Chicken Taco Soup
Chicken Taco Soup Recipe – This is hands-down the best, most creamy, and zesty taco soup loaded with your favorite toppings. It’s easy to make with leftover chicken on the stovetop in 30 minutes, or dump and go in the slow cooker!
Why We Love Chicken Taco Soup
If there was ever a crowd-pleasing soup it’s our Best Chicken Taco Soup Recipe made with fresh sautéed peppers and onions, a few select canned ingredients, and chicken taco seasoning packets. For a delicious extra-tangy flavor we stir in cream cheese right before serving. The result is the creamiest, tastiest, and most irresistible taco soup!
This easy recipe can be made on the stovetop or slow cooker with leftover chicken or store-bought rotisserie chicken. Or you can throw a couple of large chicken breasts in the pot and then shred them after they cook through. However you choose to make it, this no-fail recipe is simple to put together and fantastic for meal prep!
Taco Chicken Soup Ingredients
- Butter – unsalted
- Onion – chopped
- Bell peppers – green and red, chopped
- Garlic – minced
- Black beans – drained and rinsed (or chili beans)
- Rotel tomatoes – your choice of mild or spicy (or canned diced tomatoes)
- Corn – frozen whole-kernel corn, there’s no need to thaw
- Seasoning packets – choose your favorite brand packet of taco seasoning – and whether you like regular or chicken taco seasoning (or add a combination of chili powder, ground cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder)
- Chicken broth – low sodium chicken broth or bullion
- Cream cheese – regular or low-fat
- Chicken – precooked and shredded, or see notes for using raw chicken
Plus LOTS of tasty toppings! Keep reading for some of our favorite suggestions.
How to Make Chicken Taco Soup
Set a large 6-8 quart soup pot (or dutch oven) on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the butter. Once melted, add the chopped onion, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and garlic. Sauté the vegetables for 3 to 4 minutes to soften.
Add in the drained black beans, Rotel, frozen corn, taco seasoning packets, and broth.
Stir and simmer for 10 minutes.
Get the Complete (Printable) Chicken Taco Soup Recipe Below. Enjoy!
Finally, add in the cream cheese and shredded chicken.
Pro Tip: Soften the cream cheese at room temperature, then cut it into small chunks before adding to the soup. This will make the cheese melt more smoothly into the broth.
Stir until the cream cheese melts into the soup base making it slightly creamy.
How to Make Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup
To make this chicken taco soup recipe in a Crockpot, first sauté the chopped vegetables in a skillet over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes to soften.
Transfer the veggies to the crock of your slow cooker. Place all of the remaining ingredients into the crock and cover. If using pre-cooked chicken, cook the soup on HIGH 2-3 hours or LOW for 4-5 hours.
However, you can use raw chicken breasts and cook the taco soup on HIGH 3-4 hours or LOW 7-8 hours. After cooking, carefully remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred or chop it into small pieces. Stir the chicken back into the soup and serve. Don’t forget to top your slow cooker chicken taco soup with all the best toppings, too!
Serving Suggestions
This soup is perfect for loading up with your favorite taco toppings! Here are a few of our favorite goodies:
- Shredded cheese – cheddar or a Mexican cheese blend
- Cilantro – freshly chopped
- Tortilla strips – or chips
- Sour cream – or Greek yogurt
- Avocado – see our handy tips for how to cut an avocado
- Pickled jalapenos – make them yourself for the most deliciously bold taste
- Green onion – thinly sliced
- White onion – diced or chopped
And you want to have plenty of crunchy tortilla chips with salsa and guacamole on the side, too!
Frequently Asked Questions
Don’t have leftover cooked chicken? Place two raw chicken breasts into the soup pot with the chicken broth. Simmer the soup for 15 minutes. Then pull the chicken breast out with tongs and shred them into pieces. Stir the chicken back into the soup and serve.
This soup gets its thickness from rich cream cheese. But the broth will still be smooth and on the thinner side vs a thick chowder. If your soup is a bit too thin, try crushing up tortilla chips and add them to the soup in the last minute or so of simmering time.
Yes, this is a gluten-free recipe! Just be sure to check your taco seasoning packet for any hidden gluten.
Although hearty, this soup is on the “lighter” side with a fairly thin broth and no heavy starches (like potatoes, pasta, rice, etc.) The chicken and beans, plus cream cheese, pack the soup with protein and all kinds of nutrients. That being said, we typically don’t consider cream cheese to be a “healthy” food as it does contain a good amount of fat and calories.
Whether you cook on the stovetop or in the crockpot, chicken taco soup is fantastic to make in a large batch for meal prepping! Cool the leftovers completely before transferring them to an airtight container, and keep them in the fridge for up to 4 days.
No, soups made with cream cheese tend to not hold up well to freezing and thawing.
Yes, you can make this an Instant Pot Chicken Taco Soup by placing the ingredients in the IP and cooking it “as instructed” on the Sauté setting. OR you can make it with raw chicken… Sauté the veggies in the IP, then add all ingredients (except the cream cheese) to the pot and set on Pressure Cook High for 20 minutes. Perform a Natural Release for 5 minutes. Then shred the chicken, add it back to the soup, and stir in the cream cheese.
Looking for More Family-Friendly Dinner Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:
- Impossible Cheeseburger Pie
- One-Pot Sloppy Joe Noodle Skillet
- Easy Loaded Baked Potato Soup
- Homemade Hamburger Helper
- Top 20 Recipes Under $20
Check the printable recipe card below for the prep time, cook time, total time, and nutrition information. Make sure to share this recipe on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Chicken Taco Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 1 cup green bell pepper
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 15 ounce can black beans drained and rinsed
- 10 ounce can Rotel tomatoes and chiles with juices
- 1 cup frozen corn or drained canned corn
- 2 taco seasoning packets original or chicken taco packet
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- Optional Garnishes: shredded cheese cilantro, tortilla strips/chips, sour cream, avocado
Instructions
- Set a large 6-8 quart soup pot on the stovetop over medium heat. Add the butter. Once melted, add the chopped onion, red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and garlic. Sauté the vegetables for 3 to 4 minutes to soften.
- Add in the drained black beans, Rotel, frozen corn, taco seasoning packets, and broth. Stir and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Finally add in the cream cheese and shredded chicken. Stir until the cream cheese melts into the soup base making it slightly creamy.
- Serve warm with your favorite taco toppings.
Made this for my daughter’s family, and it was a huge hit! My husband and I loved it, too. It’s definitely going in the recipe file for future meals.
a very clever idea for a soup, love all of these ingredients in a burrito or taco and as soup, works for me too, thank you!
Oh my goodness, this soup was a hit in our house! So easy to make and my family is already asking me to make it again. I think I’ll make a double batch next time!
I’ve made lots of taco soups over the years but this one had the best flavor yet! It was perfect for a cold and rainy night.
I wish I could give this 10 stars! My family loved this soup. Next time I will double the recipe!