Hello March! Well I think it is March. It was all nice and spring like but then something happened. In less than an hour yesterday our temperature went from a beautiful and warm 70 to a windy, chilly and rainy 40. Those chilly and rainy days leave me wanting to make soup. Some people buy bread and milk when under a winter storm advisory but I buy the stuff to make soup and well, hot chocolate. Who wants a milk sandwich when you can have a hearty bowl of soup or a mug of hot chocolate when you come in from the cold?
Slow cooker taco soup is one of my families absolute favorite soups and I make on a semi regular basis during the cooler months. It is also one of the easiest soups to make in my opinion. You take several canned ingredients, chicken breast, an onion, taco seasoning and basically just throw them in the crockpot and let it cook all day and then voila you have taco soup.
For those of you saying eww canned stuff, let me say that not all canned foods are bad. I have a few staples in my house. Mainly canned tomatoes and canned beans, green chiles and sometimes I will buy canned corn too. This recipe uses all of those canned items plus pre-made chicken broth. The sodium is a bit higher for those of you who are watching your sodium but it is still lower than what you would find in a can of premade soup. This recipe is very flexible and if you want to use homemade chicken broth feel free to sub it, I know I have. Just as I have used thawed, frozen corn in place of canned and homemade taco seasoning in place of packaged taco seasoning. You can really customize it to your personal taste and still end up with an awesome soup.
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 (16 ounce) can pinto or chili beans
- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
- 1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
- 1 (32 fluid ounce)container chicken broth
- 1 (28ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (4.5 ounce) can chopped green chilies, undrained
- 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning
- 3 whole skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
- sour cream (optional)
- crushed tortilla chips
- Place the onion, pinto/chili beans, black beans,green chiles, corn, tomato sauce, chicken broth, and crushed tomatoes in a slow cooker. Add taco seasoning, and stir to blend. Lay 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 allow to cool long enough to be handled and shred chicken breast (I like to use my kitchen aid). Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup, and continue cooking for 2 hours. Serve topped with shredded Cheddar cheese, a dollop of sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips, if desired.
Adapted from Allrecipes.com