Description
Chicken Taco Soup is a flavorful and hearty dish perfect for a quick weeknight meal. Packed with tender shredded chicken, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes with green chilies, and a blend of classic taco seasonings, this soup is creamy thanks to softened cream cheese. It’s easy to prepare on the stovetop and can be customized with your favorite toppings like shredded cheese, avocado, cilantro, and tortilla strips.
Ingredients
Scale
Soup Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 (10 ounce) cans Ro-tel diced tomatoes & green chilies, with juices
- 1 (14 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (12 ounce) can corn, drained
- 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 8 ounces cream cheese (Philly), softened
- 2 cups cooked or rotisserie chicken, shredded
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Optional Toppings
- Shredded Mexican cheese blend
- Avocado slices
- Fresh cilantro
- Tortilla strips
Instructions
- Sauté Onion: Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté for about 5 minutes until softened and fragrant.
- Add Soup Base Ingredients: Add chicken broth, diced tomatoes with green chilies, drained black beans, drained corn, chopped red bell pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, ground cumin, and smoked paprika to the pot, stirring to combine.
- Simmer Soup: Increase heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes while prepping your toppings.
- Melt Cream Cheese: Cut the softened cream cheese into smaller pieces and stir them into the simmering soup until fully melted and incorporated, stirring frequently to ensure smoothness.
- Add Chicken and Warm: Stir in the shredded cooked chicken and cook the soup for another 5 to 7 minutes until the chicken is heated through.
- Season and Serve: Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper as desired. Serve hot with your choice of optional toppings like shredded cheese, avocado, cilantro, and tortilla strips.
Notes
- For best results, use rotisserie or pre-cooked shredded chicken to reduce cooking time.
- You can substitute the Ro-tel tomatoes and green chilies with regular diced tomatoes and diced fresh green chilies if desired.
- Use softened cream cheese at room temperature for easier incorporation into the soup.
- This soup can be made in advance and reheated; the flavors develop even more after resting.
- Adjust spice levels by modifying the quantity of chili powder or by adding jalapeño peppers.
- Leftovers store well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or can be frozen for longer storage.
