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No time for cooking? Try this ridiculously easy low carb crock pot Mexican chicken soup recipe. It’s made with only 4 ingredients!
Now that the holidays are over, we all need to get back on track with healthier eating. Although I did fairly well avoiding most of the bad food, I just ate more than I should have.
Like most people, I want to improve my health in the new year. That means eating better, reducing stress, and becoming more active. Another thing I want to work on in 2016 is spending less time in the kitchen.
I hang out in the kitchen way more than I should. I also have a habit of snacking more than I should. I’m one of those people who has a hard time refraining when I see food. So, I just need to clear the food out of my sight. Getting out of the kitchen will help with that.
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Last year, I rediscovered the crock pot. When I got my first crock pot over 20 years ago, I only used it for slow cooking chicken with a store bought sauce.
I was a big on the dump and go crock pot recipes. This year, I want to get back into using the slow cooker more often for simple low carb recipes like this crock pot Mexican low carb chicken soup.
You only need 4 ingredients to make this ridiculously easy crock pot Mexican low carb chicken soup. And, it’s a dump and go recipe that gets you out of the kitchen fast! Simply drop in chicken, salsa, chicken broth, and cheese into your crock pot, turn it on, and walk away.
The chicken should be done after a few hours. That’s when you want to take it out and shred it up into smaller pieces. This is the most work you’ll have to do to enjoy a delicious bowl of crock pot Mexican low carb chicken soup for lunch or dinner.
This low carb high fat low carb soup is only about 400 calories per serving with around 5g net carbs. The fat content is fairly high being over 20 grams per servings so it really fills you up and keeps you full for hours.
With a prep time of less than 5 minutes, you can easily prepare this crock pot Mexican low carb chicken soup in the morning before work and let it cook while you are away. It’s so nice to come home from work with a hot meal cooked and ready to eat. All you need to do it shred the chicken and it’s good to go!
I don’t know about you, but the last thing I want to do after a 9 hour work day is have to cook. That’s why I like to make big meals on the weekends and eat the leftovers during the weekdays. I don’t always have time on the weekends, though, so I need to get back into the habit of using the crock pot more during the week.
A programmable crock pot allows you to set the cooking time so if you are out for a while, it automatically switches to the warm setting. My casserole crock pot is the only one that’s programmable.
Since I’d like to use it more to cook food while I’m at work, I need to invest in a new 6 quart crock pot that’s programmable. If you add in the commute, I’m away from home for about 10 hours during the work day so it would be nice to have the crock pot automatically switch to warm after being on low for 6 hours.
Do you love the convenience of crock pot cooking? What types of low carb crock pot recipes would you like to see in 2016? Check out my list of other great low carb crock pot recipes!
Low Carb Crock Pot Mexican Chicken Soup
Crock Pot Mexican Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken pieces boneless/skinless, I used thigh meat
- 15.5 ounces chunky salsa I used Tostitos
- 15 ounces chicken broth
- 8 ounces Monterey or Pepper Jack cheese cubed small or shredded
Instructions
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Place chicken pieces at the bottom of a 6 quart crock pot.
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Add remaining ingredients.
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Cook on high 3-4 hours or low 6-8 hours.
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Remove chicken pieces and shred chicken. Return to crock.
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Serve hot.
Recipe Notes
About 5.1g net carbs per serving.
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kelly polizzi says
Everything was going great except for the fact that the cheese did not melt. Instead it siezed into clumpy balls and now has to go to waste. Should this have to be cooked on high?
Rebeca Flores says
Made it, loved it, easy ready. I have tried a lot of different chicken soup recipes from Pinterest, I love the 4 ingredients and, puff it’s done, I used Oaxaca cheese, because I didn’t have any other cheese on hand.
Lisa says
Any cheese that melts well will work. A lot of people like cream cheese in the soup.
Deb says
I tried this and it was a hit! I used cream cheese – next time I think I might try half cream cheese and half cheddar.
Do you know if this recipe freezes well? I have a ton of leftover turkey so I’d like to make it again and freeze a bunch, but I don’t want to ruin it if it freezes poorly.
Thanks!
Lisa says
I haven’t tried this recipe, but I’ve frozen other low carb soups and they were fine.
Joan says
This recipe was simple and delicious! I also added two teaspoons of taco seasoning to the mix. Gave it that little extra kick. Thank you for sharing!
Lisa says
So glad it worked out for you Joan!
Courtney says
I have had this recipie pinned to Pinterest for way too long. I got in a kick about a month ago to start trying some of these forgotten delicious looking recipies and I stumbled across this one! I have now made it twice for my family and everyone goes back for seconds! I add Rice, Black Pepper, and Lime Juice to give it more of a kick and so it feeds for a few more servings as we have a growing family! I’ve added it to my written cookbook in my kitchen and am excited to pass this recipie down!
Lisa says
Glad it worked out for you and your family!
Bree R says
This is so awesome! I’m going to add a can of black beans to stretch it through the week. Thanks for a great, cheap, healthy recipe.❤
Lisa says
You’re welcome!
Linda Carmody says
This soup was so easy and so fantastic! Topped it with some avocado and sour cream and felt like a cooking champion. Thanks so much!!
Lisa says
Happy it worked out for you! The avocado and sour cream are perfect for it!
Mary says
May I use white meat in this soup like chicken breast and if so how much? Thanks for all your great recipes!!
Lisa says
Any meat can be used and the amount isn’t crucial.
Kayla says
I followed exactly to the tee, but used pepper jack. When I went to serve, the cheese was in giant clumps and next mixed with the soup. What did I do wrong?
Lisa says
The cheese I used was really soft. I’d say try a softer cheese.
J says
I had that same problem, I wonder if it was caused because I used the low setting and cooked it all day instead of the higher setting? Also I used regular jack cheese. That being said I picked the comps out and ate it anyway it was delicious.
Lisa says
It’s best to finely shred the cheese or just add it to the top of the soup when serving.
Kelly says
Do you think this would work with cream cheese? I only have cream cheese and cheddar cheese in the house…..Thanks for the great recipe! 🙂
Lisa says
I believe others have used cream cheese as it melts smoothly.
Patrick Farley says
what is the best way to reduce the fat without sacrificing taste? I have gastroparesis and while I can have fat, im supposed to stay fairly low-fat.
Lisa says
I’d say use a low fat cheese and broth and leaner white meat.
KalynsKitchen says
Sounds good and easy, win-win!
Lisa says
It is!
Inez Aultman says
I didn’t follow it to the tee, but I sure do thank you for the inspiration!
I started with a bunch of chicken thighs in my Dutch oven on the stove. I don’t like to clean my crock pot. Got those all done under a tight fitting lid and removed them from the pot to cool. Blended my salsa and the broth from the thighs, leaving in all that wonderful fat, and added in a couple of small summer squash to add a little more body. No one knew it was there.
I used Havarti cheese, as I knew that would melt.
My salsa was very mild so I jazzed it up with more garlic and chili powder.
Your recipes always bless me!
Lisa says
I’ll try Havarti next time! Thanks for the tips!
Tasha says
Use the crockpot liners. They are awesome! If it should leak a little all you have to do is rinae your crockpot no heavy washing needed.
Heidi says
Your soup was so wonderful! I just started low carb eating and I will be making this again again and again.
Lisa says
Glad you enjoyed it Heidi! 🙂
Vanessa says
This is great! Even our son (he says “that diet food will kill him”) had some and pronounced it good. He’s very picky and rarely eats anything I cook, but he liked this and even asked for some as a late-nite snack last night. ❤️
Lisa says
Love when the kids like the low carb foods!
Debbie says
Do you think this would work with a can of Rotel instead of the salsa?
Lisa says
Rotel is very similar so it’s a good sub.
Rita Rosenbrock says
Just put everything in the crock pot. I used colby-Jack because that is what I had. Looking at all the reviews with cheese issues makes me wonder if it was a bad idea. Oh well, I turned it on high and will hope for the best. I used bone-in and skin on chicken so I will have to cook it a little longer anyway. I couldn’t help taking the extra step and browned the chicken well in a skillet first. I also added some finely chopped tasso since it needed to be used up and I doubled the broth. I guess we will see what happens! Thanks for all you do. You are so appreciated!
Lisa says
It seems best to grate the cheese first, but the pepper jack cheese melted fine in my crock pot.
PWO says
If the nutritional values are for each serving, the amount of sodium is half what you should have in an entire day and the serving size is only approximately 10 1/2 oz! Why is the sodium so high?
Lisa says
The sodium depends on products used. Those watching sodium may want to adjust with lower sodium ingredients.
Jess RN CDE says
On a ketogenic diet you flush most of your sodium intake due to the low insulin level. It’s recommended to get 5000mg sodium daily on a ketogenic diet.
FoSizzleMyNizzle says
I was a bit skeptical because of the simplicity of this recipe. But it hit all the factors I needed: low carb, cheap, quick, and nothing overly processed. Perfect for a mid week meal when I really don’t want to cook. With a few minors tweaks at the end, both the wife and kid loved it. Very rare in this house for both to like anything! We used chicken stock instead of broth. And added more than what was called for to increase the yield a bit. I knew it would be too spicy for their liking so added some cream at the end to smooth the texture out and cut the heat a bit. Definitely making it on the rotation!
Lisa says
Love how you stretched it out a bit. Great idea!
Joan says
We LOVE this soup!! Make it a lot – but I also have the issue with the cheese not melting so I will be shredding it in the future. Also I use a rotisserie chicken already cooked from the grocery, simply shred it and discard the skin. It comes out great!! It does require maybe a bit more low sodium chicken broth though as there is more chicken in the pot.
Lisa says
Rotisserie chicken is a great way to make it. And, shredded cheese is the way to go.
Trisha says
I’m using a rotisserie chicken too. Since the chicken is already cooked and shredded how long should I put it in the crock pot for? On low setting too I assume, right?
Lisa says
You can add it in near the end of the cooking time.
Ambar P says
In regards to the nutritional value (I’m on a low carb, high protein diet) are these numbers equal to the entire meal or just one serving (1 cup)? So in other words is it 7.4 grams of carbs per serving OR for the entire dish?
Lisa says
The values are per serving.
Nicole says
Thank you so much! I didn’t have time to make in crockpot so I just did it in 45 mins on stove. My fiancé says this was his favorite dish I’ve ever made. 😄 I’m sure the salsa helped his tastebuds get extra happy. So glad to have found this and I love that it’s just a few ingredients.
Lisa says
Happy to hear it was an easy dinner on the stovetop!
Anamarie Neumiller says
I added extra corn ,can of chicken chouder
Homemade noodles mozrella balls and
I’ll serve with Sour cream
Lisa says
Sounds yummy!
Angela says
Hi! Thanks for this simple recipe! I am trying it today for a potluck. I am wondering, do you think I could add more hot broth after cooking to make it go further at the potluck?
Lisa says
I don’t see why not. You might just want to taste to see if additional seasoning is needed.
Linda says
I noticed the sodium count is very high. I assume that it is coming from the chicken broth. If I use low sodium chicken broth, that should bring it down a lot. Maybe I can then season it with pepper, so that it is not too bland. Then again wouldn’t the pepper jack cheese give it a kick. Let me know what you think. Also does the chicken gets cooked separately and then you shred it and put it in the slow cooker or does it cook in the slow cooker and then when you take it out do you shred it. Thanks for helping me out here.
Lisa says
Low sodium chicken broth would reduce the sodium considerably. The chicken cooks in the crock pot. I removed it toward the end to shreds it. A hand mixer can be used to shred it faster than using forks. Hope you like it!
Amanda says
What would suggest for making this on then stove top? I already have cooked shredded chicken so I don’t think the crockpot will be needed.
Lisa says
This should cook up quickly on the stove. Just add all the ingredients, cover, and simmer until cheese has melted in.
Amber says
Any suggestions for veggies that could be added?
Lisa says
I think a some zucchini added at the end would be nice. You could add bell peppers too.
Denise says
Looks yummy! Will definitely try it. Just a comment on the timer issue for your crockpot. I found a good tip to use a programmable timer that you can easily buy at a hardware store. The same kind you use for your xmas tree lights. No need to buy a new crockpot. Haven’t tried it yet but makes perfect sense.
Lisa says
An outlet timer would certainly work for a slow cooker. Never thought to use one, though. Thanks!
Lindy says
what do you think about coconut milk instead of cheese? I can’t do dairy but not sure how coconut milk fares in a crock pot.
Lisa says
Coconut cream may work better. It’s worth a try.
Holly says
This was awesome. My pepper Jack cubes didn’t melt, but I added shredded cheese at the end after scooping the blobs out 🙂
Lisa says
I think some jack cheeses are much harder than others or my crock pot gets a lot hotter than most. Maybe it needs to be grated first.
Nat says
I had this problem too. They look gross, but still taste like cheese. Did you use a certain kind/brand of pepper jack? I used two different brands with the same result. Great recipe tho!!
Lisa says
My crock must get really hot or the cheese I used is softer than most. You can try grating the cheese or cooking on the stovetop to melt it completely.
Marlynda says
This was a huge hit with my family! Thank you so much. I just love how easy this is to make, and how flavorful the end result is ☺
Lisa says
I’m so happy you and your family enjoyed this soup!
Tracy says
Does this reheat well? To make on a weekend and use for lunch through the week? Thanks!
Lisa says
It does! I’ve made it on the weekend and heated up at work in both my lunch crock and the microwave. I like to reheat on 50% power for 1.5 to 2 minutes.
Dawn says
I love the soup! I had a problem with the Monterrey cheese not melting though. Cooked on high for 4 hours but I used rotisserie chicken already cooked so that might be my problem. Any suggestions?
Lisa says
Some cheese is harder than others. You could try a softer cheese next time like cream cheese.
Lesley says
This soup turned out so amazing. And it was so easy to make! I am very happy with the results. I am wondering about your calorie count though at the bottom of the page. I know calorie counts vary by brand (say the cheese or salsa) but for the life of me I can’t get the recipe to come out to more than 340 calories per serving, and 285 if chicken breasts are used.
Lisa says
I’ll have to recalculate. I may have put in skinned thighs rather than skinless.
Lesley says
Let me know what you come up with! I would love to know I am not losing it, haha. And I have made this soup twice now and I really can’t tell you how amazing it is! GREAT WORK!
Lisa says
I sure will!
J'Lyn says
This sounds great. Did you figure out the calorie count? What is the size of a serving? 1 cup?
Lisa says
It’s about 400 calories per cup.
Mickie Gibbs says
This was SO tasty and SO easy! It’s definitely going in the meal rotation!
Lydia says
Hi Lisa,
Today is the day for this soup! I’m rediscovering my crockpots as well. Thank you!
Lisa says
I agree. It’s freezing here and it’s a great way to warm up! Enjoy it!
Kelly says
Can I assume a serving is a cup?
Lisa says
Each serving is about a cup.
Anita aka SkeeterN says
I can’t wait to try this recipe. I see your shredding your chicken with two forks. A crazy easy way is to use your mixer. Just turn it on and go! Shreds all meats quick and fast with no burned fingers. Youtube it! You will find video’s about it.
Lisa says
Thanks for that tip! I found out about that after posting this recipe. Will use a mixer next time for sure!
Lorrie says
Super easy looking meal. Question I am doing a freezer meal exchange(with 7 other moms). If you were to freeze this would you prepare it then freeze it, or throw all ingredients in freezer bag and then dump into crockpot when they are ready for it?
Thanks
Lisa says
I would freeze ingredients together and then dump frozen into the crockpot. No need to cook twice!
Karen says
Yum-o!
nicole thomas says
oh my gosh!, perfect!! ill make this again and again… thank you so much
Lisa says
Glad you liked it Nicole!
Sloane says
Lisa,
You don’t know it, but I’m your new best friend, lol.
I tried your recipe for Mexican Chicken Soup for dinner yesterday. It turned out AMAZINGLY delicious! The only change I made was chopping up fresh cilantro and tossing that on top of the soup before I turned on the crock pot. I garnished with more cilantro and served a simple cucumber salad on the side. So, so delicious!
Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Lisa says
You’re welcome! The more friends the merrier!