I am on SUCH a soup kick this winter and am so here for my new healthy chicken tortilla soup. In this house, we love all things tacos, quesadillas, guac, and burritos. Those things don’t heat up so well throughout the week, but soup does! And crockpot meals are also the goldmine of weekday cooking.
I always sauté my onions before I put them in the crockpot, I think it adds a lot more flavor when you cook down onions and garlic in seasoning. I also quick seared my chicken in the spices just to add a little flavor as well. You’re supposed to with roasts so I don’t see why you can’t with chicken as well?
I bought a giant block of Tillamook cheddar cheese last week and shredded it to put on top of this soup and it was sooo good. It’s so much better to shred your own cheese, goodbye waxy taste from pre shredded cheese!
Also, USE CROCKPOT LINERS. I mean seriously, you should never have to scrub a crockpot again. They even sell them at Aldi now.
Healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Equipment
- crock pot
- crock pot liners
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast
- 1 onion diced
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 2 tbsp cumin
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 3 jalapeños sliced or chopped
- 16 oz corn
- 32 oz black beans
- 16 oz pinto or red beans
- 16-32 oz diced tomatos
- 3 c low sodium chicken stock
- 2 tbsp flour
- shredded cheddar cheese to top
Instructions
- On the stove, sauté onions and garlic in olive oil on medium heat. Add half of the paprika, cumin, and chili powder and cook until the onions become translucent. Add these to the bottom of the crockpot
- In the same skillet used for the onions, add the chicken and drizzle with olive oil and the rest of the paprika, cumin, and chili powder. Cook the chicken for about 3 minutes on each side, just enough to form a golden crust. Add this on top of the onions in the crockpot
- Add the drained cans of black beans, red beans, corn, tomatoes, and jalapeños. Add 3 cups of chicken stock and mix it all together slightly
- Cook on high heat for 4 hours
- Once the soup is cooked, remove the chicken and shred it with two forks in a separate bowl
- Remove about 1/4 c of stock from the soup and add it to a small bowl to mix with the flour to create a roux. Once the flour is dissolved, stir this mixture back into the soup to thicken it
- Add the chicken back into the soup and mix
- Serve hot with shredded cheese if desired
This chicken tortilla soup should be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can freeze it for up to 5 months in freezer bags or glass jars. Be sure to remove the lids of the jars until the soup is completely frozen so the expansion does not make the glass shatter.
Check out my other favorite soups of the season, like my creamy tortellini soup!
