Hearty, healthy, satisfying Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup is super simple to make and filled with all your favorite Mexican flavors!
Wonderfully delicious Slow-Cooker Chicken Taco Soup is the perfect crock pot recipe to fix for your family on a frigid winter’s night! This soup is comfort food at its finest, using chicken breasts, taco seasoning, and five cans of veggies (corn, Rotel, green chilies, olives, and pinto beans). Top your soup with corn chips and cheese to sour cream and avocado. Every spoonful is a Mexican feast of flavor!
Crock Pot Taco Soup is Easy to Customize!
Just like tacos, everybody has an opinion on what they like best—beef or chicken, soft shell or crunchy, spicy or mild. This soup is the same—that’s why it is one of my absolute favorite crockpot recipes!
Don’t like olives? That’s fine; leave them out! Want it extra spicy? Toss in some diced jalapeno! Need a vegetarian version? Ditch the chicken and add more beans. This Taco Soup is so versatile and easy—you literally toss all the ingredients into the slow cooker before you leave the house, set the crock pot to cook, and come home to the most amazing soup! You’ll be reaching for this recipe all winter long!
Other Recipes to Serve with Taco Soup
- Cheesy Mexican Rice Bites are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside – a great appetizer or side dish for taco soup!
- Homemade Taco Seasoning, made with 11 pantry spices and seasonings, is so much better than store-bought taco mix. Make it yourself—it’s easy!
Ingredients
Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked whole in the slow cooker and gently shredded at the end. You could also use chicken thighs or even the leftovers from a rotisserie chicken.
Veggies: This soup uses canned vegetables, making it super fast and easy to throw together! This recipe uses Rotel, pinto beans (or black beans, if you prefer), diced green chilies, sliced black olives, and whole-kernel corn.
Seasoning: Toss in a package of your favorite store-bought dry taco mix for all the Mexican flavors!
Toppings: I love to top this soup with lots of yummy toppings like corn chips, sour cream, and grated cheddar cheese. You could add healthier toppings like diced green onion, guacamole slices, or cilantro!
How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup
STEP ONE: Add the water, taco seasoning, Rotel, pinto beans, green chiles, black olives, and corn to a 5-quart or larger crockpot. Stir everything together. Then, add the chicken breasts to the soup base.
STEP TWO: Cover the crock pot and cook on LOW for 8 hours.
STEP THREE: When cooking is up, transfer the chicken to a plate or cutting board. Use a couple of forks to shred the chicken. Then add it back to the soup and stir the pot to incorporate the chicken.
STEP FOUR: Ladle the soup into bowls and top with your favorite taco toppings!
Tips for Success
- You can substitute a jar of salsa for the can of Rotel.
- To shred the cooked chicken, simply pull it apart using two forks. You can also remove the breasts from the crock pot and use a stand mixer—it works! Just don’t overwork it. You want nice shredded pieces of chicken, not tiny chicken flakes.
- Keep all the ingredients as low-sodium as possible – you don’t want it too salty!
- Yes, you can use a rotisserie chicken! But wait until the end of the slow cooker’s cooking time. Shred the chicken and toss it in long enough to warm it before serving.
- To make this soup Weight Watcher-friendly, top with low-fat cheese or non-fat sour cream.
- Remember that block cheese melts better (and tastes better!) than pre-shredded cheese.
How Spicy is Taco Soup?
Is taco soup spicy? This Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup is in the mild to medium range for heat level. It all depends on the ingredients you use!
Salsa, taco seasoning, Rotel, and peppers (what kind and how many) can all be adjusted up or down on the spice-o-meter: mild, medium, or hot. Corn, meat, and dairy ingredients like sour cream and cheese can help temper the spice level and make it milder, while hot sauce and fresh slices of jalapenos or habaneros will seriously increase the heat!
What’s the Best Way to Store Taco Soup?
The best way to store soup – or really anything, for that matter – is to let it cool, then put it in an airtight container. This keeps it from absorbing the odors of other fridge or freezer items. Chicken taco soup will keep in the refrigerator for three days or freeze for up to 3 months! When you’re craving taco soup again, thaw it overnight in the fridge, then reheat gently in a saucepan, stirring until it’s just the right temperature.
Other Warm, Wonderful Winter Soup Recipes!
- Beef Bourguignon
- Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Tortellini Soup
- Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
- Slow Cooker Ham and Potato Cheese Soup
- Crock Pot Vegetable Soup
*This post originally posted on 10/18/2016.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 1.25 ounces taco seasoning (1 packet)
- 10 ounces Rotel
- 15 ounces canned pinto beans drained
- 4 ounces canned diced green chiles
- 2.25 ounces canned sliced black olives drained
- 15 ounces canned whole kernel corn drained
- 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
Toppings
- Tortilla chip strips (or crumbled tortilla chips)
- Sour cream
- Cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Add the water, taco mix, Rotel, pinto beans, green chiles, olives, and corn to a 5-quart or larger slow cooker. Stir everything together and then add chicken breasts into the crock.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours.
- Take the chicken out of the slow cooker and put it on a plate of cutting board. Use 2 forks to shred the chicken. Then add it back to the soup and stir.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and add your desired toppings. Serve warm.
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