If you’ve got a house full of Mexican food lovers like I do, your crew will be excited when they find out it’s Mexican soup night. A bowl of this soup is hearty and filling. For your cheese lovers, the best part will be the creamy queso melted into the soup.
You can easily prep this soup in about 10 minutes in the morning. Fill your cock pot and go about your day. The aroma will get to you, though. You are going to get hungry smelling it cook all day.
Easy Entertaining
The simplicity of this soup makes it easy to keep all the ingredients on hand. Whenever you have company coming for dinner or guests heading over for the big game, you can prepare this for a big crowd in no time.
Double up the recipe and then set up a food bar. Serve it right in the slow cooker, keeping it on warm so people can get seconds. Top the soup on chips, baked potatoes, or fill warm corn tortillas.
Set out bowls of topping choices such as shredded cheeses, pickled jalapeños for a spicy kick, sour cream for creaminess, fresh lime wedges, green chilies, and tomatoes.
Mexican Chicken Soup Recipe Ingredient List
- Onion – A firm white or yellow onion will work best.
- Garlic – For the best flavor, use fresh garlic.
- Chicken broth – Canned or boxed broth is fine, but try to get broth, not stock, for a richer flavor.
- Fire-roasted tomatoes – Fire-roasted tomatoes can be found alongside other tomatoes in the canned goods aisle of your grocery store. They add a depth of smoky flavor to the soup.
- Cilantro – Use fresh, not dried, cilantro. If you aren’t a fan of cilantro flavor, you can leave it.
- Chicken breast – Purchase boneless, skinless, either fresh or frozen. Just be sure to defrost the chicken before putting it into the slow cooker.
- Velveeta Queso Blanco: This cheese adds creaminess to this delicious soup.
- Tortilla chips – Pick up a bag of your favorite brand. The shape doesn’t matter, we are going to crush them anyway.
How to Make Cheesy Mexican Soup Step-By-Step
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the chopped onions and minced garlic. Sauté for 3 minutes until fragrant and the onions soften. Pour into the slow cooker.
- In the slow cooker, stir in the chicken broth, diced tomatoes, cilantro, seasonings, bay leaf, and carrots. Stir well.
- Push the chicken breasts down into the liquid, making sure they are fully submerged.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and set for 6 hours on low.
- When the cooking time is over, use tongs to remove the cooked chicken breasts. Place them on a cutting board and shred them with two forks or chop them into small pieces.
- Return the shredded chicken pieces back to the slow cooker.
- Cut the queso into blocks and remove the bay leaf from the soup.
- Stir queso quesadilla cheese and crushed tortilla chips. Stir well.
- Cover and cook for 5 more minutes allowing the cheese to melt and chips to disolve.
Tip: If the soup seems too thick, add an additional cup of chicken broth or water.
- Remove the lid and give the soup one last good stir to cream the cheese and chips into the soup. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, fresh cilantro, diced avocado, cowboy candy, radish slices, and more crushed tortilla chips.
In A Hurry?
If you are running short on time, then this soup can be made on the stovetop. Follow the directions, and instead of putting it in the crock pot, cook your soup in a large pot on your stovetop. Don’t forget, don’t add the cheese and chips until the last 5 minutes of cooking time.
Don’t want to wait for the chicken to cook? Instead of raw chicken, add leftover shredded rotisserie chicken. You could also use leftover chicken.
Topping Ideas
This is a simple, flavorful soup that the whole family can make it their own with their favorite toppings.
- Chopped fresh bell peppers or red bell pepper
- Canned green chiles (mild or hot)
- Fresh jalapeño pepper diced
- Slices of limes so everyone can squeeze fresh lime juice on top of their soup.
Meat Variations
- Instead of boneless chicken breast, you can use chicken thighs or boneless skinless turkey instead of chicken.
- Make this a vegan soup. Instead of meat, add black beans, pintos, pink beans, kidney beans, or white rice. Also, beans are a great way to stretch your grocery budget.
What To Do With Leftovers
In the fridge – Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
In the freezer – Place the soup in a freezer bag or container with a tight-fitting lid and freeze for up to 2 months. Please keep in mind the cheese in the soup may separate a bit when freezing, so it may not have the same consistency as it did the first time. The taste will be great, though. Allow to thaw overnight in the fridge or defrost in the microwave before reheating.
How to reheat – Heat over medium heat in a pot, stirring often so the cheese doesn’t melt. You could also use a microwave.
Make It A Meal
This Mexican tortilla soup is filling all on its own. However, if you have a big family, you could add some sides like this Mexican Rice Salad, Mexican Coleslaw. Oh, and don’t forget a Mexican Dessert.
Need a big batch to feed a crowd? You can easily change the number of servings in the recipe card below by tapping 2x or 3x. The ingredient measurements will automatically double or triple. You can then tap print and there you have it, a recipe for a crowd.
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Cheesy Tortilla Mexican Chicken Soup Recipe (Slow Cooker)
Note: Be sure to read through the recipe’s post for tips and details about this recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup onion , yellow or white, peeled and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 32 ounces chicken broth
- 14.5 ounce fire roasted tomatoes , can of diced
- 1/3 cup cilantro, fresh finely chopped stems, and leaves
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons chili powder, mild
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili pepper, optional, if you want some heat
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional, if you want some heat
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 bay leaf , size about 2 inches long in size
- 2 carrots , peeled and cubed
- 1 pound chicken breasts , boneless skinless, about two large breasts
- 16 ounces Velveeta Queso Blanco Melting Cheese
- 2 cups tortilla chips , crushed
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the chopped onions and minced garlic. Sauté for 3 minutes until fragrant and the onions soften. Pour into the slow cooker.
- In the slow cooker, stir in the chicken broth, diced tomatoes, cilantro, seasonings, bay leaf, and carrots. Stir well.
- Push the chicken breasts down into the liquid, making sure they are fully submerged.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and set for 6 hours on low.
- When the cooking time is over, use tongs to remove the cooked chicken breasts. Place them on a cutting board and shred them with two forks or chop them into small pieces.
- Return the shredded chicken pieces back to the slow cooker.
- Cut the queso into small blocks and remove the bay leaf from the soup.
- Stir queso quesadilla cheese and crushed tortilla chips. Stir well.
- Cover and cook for 5 more minutes allowing the cheese to melt and the chips to dissolve.
Equipment
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