Chicken Taco Soup - Good Cheap Eats (2024)

Plan for a delicious meal tonight with this quick and easy Chicken Taco Soup. Loaded with tender chicken breast, lots of veggies, taco spices, and a rich chicken stock, this simple dinner is one you will love to serve both for easy weeknight suppers or fancier Cinco de Mayo celebrations. It’s ready in less than half an hour!

This is a great cheap meal for kids. Be sure to serve this tasty soup with Homemade Tortilla Chips for a fun riff on tortilla soup. Check out these Mexican Dinner Ideas for more meal planning inspiration!

Soups are practically perfect meals. Typically, they contain loads of veggies, a nourishing broth, and you can adjust them with meat or not, depending on your preferences or what you have on hand. I’ve found them to be a very powerful option for saving money on food.

In fact, we regularly serve soup for lunch or dinner because it’s so affordable. You can stretch it to serve a crowd ormake it in bulk to freeze for later, saving on dining out costs.

Why Make This Soup

Chicken Taco Soup is delicious! The flavors in this soup are incredible with just enough spice to liven up your taste buds and such a great combination of southwest veggies.

It’s affordable. Since this soup is very veggie-forward, it’s very easy on the wallet. Add chicken or not. It’s delicious both ways!

It’s easy to make. You can prep this soup in less than 30 minutes, making it a prime candidate for weeknight meals.

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make Chicken Taco Soup:

olive oil – You need just a bit to saute the mirepoix. Use your favorite cooking oil; I’m partial to olive oil.

mirepoix – the standard choppedonion,carrots, and celery, are a great start mostsoup recipes, this one included. You can chop your own or buy a mix offresh or frozen mirepoix to speed things up.

veggies – I like to include chopped red potatoes,minced garlic, shredded zucchini, and whole kernel corn. You can also add chopped green or red bell pepper or sliced jalapenos if you like.

chicken stock – I make my own stock, but you can use canned chicken broth if you prefer.

cooked chicken – Use chicken cooked for recipes. I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts that I cook in the pressure cooker and then shred chicken quickly in the stand mixe, but you could also make up a quick batch of skillet chicken tenderloins. This is also a great recipe to use a rotisserie chicken or leftover turkey.

black beans – Use canned or cooked black beans, drained and rinsed. The color of the black beans really pops in the soup, but you can also use chili beans, pinto beans, or kidney beans if that’s what you have.

tomato sauce – A can of tomato sauce adds body and flavor to the sauce without the chunky tomatoes that picky eaters eschew. If you prefer the toms, add a can of crushed or diced tomatoes instead.

juice of 1 lime – Lime juice adds a refreshing kick to the broth.

taco seasoning mix – I use homemade taco seasoning since it’s cheap and easy to make. You can use your favorite brand.

chopped fresh cilantro – I love the freshness that this herb brings to chicken taco soup. Other toppings you might want to offer include sour cream, diced tomatoes, crushed tortilla chips, shredded cheddar cheese, and/or chopped avocado.

Variations:

• To make Creamy Chicken Taco Soup:stir in 4 ounces of cream cheese, cut into cubes, until melted.
• To make Chicken Tortilla Soup: place crushed tortilla chips in the bottom of the bowl before ladling in the soup.
• To make Mexican-Style Chicken Noodle Soup: add dry fideo noodles to the pot when you add the stock and veggies.

Step-by-Step Instructions

I find that the quickest way to get this on the table is to simmer it on the stove. It takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish. If you prefer, you can make it in the crock pot or instant pot as well.

Stovetop Chicken Taco Soup:

1. In a large stockpot over medium heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering.
2. Cook the onion, carrots, celery, potatoes, and garlic until tender, about 6 minutes.
3. Add the chicken stock, cooked chicken, beans, tomato sauce, zucchini, corn, lime juice, and taco seasoning.
4. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
5. To serve, garnish the soup with chopped cilantro or other toppings.

Instant Pot Instructions:

1. In the pressure cooker set to saute, heat the olive oil until shimmering.
2. Cook the onion, carrots, celery, potatoes, and garlic until tender, about 6 minutes.
3. Add the chicken stock, cooked chicken, beans, tomato sauce, zucchini, corn, lime juice, and taco seasoning.
4. Cover and set the machine to Soup Mode for 20 minutes, selecting theLESS setting.
5. To serve, garnish the soup with chopped cilantro or other toppings.

Instructions for Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup:

1. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering.
2. Cook the onion, carrots, celery, potatoes, and garlic until tender, about 6 minutes. Transfer the mixture to the crock of a slow cooker.
3. Add the chicken stock, cooked chicken, beans, tomato sauce, zucchini, corn, lime juice, and taco seasoning.
4. Cover and set the machine to LOW for 4hours or HIGH for 2hours.
5. To serve, garnish the soup with chopped cilantro or other toppings.

FAQs

More Great Soups to Make

This post was originally published on June 30, 2008. The recipe has been adapted to be more veggie-forward.