Chicken Taco Soup

Chicken taco soup is a flavorful family-friendly dish that brings the delicious seasonings of a taco to a warm and comforting bowl of soup. The combination of tender chicken, hearty beans, and spicy seasonings will make this soup feel like a fiesta in your mouth.

This soup isn't just for cooler seasons, this chicken taco soup is great any time of year.

This was inspired by my Instant Pot Taco Soup - it has similar seasonings and ingredients but is made with ground beef instead of chicken.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top tip
• Related
• 📖 Recipe

Ingredients

To make this delicious creamy chicken taco soup, you will need these ingredients:

chicken breasts: You can use chopped or shredded chicken, or store-bought rotisserie chicken to make this recipe even more simple.

olive oil: This is used for sautéing the onion and garlic.

onion, chopped: Adding onion provides flavor and texture to this soup.

red pepper, chopped: Adding not only color, red peppers give a nice crunch to this soup.

garlic cloves, minced: This adds aroma and flavor.

canned black beans, rinsed and drained: Black beans bring a hearty flavor and a nice texture to the soup.

Rotel tomatoes with chilies: Diced tomatoes with chopped chilies add a little kick and a savory and slightly acidic taste.

Frozen super sweet corn: Corn provides a natural sweetness, a pop of color, and crunch to the dish.

chicken broth: The foundation of any soup, the chicken broth brings all ingredients together and creates flavor throughout the soup.

taco seasoning: Whether homemade or packet seasoning, this gives a bold flavor to the dish.

cream cheese: Cream cheese gives this chicken taco soup a creamy and smooth texture.

salt and pepper: enhances flavor of the soup.

Optional toppings and garnishes can be added to enhance the flavor of the chicken taco soup:

Optional toppings and garnishes can be added to enhance the flavor and appearance of your chicken taco soup:

• Shredded cheese: Cheese is a great addition to this soup and changes the flavor and texture.
• Sliced avocado: Creamy avocado adds flavor that works well with this soup.
• Chopped cilantro: This fresh herb gives the soup a burst of color and an earthy flavor. It can easily be omitted!
• Tortilla Chips: Serving with tortilla chips is a fantastic way to add a crunch to this soup.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Chicken taco soup is a delicious dish that can be customized to suit your taste and dietary preferences. It can be made on the stove top or in the Instant Pot.

Stove Top

To make this soup on the stovetop, add olive oil to a large pot or Dutch Oven and sauté the onion, garlic, and bell peppers. Saute until the onions are translucent.

Once softened, whisk in the taco seasoning, allowing the seasoning to blend into the veggies.

Next, pour in the canned Rotel tomatoes and the chicken broth. Bring the soup to a boil.

Next, add the boneless skinless chicken to the boiling broth. Cook the chicken in the soup broth for about 25 minutes. Once the chicken is cooked through it should shred easily with two forks.

Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pot and either chop the chicken into pieces or shred it. To easily shred the chicken, transfer the chicken to a bowl and use an electric mixer to shred the chicken. Alternatively, use two forks to shred the chicken.

Reduce the heat to medium low and add the drained and rinsed beans to the pot as well as the corn. Return the chicken back to the pot and stir in the cut pieces of softened cream cheese.

Simmer on low until the cream cheese is melted and the soup is creamy.

Serve this chicken taco soup with chopped cilantro, shredded cheese, sliced avocado, and tortilla chips.

Instant Pot

To make a Instant Pot Chicken Taco Soup version, set the pressure cooker to saute and add the oil.

Add the chopped onion, garlic, onion, and bell peppers and cook until the onions are translucent. Press cancel on the Instant Pot and use a spoon to scrape off any stuck on bits to deglaze the pot.

Add the chicken, taco seasoning, tomatoes, and black beans to the pot.

Pour the chicken broth over the ingredients and make sure the chicken is fully submerged.

Place the lid back on the pot and set the Instant Pot to MANUAL/HIGH PRESSURE for 12 minutes. Allow the pot to naturally release pressure for 10 minutes before releasing any remaining pressure.

Remove the lid and transfer the chicken to a bowl and chop the chicken into bite sized pieces, It can also be shredded by either using two forks or by using a an electric mixer to shred the chicken.

Set the Instant Pot back to saute and add the shredded or chopped chicken back to the pot. Add the frozen corn and the chopped cream cheese block to the pot. Stir until the cream cheese is melted and the soup is creamy.

Press cancel and serve with cilantro, avocado, tortilla chips, and cheese.

Hint: Transfer the chicken to a bowl and use a hand mixer to quickly and easily shred the chicken before returning it to the pot.

Substitutions

There are a few substitutions you can use in this recipe to fit the ingredients you have on hand.

• Chicken - This recipes uses chicken breasts but you can use cooked chicken thighs or drumsticks if that's what you have on hand. To make this recipe even easier, rotisserie chicken works great in this recipe.
• Peppers - Insetad of red bell peppers, use a different color bell pepper or use a combination of colored peppers.
• Vegetarian - the beef hamburger can be replaced with a plant-based burger to make this vegetarian
• Cream cheese - Heavy cream can be used in place of cream cheese but it will alter the overall creaminess and flavor of the dish.

Variations

This chicken taco soup recipe is a very versatile soup recipe and ingredients can easily be swapped, omitted, or added.

• Spicy - Make this chicken taco soup with a kick by adding a hot variety of Rotel tomatoes, adding chopped jalapenos or other hot peppers.
• Add More Beans - black beans are called for in this recipe but pinto beans and small red beans are another great beans to add into this soup.
• Kid friendly - serve this soup with tortilla chips or scoops so the kids can eat this soup as a dip!

See this Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup for another variation of this soup.

Equipment

Depending on how you prepare your chicken taco soup the equipment you use will differ.

To prepare this soup on the stovetop, a Dutch oven is an excellent choice because it evenly distributes heat and has a large cooking surface for sautéing ingredients and plenty large to hold all of the ingredients.

To make the Instant Pot Chicken Taco Soup version, an electric pressure cooker in needed. Pressure cookers are great for creating flavorful and tender dishes. Additionally, an Instant Pot can help you save time, as it can cook soups and stews much faster than traditional stovetop methods.

A hand mixer is a quick and easy way to shred chicken. It's much faster than using two forks and it creates even shreds.

Storage

Storing your leftover chicken taco soup is simple and easy. To ensure the best flavor and freshness when consuming later, follow these storage guidelines.

First, allow your soup to cool down to room temperature in the pot before storing the soup in the refrigerator. Transfer the soup into an airtight container. Store the garnishes seprately for maximum quality and freshness.

When stored properly, chickent taco soup will stay good in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

This soup can also be frozen with a few things in mind. Allow the soup to cool completely and before transferring it to a freezer safe container. Store in the freezer for up two months.

To reheat, transfer the frozen soup to a pot and heat on low until the soup beings to break down. There will be a skim of fat on top of the frozen soup from the cream cheese. Simply stir the soup as it begins to cook down in the pot.

Related

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