Slow-Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
Published Aug. 17, 2022
- Total Time
- 5½ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
- 5large plum tomatoes (about 1 pound), cored and halved
- 1white onion, peeled and quartered
- 12ounces cherry tomatoes (about 2 heaping cups)
- 8garlic cloves (unpeeled)
- 2jalapeños, stemmed and halved, 1 seeded and de-ribbed
- 2tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2tablespoons tomato paste
- 2½teaspoons ground cumin
- 2teaspoons dried oregano
- 1½teaspoons coarse kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1teaspoon onion powder
- 1teaspoon garlic powder
- 4cups chicken broth or stock
- 2carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
- 1½pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1avocado, peeled, pitted and cubed
- 1lime
- Tortilla chips
- Any combination of hot sauce, cilantro and queso fresco, for topping
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
352 calories; 17 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 23 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 30 grams protein; 879 milligrams sodium
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
- 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.)
- 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.
- 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.
- Step 4
Before serving, fold the avocado into the cherry tomatoes; season with a pinch of salt and the juice of half the lime.
- 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.
- 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.
Private Notes
Comments
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.
It means you fold in the avocado. Just fold it in.
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.
I do not like chicken thighs - do not like them, Sam I am! (I know all the arguments, please don't try to convine me!) When substituting chicken breast, do I need to adjust chooking time?
Generally not a fan of slow cooker meals (because everything just tastes boiled) but considering I was freezing on a foggy Sunday morning…I decided to break out the frozen cherry toms and jalapeños from the last summer harvest and put them to work! I was shocked at the delicious outcome. Although I doubted the “salsa topper” - I made exactly to recipe and now there’s none left! The flavor profile is excellent - the broiling added great depth of flavor that 5 hours of boiling didn’t ruin!! Added queso fresco and crumbled chips as suggested. Now I know what I’ll use my frozen summer harvests for. Truly SO EASY it’s hard to believe it’s so DELICIOUS! The lime is key - don’t forget it!!!
I used suggestions by the other commenters and this soup was a hit. I doubled the garlic, used canned plum tomatoes and their juice, reduced the broth to 3 cups, and added a can of black beans and some frozen sweet corn at the end. I skipped the salsa stuff on top (but still had lots of toppings including avocado, cilantro, sour cream, cheese, and tortilla chips). I used bone-in, skin on chicken thighs. I slathered them in salt, pepper and garlic and browned them on the stove top first and it added a lot of flavor. I discarded the bones and skin when I pulled the chicken out to shred it—it fell right off the bone. So good!