Chicken Taco Soup
This creamy chicken taco soup is easy to make and super flavorful. It's full of tender chicken, sweet corn, black beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, and the most delicious creamy broth.
If you love Tex-Mex soups, also try our taco soup recipe made with ground beef and our buffalo chicken tacos.
Table of contents
Chicken taco soup
This is one dreamy soup recipe. It's full of tender, shredded chicken, sweet corn, black beans, and fire-roasted tomatoes.
And the flavorful broth is really incredible thanks to poaching the chicken breasts in the stock, those amazing fire-roasted tomatoes, and some delicious cream cheese.
It all comes together to make a soup you'll be dreaming of for days!
Ingredient notes
- Onion, garlic, and bell peppers – sauteed in olive oil.
- Taco seasoning, salt, and pepper – we use our homemade taco seasoning, which has a bit of heat and lots of flavor. But you can also use store-bought.
- Chicken broth – homemade chicken bone broth will give this chicken taco soup recipe the best flavor. If you use store-bought stock, you may want to add a little more salt and pepper.
- Fire-roasted tomatoes – we love the slightly smoky flavor of these tomatoes. But regular diced tomatoes can be used if that's what you have in your pantry. In a pinch you could try tomato sauce, but you'll miss the chunks of tomato.
- Chicken breasts – two boneless, skinless breasts are what we use. You can also use boneless chicken thighs. If you use thighs, use four.
- Cream cheese – this is what makes the soup creamy and unbelievably delicious. Cream cheese doesn't melt well, which is why we cut it into small cubes before adding it to the pot. Let it sit in the pot to soften for a few minutes before stirring it.
- Black beans and corn – for that classic Tex-Mex taste.
- Toppings: cilantro, avocado, cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, and/or lime juice
How to Make Chicken Taco Soup
From start to finish this creamy chicken taco soup will take you about 25 minutes to make. Here's what you're going to do:
- Start by sautƩing the onion, garlic, and bell pepper then season the veggies with taco seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Add the stock, fire-roasted tomatoes, and chicken breasts then simmer until the chicken is fully cooked.
- Now take the chicken out and put the cream cheese in. (This gives the cream cheese some time to soften so it's easier to mix into the soup.)
- Shred or dice the cooked chicken then add it back into the pot with some corn and beans and dinner is ready!
Full recipe instructions are in the recipe card below.
Variations to try
There are so many ways to make this chicken taco soup recipe your own!
- Switch up the beans. White beans or kidney beans work great, too.
- Use ground chicken and cook it with the onion and garlic.
- Make it spicy by adding chili flakes.
- Omit the cream cheese for a non-creamy version.
- Or make it extra creamy by adding a cup of grated cheddar cheese.
- Use leftover cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken.
Favorite chicken taco soup toppings
We're big fans of adding toppings to soup; it just makes dinner more fun. Here are a few of our favorites that go great with this soup:
- Sour cream (works to dial down the heat)
- Cilantro
- A little lime juice
- Grated cheddar cheese
- Tortilla chips
- Avocado
- Sliced jalapeƱos
Can I freeze chicken taco soup?
Yes! This soup freezes very well. Let it cool completely before transferring it to freezer-safe bags. We've found that the best way to store soup is in these reusable Stasher freezer bags.
What to serve with chicken taco soup
While chicken taco soup doesn't need any sides, you can definitely serve it as a part of a bigger meal. Here are a few options for a big Tex-Mex spread:
- Easy Guacamole with corn chips
- Mexican Pasta Salad
- Mexican Food Truck Nacho Fries
- Sweet Potato Nachos
- Spicy Mexican Rice
And don't forget to make yourself a fizzy lime margarita!
Popular soup recipes
- Mexican Meatball Soup (Albondigas Soup)
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Hamburger Soup
- Broccoli Cheese Soup
Chicken Taco Soup Recipe
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 medium onion, minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
- 3 tablespoons taco seasoning, use our homemade taco seasoning for the best flavor!
- 1 teaspoon EACH: salt and pepper
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 28 ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes
- 2 large chicken breasts
- 8 ounces cream cheese, cut into cubes
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- Toppings: cilantro, avocado, cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, and/or lime juice
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and pepper and cook until the veggies are soft, about 5 minutes.1 tablespoon cooking oil, 1 medium onion, 4 cloves garlic, 1 medium red bell pepper
- Add the taco seasoning, salt, and pepper and stir them into the veggies. Add the chicken stock, fire-roasted tomatoes, and chicken breasts and bring the pot to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.3 tablespoons taco seasoning, 1 teaspoon EACH: salt and pepper, 6 cups chicken stock, 28 ounce can fire-roasted tomatoes, 2 large chicken breasts
- Remove the chicken from the pot then add the cream cheese. Shred the chicken using 2 forks (or dice it, if you prefer.) Add the shredded chicken to the pot then stir until the cream cheese melts into the broth.8 ounces cream cheese
- Add the corn and black beans and let them warm. Serve the soup topped with any or all of the toppings.2 cups frozen corn, 15 ounce can black beans, Toppings: cilantro, avocado, cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, and/or lime juice
For more inspiration, check out all of our soup recipes!
I am concerned about freezing soups with heavy cream or cream cheese. Seems like the texture might change. What do you think?
I’m usually leery of that too. But I have frozen this soup several times (it’s my daughter’s favorite) and it’s always been fine. If you want to play it safe, you could add the cream cheese to it when you warm it up.
This looks delicious! Ā Suggestions to make this vegetarian? Ā Would it be good just without chicken and using veggie stock?
Using bone broth adds a ton of flavor to the recipe. While you can use veggie stock, you will likely need to add more salt and perhaps more seasonings to boost the flavor. The chicken really does bulk it up and make it filling. You could try adding more beans. Or even using a ground beef replacement might work.
Yes, try veggie stock but also try subbing lentils for the meat. I use lentils alone or with a small amount of meat as a stretcher. I even carry dishes with lentils to pot luck meals and no one notices the difference!
New favorite!Ā
I swapped fire roasted peppers and used plain crushed tomatoes and 2C less broth and added little turmeric but flavors are so good together! Thank you for great recipe!
How do I get it golden as in the photo when you use red tomatoes?
It turns that color after you add the cream cheese. š
This soup was exceptional. So full of flavour. The corn gave it a hint of sweetness. I added 2 tbsps of cornstarch like another reviewer did and it made it the perfect consistency. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly as written. Delectable. Thank you.Ā
Came out so tasty! I made a few changes though: I don’t like black beans, so I swapped them out for kidney beans, I used half the cream cheese suggested, and added two heaping tablespoons of corn starch to thicken it up. Served over rice and topped with shredded cheese, sour cream, and cilantro. So good!
Super good!! Modified for kids and used petite diced tomatoes instead of the other but loved it so much!
Can you freeze this? Itās amazing! But we have a lot of leftovers!
Yes! This soup freezes very well.
Can you make this in a crock pot?
Yes! Cook the veggies first. Then wait to add the cream cheese and corn until you take the chicken out to shred. š
This was delish. I used a hand mixer to shred the chicken before adding back to the soup. So much easier.
Can you make this in a crockpot?
Yes! Cook the veggies first. The soup can be cooked on high for 4 hours or low for 8. Add the cream cheese and corn when you take out the chicken to shred it. š
Very deliciousĀ
I liked the flavors, but it was a very thin soup which disappointed me a bit. Maybe less chicken stick?? Also the color wasnāt the same as pictured. Ugh – maybe I messed up.Ā
Very easy to make and so tasty.
This soup is delicious. Ā I opted to make some of theā homemade taco seasoning ā from your site. Ā I used 1/2 smoked and 1/2 sweet paprika. Ā I also used low fat cream cheese. Ā I think the soup is so full of flavours that no toppings are necessary but about 1/2 way through my bowl, I crunched up some tortilla chips for a bit of different texture. Ā Absolutely deliciousĀ
Just made this! Very tasty. Shredding the chicken took longer than I expected, but worth it – the texture is better than the few pieces I diced. Yum!
Hi could we use any type of canned tomatoes if we can’t find fire roasted ones
Yes! Regular canned diced tomatoes will work, too. š
I made it with ground turkey instead of chicken- SO good! love the flavors!
Great idea to use turkey!