Crockpot Chicken Fajita Soup

With the holidays over, tis now the season for hearty soups and warm bowls of comfort. Here on Cleverlysimple, Lynette is going to share with you a number of delicious and SIMPLE crockpot recipes that are a snap to put together, but taste like you worked in the kitchen all day. One of my family’s favorites is homemade crockpot chicken fajita soup. Delicious and good for you! In fact, it’s also allergen friendly – naturally gluten free, soy free, and easily made dairy free.

I received this recipe from a dear church friend we call Mrs. D. She has been cooking up great meals for her four children and now, grandchildren, for the past umpteen years. It seems she always has a fantastic recipe to share and today, I’m excited to share one of them with YOU! There are several things I love about this chicken fajita soup. First,  the mix of flavors. It’s even better when the ingredients are put in the crockpot the night before and turned on in the morning. You can cook it for 5 hours or all day until you get home. The longer it cooks, the more vibrant the flavor. I also love that there is no need to chop up vegetables like onions or garlic because both the salsa and seasoning mixes offer those ingredients. And when it’s done? Dollop with your favorite Mexican toppings and you’ve got a GREAT meal.

Come on in to my kitchen!

Here are the ingredients. As with most recipes that I follow, this is extremely adaptable! The recipe calls for two cooked chicken breasts, one can each of black beans, diced tomatoes, green chilies and sweet corn, one regular size jar of salsa and one package of taco seasoning. The last two ingredients are 4 cups of chicken broth (or one 32 oz. carton) and one package of Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning mix.

Here are my adaptations:

Instead of 2 chicken breasts, I’m using 5 chicken thighs
Instead of store bought salsa, I’m using one jar of homemade salsa
Instead of store bought taco seasoning, I’m using homemade (2 Tablespoons = 1 package)
Instead of canned sweet corn, I’m using 15 oz. of thawed frozen (not pictured)
I’m omitting the ranch seasoning mix since it contains milk and our daughter cannot have dairy.

Use what you have and what works with your family. I promise you, it will still taste wonderful!

Start by cooking up your chicken. Since I’m going with chicken thighs instead of breasts, I need to remove the skin before cooking. This is best done when the chicken is only 80% thawed. The skin will put right off and you can cut off any excess pieces with ease. Now, with any type of skinless chicken, you will want to lightly salt and pepper one side.

Heat a skillet on medium-high with about 2-3 tablespoons of oil. When the pan is hot, place the seasoned chicken face down and let it cook for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly salt and pepper the other side. Flip the chicken over and you will see a nice browning! Cook an additional 2 minutes.

Now turn the heat off, place on a lid and let the chicken rest in its own juices for about 5 minutes. You don’t have to completely cook the chicken on the inside. The important thing is a nice crispy seared coating on the outside.

While the chicken is resting, go ahead and drain your cans of beans and corn.

In the crockpot bowl, lay down your chicken (uncut), followed by the jar of salsa, drained beans and corn and undrained tomatoes and green chili’s. Next, add your taco seasoning and if using, your ranch seasoning. At the very end, pour 4 cups of chicken broth over everything and stir.

Turn the crockpot on low for at least 5 hours… and go live life!

Before serving, pull out the chicken onto a cutting board. Turn the crock on high so as  not to lose heat. If you used chicken breasts, simply cut them in chunks and put them back into the soup. If you used bone-in chicken like me, carefully remove the meat from the bones and put back in the soup. Give it all a nice stir.

Ladle a generous portion into a bowl and top with strips of baked tortillas, cheese and/or sour cream… a spritz of lime juice or fresh cilantro would also be wonderful.

Olé!