Chicken Tortilla Soup

It’s winter time and you know what that means?  Soup.  It means lots of soups and stews and warm-your-soul comfort foods.  And we all know what that usually means – salt. Lots of flavor-boosting, and diet-killing salt.  But don’t worry. Today I have got a yummy, warm, low sodium chicken tortilla soup recipe for the crock pot.

I am going to take a quick pause here for some honesty.  Blogging is hard work.  It is especially hard when you have a family to take care of and a full time job.  Don’t get me wrong – I love it. But it is definitely some work. So over the last few months, the blog has taken a little bit of a back burner while I was focused on some other priorities.  But the good news is that with the new year I have set myself some new goals. Not those weebly wobbly, willy nilly goals that are really just wishes.  These goals come along with daily, weekly, and quarterly goals for myself, specifically related to the blog.  What does that mean to you?  Well, I am hoping it means better photography, videos (finally!), and much more engagement with social media.  It may not mean that you are getting recipes at a faster rate (at least not for the first few months), but I will do my best.

Okay! On to this recipe.  It is so easy to throw together because there are a bunch of ingredients that you can buy off the shelf.  Yes, you heard that correctly, my low sodium readers.  Off the shelf is not something we get a whole lot of in a low sodium diet, so I love to take advantage of it when I can.  I do use some fresh foods too (peppers and onions), but those add so much great flavor they are worth the tiny bit of extra effort.  How much effort am I talking about here?  Not a whole lot – you just have to coarsely chop the peppers and onions, and then pop them under the broiler for few minutes.  The result is a great caramelized flavor that really adds depth to this soup.

Oh I want to make one other note here, since I worry that it might be confusing.  This recipe calls for corn tortillas in two spots.  The first set you cut into small matchsticks (see the first picture below) and bake for a bit until they are crispy.  Those ones are the ones that you top the soup with after it is in your bowl.  The second set of corn tortillas you cut (or tear) into tiny little itty bitty pieces (the second pic below).  These ones will go directly into the soup about half an hour before it has finished cooking.  They add really great corn flavor and thicken the soup a bit so it is a little more hearty.

↑ These ones are the matchsticks that end up being a crispy topping. ↑

↑ These ones are the itty bitty chopped ones that get stirred into the soup. ↑

Need some other soup ideas to keep you warm this winter?  Try out the Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup or Roasted Red Pepper Soup!  Have a favorite soup you’d like me to try making over? Tell me in the comments below or shoot me a message; I would love to hear from you.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

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SODIUM COUNT: 112.5 mg sodium per serving; 562.3 mg in the entire recipe

• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 8 hours
• Total Time: 8 hours 30 minutes
• Yield: 5 1x

Ingredients

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• 4 medium Poblano or pasilla peppers ((coarsely chopped))
• 1 medium onion ((coarsely chopped))
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp oregano
• fresh ground black pepper ((to taste))
• 1 clove garlic ((minced))
• 1 pound chicken breasts ((trimmed))
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 2 14.5-ounce cans no salt added stewed tomatoes ((I use Del Monte))
• 2 cups unsalted chicken broth ((I use Swanson))
• ¾ cup corn tortillas ((chopped or torn into small pieces)*)
• ¾ cup corn tortillas ((sliced into matchsticks)*)

Optional toppings:

• sour cream**

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Instructions

1. Turn the broiler on to high and place and oven rack about 6 inches from the heat. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying it with nonstick cooking spray. Place the chopped peppers and onion onto the prepared sheet and put under the broiler for a total of 10-15 minutes. Stir the peppers and onions every few minutes so that they are evenly browned.
2. Place the broiled vegetables into the slow cooker. Sprinkle the seasonings on top and add the garlic, whole chicken breasts, corn, canned tomatoes, and the chicken broth. Cook in the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours.
3. When the chicken has cooked through and can be shredded, remove it from the crock pot and shred with two forks. Return the shredded chicken to the crock pot and stir.
4. Add the chopped or torn into corn tortillas to the soup and stir. Continue to cook on low until they have dissolved, thickening the soup slightly and adding lots of flavor.
5. While the soup is finishing in the crock pot, preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray a large baking sheet with cooking spray and spread the sliced corn tortillas evenly on the pan. Spray a bit more cooking spray on top of the tortillas and bake for 9-12 minutes, or until crispy. Stir the tortillas at least once during baking to ensure even heating.
6. Serve the soup topped with the toasted corn tortillas and sour cream (if using).

Notes

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION – Yield: 5 servings, about 2 cups each
Sodium: 112.5 mg, Calories: 254.4, Total Fat: 2.1 g, Saturated Fat: 0.3 g, Cholesterol: 52.6 mg, Carbohydrates: 31.3 g, Fiber: 5.2 g, Sugar: 13.7 g, Protein: 25.6 g.

*I use a total of eight Mission Extra Thin corn tortillas, which are small and thin. If you are using a different brand, use enough tortillas to make ¾ cup once chopped or torn. Use the same number of tortillas to make the matchsticks.

** Sour cream is not included in the nutritional information.