Slow Cooker Chicken Salsa Soup

Slow cooker chicken salsa soup – an easy-to-make, hearty soup for a cold winter day. This delicious mexican soup is made in the slow cooker, meaning you can come home to a hot lunch or dinner after a day at work or a day spent outdoors. There’s nothing like a bowl of homemade soup at the end of a cold, winter day. 

If there’s one thing I  love about winter it’s that it’s soup season!  I have a bunch of easy soup recipes that I just love.  They’re simple to make and they taste delicious.  Mmmm!  There’s nothing like a thick slice of homemade bread and a big ol’ hearty bowl of soup  after a day at the rink or on the slopes.

Because this is a slow-cooker recipe, this soup is perfect for a day like that. You can pop the ingredients into your crockpot before you leave the house, and you’ll return home to the perfect winter dinner just waiting to be served.

My whole family loves this Chicken Salsa soup. It’s hearty and “grown-up” enough for the adults, but it pleases the picky eaters too. Plus, it’s a soup with a Mexican flair, and we’re all fans of Mexican food here.

To make our Slow Cooker Chicken Salsa Soup, you’ll need:

• 3-4 whole chicken breasts
• 28 oz. tin of stewed, diced tomatoes (I like the ones with the spices added, but use what you have on hand)
• 28 oz. of water (obviously we’re just using the tomato tin here)
• chicken bouillon (look on the packaging to see how much is needed for 28 oz of water)
• 1 cup of your favourite salsa
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• generous sprinkling of ground pepper
• salt to taste (add at the end of cooking)
• cup of pasta – I used bow-tie pasta this time (you could also use rice)
• dash (approx 1 tbsp) lemon juice or lime juice
• optional add-ins: black beans or lentils, celery, corn, carrots etc.
• optional garnishes: shredded carrots, avacado, cilantro, sour cream

*NOTE: if you’re leaving the house for the day, pre-cook your pasta and add it to the slow cooker when you get home, and heat through before serving.  If you’re going to be at home, add UNCOOKED pasta, but don’t add it until the last 2 hours of cooking.  That way it won’t be over-cooked.

Add your ingredients to the slow cooker, give it all a good stir, pop the lid on, and cook on low heat for 6 hours or high heat for 4 hours.

Before adding my pasta, I go through the soup with a pair of chicken shears to quickly chop the chicken into bite-size pieces.

Add your pasta (2 hours before serving for uncooked pasta, or shortly before serving for previously cooked pasta).

Top with one or two of the suggested garnishes and serve with a crusty loaf of bread!

And there you have it!  An easy, hearty, no-fuss crock-pot recipe that your family will love.

Looking for more delicious, homemade soup recipes?  Try our:

Zuppa Toscana – an Olive Garden Knock Off Recipe

Best Homemade Tomato Soup

Hearty Butternut Squash and Potato Soup

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Jackie Currie

Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.