This is when crockpot dinners, such as crockpot tortilla soup, are ideal as you can put everything in the pot in the morning. Then when you come home all you need to do is serve the dish.
This is a really simple dump and go recipe, which uses common pantry staples that are easy to find.
With that being said, this recipe might use very basic ingredients, but it is packed full of flavor that the whole family will enjoy.
Read on to learn our easy-to-follow recipe, that can help you make this delicious crockpot tortilla soup.
Quick Answer
To make crockpot tortilla soup, you simply dump all the ingredients into the crockpot and leave it to cook during the day.
Then once the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through, then you can shred the chicken using two forks.
At the end, add a squeeze of lime to lift and brighten the flavors of the soup and serve.
Why Should You Make This Recipe?
This chicken tortilla soup in the crock pot is simple to prepare, loaded with vegetables and protein, and it is incredibly filling.
It’s a terrific recipe to have in your back pocket for hectic weeks because it calls for common cupboard goods.
Due to the vast amounts of sweet corn, chicken, black beans, and fire-roasted tomatoes, in this dish your family will adore this soup.
Additionally, we must not overlook the tortilla strips that are placed on top, to add a great crunch.
This dish will appeal to you because it doesn’t require any browning or sautéing, making preparation incredibly simple and requiring little hands-on time.
Additionally, once it’s cooked, everyone is free to add any toppings they choose, including chopped fresh cilantro, avocado, sour cream, cheese, and jalapeños.
Ingredients Required For Crockpot Tortilla Soup
There may look like a lot of ingredients are needed for this recipe, yet they are all common ingredients that you can easily find.
In fact, you may have most of these ingredients already in your kitchen cupboards.
You can modify this recipe, to suit your taste, including making it hotter, or even vegetarian. To make crockpot tortilla soup, you will need to collect these ingredients:
Soup Ingredients
1 ½ pounds of skinless and boneless chicken thighs or breasts.
1 x 15 ounce can of black beans (drained and rinsed).
1 x 15 ounce can of fire roasted and diced roasted tomatoes with green chilies.
1 x 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes.
1 small yellow onion (diced).
3 cups of chicken stock.
1 teaspoon of granulated garlic powder.
1 teaspoon of salt.
1 teaspoon of ground cumin.
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika.
½ teaspoon of mild chili powder.
Tortilla Topping Ingredients
4 corn tortillas (sliced into thin strips).
Pinch of salt.
1 tablespoon of a neutral flavored oil or avocado oil.
Topping Ingredients
2 tablespoons of lime juice.
Guacamole
A mixture of sliced avocado, jalapeño, cilantro, cheese and sour cream.
Crockpot Tortilla Soup Instructions
Now that you have collected everything you need, you can start making this tasty soup. Follow these simple steps, and your crockpot tortilla soup will be ready in no time.
Step 1: Add In Your Ingredients
Add in your chopped chicken, corn, beans, onion, and tomatoes to a 6-quart slow cooker.
Then mix in your salt, garlic powder, smoked paprika, chili powder and cumin. Once combined, you can pour in your stock until everything is covered.
Now give everything inside the crockpot a final stir.
Step 2: Cover And Cook
Cover your crock pot by adding the lid, and cook on either a high or low heat. If you cook on a high heat, then your soup will take 4 to 5 hours to complete.
Yet, if you choose a low heat, then your soup will take around 6 to 7 hours to cook.
Only once the chicken is cooked through and tender can you turn off the heat. It is also important that you keep the lid on the pot for the entire cooking time.
This ensures that no heat escapes, otherwise the cooking time could be extended.
Step 3: Create Your Crispy Tortillas
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Toss the tortilla strips in a baking tray with the salt and oil. Bake the strips for 8 to 10 minutes, flipping halfway through, until they turn brown and start to crisp. Transfer to a dish covered with paper towels, then let cool.
With two forks, shred the chicken into smaller pieces and add it back into the pot.
Stir everything together and add a squeeze of lime juice for a final touch. At this point, you should taste the soup and alter the seasonings to make it perfect.
Step 5: Serve
Serve this soup alongside the crispy tortilla strips. You can also add other toppings at this point as well. This includes guacamole, cilantro, jalapeños and sliced avocado.
Exciting Variations You Could Try
Due to the fire-roasted tomatoes and green chilies in this crock pot chicken tortilla soup, it contains a bit of spice.
If you aren’t a massive fan of spice, you could substitute the green chilies and tomatoes with normal chopped tomatoes for a milder variation.
However, if you want this soup to be even hotter, then you could add a second can of chopped green chilies and one diced jalapeño.
By adding 1/2 cup heavy cream (or a non-dairy creamer) to the finished soup before returning the chicken to the slow cooker, you can transform this dish into a creamy tortilla soup.
By leaving out the chicken, and adding two cans of beans, while substituting veggie stock for the chicken stock, you can make a vegetarian tortilla soup.
As a result, there are various ways in which you can modify this recipe to suit your tastes and any dietary requirements you might have. At the end, you will still have a delicious crockpot tortilla soup to enjoy.
Serving Crockpot Tortilla Soup
It is best to serve this crockpot tortilla soup while it is hot. You can serve it as it is, or you may add a wide variety of toppings, as mentioned above.
Since this is such a filling dish by itself, there is no real need to include any other side dishes while serving this soup.
The crispy tortilla strips act as a kind of side dish, to the soup. They are great when dunked in the soup or eaten alongside it.
In addition to this, since this soup also includes plenty of protein and vegetables, there is no need to serve it with a side salad.
As a result, this crockpot tortilla soup is already the perfect full meal, which is why it is ideal to make during the week when you are limited on time.
A complete meal is made and all you need to do is create the tortilla strips and serve it.
Storing Any Leftovers
The leftovers from crockpot tortilla soup make a fantastic lunch the next day and taste even better. In a sealed container, it stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days.
This soup freezes nicely as well, whether it’s in a ziplock bag or a single mason jar. It can be kept for up to two to three months in a freezer-safe container that is well sealed.
Always remove the soup for the freezer the night before you intend to eat it.
This soup tastes great warm or cold, but if you are thinking of reheating it, then we would advise you to place the soup in a large pot over medium heat.
Keep stirring the soup until everything is hot. Due to their being chicken in this soup, you want to ensure the chicken is hot all the way through.
This way you know that any bacteria has been killed off.
It is best to make the crispy tortilla strips on the day that you want them.
Although, any leftover crispy tortilla strips you have can be kept in an airtight container for a couple of days.
You can freeze cut up pieces of tortilla, but we would advise baking them when needed.
This is because if you try to freeze or place these crispy strips in the fridge, they will lose their crispness.
Thus, you should only think about storing any leftover soup and make the tortilla strips fresh.
Tips To Follow
While crockpot tortilla soup is already quite simple to make, we have gathered a few tips that could help make this recipe even easier.
Store Bought Tortilla – While the soup simmers in the slow cooker, you may save time by crisping up the tortilla strips.
Using store-bought tortilla chips or strips instead of homemade makes this recipe even simpler.
Use What You Have – What makes this recipe so enjoyable is the fact that you can use what you have on hand.
If you only have frozen corn or chicken, you may use these. You just need to ensure that you allow them to defrost completely before adding to the soup.
Taste At The End – It is important that you taste the soup right at the end. This way you can alter any seasonings you have added, by either adding more salt or cumin or chili so that it suits your tastes.
Also, a squeeze of lime or lemon helps to lift the whole soup, so you know what the soup is missing.
Sautéing Onions – You don’t have to sauté the onions in this recipe, and in fact you do not have to not add them in at all, if you don’t like them.
There is no denying that you do gain more flavor from them if you sauté them first. However, this is an optional step.
Toppings – You can go wild with the toppings that you serve alongside the soup and tortillas. However, you want to be careful that the toppings you add compliment the soup and don’t overwhelm the other flavors.
Leftover Chicken – If you want to save even more time, you could use leftover chicken and create the soup in a pot on the stove.
This way, the soup should be ready within 30 minutes. Hence, producing a soup that is still full of the same flavors but made in much less time.
Conclusion
If you find yourself short on time, then you need to make this crockpot tortilla soup. It uses simple ingredients which all pack a lot of flavor.
Anyone could make this soup, as all you need to do is add your ingredients in and walk away, since the crockpot does the work for you.
You can easily customize this recipe, so that it includes more heat, or more vegetables.
The possibilities of what you can do with this soup are endless, and it may become a routine meal that you make.
We hope this article has been interesting. Now you know how to make this delicious crockpot tortilla soup for yourself tonight.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Can You Thicken Your Crockpot Tortilla Soup?
To thicken this soup, you need to add some form of starch such as flour or cornflour, but this shouldn’t be added directly to the soup, as it will form lumps.
Instead, remove a small amount of the broth and add your starch. Once combined, add this mixture to your soup and stir everything together.
Can You Make This Soup Vegan?
This recipe is really easy to modify, therefore you can easily make it suitable for a vegetarian or vegan diet. All you need to do is use vegetable stock instead of chicken and do not include the chicken.
In place of chicken, you could add more vegetables and herbs. This is a great recipe which allows you to include the flavors that you enjoy the most.
How Long Does Crockpot Tortilla Soup Last?
As mentioned above, this soup can last for around 3 to 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge. Otherwise, you could also freeze any leftovers for up to 3 months.
1 ½ pounds of skinless and boneless chicken thighs or breasts.
1 x 15 ounce can of black beans (drained and rinsed).
1 x 15 ounce can of fire roasted and diced roasted tomatoes with green chilies.
1 x 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes.
1 small yellow onion (diced).
3 cups of chicken stock.
1 teaspoon of granulated garlic powder.
1 teaspoon of salt.
1 teaspoon of ground cumin.
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika.
½ teaspoon of mild chili powder.
Tortilla Topping Ingredients
4 corn tortillas (sliced into thin strips).
Pinch of salt.
1 tablespoon of a neutral flavored oil or avocado oil.
Topping Ingredients
2 tablespoons of lime juice.
Guacamole
A mixture of sliced avocado, jalapeño, cilantro, cheese and sour cream.
Directions
Add In Your Ingredients Add in your chopped chicken, corn, beans, onion, and tomatoes to a 6-quart slow cooker. Then mix in your salt, garlic powder, smoked paprika, chili powder and cumin. Once combined, you can pour in your stock until everything is covered.
Now give everything inside the crockpot a final stir.
Cover And Cook Cover your crock pot by adding the lid, and cook on either a high or low heat. If you cook on a high heat, then your soup will take 4 to 5 hours to complete. Yet, if you choose a low heat, then your soup will take around 6 to 7 hours to cook.
Only once the chicken is cooked through and tender can you turn off the heat. It is also important that you keep the lid on the pot for the entire cooking time. This ensures that no heat escapes, otherwise the cooking time could be extended.
Create Your Crispy Tortillas Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Toss the tortilla strips in a baking tray with the salt and oil. Bake the strips for 8 to 10 minutes, flipping halfway through, until they turn brown and start to crisp. Transfer to a dish covered with paper towels, then let cool.
Season And Taste Once the soup is ready and the chicken and vegetables are tender, then you can take the chicken out of the pot. With two forks, shred the chicken into smaller pieces and add it back into the pot.
Stir everything together and add a squeeze of lime juice for a final touch. At this point, you should taste the soup and alter the seasonings to make it perfect.
Serve Serve this soup alongside the crispy tortilla strips. You can also add other toppings at this point as well. This includes guacamole, cilantro, jalapeños and sliced avocado.
Hey! I’m Lana, the original Soup Chick! I decided to create this website as I am a massive soup fan. I will literally make soup for every occasion. Whether a friend is under the weather, has the flu, or I just want to try out something new in my slow cooker!
I hope that you can find some really interesting and different soup recipes to try out with my site. I know I’ve had a lot of fun curating and trying them all, and I hope that you do too!
