This One-Pot Southwestern slow cooker chicken tortilla soup is infused with herbaceous cilantro, smokey chili powder, a bit of spice from green chile peppers, tomatoes, corn, black beans, onions, and chicken. Making for a luscious brothy Mexican-inspired chicken soup topped with a mound of cheese and tortilla chips for a belly-warming dinner after a long day at work. It’s the perfect freezer chicken dump meal for those days you just don’t want to cook!
Do you want an easy, delicious meal that doesn’t require a lot of work? This Southwestern Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup is the perfect solution! It’s freezer-friendly and made with basic pantry staples. This recipe is so simple – just throw everything in your slow cooker (or freezer bag!) and give it time to cook while you take care of what the day brings.
Freezer dump meals are such a time saver! You can get all the prep done ahead of time and then just throw it in the crockpot when you’re ready to eat. This slow cooker chicken tortilla soup is one of my favorite freezer dump recipes. It’s perfect for those days when I don’t feel like cooking, but I want something healthy and satisfying.
Toss these ingredients in the crock pot and cook all day on low, yummy!!!
Why You’ll Love This Easy Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
- It makes for an excellent chicken dump freezer meal!
- It’s easy, and I bet you have most of the ingredients already in your kitchen.
- It’s perfect for busy weeknights, and it freezes well too!
- It’s healthy, filling, and delicious! You’ll look forward to coming home from work to the smell in your kitchen!
Equipment Needed To Make Your Southwestern Style Soup
Are you ready for this… You need a… Slow cooker *cue the bells and whistles* that’s it!
I simply love recipes like this because if you don’t have time to cook, you have even less time to clean up! I do recommend you cut your chicken into cubes, but that step is optional as you can just dump your chicken breasts in whole and shred them later, eliminating the cutting board and knife altogether.
Ingredients For Your Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup Freezer Dump Meal
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut into 1 inch cubes)
- 1 onion (finely chopped)
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 24oz. of chicken broth
- 1 can whole kernel corn (drained)
- 1 (4oz) can chopped green chile peppers
- 1 (15oz) can black beans (drained)
- 1/4 cup dried cilantro (or fresh if you have the time)
How To Make Chicken Tortilla Soup in the Crock Pot
- Add all of your ingredients into the slow cooker and then cook on low for 8 hours.
- When it is all finished cooking, top it with crushed Tortilla chips, sour cream, shredded cheese, and chopped green onions for a little more flavor!
What to Serve/Pair with Your Southwestern Soup
Most people tend to eat this soup as a standalone dish, but if you want to make it a soup and sandwich or soup and salad combo, I say go for it! You can also serve it with fresh cornbread instead of tortilla chips. If you’re into quick and easy desserts, this no-bake chocolate eclair cake is just.. WOW!
Popular Substitutions & Additions
- You can play around with the spices a little bit if you’d like. Some people add cumin, paprika, a little sugar, or even some chipotle peppers in adobo sauce to spice it up.
- You can also add zucchini, garlic, or bell peppers along with the corn if you’d like.
- Don’t forget the toppings! I love adding tortilla strips, sliced avocado, green onions (scallions), sour cream, cilantro leaves, lime juice, and jalapeño slices.
- You can use two pounds of chopped Rotisserie chicken in the place of the chicken breasts.
- If you don’t have chicken, you can use cooked ground beef and make it a taco soup!
How To Reheat & Store Chicken Tortilla Soup
You’ll want to store any leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge.
This chicken tortilla soup will last about three to four days in the fridge.
You can use your crock pot to reheat this soup or just place it in a pot on the stove over low heat until heated through.
If you want to speed up your heating time, you can use a microwave.
Yesss! That’s what makes this recipe so great! To make this freezer dump meal, you do not have to precook anything.
How To Freeze This Chicken Tortilla Soup Slow Cooker Dump Meal
My favorite way to make this is as a freezer meal. With a hectic family life and constant running during the week, this is a great meal to make ahead and freeze for a later date.
To make this a freezer meal, you would place a slow cooker liner into your crock pot and then add all of the ingredients as you would if you are cooking immediately. Once you have everything added, twist the top of the liner closed and add to a freezer bag, label it, and place into the freezer until you are ready to use it.
When you are ready to make this awesome meal, just grab your bag from the freezer, remove the freezer bag, and then place the liner with your frozen soup into the crock pot. Place your slow cooker on low and 8 hours later you will have a delicious meal.
FAQs
Can I make this Southwestern Chicken Soup on the Stove?
Absolutely! If you want to make this chicken tortilla soup on the stove instead of in a slow cooker, you can absolutely do that.
How long does it take for raw chicken breast to cook in the crockpot?
Depending on how thick your chicken is and your slow cookers model/settings, it will generally take between four and six hours.
What kind of tortilla chips goes best with Chicken Tortilla soup?
That’s a personal preference, really. You can use traditional, yellow corn, white corn, blue corn, or a mix of them all!
If you liked this recipe, you may also like these other slow cooker recipes:
- Crock Pot Chicken Spaghetti
- Slow Cooker Turkey Chili
- Slow Cooker Asian Beef and Ramen Bowls
- Crock Pot White Chicken Chili
- The Ultimate Slow Cooker Potato Soup
If you are thinking that freezer meals are a great idea like I do, then check out this great list of Freezer Slow Cooker Meal Essentials.
This delicious slow cooker chicken tortilla soup is one of my favorites and may be one of yours soon.
Let me know what you think after you make it!
Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breast
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 24 ounces chicken broth
- 15 ounces kernel corn drained
- 4 ounces green chilis diced
- 15 ounces black beans drained
- 1/4 cup cilantro freshly chopped
Instructions
- Add all of your ingredients into the slow cooker and then cook on low for 6 hours.
- Once finished cooking, scoop into serving bowls and serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, avocado, or any of your favorite toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is a calculated guesstimate. Please note that this can change with different brands and modifications you may make to the recipe. For the most accurate information, use a nutritional calculator with the exact brands and measurements you’re using with each recipe.
©PinkWhen 2023
I love chicken tortilla soup on a Sunday, watching football and just hanging at home. Will definitely have to try this recipe!
I love my handy dandy little crockpot! These seem like they’d be great for fall, I’m all over that! The tortilla soup looks so god!
My 1st freezer slow-cooker meal and it was so easy and good! Thanks! To those making, I recommend having lots of toppings on-hand as it was just a lil bland.