by Texas Homesteader ~
Got leftover chicken and wondering how to use it? I use Planned Leftovers cooking!
Turn leftover chicken, a few dried out corn tortillas and a few cans of veggies into delicious, hot & satisfying Chicken Tortilla Soup FAST!
Planning Your Leftovers Meals
We had company coming for a visit so I plopped a whole chicken and some spices into the slow cooker to cook a whole chicken.
My Sticky Chicken recipe includes lots of savory spices.
Heck if you’re gonna have company you might as well make something delicious that requires precious little time in the kitchen #amiright??
Saving Leftover Cooked Chicken
After that chicken was enjoyed that night I pulled the remaining meat from the bones & then turned that carcass into plenty of Homemade Chicken Stock. (I add a secret ingredient to leach more calcium out of those bones!)
That leftover chicken meat & broth will come in handy for today’s soup.
Now I typically have lots of options for remaking these chicken leftovers. I’ve written about 6 ways I’m able to make meals from a single chicken.
But today’s cold and rainy, a perfect day for a Spicy Chicken Tortilla SOUP!
Assembling Chicken Tortilla Soup
Making homemade chicken tortilla soup is easy. The simple ingredients for the soup are:
2 cups Leftover shredded chicken
1.5 cups Homemade Unsalted Broth
2 cans of mild Rotel diced tomatoes – juice & all.
1 drained can black beans
1 drained can of corn. (I used my Home-Canned Corn
Minced garlic
Chopped onions
Season with cumin, salt & pepper
Dump it all into the slow cooker, give it a stir and add the lid. I set the dial to low and let the flavors all marry for about 3-4 hours.
(I used this Homestead Hack:
Put a kitchen towel on top of the slow cooker keep the slow cooker at a nice heat level during its cooking time.)
How To Add Tortillas To Chicken Tortilla Soup
Then right before serving I took the last 2 dried-out corn tortillas that were left in the fridge from our Homemade Taco Shells a few nights ago.
I sliced those tortillas into about 1/4″ strips that were 2-3″ long and stirred them into the hot soup.
Some people like to lightly fry these corn tortilla strips to give them a little extra crunch before placing them atop the soup.
Sometimes I do that too, but typically I’ll just add the tortilla strips as they are. In & out of the kitchen FAST with fewer dishes to clean is my jam, y’all.
Fast Homemade Cornbread
But what should I make to go with it? I decided to bake up a skillet of Spicy Jalapeno Cornbread, what a perfect accompaniment!
Finally our meal was ready to be served. I ladled out hearty bowls of soup, sprinkling a little cheese on top.
Aaaahhhh – sure hits the spot on a cold rainy day! And there’s enough left over for us to enjoy for lunch tomorrow too!
Planned Leftovers Reduces Food Waste
By utilizing planned leftovers cooking, I’m able to incorporate leftovers from several different meals into this one delicious soup. Oh yeah, reducing food waste is my secret super power!
The corn tortillas were leftover from our carnitas tacos the other night, leftover chicken & broth from my slow cooker sticky chicken meal previously, and using some home-canned corn from the pantry.
The beauty of this soup is that you can use whatever you’ve got. Want your soup meatier? Feel free to add more chicken. Don’t like black beans? Add canned pintos instead or leave them out completely.
The world is your oyster, make it the way you & your family like it.
But by cooking this way I’m able to make sure no leftover food is left to go bad, and our grocery budget stays tiny – yet we eat very well.
Leftovers can be delicious!
Did you make this Chicken Tortilla Soup? Please rate the recipe in your comment below!
Lazy Cooking: Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 2 cups leftover cooked chicken, shredded or cubed
- 2 15-oz cans Rotel mild diced tomatoes, undrained (can use cans of regular diced tomatoes)
- 1 15-oz can black beans, drained
- 1 15-oz can corn, drained
- 1.5 cups unsalted chicken broth I used homemade broth
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 2-4 corn tortillas, sliced into 1/4 inch strips
- 1/2 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
Instructions
Directions:
-
Place 2 cups shredded or chopped leftover cooked chicken into a slow cooker. Add all other ingredients and stir gently.
-
Cover & cook on low heat for 3 hours to allow flavors to marry.
-
Just before serving, add tortilla strips to slow cooker. Stir to blend. Serve soup in soup bowls, topping each serving with cheese.
~TxH!
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Our Favorite Tex-Mex Recipes
- MYO Taco Seasoning
- Carnitas Tacos
- MYO Crispy Taco Shells
- Easy Corn Tortillas
- Mix-n-Pour Tortilla Recipe – No Kneading, No Rolling
- Pulled-Pork Enchiladas
- Cheesy Enchilada Casserole
- Lazy Cook’s Chile Relleno Cups
- SW Chicken w/Herbed Rice
- Cheesy Chile-Chicken Casserole
- Quick & Easy Taco Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Homemade Pork Tamales
- (w/Instant Pot Shortcut Option)
- Spicy Jalapeno Cornbread
- MYO Pinto Bean Seasoning Mix
- Creamy Hatch Chile Sauce
- Quick Southwest Quesadillas
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- Leftover Navy Beans Into Delicious HUMMUS!
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…and MUCH MORE!
See All Our Recipes
Our Favorite Soups
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- Planned Leftovers: Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Easy Chicken Broth – Slow Cooker Method
- Faster, Easier Broth – Instant Pot Method
- (Pressure Canning Broth)
See All Our Soup Recipes
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An easy, delicious soup! I used leftover cooked turkey in place of the chicken and used cans of plain chopped tomatoes instead of the spicy tomatoes. And I doubled the recipe so there would be plenty of leftovers. An easy, delicious recipe that’s a winner in my book!
Great soup!! So easy.
I’ve never tried this kind of leftover, but it looks so yummy and I love chicken tortillas! Thank you so much for sharing at Sweet Inspiration, have a lovely Sunday!
Thank you for joining linking up at the #HomeMattersParty This chicken soup looks delicious. I don’t like cooking very much, its a necessary chore for me. The idea of cooking once for two meals, while saving money and eating healthy is very appealing.
I remember my grandmother always planning her next meal based on the leftovers of the meal before. She wasted nothing. Thanks for the reminder.
I’m like you Leanna – I cook our meals from scratch daily but see it as a necessary chore. But by using planned leftovers I’m able to spend precious little time cooking and that really appeals to me! LOL ~TxH~
It has been soup weather that’s for sure and this looks delicious. Soup to warm the soul…………….and That’s a Good Thing.
Have a great day Tammy and a wonderful weekend
I have to agree with ya there Colleen. This made a delicious meal for me to pack up & take with us on the road to visit my dad. ~TxH~