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Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Slow-cooker chicken tortilla soup

Your slow cooker is perfect for making long-simmered comfort food favorites that hit the spot on a cool evening. One of my family's go-to slow-cooker recipes is for this Mexican-style tortilla soup. Like many good slow-cooker recipes, it couldn't be easier: just throw almost everything in the cooker and let it go all day, adding beans and corn at the end.

Everyone in the family likes this because you can personalize your bowl with various garnishes, like avocado, cheese, lime juice, sour cream, hot sauce, and more. Fire-roasted tomatoes and smoked paprika give this soup a delicious smoky flavor, but of course you can use the normal varieties of these ingredients, too.

Ingredients

  • 1 32-ounce carton low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 15-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 onion, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons ground chili (California or New Mexico)
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breats
  • 1 14.5-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen or canned corn kernels (we really like the fire-roasted frozen corn from Trader Joe's)
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

Garnishes

  • Tortilla chips or strips
  • Shredded Monterey jack or mild cheddar cheese
  • Diced avocado
  • Sour cream
  • Lime wedges
  • Hot sauce like Tapatío or Cholula

Directions

Pour chicken broth and tomatoes into your slow cooker, followed by onion, garlic, spices, and chicken breasts. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours or until chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Remove chicken from the cooker and shred with two forks, then return to the soup. Add black beans, corn, cilantro, and lime juice and stir to combine. Turn cooker to high and cook for another 20 or 30 minutes or until corn and beans are warm.

Serve in bowls with tortilla chips and garnishes.