Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

By Sarah DiGregorio

Published August 16, 2022

  • David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Hadas Smirnoff.
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Total Time
5½ hours
Rating
4(715)
Comments
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While the origins of tortilla soup (also known as sopa Azteca or sopa de tortilla) can be traced to central Mexico, it has many variations, often characterized by a brothy chicken base flavored with puréed roasted tomatoes, chiles and garlic, and topped with fried leftover tortillas and other garnishes. In this nontraditional slow-cooker version, tomatoes, onion, garlic and chile are charred under the broiler (on a foil-lined sheet pan, for easy clean-up), then go straight into the slow cooker, where they add savory depth to the chicken soup. (No slow-cooker? Use the stovetop version of this recipe.)

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings 

  • 5 large plum tomatoes (about 1 pound), cored and halved 

  • 1 white onion, peeled and quartered 

  • 12 ounces cherry tomatoes (about 2 heaping cups)

  • 8 garlic cloves (unpeeled)

  • 2 jalapeños, stemmed and halved, 1 seeded and de-ribbed

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 

  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste 

  • 2 ½ teaspoons ground cumin 

  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano 

  • 1 ½ teaspoons coarse kosher salt, plus more to taste

  • 1 teaspoon onion powder

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

  • 4 cups chicken broth or stock

  • 2 carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

  • 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs

  • 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and cubed

  • 1 lime 

  • Tortilla chips

  • Any combination of hot sauce, cilantro and queso fresco, for topping

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 to 6 servings)

23 grams carbs; 111 milligrams cholesterol; 354 calories; 9 grams monosaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 17 grams fat; 6 grams fiber; 879 milligrams sodium; 30 grams protein; 9 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat a broiler with a rack 4 to 6 inches from the heat source. Line a sheet pan with foil, add the plum tomatoes and arrange them in an even layer, cut sides up. Add the onions, cherry tomatoes, garlic and jalapeños, distributing them evenly, and broil for 15 minutes, checking and rotating the pan every 5 minutes to make sure the vegetables are charring and blistering evenly. (The vegetables should be blackened in spots, slumped and sizzling. Many of the cherry tomatoes will have burst.)

  2. Step 2

    Discard the garlic skins, then roughly chop the onion, garlic, jalapeños and plum tomatoes, transferring them to a 5- to 8-quart slow cooker. Transfer the cherry tomatoes and any juices to a separate bowl and refrigerate.

  3. Step 3

    Stir the oil, tomato paste, cumin, oregano, salt, onion powder and garlic powder into the slow cooker, followed by the chicken broth, carrots and chicken thighs. Cover and cook on low for 5 hours.

  4. Step 4

    Before serving, fold the avocado into the cherry tomatoes; season with a pinch of salt and the juice of half the lime.

  5. Step 5

    In the slow cooker, coarsely shred the chicken with two forks. Add the juice of the remaining lime half, and season to taste with salt.

  6. Step 6

    Serve the soup in bowls topped with crushed tortilla chips and spoonfuls of the tomato-avocado salsa. Pass hot sauce, queso fresco and/or cilantro at the table, if desired.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
715 user ratings
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Comments

Darcy

The cherry tomatoes weren’t really needed, and the carrots should be omitted—too strong a flavor that was mismatched with everything else. Double the garlic! Definitely taste and add salt, I found I needed quite a bit. Smelled great cooking all day and a great way to use summer produce. I added a poblano pepper to the broiling veggies, and next time I will add rice to the soup.

Kristi (aa Moria Rose)

It means you fold in the avocado. Just fold it in.

Maggie

My hunt for a really flavorful Mexican Tortilla soup found satisfaction with this hearty version. Corrections include doubling garlic and a bit more salt toward the end. The salsa mix could use a dash of Smokey paprika and salt to spice it up a bit. Lime juice and cilantro brought it all together for a delicious and snappy soup.

Paolo in Sweden

Making this right now. Does the chicken go into the pot raw? Or pre-cooked in a pan before going into the crock pot?

Pam

Tried in an insta pot, was not good. Won’t try this again.

Sonia

So delicious. I used half of one jalapeño, seeded and de-ribbed, because I was cooking for sissies (my nieces & nephews) who can't handle heat. Any more and it would have been "way too spicy" for them. I used homemade chicken stock and chicken breasts instead of thighs because that's what I had on hand. Overall, the additional flavor from the stock made up for any flavor sacrificed by using all white meat.

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