One Pot Chicken Taco Soup

Chicken Taco Soup is the perfect soup for the colder months. Made with diced tomatoes with green chiles, corn, and a creamy broth, your whole family will enjoy this quick and easy recipe and it will certainly elevate your taco Tuesday!

Chicken Taco Soup Recipe

There’s nothing like a bowl of delicious soup to warm you up on a cold night. This easy chicken taco soup gives you the best of both worlds with bold flavors from Tex-Mex seasonings and a hint of spice for a quick dinner. 

It’s such a good soup, I know you are going to love it!

You can load up on your favorite toppings to make this soup more filling, like homemade guacamole or you can serve it with a salad and this Cilantro Lime Crema.

The best part? This recipe is a lot easier than making traditional tacos and also a bit healthier.

Craving tacos? Try my Baked Chicken Tacos, these Trader Joe’s Soyaki Tacos or this Easy Taco Pasta Bake next!

Ingredients you will need

This creamy chicken taco soup comes together in no time with just a handful of fresh ingredients!

Onion: white, yellow, or even red onions will give this soup lots of flavor.

Ro-tel diced tomatoes & green chilies: this will give the soup a nice kick. Substitute for regular diced tomatoes if you don’t want it spicy. Fire roasted diced tomatoes would give the soup a delicious smoky flavor.

Chicken bone broth: you can use chicken broth if you don’t have bone broth, but bone broth has more nutrients and less sodium, and is perfect for this soup.

Taco seasoning: store bought taco seasoning packets work just fine or you can make your own with just a few spice cabinet staples and this homemade Mexican Seasoning recipe.

Corn: frozen sweet corn is best, but you can use canned corn if necessary.

Cream cheese: a block of cream cheese softened and cut into cubes makes this soup ultra-creamy. Use Neufchatel cheese for a low-fat option if you like.

Chicken: chicken breasts is best for shredding. You can even shred store bought rotisserie chicken if you are short on time.

Toppings: I like to add shredded cheese, sliced avocado, tortilla strips, and cilantro to mine.

How to make chicken taco soup

1. Sauté the onion. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large pot or a large dutch oven. Add the onion and sauté it for 3-5 minutes, or until softened.
2. Make the soup. Add the can of ro-tel diced tomatoes & green chilies, chicken bone broth, taco seasoning, and corn to the pot. Mix until combined and increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and add the cream cheese. Stir until the cream cheese has melted into the soup.
3. Add the chicken. Add the shredded chicken breast and cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add your favorite toppings. Add shredded cheese, sliced avocado, tortilla stripes, cilantro, and any other ingredients you love, serve, and enjoy!

How to make taco seasoning

Making your own taco seasoning is quick and easy to do using staple spice cabinet favorites. You can adjust this recipe to taste, so you have fresh taco seasoning any time you want to use it.

Homemade taco seasoning will give your soup a richer flavor than a packet of taco seasoning you can buy from your local grocery store.

You will need: 

• chili powder
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• red pepper flakes
• oregano
• paprika
• cumin
• sea salt 
• black pepper

You can also add cornstarch to thicken it up if you want.

Can you use beef taco seasoning on chicken?

Store bought taco seasoning packets can be used on either beef or chicken. However, the proportions of ingredients found in chicken taco seasoning versus beef taco seasoning are a little different, as they are designed to taste great with chicken. 

The chicken taco seasoning is a bit milder and contains less cumin. A bonus of making your own is that you can adjust the ingredients to your preference.

Can I make this soup in the slow cooker?

Yes, this soup can easily be made in the slow cooker and is a little less time consuming than making it on the stove top. The best part is that you can cook the raw chicken breasts in the crock pot with the rest of the soup.

1. Add all ingredients to the slow cooker. Add the onion, diced tomatoes, chicken bone broth, taco seasoning, frozen corn, and cream cheese to the slow cooker and stir until combined. Add the thawed chicken breast to the slow cooker, cover, and cook on low for 3-4 hours.
2. Shred the chicken. Remove the chicken breasts from the slow cooker and let them cool to room temperature. Shred the chicken using two forks or the paddle attachment of a hand or stand mixer.
3. Stir. Add the chicken back into the slow cooker and stir the soup until fully combined.

If you have an instant pot, you can give this Instant Pot Crack Chili Chicken a try next!

What is chicken taco meat called?

Chicken taco meat is called pollo, which is a popular taco filling. The pollo filling is made by slow cooking whole chicken breasts and cutting or shredding the chicken once it’s cooked, which is exactly how you should cook the chicken in this simple chicken taco soup recipe.

Can I make this recipe without cream cheese?

Cream cheese is what gives this soup its creaminess, but you can totally skip the cream cheese or substitute it. Neufchatel cheese has ⅓ less fat than regular cream cheese, making it a healthier alternative.

Adding heavy cream, tomato sauce, or sour cream will also make the soup creamy and is a bit healthier than using cream cheese.

Adding shredded cheese to the soup as you are cooking it will do the same and is another option.

Other healthier alternatives to thicken the soup and not add cheese, cream, or sour cream is to add flour or cornstarch. Additionally, you can puree some of the broth with the vegetables to make it thicker without adding any extra calories!

Can you freeze taco soup?

I don’t recommend freezing this soup because of the cream cheese, but you can freeze it if you choose not to add cream cheese. The cream cheese will separate a little if you choose to freeze it.

Store the soup in an airtight container for 3-5 days in the fridge or up to 3 months in the freezer. Be sure to store it in a freezer safe container.

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