Creamy Chicken Taco Soup
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This is the chicken taco soup my family asks for all the time. I’ve perfected this recipe so that it is easy to make and full of flavor.
If you’ve spent time on my blog, you know I’m all about bold Mexican flavors AND that I have a serious soup obsession. So when it comes to deciding between a taco night or a comforting bowl of soup, why not enjoy the best of both worlds?
Enter my beloved creamy chicken taco soup. It’s full of tender, shredded chicken, sweet corn, black beans, and fire-roasted tomatoes. And the flavorful broth is incredible, thanks to poaching the chicken breasts in the stock, those amazing fire-roasted tomatoes, and some delicious cream cheese. Let me show you how to make a soup you’ll dream about for days!
You might also enjoy my taco soup with ground beef.
Key creamy chicken taco soup ingredients
- Taco seasoning: I use my 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: I love the slightly smoky flavor of these tomatoes, but regular diced tomatoes can be used if that’s what you have in your pantry.
- Chicken breasts: 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 I 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.
Slow cooker version
Follow step one: heat the onion, garlic, and red bell pepper. Then, add the taco seasoning, salt, and pepper. Once the spices have toasted, transfer everything to your slow cooker and add the chicken stock, fire-roasted tomatoes, and chicken breasts. Cover it and leave on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. Then, remove the chicken and shred it with two forks on a chopping board. Stir in the cream cheese, frozen corn, and black beans, and add the shredded chicken back to the slow cooker. Come back in 15-30 minutes when the corn and beans are heated through, and the cream cheese has melted.
My favorite chicken taco soup toppings
I’m a big fan of adding toppings to soup; it just makes dinner more fun. Here are a few of my 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 jalapeños
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.
Storing and freezing
Store: If you’re lucky enough to have leftover taco chicken soup, let it cool to room temperature, then transfer it to storage containers and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Reheat: I like to reheat this soup in a pot over medium heat, but a microwave works just as well.
Freeze: This soup freezes very well. Let it cool completely before transferring it to freezer-safe bags. I’ve found that the best way to store soup is in these reusable Stasher freezer bags.
Chicken Taco Soup Recipe
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
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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New favorite!
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. 🙂
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.
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? It’s 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. 🙂
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. 🙂
I’m cooking this now. Messed up steps tho. I put the corn in with the chicken. As soon as the chicken is done I will take it out and shredd it after putting the cream cheese in. I hope it is still good. It sure smells good
Very delicious
I liked the flavors, but it was a very thin soup which disappointed me a bit. Maybe less chicken stick?? Also the color wasn’t the same as pictured. Ugh – maybe I messed up.
Very easy to make and so tasty.
This soup is delicious. I opted to make some of the” homemade taco seasoning “ from your site. I used 1/2 smoked and 1/2 sweet paprika. I also used low fat cream cheese. 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. Absolutely delicious
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. 🙂
I made it with ground turkey instead of chicken- SO good! love the flavors!
Great idea to use turkey!