Slow Cooker Chicken and Green Chile Soup

This hearty and comforting Slow Cooker Chicken and Green Chile Soup is delicious, super flavorful and literally takes just 5 minutes to throw together!

Ahh it’s officially December!

I don’t know about you, but I am obsessed with crock pot recipes during the winter months.  Number one….yes I’m lazy.  Using the crock pot allows you to throw everything in all at once before heading out to work and then easily come home to a delicious, filling meal.  Number two….it makes a TON so it’s perfect on Sundays when I’m meal prepping and want extra lunches or dinners for the week.  Number three….it makes everything just taste so effing good!  Allowing soups to simmer all day not only makes your meat super tender, but the flavors are amplified times ten!

If you’re in the mood for immediate gratification (hey it happens to the best of us) and don’t want to wait all day for your soup to cook then go ahead and make this recipe in a big pot on your stove.  You don’t have to have a crock pot to make this, but c’mon what could be better than staying inside on a cold Sunday afternoon filling your house with the delicious aroma of your slow cooker?

This particular recipe has a lot of spice to it because, well, I maaaay have used an entire jar of green salsa and two cans of green chiles, but don’t worry!  Honestly the heat is just right and definitely not too over-bearing, I usually can’t handle a ton of spice and this was seriously perfect for me.  I also added cannellini beans (white beans), chopped veggies and some flavorful spices and herbs like cumin, oregano and crushed red pepper.  Then I just topped everything off with some fresh cilantro and BOOM – hearty perfection in a bowl!

If you aren’t using a crock pot and are just making this on the stove top then I would highly suggest using a cooked rotisserie chicken rather than chicken breasts.  The meat is so flavorful and pulls apart super easily, but you really can’t go wrong with however you decide to make this!

I always get a lot of questions on which crock pot I use because there are just so many out there to choose from.  I personally own a 6-Quart Programmable Crock Pot and I absolutely LOVE it.  It has a removable bottom so that I can store leftovers in the fridge or throw in all the ingredients the night before, keep in the fridge overnight then just pop it back on the base when I’m ready to cook.  It’s also completely programmable and automatically turns to “warm” when finished cooking which is a huge LIFESAVER if I’m stuck in traffic coming home from work – I don’t have to worry about over-cooking.  Another thing that is great is even though the the crock pot may be huge, it has the ability to cook everything evenly, no matter how much or how little you have in it.

It’s also under $50 which is pretty affordable!

Trust me, this will be your best investment for your kitchen or would make a great idea for your holiday wish list.  I tend to make shredded salsa chicken and turkey chili on the reg (literally like every other week) so it really comes in handy especially when meal prepping!