Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup {with Pressure Cooker & Stovetop Variations}

This simple soup is adapted from my friend Mallory's blog, Total Noms.

Author: Vincci Tsui, RD

Recipe type: Soup, Chicken, Gluten-Free

Cuisine: Tex-Mex

Makes: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp (30 mL) olive oil

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• Salt & pepper, to taste

• ½ cup (125 mL) chicken broth

• 1 can (4 fl oz/127 mL) green chiles, drained

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 yellow onion, diced

• 1 can (28 fl oz/796 mL) diced tomatoes, including juice

• 1 tbsp (15 mL) cumin

• 2 tbsp (30 mL) cilantro, chopped

• ½ cup (125 mL) Monterey jack cheese, shredded

• Tortilla chips, crumbled (about ¼ cup per serving)

• 1 avocado, diced and tossed with lime juice to prevent browning

• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Instructions

1. Heat up a pan over medium-high heat. Pat your chicken breasts dry with a paper towel, then season both sides of each breast with salt and pepper. Once the pan is nice and hot, add oil. Carefully place the chicken into the pan, and let sit for 5 minutes before flipping to the other side. The goal here is NOT to cook the chicken through, but you want to see a nice brown crust forming on the outside of the chicken to add flavour when it’s slow cooking. Let sit for another 4-5 minutes on the other side, then remove from pan. Deglaze pan with a small amount of chicken broth. Place chicken and pan drippings in slow cooker.

2. In a medium bowl, combine remaining chicken broth, chilies, garlic, onion, tomatoes and cumin. Stir well and pour over chicken. Cook on low for 4 hours. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker to a cutting board and using two forks, shred the chicken into bite-size pieces. Return to the slow cooker. Adjust seasoning and add additional chicken broth or water if it’s too thick.

3. Once the soup is ready, stir in cilantro. Serve in soup bowls, topping each with shredded cheese, tortilla chips, diced avocado and a squeeze of lime.

Notes

Pressure Cooker Variation: Do step #1 in your pressure cooker on the stovetop (or on "Sauté" mode for an electric pressure cooker). Leave the chicken and pan drippings in the pressure cooker. In step #2, add the ingredients to the pressure cooker and cook for 10 minutes on high pressure, quick release.

Stovetop Variation: Do step #1 in a large pot and leave the chicken and pan drippings in the pot. In step #2, add the ingredients to the pot. Bring the soup to a boil and simmer, covered, until chicken is cooked through, about 20-30 minutes.