This is the time of year that I can’t get enough warm foods and drinks. I have a mug of tea in my hand constantly, I want oatmeal for breakfast, soup and sandwiches for lunch and comfort food dinners. My craving for all the summer things I love like salads and smoothies (and even ice cream!) seriously declines. This preferred style of winter eating can be a little hard to accommodate when you are short on time to prepare your meals but there is one kitchen helper that always pulls through…the crockpot!
I have been making this Chicken Tortilla Soup for a few years now but I usually prepare it on the stovetop. This week I tried it in the crock pot due to a long evening of teaching that wouldn’t have me home until after 8:30 p.m. It turned out great…maybe even better than the stovetop version! I think it was the long cooking time in addition to cooking the chicken with the soup instead of adding pre-cooked shredded chicken that really made the difference.
It took me under 10 minutes to prep everything and get it in the crockpot. I arrived home to a house that smelled amazing and dinner waiting. I really should use my crockpot more often.
The only thing I had to do when I got home was prep my favorite toppings. I love to top my chicken tortilla soup with fresh lime, avocado, cilantro, sour cream and some crushed tortilla chips.
Here is the recipe. I hope you enjoy this soup as much as I do! The leftovers reheat wonderfully and it also freezes well.
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (4-ounce) can diced green chilies
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 (10-ounce) can of corn or 2 ears, cut off the cobb
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper, to taste
Optional toppings: cilantro, sour cream, shredded cheese, hot sauce, tortilla chips, diced avocado
Directions:
Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and place chicken in the bottom of a crock pot. Add all of the other ingredients and gently stir to combine. Turn crock pot to low and cover. Cook soup for 6-8 hours. Before serving, shred chicken using two forks. I usually do this while it’s still in the crockpot and kind of look around for big pieces of chicken. It’s very tender at this point. Give everything a good stir to combine, season with salt and pepper to taste and then ladle into bowl. Serve with toppings of your choice.
Yield: 6-8 servings
this looks so good!! love me some comfort Mexican food 🙂
This looks like a great and easy recipe! Anything in the crockpot is my kind of recipe. Thank you for sharing!
I am soooo making this over Christmas time- Ive actually got most of those ingredients in the house! Thank you
I can’t wait to make this, thanks so much for sharing!
Yum, that looks like just what we’ll need with this winter weather!
I love how we all say we should use the crockpot more often. It is SO EASY to use and I really want to use it more when I go back home after the holidays. It seriously is a no brainer, especially when you can freeze them, and come home and have dinner ready in less than 10 minutes.
Ah! I just got a slow cooker for Christmas but since I’m single my parents thought at 3 quart one was a good idea (it is TINY!). Does anyone have any suggestions on what a good size is to get? I think I need at least a 4.5 or 6 quart one. I’d obviously freeze leftovers!
3 quarts is an excellent size for a single person or a small family. You will still be freezing leftovers.
I have this in the crock-pot for dinner tonight! I used fire roasted tomatoes because that’s what I had on hand. I can’t wait to get home and have this for dinner!
let me know how it turns out. i’m sure those tomatoes will be just fine!
It was fabulous! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Made your crock-pot recipe yesterday-Cooked it all day and my husband and I loved it! We added some sweet peppers into it as well that we needed to use up. We will be making this again soon. It had such a hearty flavor and smelled so good that the neighbors wanted some. Thank you! I love your blog and will continue to follow.