This Easy Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup has big flavor and requires little effort. Make it your own with a variety of toppings and freshly pan-fried crispy tortilla strips!
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This recipe is…
This slow cooker tortilla soup is a true dinner winner! During these warmer months, I OFTEN find myself craving tortilla soup. In fact, I’ve been known to order bowl after bowl of it at our favorite San Antonio Tex-Mex restaurants during the cooler months. While the salty chicken broth (with a touch of delicious lime) is incredibly soothing/satisfying, tortilla soup is all about the toppings. Years ago, before I realized that I could truly personalize Paleo, I would only make/order it sans tortillas, sour cream, and cheese. Since then, I’ve found that I tolerate the occasional high-quality dairy well! So, I happily add on a dollop of sour cream and the occasional sprinkle of cheese. I’m also a big fan of THESE grain-free tortillas. To make crunchy tortilla strips, I just cut them into pieces and fried them in a pan with a bit of butter until they were crispy.
Why do they call it Chicken Tortilla Soup?
Good question! The reason this soup is referred to as “chicken tortilla soup” is because chicken is the protein included in the soup, and it’s always topped with crispy tortilla strips — makes sense!
Is Chicken Tortilla Soup good for you?
I think so! If you can tolerate the ingredients, it’s an excellent healthy addition to your cool-weather dinner rotation.
Recipe Ingredients
- 3 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 1 ½ cups of salsa
- 2 quarts of chicken broth
- ½ cup of lime juice
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- ½ teaspoon of black pepper
- 2 tablespoons of chili powder
- 1 teaspoon of cumin
- 2 corn or grain-free tortillas, for garnish
- 3 tablespoons of butter, to fry the tortilla strips
- 1 avocado, diced, for garnish
- 1 fresh jalapeno, thinly sliced, for garnish
- Cilantro, roughly chopped, for garnish
- Sour cream, if desired
- Shredded cheese, if desired
How to Make
- Add ingredients to the slow cooker + cook – combine all soup ingredients in the slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
- Shred the chicken – after the soup is finished cooking, remove the chicken and transfer it to a large bowl. Shred the chicken with two forks or with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer. Place the shredded chicken back into the soup. Taste the soup for seasoning and add additional salt, if desired.
- Fry the tortilla strips – cut the tortillas into thin strips and heat the butter in a small pan over medium-high heat. Once the butter is bubbling, add the tortilla strips. Cook 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until crisp.
- Garnish, serve, and enjoy – spoon the soup into bowls and top with tortilla strips and other desired garnishes.
Best Chicken Tortilla Soup Toppings
Top your chicken tortilla soup with any taco toppings that you love! I personally enjoy avocado, cilantro, sour cream, crispy tortilla strips, jalapenos, and a lime wedge. Shredded cheese is a delicious add-on too.
Frequently Asked Questions
While the flavor profiles are really similar, tortilla soup is typically made with a thinner broth than enchilada soup (which often includes enchilada sauce). Fun fact: our creamy chicken tortilla soup actually used to be called “enchilada soup” because of its thicker broth!
If you want a thicker soup, you can either add more chicken (or even a can of beans!) to the soup, or you can add a thickening agent like arrowroot starch, masa, or cornstarch.
Stored in an airtight container, your chicken tortilla soup will stay good in the fridge for up to 5 days! Be sure to wait to top it with tortilla strips until you’re ready to enjoy.
If you’re looking for more easy soup and Instant Pot recipes, check out our 10 Best Crockpot Freezer Meals, to make dinner time a cinch!
More Favorite Soup Recipes
Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
For the Soup:
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs
- 1.5 cups salsa
- 2 quarts chicken broth
- 1/2 cup lime juice
- 2 teaspoons salt to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
For the Garnish:
- 2 Corn or Grain-Free tortillas
- 3 tablespoons butter ghee, or avocado oil
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 fresh jalapeno thinly sliced
- Cilantro roughly chopped
- Sour cream if desired
- Shredded cheese if desired
Instructions
- Combine all soup ingredients in the slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
- After the soup is finished cooking, remove the chicken and transfer it to a large bowl. Shred the chicken with two forks or with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer. Place the shredded chicken back into the soup. Taste soup for seasoning and add additional salt, if desired.
- Cut the tortillas into thin strips and heat the butter in a small pan over medium-high heat. Once the butter is bubbling, add the tortilla strips. Cook 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until crisp.
- Spoon soup into bowls and top with tortilla strips and other desired garnishes.
Recipe Notes
- For Paleo: use grain-free tortillas in place of the corn tortillas
- For low-carb: omit the tortilla strips
- For the Instant Pot: combine all soup ingredients in the Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 12 minutes.
- For the Stovetop: combine all soup ingredients in a heavy-bottomed pot. Cook over medium/high heat for 45 minutes, or until the chicken easily shreds with a fork.
Nutrition
I love ALL your recipes and am looking forward to trying this! Can I use frozen chicken or does it have to be defrosted? Thanks in advance!
Hi Melissa! I’d defrost the chicken ahead of time.
plain greek yogurt is usually more tolerable than sour cream……
Feel free to use yogurt if that works better for you, Loretta!
help with what SALSA to put in if paleo? thank you, sounds yummy and easy.
Almost all salsas are Paleo-friendly, just read the ingredients and make sure it doesn’t contain sugar!
Loved it! My crew couldn’t get enough of it and it was so simple and easy to make. And my picky boyfriend had seconds! It’s because of your new cookbook, “Cook Once, Eat All Week”, that my youngest son has been making dinner for me to enjoy when I get home from work. He’s made 1-4week dinners and btw, all were de-lish. Hope you get your own cooking show. Thanks again
That is so awesome! So glad y’all enjoyed it.
I ended up making this in the slow cooker on low for 8 hrs and boy was it delicious. So much flavor from so few, simple ingredients! I also took the time to make the Siete tortilla crisps. We loved them and the leftovers were (surprisingly) still crisp this morning for my lunch! Thanks for this great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it Carrie!
I am looking forward to trying this recipe. Is there any reason why I couldn’t cook this on ‘low’ for 8 hours (v. 4 on high?) Thanks!
You can absolutely cook them for 8 hours on low instead!
hi. I am looking for nutrition facts? are they available?
This was so simple and so good. I like the idea of a simple soup and adding things after the fact. Thank you.
So glad you liked it Jackie!
So for the instantpot– should we hit the manual button and set it to 60 minutes or the soup button? Does it matter? (Got an IP for Christmas so still getting the hang of it!) I just ask bc it seems like 60 mins is a long time for 3lbs of chicken?
Pictures are phenomenal though! Looks so delicious!!
You can absolutely try for less time! 60 minutes was just the magical time for me. And yes, that’s how it works. You can use both the manual or the soup button and then adjust the time.
Gosh DANG, this recipe was amazing! My husband ate probably 3 bowls. We also tossed the tortilla chips in some Trader Joe’s chili lime salt. It was hard to face plant in to them before the soup was ready! Thanks for another great recipe.
I’m so glad y’all liked it!!
I made it!!! AND I used my slow cooker all by myself (see my insta stories for details) This recipe was so easy to make and delicious to taste!!! Thanks Cassy Joy:)
Awesome!!
Oh Cassy, this recipe has just won the New Years Eve award – or – i.e. what I’m eating and making for NYE – who wants to go out with a toddler when you could stay home and eat this with movies or ball-drop? Great job! Thank you for sharing!
Haha you’re so welcome!!