Spicy Chicken Soup with Salsa Verde (Slow Cooker)

This spicy chicken soup made with fresh lime juice, salsa verde, and easy frozen veggies is a true winner! It not only tastes great but it cooks up in the slow cooker and requires very little active time! You can also easily make it into a pantry meal with one easy swap!

Recipe: $10.34 | Per Serving: $1.72 | Yield: 5

This soup has tons of flavor thanks to fresh lime, salsa verde, and some jalapeños. It has chicken tortilla soup-meets-chile verde vibes.

This recipe was originally posted in January of 2015 and was inspired by Pinch of Yum's Jalapeño Lime Chicken Soup. I've reduced the chicken (#budgetfriendly), added vegetables (#nutritionist), and adapted it for the slow cooker.

For more tasty soup recipes, try this Italian Sausage Spinach Soup or Red Enchilada Soup.

Jump to:

• Why You Will Love This Recipe
• Ingredients
• Substitutions and Variations
• How to Make Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup
• How to Serve Spicy Chicken Vegetable Soup
• Expert Tips and FAQs
• Dietary Modifications
• More Soup Recipes
• Spicy Chicken Soup with Salsa Verde (Slow Cooker)

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• An easy soup recipe that uses pantry and freezer ingredients.
• A healthy chicken soup that tastes amazing!
• Almost completely hands-free cooking! The crockpot does nearly all the work.
• Nutrient-dense recipe with plenty of greens!

Ingredients

Spicy Mexican Chicken Soup is made using simple ingredients that you may already have in the kitchen or can easily grab at any grocery store. Here's what you need:

• Chicken: Use boneless, skinless chicken thighs for more flavor (and less effort). Chicken breasts will work too, but be sure to shred them into really small pieces with two forks to help them rehydrate after cooking.
• Broth: Make spicy chicken soup with homemade slow cooker chicken bone broth or vegetable broth. You can also buy some at the store but I recommend choosing low-sodium.
• White beans: Cook from one cup dry or use two cans. You can use any small white beans such as cannellini beans, northern beans, or navy beans.
• Jalapeños: Adding in some fresh jalapeños gives the soup a bit more spiciness.
• Salsa verde: This green salsa is usually made from tomatillos and has a bright, almost citrusy flavor that brings great flavor to the soup.
• Lime juice: Use fresh! You won't regret it.
• Frozen spinach: Frozen spinach makes an easy addition to soups.
• Corn tortillas: Baked in the oven to make crispy tortilla strips to add to the top of the soup.

Substitutions and Variations

• Jalapeño: Swap the fresh jalapeño for pickled jalapeño from a jar or red pepper flakes to make this spicy chicken soup a complete pantry recipe.
• No chicken? You can leave it out and add extra beans. It's also a great soup to add leftover shredded pork or chicken. Add full cooked proteins it to the pot in the last hour of cooking.
• Use bone-in chicken: It works great too and increases the glycine and glutamine content in the soup. Be sure to remove the bones before serving. 
• Less spicy: Reduce the amount of jalapeños by half or leave them out completely.
• Frozen spinach: You can also use frozen kale or fresh greens.

How to Make Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup

This easy slow cooker soup recipe takes just minutes to get everything into the pot to cook. Here's what you need to do.

1. Place the chicken thighs in the bottom of the slow cooker in a single layer. Sprinkle the tops with a little salt and add the white beans on top.

2. Add the onions, garlic, and jalapenos to the slow cooker. Followed by the salsa verde.

3. Add the broth, water, and lime juice.

4. Cook on low until the chicken is tender and has an internal temperature of 165° F. Remove the chicken from the pot and let it cool slightly.

5. Add the frozen spinach to the slow cooker.

6. Shred the chicken. You can do this easily with two forks or with the paddle attachment on your stand mixer.

7. Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker. Continue to cook until the spinach is heated all the way through. Give it a taste and adjust the seasoning.

8. Slice the tortillas into small, thin strips and toss with oil and a sprinkle of salt. Spread them out onto a baking tray.

9. Bake until crispy.

How to Serve Spicy Chicken Vegetable Soup

This soup is really really good but here are some ways to make it even better!

• Toppings: I really love the crispy tortilla strips on top! Chopped cilantro adds fresh herby flavor and some cotija or feta cheese is another great addition. Be sure to serve with lime wedges for those of us who love citrus!
• Pickled Carrots & Jalapeños: make Mexican-style quick pickled carrots to add as a tangy topping.
• Starchy side: Serve up some cassava flour tortillas, cornbread, or tortilla chips on the side.

Expert Tips and FAQs

• Store in the fridge for up to five days or in the freezer for up to three months.
• Freeze leftovers in portions. I like to divide up the soup into portions so I can grab exactly what I need to heat up for one meal.
• Place the chicken on the bottom of the slow cooker. The order of the rest of the ingredients isn't as important but the chicken will cook better on the bottom, closer to the heating element.
• Adjust the seasoning and spiciness of the soup to your own tastes!
• Cook on low if you have time for the most tender easy-to-shred chicken.
• To prevent mushy beans, use salted cooked beans or canned beans.

Dietary Modifications

For Vegetarian: Omit the chicken, increase the white beans.
For Paleo: Omit the white beans and increase the chicken.

More Soup Recipes

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