As a California girl, Mexican-inspired flavors and dishes have always been the best comfort food. This easy chicken taco soup recipe is a creamy, one pot dinner made with tender chicken, beans, corn, and cream cheese in a savory enchilada sauce and ranch broth. Set out a toppings station and everyone builds their own bowl. Plus, get the simple trick that keeps the cream cheese silky instead of clumpy.
This isn’t your average taco soup recipe- we start with a savory chicken and enchilada sauce broth base and add the creaminess of cream cheese! We have so many different topping options to add so that you can truly make this your own recipe, tailored to your family’s personal tastes. Or make this for guests and provide a “toppings station” so everyone can customize their own!
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Why We Love This Soup
- Ready in 30 minutes and it’s made in one pan so you save time in the kitchen.
- Make it as spicy (or not!) as you want – for those spice lovers out there you can really turn up the heat with this recipe. For a family friendly version or follow recipe ingredients as listed.
- Pantry friendly ingredient s- most recipe ingredients are things you likely already have in your pantry, making it an easy dinner to plan last minute.
Feeding a crowd? Serve this soup alongside our Dutch Oven Carnitas for a Mexican-inspired dinner.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs– substitute with chicken breasts or rotisserie chicken (cut into bite size pieces).
- Olive oil– or avocado oil, butter.
- Onion- can omit, or substitute with 1/2 tablespoon dried onion powder.
- Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles – mild is recommended, or original if you like spicy. You can also substitute with a can of diced tomatoes and a can of mild diced green chilis.
- Red enchilada sauce– or swap with one cup of taco sauce.
- Low-sodium chicken broth– we recommend low sodium due to the sodium content of the other ingredients in this recipe, if you only have regular broth I’d suggest limiting it to 3 cups broth and 1 cup of water.
- A packet dry ranch seasoning mix- you can use chicken taco seasoning as an alternative to a ranch dressing packet. Or see recipe notes on how to make your own homemade ranch seasoning.
- Beans- you can double up on pinto or black beans if you only have one or the other.
- Corn– canned or frozen work well.
- Ground cumin– swap with 1/4 teaspoon ground chili powder, if needed, or 1/2 teaspoon taco seasoning
- Cream cheese– can substitute with 1/2 cup grated cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste (add at the end after tasting)
Optional toppings:
- Shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt
- Fresh cilantro, chopped
- Avocado or guacamole
- Tortilla chips or strips
- Lime wedges
- Sliced jalapeños
- Chopped green onions
Equipment
- Heavy duty soup pot or dutch oven
- Wooden spoon
- Ladle
How to Make Chicken Taco Soup
- Heat oil in heavy pot or dutch oven, over medium heat. Cook onion for 3-4 minutes until translucent. While the onion cooks, open your cans and cut the chicken into bite size pieces if you haven’t already done so.
- Add chicken, Rotel (with juices), chicken broth and enchilada sauce to the pot. Stir to combine
- Sprinkle ranch dressing packet on top and stir well.
- Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 10-15 minutes until chicken is cooked through.
- Stir in beans
- Add corn, cumin and cream cheese. Let soup simmer 5-10 minutes
- Add salt and pepper if needed, ladle into bowls and add optional toppings (if using).
Serving Suggestions
This soup is a complete meal itself, however, we always recommend a bread pairing with soups! Try this in a bread bowl or simply pair with a slice of toasted sourdough bread. To keep with the Mexican-inspired flavors, pair with warm tortillas, crispy tortilla chip, or rice.
🎯 TFN Pro Tip
Make sure your cream cheese has been cubed and sitting out at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Or use the “soften” or “reheat” setting on your microwave. This will prevent it from clumping up when added to soup. See recipe notes for more tips.
Recipe FAQs
It is best to use thawed chicken for the most even cooking. In a pinch you can use your defrost setting in your microwave.
Yes, this recipe is actually a great one to make ahead of time or meal prep with. The bold flavors get a chance to meld together and it tastes even better the next day. Simply follow recipe instructions, allow to cool, and refrigerate.
Yes! Add all ingredients (except cream cheese) and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Add cream cheese at the end, prior to serving.
Cream cheese. Stir it in near the end, once it has softened to room temperature, so it melts smoothly into the broth.
Other Soup Recipes to Consider
- Zuppa Toscana Soup
- Cheeseburger Soup with Velveeta
- Great Northern Bean Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
If you tried this chicken taco soup recipe or any other recipe on my website or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Chicken Taco Soup
Equipment
- Dutch oven - or heavy pot
- ladle
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite size pieces (or chicken breasts or rotisserie chicken)
- 10 ounces canned Rotel diced tomatoes with green chiles (or substitute with diced tomatoes and mild green chilis)
- 10 ounces canned red enchilada sauce
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 packet dry ranch seasoning mix (1 oz packet) see notes for home made or chicken taco seasoning as substitute
- 1 can black beans 15 oz can, drained and rinsed
- 1 can pinto beans 15 oz can, drained and rinsed
- 1 can corn 15 oz can, drained
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 oz cream cheese softened to room temp
- Salt and pepper to taste
Optional Toppings
- Shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
- Sour cream or Greek yogurt
- Fresh cilantro chopped
- Avocado or guacamole
- Tortilla chips or strips
- Lime wedges
- Sliced jalapeños
- Chopped green onions
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add the diced onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes until softened. While the onion cooks, open your cans and cut the chicken into bite size pieces if you haven't already done so.
- Place the chicken into the pot. Add the Rotel tomatoes (with their juices), enchilada sauce, and low-sodium chicken broth. Stir to combine.
- Sprinkle the dry ranch seasoning packet over the top of the soup and stir well to distribute evenly.
- Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Stir in the drained black beans, pinto beans, corn, cumin and softened cream cheese and stir until melted and incorporated.
- Let the soup simmer for another 5-10 minutes to heat throughly and blend the flavors. Carefully taste the soup and add salt and pepper only if needed.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and let everyone add their favorite toppings.
Notes
- Homemade Ranch Dressing Mix: 2 tablespoons buttermilk powder (optional), 1 Tablespoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, 1 teaspoon dried chives, 2 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon dried dill.
- Use our Homemade Chicken Taco Seasoning
- Kick up the spice- choose spicy Rotel, spicy green chilis and add jalapeño slices on top.
- White chicken taco soup- swap red enchilada sauce with green sauce, swap beans for white beans, add a splash of heavy cream at the end.
- Taco soup with rice – cook according to recipe instructions and add 1.5 cups of cooked rice at the end.
- Make sure cream cheese has been cubed and left out at room temperature at least 30 minutes. Or use the soften feature on your microwave. Add it to the soup when it is hot and simmering, stir for 2-3 minutes to let it fully melt into the soup.
- Leftovers taste great! The flavors have gotten the chance to meld together. You can easily make this ahead of time as a meal prep.
- Allow soup to fully cool and then add to airtight container and store in the refrigerator up to 4 days. The leftovers taste amazing as the soup flavors meld together!
- Longer storage you can ladle into portion sized, freezer containers for 3 months.
- Microwave reheating – portion into serving sized bowls and heat for one minute, stir and then heat again for another minute.
- Stovetop reheating – add a splash of chicken broth and then heat through, stirring occasionally.
Nutrition
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Beth says
This turned out so good, we’ve tried other taco soups but love that this one has cream cheese in it!