Slow Cooker Chicken Fajita Soup

This slow cooker fajita soup makes for a comforting and healthy meal that’s packed with flavor and a hint of spice. It can be made in your slow cooker or Instant Pot!

Do you know what makes me incredibly happy? Getting done with work for the day only to realize that dinner has finished cooking and is ready to serve. That’s why I LOVE slow cooker meals!

Most have very little prep work involved – you literally put everything in, turn the slow cooker on and let it work its magic.

This recipe does require some chopping, but once everything is sliced and diced you’re ready to roll.

Fajitas… Turned Into a Soup

Overall, this recipe is pretty straight-forward. It’s basically all the ingredients you typically use for fajitas, just a bit more liquid to make it into a soup. After slow cooking for several hours the chicken gets tender, the peppers soften and the broth develops a robust, spicy flavor.

We ended up eating this soup for dinner two nights in row and like most soups it was even better the second night. Isaac mentioned how good it was several times so I have a feeling I’ll be making it again soon!

Healthy Fajita Soup Ingredients

• vegetables – yellow, green and orange bell peppers, yellow onion, jalapeño pepper and garlic.
• salsa – if you don’t have salsa on hand, you can make your own or just add 1 cup of chopped tomatoes, 2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, 2 additional cloves of garlic to the soup.
• chicken – I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs to add a bit of fat and flavor. If you prefer white meat, feel free to use chicken breasts. You may just want to add an extra teaspoon of olive oil.
• chicken or vegetable broth
• olive oil
• lime Juice
• seasonings and spices – chili powder, cumin, paprika, sea salt and ground pepper
• toppings of choice – chopped avocado, jalapeño slices, cilantro, more lime juice, tortilla chips or crackers

Fajita Soup Variations

• Vegan – Make this soup vegan by using vegetable broth and 1-2 cans of rinsed and drained chickpeas in place of the chicken.
• Add grains – Make this soup heartier by adding in cauliflower rice or cooked brown/white rice. You can stir frozen or fresh cauliflower rice or cooked white/brown rice directly to the soup once it’s done cooking and warming in the slow cooker. Stir and let warm until soup is warm throughout.
• Less spice – If you’re not a fan of spice (or serving kiddos) simply leave the jalapeño pepper out. The soup has plenty of other spices to make it flavorful.

How to Make This Soup in the Instant Pot

This soup originated as a slow cooker recipe, but we recently got an Instant Pot (air fryer combo!!) and we’re obsessed! Here’s how to make this soup in the Instant Pot:

Sauté onion and garlic – Start by adding olive oil to the Instant Pot and put it on sauté setting. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until fragrant.

Pressure cook – Add the remaining ingredients (besides the rice and toppings) to the Instant Pot. Place the lid on the pressure cooker, lock lid and make sure the pressure release valve is closed. Press cancel to stop sautéing and then press the soup/stew button and set the time to 30 minutes.

Quick release – Once the timer reaches 0, the cooker will switch to “keep warm”. Carefully switch the pressure release valve to open to quick release the pressure. Be super careful during this! I recommend using a towel over the valve or use tongs so you don’t burn yourself with the steam.

Shred chicken – Once the steam is released, remove the lid and use a fork to shred the chicken.

Add rice and serve – If you’re adding rice to the soup, add it to the Instant Pot while it’s still set to warm. Once warmed through, portion the soup into bowls, top with toppings of choice and enjoy!

What to Serve with Fajita Soup

This fajita soup is a little brothy, which I like, but it’s nice to have something (like bread, crackers or chips) to dip or crumble in. I have served it up with homemade bread, my almond flour crackers and/or tortilla chips. All of which are delicious.

Print

Chicken Fajita Soup

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• Author: Brittany Mullins
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 4 hours
• Total Time: 4 hours 20 minutes
• Yield: 4
• Diet: Gluten Free

Description

Whip up this slow cooker chicken fajita soup for a comforting and healthy meal that’s packed with flavor and a hint of spice.

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Ingredients

• 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
• 1 orange bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1/2 jalapeño pepper, sliced
• 1 cup fresh salsa*
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• juice of 1 lime
• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• 1 1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs (chicken breasts work too)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground pepper
• cauliflower rice or cooked white/brown rice (optional)
• toppings of choice: chopped avocado, jalapeño slices, cilantro, more lime juice, tortilla chips or crackers

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Instructions

Slow Cooker:

1. Put all ingredients (besides rice and toppings) into a slow cooker.
2. Cook for 3-4 hours on high or 6 hours on low. The chicken should be cooked through and will just fall apart. Once this happens turn the slow cooker to warm and enjoy whenever you’re ready. If adding rice, add it to the slow cooker while set to warm.
3. To serve, top each bowl with avocado, jalapeño slices, cilantro and serve with tortilla chips and a slice of lime.

Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker: 

1. Add olive oil to Instant Pot and put on sauté setting. Add onion and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes, until fragrant.
2. Add remaining ingredients (besides rice and toppings). Place the lid on the pressure cooker, lock lid and make sure the pressure release valve is closed.
3. Press cancel on the pressure cooker and then press the soup/stew button and set time to 30 minutes.
4. Once the timer reaches 0, the cooker will switch to keep warm. Carefully switch the pressure release valve to open to manually release the pressure. (I use tongs for this). Once the steam is released, remove the lid and use a fork to shredded chicken. The chicken should be cooked through and will just fall apart.
5. If adding rice, add it to the Instant Pot while set to warm. Once warm throughout, portion soup into bowls.
6. To serve, top each bowl with avocado, jalapeño slices, cilantro and serve with tortilla chips and a slice of lime.

Equipment

Notes

• If you don’t have salsa on hand, you can make your own or just add 1 cup of chopped tomatoes, 2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, 2 additional cloves of garlic to the soup.
• To add more bulk to the soup, I like adding cauliflower rice or cooked brown/white rice. You can stir frozen or fresh cauliflower rice or cooked white/brown rice directly to the soup once it’s done cooking and warming in the slow cooker. Stir and let warm until soup is warm throughout.

• Category: Soup
• Method: Slow Cooker
• Cuisine: Mexican

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 bowl
• Calories: 320
• Sugar: 12g
• Sodium: 1276mg
• Fat: 8g
• Saturated Fat: 2g
• Unsaturated Fat: 1g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 22g
• Fiber: 4g
• Protein: 36g
• Cholesterol: 158mg

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