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    🏠Home » Recipes » Soup Recipes

    Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

    Feb 3, 2023 · Modified: Jun 1, 2023 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · 10 Comments

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4.34 from 21 votes

    Easy Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup is packed with tender chicken, beans, and vegetables, all in a spicy broth. Not only is it delicious, but it is also healthy.

    tortilla soup in a white bowl
    Jump To:
    • 🐓Ingredients
    • 👨‍🍳How to Make Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
    • Can I add other ingredients?
    • ♨️What is Chicken Tortilla Soup?
    • ❓FAQs
    • 🍽️Serving and storage of leftovers
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • Recipe
    Blue ribbon divider used for visual effect

    One of the best healthy crock pot soups you can make. It will fit a healthy diet like a low-calorie or low-fat diet or even a low-carb keto diet and low-sodium diets.

    Let your crock pot do the work with this "dump and go" recipe with only 10 minutes of active time with these easy step-by-step photo instructions that use everyday ingredients you probably already have at home.

    Great flavor and tenderness that everybody will love. This is the perfect weeknight dinner recipe.

    Check out some other delicious crock pot soup recipes, like Broccoli Cheese Soup, French Onion Soup, Healthy Chicken Vegetable Soup and Chicken Parmesan Soup. And check out Our Best Soup Recipes.

    🐓Ingredients

    • Chicken—skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs
    • RoTel
    • Diced tomatoes
    • Chicken broth
    • Vegetables—celery, corn, black beans
    • Aromatics—onion and garlic
    • Pantry ingredients—cumin, chili powder, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper (optional)
    • Tortillas—if making tortilla chips

    👨‍🍳How to Make Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

    1. Prep the onion and celery.
    2. Trim chicken breasts, leave them whole to shred near the end of cooking or cube them.
    3. Add all ingredients except tortillas to a crock pot.
    4. Cook for 6 hours on low.

    Can I add other ingredients?

    This is soup, so put in what you want or have, and it will be good

    You can add other vegetables like bell pepper or zucchini. You can add different or more beans, like kidney or white beans but rinse first.

    ♨️What is Chicken Tortilla Soup?

    It is a spicy chicken broth with tender chicken, tomatoes, beans, and other veggies like corn, celery, and onion. Usually served with a variety of nacho toppings and some tortilla strips.

    All this makes a healthy, low-fat soup loaded with vegetables and meat that will warm you on a cold day.

    ❓FAQs

    Can I shred the chicken instead of dicing it?

    Sure, trim the raw chicken breast or thighs. If they are very thick, cut them in half. Add them to the crock pot with all the other ingredients.

    About one hour before the end of cooking, take the chicken out of the crock pot, shred chicken with forks, and place it back in the crock pot, then finish cooking.

    Can I use rotisserie chicken instead of raw chicken?

    Yes. You can cut down the cooking time some. At 3 hours, add your pre-cooked chicken. Cook for an hour to add the great taste, and you are done.

    How to thicken chicken tortilla soup?

    There are options.

    1) If you know that you want a thicker soup, use less chicken broth. Use half and add some at the end if needed.

    2) Add 2-3 tablespoons of cornstarch to ¼ cup of cold water and stir until smooth to make a slurry. Mix into the crock pot about 1 hour before done cooking. You can repeat it in 30 minutes if needed.

    3) Some recommend adding bits of tortilla chips or tortillas, but I have not tested this—it should work.

    How to adjust the spicing of chicken tortilla soup?

    The RoTel provides a lot of spicing here. The heat level is about 3/10. RoTel comes in hotter versions if you want more heat, and there is an option for some cayenne pepper or add minced jalapeno pepper.

    To make it milder, replace the RoTel with a can of diced tomatoes but drain first. The Rotel also has green chilis; you may want to add a small can to retain that taste.

    Is chicken tortilla soup healthy?

    Absolutely. It is low-fat, low-calorie, and low-sodium. It is high in good quality protein and packed with vegetables.

    Pick low-sodium products and rinse beans to keep the low salt status. Also, be careful with the added toppings and side dishes.

    🍽️Serving and storage of leftovers

    Serving suggestions

    Serve topped with toasted tortilla strips and other nacho toppings like cheese, avocados, cilantro, jalapenos, and sour cream. Use what you love.

    I have included instructions to make your own tortilla strips, but you can usually buy them premade in the salad dressing area at the supermarket.

    Side dishes are usually minimal since the soup is a fairly complete meal but try some cornbread, cornmeal biscuits, or chips and salsa.

    Storage and reheating of leftover soup

    Good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Good sealed well in the freezer for 3-4 months.

    To reheat, thaw in the refrigerator overnight if frozen, then reheat on the stovetop over medium heat.

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    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    Crock Pot Recipes, Healthy Recipes, Low Fat Recipes, Mexican Recipes, Soup Recipes
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    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    chicken breasts with soup ingredients

    I suggest skinless boneless chicken breast, but thighs would be fine.

    chopped celery and onion on a black board

    Chop one medium onion and a couple of celery ribs.

    trimmed and cubed chicken on a white board

    Trim 2 medium-sized skinless boneless chicken breasts. Leave them whole to shred later, or you may cut them into bite-size pieces. If leaving whole but very large, cut in half to aid cooking.

    mixing ingredients in the crock pot

    In a 4-quart or bigger crock pot, add veggies, one 10 oz can RoTel (Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies), one 14 oz can diced tomatoes, 1 cup frozen corn, one 14.5 oz can black beans rinsed, 2 cloves crushed garlic, two 14 oz cans lower-sodium chicken broth, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, and ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional).

    adding cubes of raw chicken to a crock pot

    Add the prepared chicken to the pot. If whole, remove them with one hour left in cooking, and shred, replace into the crock pot.

    cooked soup in a ladel

    Cook for 5-6 hours on low until the chicken is done and the vegetables are tender.

    Optional—Make your tortilla strips.5-6

    cutting tortillas into stips on a wood board

    While the soup is cooking, make some tortilla strips for topping — Preheat oven to 375°. Thinly slice up 3-4 flour tortillas.

    spraying strips of tortilla with PAM

    Spread the tortilla strips in a baking pan with a heavy coat of PAM cooking spray. Give the strips a light spray of PAM, and bake until golden brown. It takes about 10-15 minutes. This will vary some by your tortillas and the oven, so watch it.

    chicken tortilla soup on a spoon
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    Recipe

    tortilla soup in a white bowl

    Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    Easy crock pot chicken tortilla soup is packed with tender chicken, beans, and vegetables, all in a spicy broth. Not only is it delicious, but it is also healthy—low-fat and low-calorie—perfect comfort food for a weeknight dinner.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4.34 from 21 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 5 hours hours
    Total Time: 5 hours hours 10 minutes minutes
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 8 servings

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts - or thighs
    • 1 onion - medium
    • 2 ribs celery
    • 10 oz RoTel - Diced tomatoes with Green Chilies
    • 14 oz diced tomatoes
    • 1 cup frozen corn - or 1 can corn drained. White corn preferred.
    • 14 oz black beans - rinsed and drained
    • 2 cloves garlic - crushed
    • 28 oz lower sodium chicken broth
    • 1 teaspoon cumin
    • 1 teaspoon chili powder
    • 1 teaspoon salt - to taste
    • ½ teaspoon pepper - to taste
    • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper - optional
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Chop one medium onion and a couple of celery ribs.
      chopped celery and onion on a black board
    • Trim 2 medium-sized skinless boneless chicken breasts. Leave them whole to shred later, or you may cut them into bite-size pieces. If leaving whole but very large, cut in half to aid cooking.
      trimmed and cubed chicken on a white board
    • In a 4-quart or bigger crock pot, add veggies, one 10 oz can RoTel (Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies), one 14 oz can diced tomatoes, 1 cup frozen corn, one 14.5 oz can black beans rinsed, 2 cloves crushed garlic, two 14 oz cans lower-sodium chicken broth, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, and ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional).
    • Add the prepared chicken to the pot. If whole, remove them with one hour left in cooking, and shred, replace into the crock pot.
      adding cubes of raw chicken to a crock pot
    • Cook for 5-6 hours on low until the chicken is cooked and the veggies are tender.
      cooked soup in a ladel

    Optional—Make your tortilla strips.

    • While the soup is cooking, make some tortilla strips for topping — Preheat oven to 375°. Thinly slice up 3-4 flour tortillas.
      cutting tortillas into stips on a wood board
    • Spread the tortilla strips in a baking pan with a heavy coat of PAM cooking spray. Give the strips a light spray of PAM, and bake until golden brown. It takes about 10-15 minutes. This will vary some by your tortillas and the oven, so watch it.
      spraying strips of tortilla with PAM
    See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips

    1. To use whole chicken breasts, remove them from the crock pot and shred them with one hour left in cooking. Then put the chicken back into the cooker for the final hour.
    2. Chicken breasts shred much better at 165°.
    3. You may use chicken thighs.
    4. This needs a 4-quart or larger crock pot.  A half recipe will fit in a 3 quart or larger cooker.
    5. You can use pre-cooked chicken. Decrease the cooking time to 4 hours on low and add the pre-cooked chicken for the last hour.
    6. A chopped-up green or red bell pepper would be a nice addition.
    7. If you want a thicker soup, skip a can of broth at the start. You can add some back in near the end.
    8. We prefer frozen white corn for this recipe.
    9. If you don’t want the RoTel, use a can of drained diced tomatoes.
    10. If you want more heat, use a hotter Rotel, a bit of cayenne pepper, or a finely minced jalapeno.
    11. A serving is about 1 ½ cups.
    12. It is generally topped with toasted tortilla strips along with other nacho toppings like cheese, avocados, jalapenos, and sour cream. Use what you love.
    13. Good in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Good sealed well in the freezer for 3-4 months.

    To adjust the recipe size:

    You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

    Nutrition Estimate

    Nutrition Facts
    Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 159 Calories from Fat 18
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 2g3%
    Saturated Fat 1g5%
    Trans Fat 1g
    Cholesterol 18mg6%
    Sodium 376mg16%
    Potassium 648mg19%
    Carbohydrates 23g8%
    Fiber 6g24%
    Sugar 3g3%
    Protein 14g28%
    Vitamin A 261IU5%
    Vitamin C 11mg13%
    Calcium 58mg6%
    Iron 3mg17%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
    Course : Soup
    Cuisine : Mexican

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

    Editor's Note: Originally Published January 11, 2014. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.

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    1. Johnny

      February 17, 2023 at 9:16 am

      1 star
      This site has tons of great recipes that I make over and over, but this one won't be one of those. The flavor was weird to me. Also, the amount of onion is way too much for this recipe. It overwhelms the dish. The spices need tweaking, but I don't have any suggestions on that. I'll just go back to all of the wonderful recipes on this site and avoid this one in the future. You may like this one though. Maybe it's just me.

      Reply
    2. gerry

      February 05, 2023 at 6:48 pm

      5 stars
      Hi,
      Can I add some rice to this soup, and if so when should that be done? Not a lot, but just a little ...

      Thanks. Really enjoy your recipes. They are often flexible enuf to go in a slightly different direction, if I wanted to.

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        February 05, 2023 at 7:09 pm

        Hi Gerry,

        The rice in not something I generally do but I will give it an 80% guess. While long grain rice usually take 15-20 minutes in boiling wate to cook but when you add it, it will cool the crock pot slightly and it wasn't boiling anyway so most likely 20-25 minutes but check it at about 15 minutes and every 5 minutes until done... again just an educated guess.

        Report back if you try it.

        Dan

    3. William Walker

      February 02, 2023 at 8:14 pm

      5 stars
      Absolutely perfect recipe.

      Reply
    4. Sue Shortley

      March 06, 2021 at 10:45 am

      Dear Dr. Dan,

      How long do you think if cooked on the stove top?

      Love your recipes,
      Sue

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        March 06, 2021 at 11:42 am

        Hi Sue,

        I have no exact answer for you but probably about one hour with a bit of modification.

        You need to get the onion and celery cooked first. A Dutch oven with a bit of oil over medium-high heat. Maybe about 8-10 minutes until tender and clearing. Then add everything and bring it to a simmer and cover.

        The huge variable will be the chicken. If precooked, you can just simmer for 15-20 minutes, and you are done. If raw, the cooking time will vary by size and thickness of the chicken you choose. It will be about 30-40 minutes (a total guess) if you use the chunks I used in this recipe. You can use whole breasts and cook them, pull them out when they reach 165 and shred, just lots of options, just be sure the chicken reaches 165 if you use raw chicken.

        Remember soup tastes better if simmered longer.

        So my somewhat educated guess (based on a similar recipe that never got published and I lost somewhere years ago) is the total time of about an hour.

        If you do it, please comment back here for others.

        Dan

    5. Dave

      October 13, 2019 at 2:47 pm

      Do you add water to this?
      Mine looks more like a thick stew after adding all ingredients. Thanks.

      Reply
      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        October 13, 2019 at 4:12 pm

        Hi Dave,
        Welcome to the blog.
        This is not a really brothy soup. Remember that as it cooks, the chicken and veggies will release some fluid. So if you are nearing the end of cooking and want thinner, add more broth.
        Hope that helps.
        Dan

      • Jan

        March 06, 2021 at 10:32 am

        Hi
        I would to say I like your recipes.
        I have a picky eater. Can I use tomato sauce instead of tomatoes? My daughter will eat anything tomatoy as long as there is no tomato chunks in it.i don't know there is about tomato chunks that she just will not eat.
        Thank you

      • Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

        March 06, 2021 at 10:45 am

        Hi Jan,

        I would say yes, it should be fine, but have never done it. You will also not want the RoTel due to the texture and the spicing.

        I suggest doing your initial cooking as a half recipe using the sauce to replace the diced tomatoes and rotel.

        Dan

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