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.
I found this recipe when I was pregnant with my oldest daughter, living in a tiny studio apartment without a full kitchen. Crock pot and air fryer recipes were my go to. Six years later, in a full size house with a full size kitchen and a family of four, and it is still a soup season staple. I’ve made it 5-6 times a year for these last six years and we never tire of it. And it usually makes enough for my husband to take left overs to work for lunch for a day or two. The only thing I’ve changed is using only one can of black beans, simply for preference of my kids not being the biggest bean eaters. Everything else is followed exactly as written and we are never disappointed!
This truly made my day! I’m so thrilled to hear this—thank you so much for your comment, Sydney!
Hi! This is a multi-family favorite over here! I’m now calorie counting and can’t fine the serving size for the 338 calories. Will you please let me know? Thanks!!
This is based on if you spilt the recipe into 7 different bowls, there isn’t an exact measurment, just 1/7th of the recipe is 338 calories!
This is a truly wonderful soup. It is so rich and thick that to be honest quesadillas are superfluous. The soup is even wonderful before adding the cream cheese, which just adds another layer of richness on it. Since I live in Europe and cannot get canned tomatoes with green chilies. I used a fresh green chili instead, which was great, I’ve already passed this recipe on to many friends who are already crazy about it. My husband smile went from ear to ear. He was so thrilled with his soup. Yes indeed it’s a keeper.
I am so thrilled to hear this! Thank you so much for your review Betsy! 🙂