Slow Cooker Chicken Salsa Verde Tortilla Soup
Slow Cooker Chicken Salsa Verde Tortilla Soup is classic chicken tortilla soup with a salsa verde twist. Enjoy with a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream and crunchy tortilla chips for a healthy, hearty meal!
We all love our Mexican food, yes? Yes…or more appropriately, si! Now that that’s out of the way, are you a red sauce or a green sauce kind of person? I’d never ventured out and tried green sauce when I was younger — I knew I liked red and had no clear understanding of what green sauce really all about.
It’s so sad it took me so long to find out how much I love salsa verde and those darling green little tomatillos that make it so special.
It wasn’t until I was in cooking school and we had a demo on Mexican cuisine that I discovered tomatillos. The chef told us that in the winter he never used tomatoes in his restaurant because they were horrible when they were out of season.
I do agree on that — tomatoes are light red and very blah in flavor at this time of year. He made us a salsa out of raw tomatillos. I was shocked. Would that even taste good?
Turns out, that was one of the best salsas I’ve ever had…simply tomatillos, garlic, jalapeño, white onions, and lime juice. I was a tomatillo lover from there on out.
I never realized how easy it was to make homemade salsa verde until last year. It’s just onions, tomatillos, garlic, and jalapeños, broiled for about 10-15 minutes until charred. Whir the charred veggies in the blender with lime juice, spices, and cilantro, and you’ve got a flavorful salsa verde. Ole!
Normally I like to start slow cooker soups on the stove top for flavor, but with this one, it’s done under the broiler. Once you whir it all together in the blender, all you have to do is dump everything into the slow cooker and let it do it’s thing. 🙂
I’ve never made a tortilla soup with salsa verde before, and I’ve had it on my list for a while now. If you don’t want to make your own salsa verde, buy your favorite brand and combine it with some chicken stock. If you do make your own, you can make it ahead and freeze it for essential soup-making days.
Let me tell you, this soup was all that and a bag of chips, too. Because there were crunchy, delicious tortilla chips on the side, you know. I topped my soup with a dollop of Greek yogurt and loved the creaminess of it with the delicious tang of the salsa verde broth. This is the lighter way to enjoy a Mexican fiesta, and you won’t feel deprived. No sirrree. It’s easy to make, it’s hearty with tons of flavor, and boy are the leftovers nice. 🙂
More soup recipes you’ll love:
- Chicken tortilla soup
- Greek lemon chicken soup
- Italian sausage kale soup
- Sweet potato black bean tortilla soup
- Turkey wild rice soup
Slow Cooker Chicken Salsa Verde Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- green enchilada sauce
- 1 lb. skinless chicken breasts
- 2 cups reduced sodium chicken stock
- 15 ounces black beans rinsed and drained
- 1 1/2 cups corn canned or frozen
- salt and pepper to taste
- Serve with Greek yogurt or sour cream and tortilla chips if desired
Instructions
- Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Place the green enchilada sauce in the slow cooker, and stir in the chicken stock. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the black beans and corn, then add the chicken. Cover and cook on low heat for 4 hours or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred, then stir the shredded chicken into the soup. Ladle into bowls and serve with Greek yogurt or sour cream, and tortilla chips. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you like your soups on the thin side, add more chicken stock.
- If you’re short on time and would rather just use store bought salsa verde, you will need about 2 cups.
- Salsa verde can be made ahead and frozen until ready to use.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
42 Comments on “Slow Cooker Chicken Salsa Verde Tortilla Soup”
Yum Marcie! After a week’s vacation in Mexico and coming home to cold and snow, this soup would definitely hit the spot!!! Pinning (and making!)
Consider this soup your welcome back from me! haha Thanks, Deb, and it looked like you had a wonderful trip! 🙂
I love salsa verde! And I love the crunchy tortilla chips here. This looks great 🙂
Thank you, Medha! 🙂
I don’t think I’ve ever cooked with tomatillos. Man is it about time! I’m a total sucker for any kind of chicken tortilla soup. This looks so tasty and satisfying Marcie!
I hope you give tomatillos a try, Alyssa…they really are wonderful! 🙂
oh wow! Did you make this for me Marcie?? Because I absolutely love salsa verde. AND I love tortilla soup so this is a sure thing in my future. Thanks for this!! 🙂
I’d love to share a bowl with you, Renee! 🙂
I’m a gimme all the sauce kind of person! Ha ha. Love this soup. I desperately need a few bowls after all the snow we have been having!
Thanks, Liz! This would be so perfect on a snowy day. 🙂
I adore Mexican food. You are right, this is so fantastic!
You can never go wrong with Mexican food. Ever! 🙂
Tortilla soups are on of my favorites! My husband and I adore any type of Meixcan food, so this would be right up our alley. I love that you made this in the slow cooker, Marcie! Sounds so flavorful! Pinned!
Thanks, Gayle, and I appreciate the pin! 🙂
This is such a great idea! I make a slow cooker mexican chicken and vegetable soup at least once a month. I just made it on Monday. But I’ve been trying to think of some ways to mix it up. I love adding in the salsa verde! At our local Mexican restaurant, they make the best salsa verde. I could eat a whole bowl of it. I can’t wait to make this!
I feel the same way…I get myself in soup ruts sometimes. This salsa verde broke me right out of it, though, and I could eat a whole bowl of it, too. Thanks, Natalie! 🙂
This looks beyond incredible, Marcie! I just came in from being outside in the snow all day and nothing screams comfort than a big bowl of hot soup full of flavor. We love Mexican food and adding salsa verde to tortilla soup is such a great idea! Bonus that it’s made in the slow cooker too!
Thank you, Danielle! 🙂
I’ll bet the food was amazing in Costa Rica! I think tomatillos make everything so special with that little acidic pop of flavor. Thanks, Matty! 🙂
I’ve fallen for these little green guys and love them in guacamole and salsa. They add such a nice, acidic zip of flavor! 🙂
Thank you, Meghan! 🙂
oh wow! I never knew how easy it was to make homemade salsa verde!! I always buy it in a jar! I’ve got to try this. . this soup looks amazing!!!
Once I figured out how easy homemade salsa verde was, that was it! It’s become a staple now!
Yesssssss. This soup looks amazing. Just so so good. I think I would eat a huge bowl with a giant mound of chips! haha
And thanks for including my chili! Woo for salsa verde!
Gotta have a big mound of tortilla chips with soup like this…always! And I totally need to try your chili!
This is on for dinner tomorrow. Can’t wait
I hope you enjoy it, Kathy!
I need to venture out and try tomatillos — this looks amazing!
They’re so good, Ashley — I hope you give them a try!
I’m a big soup lover myself, so I know where you’re coming from. I’m glad you approve, Carol! 🙂
Can I even describe how perfect this soup is looking to me right now?! This is like the best version of tortilla soup EVER! Can’t get enough of those tomatillos!
Thank you, Sarah, and I completely loved this green version! I hope you get to try it soon!
I love tomatillos! And I think that’s such a great point that your instructor brought up about using them in place of tomatoes during the winter months. I will have to remember that! The soup looks fantastic and so comforting- perfect for this chilly season!
Thank you, Allie, and I’m happily using more tomatillos right about now — they sure gave this soup a nice tart little zing!
This soup looks amazing, Marcie! Love how easy it is to prepare 😀
Thank you, Jess!
Salsa verde and tortilla soup are both favs of mine – never ever had them combined in one soup! This sounds incredible
Thank you, Shashi! It was a first for me and I can’t believe it took me so long to do. Looks like I need to make up for lost time!
This sounds amazing!! I’ve only used tomatillos a couple times, but they are always a success so I need to try some new things with them!!
The tomatillos were so great here — I hope you try it Jess!
Was looking for ways to use up our abundance of tomatillos this year, and this is a winner! Followed the recipe to a tee but instead of the slow cooker, I made this in the INSTANT POT. Cooked on high pressure for 20 minutes, let it naturally release for 5 minutes and then quick released the remainder. Pulled the chicken to shred it and then added it back in. Turned out perfectly! Such a great, quick, weeknight dinner.
Served with shredded cheese, sliced green onions, sour cream and tortilla chips.
I’m glad you enjoyed this and thanks for sharing your Instant Pot method!