Creamy Chicken Taco Soup

This creamy good veggie, chicken, and cheese packed taco soup is a quick and easy winner dinner!

At Avdaye, we add lots of tips in all of our recipes – because we are a home cook without any formal training, and we find we are more confident making dishes when we understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. Our goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

Shredded Chicken Taco Soup with Cream Cheese

Some nights when we don't feel like cooking our husband will pick up two rotisserie chickens from the grocery store. They are so good but we used to get annoyed with how much would get wasted because some of the meat is harder to get at. This chicken taco soup is one of our favorites to make the day after a rotisserie chicken dinner since the flavors are so different but you can make good use of those leftovers.

In the cooler months of the year we love to make all different kinds of soups that warm our family from the inside out. This chicken taco soup is an ode to our family's love of Mexican food. We have so many good Mexican restaurants in Northern Colorado and this soup is inspired by their authentic fresh flavors.

How to Make Creamy Chicken Taco Soup

To make this recipe, you'll need:

• Olive oil – olive oil will help the vegetables not stick to the pot when cooked in the pot.
• Onion – when cooked, onions have a sweet taste and are a solid base for a soup.
• Bell Pepper – bell peppers have a sweet and mild flavor and add a meatiness to the soup.
• Ro-tel diced tomatoes & green chilies – If you're not using Rotel diced tomatoes, you can use regular ones, but we suggest adding a can or two of diced green chilies as well (the 4 oz. size ones) since it makes a difference in the way the soup tastes.
• Chicken broth – chicken broth helps bring all the flavors together and gives a strong base for the soup broth.
• Garlic powder – garlic powder is a convenient way to get a punch of pungent garlic in your soup.
• Ground cumin – cumin has a warm earthy taste and a bittersweet aromatic smell, it blends well with the other spices.
• Smoked paprika – paprika has an earthy smoky flavor that will add some heat to the soup.
• Chili powder – chili powder is the base of every Tex-Mex flavor combination.
• Corn – We use drained and rinsed canned corn for a sweet element and to give the soup body.
• Black Beans – drain and rinse your canned beans before using. Beans are a great way to get extra protein into this soup and a meaty texture.
• Cream Cheese – cream cheese will make this soup thick and creamy. Make sure you let it soften before adding it or it will be clumpy.
• Rotisserie chicken shredded – pre-cooked rotisserie chicken makes the recipe simpler since you don't have to worry about cooking the protein. You can substitute with shredded pork if you prefer.
• Salt & pepper – salt and pepper are essential seasonings in every dish. Make sure you taste the soup and adjust as needed.
• Toppings – shredded Tex-Mex cheese blend, avocado, cilantro, tortilla strips or whatever you choose will give the soup an extra fresh or crunchy element.

Once you've gathered your ingredients, we will use the following method:

• Step 1 – Leave the cream cheese out on the countertop until softened. Add oil to a large stock pot and heat over medium. Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes.
• Step 2 – Add all the remaining ingredients except the cream cheese and chicken.
• Step 3 – Increase the heat to bring the soup to a boil then turn down and simmer for 5 minutes. Cut the cream cheese into small chunks and let it melt, you may need to stir it a bit.
• Step 4 – Stir in the chicken and heat another 5-7 minutes until warm through. Taste and season with more salt if needed.
• Step 5 – Enjoy!

Kitchen notes

Check out our tips and tricks for other ways to prepare and store this soup.

Freeze leftovers. This soup freezes well and reheats well later on. You can put cooled leftovers in a plastic freezer bag, pushing all the air out when you seal it. write “Chicken Taco Soup” and the date on the bag before freezing. It will keep up to 6 months in the freezer.

Make it Vegetarian. This soup can be made vegetarian by omitting the chicken and doubling the amount of black beans.

FAQ's:

How do we minimize the salt content?

Try using low sodium chicken broth to decrease the salt content if desired.

What's the best way to keep leftovers?

We like to keep leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can easily reheat in a pot on the stove.

How can we make this less spicy?

The cream cheese makes this a relatively mild Chicken Taco Soup. If you don't want it spicy at all use regular diced tomatoes instead of tomatoes with green chilies.

Serve it with

Our kids love easy keto tortilla chipscopycat chipotle corn salsaair fried corn ribsand sriracha cheese grilled corn with this chicken taco soup.

If you loved this chicken taco soup you will also love Green chile chicken souphuevos rancherosbuffalo chicken enchiladasand layered taco pie.

Check out our favorite soup recipes by clicking here!

Creamy Chicken Taco Soup Recipe

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Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ½ medium onion chopped
• ½ red bell pepper chopped
• 2 10 fluid ounce cans Ro-tel diced tomatoes & green chilies with juices
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 12 fluid ounce can corn drained
• 1 14 fluid ounce can black beans drained & rinsed
• 1 8 ounce block of cream cheese (we used Philly) softened
• 2 cups cooked/rotisserie chicken shredded
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
• Toppings, optional: shredded Tex-Mex cheese blend, avocado, cilantro, tortilla strips, etc.

Method

1. Take the cream cheese out of the fridge at least an hour ahead of time to let it soften up, or microwave it for 20-30 seconds until it's soft.
2. Add the oil and onion to a soup pot and sauté over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.
3. Add all the remaining soup ingredients to the pot except for the cream cheese and chicken.
4. Increase the heat to high and bring the soup to a boil. Turn down the heat so it's simmering gently (uncovered) for 5 minutes. While the soup cooks, prep your toppings.
5. Cut the cream cheese into smaller pieces and add it to the soup. Let it melt in (you may have to stir it a fair bit until it's fully incorporated).
6. Stir in the chicken and cook for another 5-7 minutes or so until it's warmed through.
7. Season the soup with salt & pepper and serve with toppings as desired.