Need a weeknight meal that is hearty, filling and easy? This Chicken Taco Soup made in the slow cooker is your answer! It's a family favorite made with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.
Do you have the one meal that you can make your whole family happy? For us, it’s this Chicken Taco Soup recipe. Every single time I make it, I get a big thumbs-up when my family asks what's for dinner.
I mean, is there anything better than taco night? We love shrimp tacos but this soup gives you all of the magic of taco night in one bowl.
Plus it has a secret ingredient that wraps it a ton of flavor.
The best thing? The only work required from me is to chop, dump and pour which makes it an easy meal for the family or a group.
Have I convinced you yet?
Ingredients
- onion
- refried beans
- diced tomatoes with chiles
- corn
- tomato sauce
- beer
- taco seasoning
- chicken
Instructions
The hardest part of this recipe is chopping the onion, after that the slow cooker does all of the heavy lifting.
Step 1: Add the chopped onion, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, diced tomatoes, and chicken broth to a slow cooker.
Step 2: Add taco seasoning, and stir to combine.
Step 3: Lay chicken breasts on top and press down to immerse in sauce.
Step 4: Cook on low for 5 hours.
Step 5: Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred with 2 forks.
Step 6: Stir the chicken back into the soup and cook for 2 hours.
Step 7: Scoop into bowls and garnish as desired.
FAQs
Feel free to use whatever you have on hand, but be sure it is something you like because the flavor does shine through. The alcohol cooks off while it simmers so there is no need to be concerned.
Absolutely, no alcohol is required for this soup, it just adds more flavor. You can easily substitute chicken broth in place of the soup and still get a delicious result.
Yes! Simply add the frozen chicken breasts and make sure they are immersed in the liquid before cooking.
This soup is a champ in the freezer. I like to make a double batch and then freeze in individual servings. It makes dinner or lunch on the run a snap.
Garnishes
There are no rules with the garnishes, so pick your favorites!
- avocado
- jalapenos
- shredded cheese
- sour cream
- fresh cilantro
- lime wedges
Tips
- You can still make this in the slow cooker if you start later in the day! Simply use rotisserie chicken and simmer on low for 2-3 hours.
- Make it on the stove top and let flavors simmer for a half hour before serving.
- Like a thinner soup? Swap the refried beans out and use plain black beans instead or add more chicken broth. This Chicken Tortilla Soup is another family favorite.
- Fire roasted corn (found in the freezer section) adds a nice smoky flavor.
More Slow Cooker Soups
My slow cooker is a workhorse in the kitchen. It's an easy dinner for the family or a group. Check out these go-to recipes.
Who doesn't love a good Italian soup? This Slow Cooker Italian Wedding Soup warms up any chilly evening.
No one needs to know how easy this Slow Cooker Split Pea soup with ham is!
This Thai Curried Butternut Squash Soup is in the regular dinner rotation all winter.
We can never turn down a good Fresh Tomato Bisque.
Recipe
Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup
Ingredients
- 1 small onion chopped
- 15 ounces refried black beans
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 12 ounces beer
- 20 ounces diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 4 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 3 chicken breasts boneless and skinless
- shredded Cheddar cheese optional
- sour cream optional
- chopped cilantro optional
- diced avocado optional
Instructions
- Place the onion, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer, diced tomatoes, and chicken broth in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend.
- Place chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients.
- Set slow cooker for low heat, cover and cook for 5 hours.
- Remove chicken breasts from the soup and shred. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours.
- Garnish with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, cilantro and avocado, if desired.
Nutrition
Nutrition info not guaranteed to be accurate.
This Chicken Taco Soup recipe is always a family favorite. It's a forgiving recipe that is easy to pull together, making it a great dinner option for the family. Double the recipe and feed a group (or freeze it for later!)
I didn't have any beer so added more chicken stock & only had regular canned tomatoes so l added dried chilies & also tomato paste for richness. Tortilla soup is my absolutely my favorite, it's over $4.00 for a cup at one of our favorite restaurants. Now l can make my own. Thanks for great recipe 🙂
OMG!!!!!!!!! Truly one of the best recipes I have ever made in my life!! I am not a big fan of veggies, and I can eat a whole big bowl of this without thought!
A few changes I made because I forgot to buy some of the ingredients (and was in another PA snow storm), I mixed four tablespoons of tomato paste with chicken stock instead of tomato sauce, and I added celery/onions since I bought them prechopped! All in all, great easy recipe that everyone will love!
I'm glad you were able to figure out a substitute in a pinch! This soup makes a regular appearance in my house too, so happy you like it!
Do you just use a bottle of lager like bud or something ?
Hi Shauna, you can use whatever beer you like. Enjoy!
Is there instructions on how to do it on high heat temp setting on the crock pot?
You can cook it on high for 3 hours, that works too!
OMG, this is soooo good! I omitted the chicken, and added a 2nd can of black beans, to keep it vegetarian. I think the whole secret of the recipe is the beer, it just makes it so tasty! Thank you for sharing this recipe!
So glad you liked it and found a way to make it work for you! 🙂
This soup was a big hit! I substituted black beans for the refried. Delicious!
Yay! I'm so glad you liked it. It's one of our favorites!
Oops. I just saw that you listed refried black beans. I used the regular refried beans. Hopefully it will turn out as amazing as the one in the photo.
Thank you for the recipe. The ingredients list calls for refried beans but black beans are mentioned in the instructions. Just wanted to see which bean that you used. Thanks!