Next Post
The 25 Most Popular Game Day Recipes.
This post may contain affiliate links, please see our privacy policy for details.
This simple Crockpot Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup is the perfect bowl of wholesome, filling soup to warm up to on the coldest of days. Made easily with a mix of chicken, spices, red enchilada sauce, broth, and cilantro. Mix in rice and top each bowl off with plenty of cheddar cheese, lime, and avocado. And of course, plenty of salty tortilla chips. The toppings are key!
If there’s a soup I make on repeat every single winter, it’s my chicken tortilla soup. Everyone, including my dad, who is not typically someone who enjoys soup, loves this easy dinner.
It’s actually one of the very first soups I ever made back when I started cooking in middle school. All I had on hand were a couple of cans of enchilada sauce, chicken broth, and chicken. I threw the ingredients into the crockpot and let everything slow cook with a touch of cumin too.
I had rice in the fridge at the time, so I added that to my soup base just before serving. Ever since then, I simply cannot make tortilla soup without rice. It creates the perfect bowl along with all those chips on top too!
I obviously don’t make tortilla soup the traditional way, but this still hits all the same flavor notes and it’s so delicious!
Plus I absolutely love that I can throw everything into the crockpot in the morning, no searing chicken or anything, and come home to a delicious dinner at night. That’s so easy, right? So I adore this recipe and I’m excitedly revisiting it for everyone today!
Details
All you need for this is an onion, some jalapeños, garlic, chicken, enchilada sauce, seasonings, rice, and chips. Layer the onion, jalapeños, and garlic in the crockpot. Then add the chicken, the enchilada sauce, and broth. Cover and cook!
It really is that easy. Shred the chicken once done cooking. From here you can either stir the rice into the soup or add the rice to bowls and ladle the soup over the rice.
Either or, it’s delicious.
If it’s easier for you, you can also make this in the instant pot or on the stove. I added directions for both.
And most importantly, the toppings.
I layer a thick layer of shredded sharp cheddar cheese, a dollop of Greek yogurt, and then sliced avocado. Then sprinkle on lots of fresh cilantro and green onions. Oh, and it’s definitely optional, but I love to do a quick mango salsa and add that on top as well. It’s so delicious!
A wonderful soup to warm up with!
Looking for other warming winter dinners? Here are a few ideas:
Better For You Chicken and Spinach Ramen
Creamy Butternut Squash Butter Chicken
30 Minute Spicy Indian Butter Chicken
Coconut Milk Braised Black Pepper Chicken
Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup with Rice
Lastly, if you make this Crockpot Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Crockpot Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Servings: 6 servings
Calories Per Serving: 281 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 jalapeños, seeded and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2-3 teaspoons taco seasoning
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 3 cups red enchilada sauce
- 3-4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1-2 cups cooked white or brown rice
- juice of 1 lime
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- tortilla chips, for serving
- yogurt, shredded cheddar, avocado, mango salsa, and green onion, for serving
Instructions
Crockpot
- 1. In the bowl of your crockpot, layer the onion, jalapeños, and garlic. Add the chicken, cumin, taco seasoning, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Pour over the enchilada sauce and 3 cups of broth. 2. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 4-6 hours. Shred the chicken using two forks. Stir in the rice, cilantro, and lime juice. 3. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with tortilla chips. Then finish as desired with a dollop of yogurt, cheese, green onions, mango, and cilantro. Enjoy!
Stove-Top
- 1. In a large soup pot, cook the onion, jalapeños, and garlic with 2 tablespoons olive oil for 5 minutes. Add the chicken, cumin, taco seasoning, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Pour over the enchilada sauce and 3 cups of broth. 2. Set over medium heat and bring to a simmer, cook 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked. Shred the chicken using two forks. Stir in the rice, cilantro, and lime juice. 3. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with tortilla chips. Then finish as desired with a dollop of yogurt, cheese, green onions, mango, and cilantro. Enjoy!
Instant Pot
- 1. In the bowl of your instant pot, layer the onion, jalapeños, and garlic. Add the chicken, cumin, taco seasoning, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Pour over the enchilada sauce and 3 cups of broth. 2. Seal the lid and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Release the steam. Shred the chicken using two forks. Stir in the rice, cilantro, and lime juice. 3. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with tortilla chips. Then finish as desired with a dollop of yogurt, cheese, green onions, mango, and cilantro. Enjoy!
I made this tonight in the crock pot. One jalapeño only (a big one) and didn’t vary otherwise. Absolutely delicious! Next time I would double the liquids as I used 1.75 lbs of chicken and it became less soup like (our preference). This will be a staple for us!! We added avocado, cilantro, tortilla chips and lime wedge!!! Great!!
Thank you sooo much! Love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! xT
I followed the instant pot method. This recipe was so easy and delicious. It made six hearty servings, which is a lot for a house of 2 but great for meal prep. We had bowls last night topped with shredded cheese, green onions, sour cream, parsley (as someone doesn’t like cilantro), lime juice, and Cholula. We ate the soup with Tostito scoops, which was perfect and cosy.
Hey Sandra,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so much for your feedback and trying the recipe! Happy Thanksgiving! xT
Delicious! Made this with my instant pot and it was incredibly easy. Quick enough for a Monday night dinner! I kept the rice separate and added it in individual bowls with soup when we were ready to eat. The leftovers kept better this way. Don’t skip the lime, it was the perfect touch!
Hey Hannah,
Love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for trying it and your feedback! xT
Would it be okay to use bone in skin on thighs if that’s all I have? Would it change the cooking time in the crockpot? I would remove skin and bones after cooking, of course.
Hi Carley,
Sure, that would work well for you, I would follow the recipe as written:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Hello! I’m making half the recipe, should I adjust the cook time?
Hi Ava,
I would just cook for 4 hours:) Let me know if you have any other questions! Hope it’s delish:) xx
This soup was the best soup I’ve ever made. The flavors were perfect! I omitted the rice since I’m trying eat low carb at night. I will add beans and corn next time to make it a little heartier and make it last. Excited to try more of your recipes. Thank you for the lovely recipe.
Hi! So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for trying it out! xT
Just made it and I used Quinoa instead of rice! Such a flavorful soup!!
Thank you Jennifer! xT
Any substitute for the red enchilada sauce?
Hi there! You could use some probably use some salsa if you’d like! xT
Made this in the crockpot and it’s mega easy. I had to use jarred jalapeños because I forgot to buy fresh and it was still very good. The only thing I’d do differently is not add the rice in. The rice absorbed a lot of the liquid and it turned into more of a thick stew/almost a risotto. There are probably plenty of people who love that, and it is good, I just really wanted a soup for our cold New Hampshire day. So I’d just add the rice to the bowl and pour some soup over next time!
Thank you so so much Meredith! xT
I just made this today. The soup comes together fast and it’s DELICIOUS!!!
Thanks so so much for trying out this recipe! Have a lovely day! xT
I can’t wait to try this, but the Spicy part has me nervous- my family’s tastes lean more mild than spicy. If I use mild enchilada sauce and seed the jalapenos, do you think that would work? Or should I use only one jalapeno? Thanks!
Hi there! Yes, you can definitely use mild enchilada sauce and maybe only use 1 jalapeño if you want less spice! xT
This soup was much better than I expected considering how simple it was to make. I followed the slow cooker version without variation. I considered skipping the rice but was glad that I didn’t. Served with cilantro, tortilla chips, grated cheese and lime. Delicious!
Thank you so so much for trying out the recipe! Hope you have a great fall season! xT
I made this in my crockpot and its so good and easy to make
Thank you for giving this recipe a try! So happy to hear you enjoyed it! xT
Hey there, quick question! Have you ever substituted for green chili enchilada sauce? I love the green sauce as well but wanted to see if you have tried it or get your thoughts on if it would be good if not 🙂 thank you!
Hi there! I haven’t, but that should work great! xT
Hey! This recipe looks fantastic! Just trying to get some clarity on the rice. The recipe says to add cooked rice, but in the comments you instruct someone to add in uncooked rice. However, in other comments you instruct people to add cooked rice. Would love some clarity, thank you so much!
Hi! I am so sorry for the confusion, the rice should cooked when added! xT