A delicious and creamy slow cooker chicken quesadilla soup with quesadilla “croutons.” This easy chicken quesadilla soup recipe is sure to be a huge hit!
Both of my boys will tell anyone that their favorite soup is tomato basil. It’s pretty cute to hear out of the mouths of such little guys, but they also aren’t messing around. I’ve never seen anyone eat as much tomato basil soup as my toddler can and the babe can definitely put down some grilled cheese (that has been heavily dredged in tomato basil soup).
So whenever I try a new soup out, they whine to just have tomato basil instead. While I know they love the actual soup, I think they like dipping rolls, grilled cheese croutons/quarters, or bread in the soup the most. So, in attempts to get them to eat a different soup I thought of a variation on grilled cheese croutons — quesadilla croutons!
Sure enough, I served up bowls of this chicken quesadilla soup to hear the complaints that they wanted tomato basil instead and “didn’t like this soup” (that they’d never tried). But the minute I whipped out some quesadillas (some cut into croutons and others cut into large quarters), they were willing to give it a try.
And, I’m happy to announce, we now a have a contender for the famous tomato basil soup!! Everyone, including the boys, LOVED this soup.
While the mini quesadilla croutons are certainly fun and we love them, it’s also equally fun (and time saving) to cut the quesadilla into large quarters and dip them in the soup. The kiddos liked the croutons best, but I’ll admit I liked the bigger quarters of quesadilla to dip into this soup!
Although I’ve talked a lot about the quesadilla “crouton” addition, I can’t miss talking about this soup because it is absolutely delicious. I know I’ve been calling it a “soup” for this entire post, but be aware it is more the consistency of a chili or very thick soup. I didn’t want to call it a chili, because it doesn’t really have “chili” ingredients, but it is definitely a thick and hearty “chili” like consistency.
And besides the quesadilla croutons or quarters, the actual soup is quesadilla inspired — it’s got all the ingredients of a great quesadilla — shredded chicken, peppers, onions, tomatoes, black beans, corn, and plenty of Mexican seasonings. And it’s also got all the great toppings of a quesadilla! We top this soup with a generous spoonful of sour cream, a huge handful of Colby Jack cheese, a squeeze of fresh lime, and plenty of green onions. With all these toppings and the quesadilla croutons or quarters, this is a seriously hearty quesadilla soup the whole family will love!
Crockpot Chicken Quesadilla Soup
Ingredients
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs (or breast; we prefer thighs)
- 1 can (10 oz.) red enchilada sauce 10 ounces red enchilada sauce*
- 1 can (14.5 oz.) diced tomatoes with green chiles
- 2 cans (15.25 oz. EACH) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can (15.25 oz.) southwestern corn, undrained (or regular sweet corn, or fire-roasted corn)
- 1 cup chicken stock or chicken broth
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 package (8 ounces) full fat cream cheese, very softened
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon EACH: paprika, seasoned salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 and 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- Toppings: sour cream (we use fat free), Colby Jack cheese, avocado, fresh lime, green onions or cilantro, and tortilla strips (as an alternate to the grilled cheese)
Quick Quesadillas
- 4-6 flour tortillas
- 1 and 1/2 cups Colby Jack cheese
Instructions
- In a large crockpot (I use a 6 quart crockpot), add in the diced green pepper, diced onion, uncooked chicken breasts, enchilada sauce, undrained tomatoes, drained and rinsed black beans, undrained corn, chicken stock or broth, and minced garlic.
- Add in all of the seasonings: the cumin, paprika, seasoned salt, pepper, and chili powder. Stir well and cover the crockpot.
- Cook on high for 3-5 hours (or until chicken will easily shred) or low for 5-8 hours (again, until chicken will shred easily)
- Remove the chicken from the crockpot and shred in another bowl using two forks.
- Meanwhile, cube the cream cheese into small cubes (it should be very softened -- melt in microwave) and put them in the crockpot. Stir well and cover. Change temperature to high. Let it sit for a few minutes and then using a large whisk, briskly whisk the cream cheese to melt.
- Add the shredded chicken back into the crockpot. Stir and cover. Cook on high until all the cream cheese is completely melted. Whisk once more.
- Meanwhile, make the quesadillas. Warm a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Lay one tortilla in the skillet and sprinkle all over with 1/2 cup of cheese. Once the cheese starts to melt, lift a corner of the tortilla and check the underside. When the cheese is all melted and you see golden-brown spots on the underside of the tortilla, fold the quesadilla over in half and remove to the cutting board (I do cook these to very crisp since they'll be in soup/dipped in soup). Repeat until all the quesadillas are made. Cut into large quarters or smaller croutons. Serve hot with the soup!
- Serve the soup bowls with sour cream, colby jack cheese, avocado, fresh lime, cilantro/green onions as desired. If you only do one topping, to me, the cheese is a MUST! If you don't serve with the quesadillas, add some tortilla strips to the top 🙂
- Enjoy immediately.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My go to soup recipe for 3 years. I’ve tried others and I always come back to this one. It has the best flavor and it’s my husband and i’s favorite soup. Thank you for sharing.
I am so thrilled to hear this! Thanks so much for your comment MyKaila! 🙂
So good! Thanks
So welcome! Thanks Janelle! 🙂
I recently had a cheesy quesadilla soup at a restaurant and loved it so much I had to find a recipe for it as it was fantastic! I came across your recipe and I made it today! It was delicious! I have one question though. The ingredients list called for a can of drained corn, but in the instructions it states undrained? Do you actually drain the corn or do you use the liquid in the can in the soup?
Great soup but the initial description says 2 hours 30 mins crockpot time. That should be changed to match the cooking instructions of 3-5 hours crockpot time
Hi! I was given this recipe from a dear friend and made it today! It was delicious. My husband said he felt like he was at a restaurant!
I was curious if this could be frozen after cooking and cooling? Thank you for the great recipe!!
I am so thrilled to hear this! We haven’t tried freezing this soup yet (never any leftovers lol) but there is dairy in it so I’m not certain how it’ll do! If you do try it, let me know! Thanks Rachel!
Have made this 4 or 5 times! Amazing recipe. Is definitely a favorite at the Farley house ❤️❤️❤️
YAY! I’m so happy to hear this! Thanks so much Leslie! 🙂
Although we didn’t make the quesadillas (which would be a fun addition), we LOVED this soup. The leftovers were great the next day, too.
So thrilled you enjoyed the soup and leftovers! Thanks so much for the comment 🙂
Can I use frozen chicken?
You’d just need to thaw it before adding to the slow cooker! 🙂
This is by far the best and easiest recipe to make. It is delicious. Thank you for including the nutrition label.
I use low fat cream cheese and it’s still good. 👍🏻
So happy to hear you enjoyed it!
easy and delicious! bursting with flavor!!!
I’m thrilled to hear this! Thanks Kristen!