pan over medium heat. Season peppers, onion, and garlic with 1 teaspoon of salt and saute until they are tender. Add to the slow cooker.
- Place chicken breasts in the slow cooker on top of the vegetables. Then add chicken broth, enchilada sauce, cumin, chili powder, oregano, taco seasoning, and remaining 1 tsp salt.
- Cook on high for 3-4 hours or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°.
- Remove cooked chicken and shred or chop, then place back into the soup. At this point, add any of the optional ingredients that you wish to use such as corn or beans.
- If you'd like a creamier soup, add 1-2 cups of heavy cream now. For a thicker soup, whisk 2-3 tablespoons of flour or cornstarch to the heavy cream before stiring into the soup. Cook on high for another 1 hour.
- Serve with your choice of ganishes such as fresh chopped cilantro, sour cream, and tortilla strips. Enjoy!
This recipe was really tasty when I tried it but mine came out a little more watery than creamy. I may have added the wrong ingredients at the wrong time. What does it mean when it says “add the base ingredients”. What would be considered a base ingredient?
Sorry for the confusion! We’re working on fixing it so it is more clear. The ingredients you add during the last hour would be the heavy cream, corn, and beans, then garnish with cilantro. Everything else goes in the pot as the base ingredients.
Do you place frozen chicken or fresh? thank you!
They should be fresh or thawed chicken breasts.
You need to tweak your instructions. I just put it all together – including cream as a base ingredient not even thinking- and noticed 3 weeks ago you said you were working on it. It’s a snow storm and I’m now out of all of my ingredients. I tweaked my cooking time to low for two hours due to using shredded rotisserie chicken so I’m praying this isn’t ruined. :-/
Oh no! I’m sorry we didn’t get around to it, but it has been fixed now. I have done the same thing before and it came out alright; I hope it worked for you!
Can I use rotisserie chicken ( precooked) and shredded into the recipe or do I need to use the fresh ?
You can definitely use rotisserie chicken! Add it at the point that you would shred the chicken breasts, for just the last hour of cooking.
How long would this recipe take using a instant pot? Would I still follow the same instructions and add all the base ingredients in then when the last hour came just add the rest?
Hi! I’m sorry, we have not tested this in the Instant Pot on the pressure setting, so I am not sure how it would work. If you use the slow cooker setting, it would be the same instructions as the recipe. Let us know how it turns out if you do give it a try!
The soup is very tasty, but I agree with one of the reviewers above that it comes out more watery than creamy. Any suggestions on how to remedy that?
How much cream did you add and did you make sure to add it during the last hour of cooking? It should definitely be a thin soup base, not thick.
Hi there! Where do the black beans come in and how many cans? I see pinto beans, but I don’t see black beans although it looks like they are in the picture. I’m a terrible cook, so I need specifics!
Sorry for the confusion! It looks like a can with 3 types of beans, or a tri-bean blend, was used for the photos. You can use whatever combination or type of bean that you prefer, just total 15-ounces or one normal can. You can also always adjust to your preference and use more if you like a lot of beans, or fewer if you don’t. Enjoy!
Thank you! I’m cooking it today. Going to add a little bit of cheese. Can’t wait to see how it turns out! It’ll be my first try cooking this kind of soup.
I hope it turned out well! Thank you!
I used a block of cream cheese instead of cream, as well as a can of black beans and it thickened it up perfectly, and had a great flavor.
Did you use cornstarch also?
Hi Debbie, to thicken soups like this I use extra beans and purée them and add in.
Due to eating some tough frozen corn and valuable freezer real estate, I now only consume corn from the can (except summertime of course) so I must ask, why does can versus frozen matter? Salt content?
Thanks! Looking forward to making this tomorrow!
Canned corn has added salt and will add more liquid to the soup! It also may come out a bit more mushy than using frozen corn, so I would add it at the last minute. Definitely rinse it and maybe let it drain in a colander with some paper towels to remove that extra moisture.
What are your thoughts on using fresh corn that has been cooked slightly?
You can definitely use fresh corn! If it has been cooked, just add it near the end to let it heat up. If you add it at the beginning it may turn mushy. I hope you enjoy!
one of my favorite recipes!! love this soup and so does the rest of the family!
After following all the ingredients, my soup was super spicey. Other than that the consistency and taste was good. Next time, I will just put less than a teaspoon of that spice:)
We always use mild enchilada sauce and mild taco seasoning so it is never too spicy, as the younger kids are picky about spice! 1 tsp of chili powder shouldn’t make it too spicy but you can definitely adjust it to your taste.
I use a can of tomato soup in with the Enchilada sauce it mellows out the spicey flavor. When I make Enchiladas using red Enchilada sauce I always add a can of tomato soup, any brand, but I usually use Campbells soups. It makes the sauce more tiltable to children and adults that don’t do spicey foods. Just a suggestion. I’ve been cooking for quite a few years and have learned many little things to make food for everyone. Enjoy!
Great flavor!
Any tricks to make it thicker?
Thanks! If you’re adding the heavy cream, set aside 1/2 cup and whisk in a tablespoon or two of cornstarch or all-purpose flour until there are no clumps. Then add this to the soup along with the other add-ins and it should thicken slightly! If you want it even thicker or aren’t adding the cream, just scoop out some of the liquid and whisk in another tablespoon of flour. If you add the flour/starch right in the soup it will clump up. Hope this helps!
Can you freeze this soup
Thanks
You can definitely freeze it if you’d like! Make sure it’s in an airtight container. I recommend not freezing it for longer than 3 months for the best flavor. Enjoy!
Thanks for your sharing i like it so much good job bro, Wow this is amazing.
Hello, I’m making this recipe right now! I was wondering since I didn’t have any cream laying around, could I add shredded cheese? And if so, how much?
Hi Rachel! You can definitely add cheese for serving, but I’m not sure how it would work when replacing the cream. You can use the same amount or a little less of milk, whole or 2% ideally to add that bit of creaminess in the recipe! If you leave it out, you may need to adjust the spices and broth a little bit to your taste. I hope it turned out well for you.
WOW!!! Made this for supper tonight and it was a hit with the entire family! I added 3 BIG chicken breasts because my husband likes lots of meat. I also halved the chili, taco seasoning, and red enchilada sauce because none of us like spice and it was perfect! I tried your trick with mixing 2 tablespoons of corn starch to some of the cream before adding and I liked the consistency. we topped our soup with grated cheese, sour cream and lime tortilla strips. Mmmmm! the best part is, it fed my family, and I had enough to pass some along to my dad, and to freeze a batch for another day! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
So glad to hear that you loved the soup!! It definitely makes a big enough batch that makes it perfect for sharing. Thank you!
next time use all the ingredients, but add a can of tomato soup to this it will mellow out the enchilada sauce spiciness.
Great suggestion.
I absolutely love this recipe. I do not add the heavy cream at all as I dont want the extra calories and fat. We add tortilla strips and a little cheese when serving and its fantastic. I also use black beans instead of pinto.
I’m so glad you like the soup!
Are there are substitutes that can be used for the taco seasoning and the red enchilada sauce?
Do you have an allergy or just looking for ideas?
No allergies, just that those ingredients aren’t easy for me to find. I was hoping there were more common substitutes I could use.
You can make both from scratch using spices that you may have on hand. We don’t have any recipes for either but you can find them easily online. I hope you’re able to make and enjoy the soup!
That’s such a pretty soup, and I’m sure will be a big hit with my entire family!
Thank you, I bet it will!
I love soup season for recipes just like this one! Looking forward to warming up with this later this week; looks delicious!
I do too! Enjoy!
This looks so delicious and perfect for this time of season! I can’t wait to make this recipe for my family!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it.
It came out absolutely perfect, perfect for this time of the year!
So glad you enjoyed it, it really is the perfect winter soup!
This soup was a huge hit with the kids!
So glad to hear that!
It’s so cold outside here so I need a hearty soup like this!
It definitely is a perfect soup for these cold days! Enjoy!
This is such a delicious and comforting meal! Everyone loved it!
So glad to hear that!
I love this recipe, but I’m shocked it feeds 10. Am I missing something or are you doubling the ingredients?
Well gosh, how many did it feed for you? I have teens so they don’t eat small portions, let me know your thoughts – happy to update it.