Ingredients

For the soup:

1 medium-to-large onion, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 chicken breasts (I used 4 since I like the soup to be really meaty – it was about 1.5 lbs)
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
pepper to taste
6 cups chicken broth (or 6 cups water + 2 Tablespoons Better than Bouillon chicken base)
16 oz salsa (I used a mild salsa for my kids)

For the baked tortilla strips:

6 corn tortillas
1.5 Tablespoons vegetable oil
kosher salt to taste

Ideas for toppings:

the baked tortilla strips (or a bag of tortilla chips!)
shredded cheese
avocado
lime wedges
cilantro
green onions
sour cream
hot sauce

Instructions

For the soup:

Add onion and garlic to crockpot. Place chicken breasts on top, then sprinkle with cumin and pepper. Pour chicken broth and salsa on top. Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours. Shred the chicken (it should be falling apart anyway) with a couple of forks and add salt or other seasoning if needed (keep in mind that you may be adding salty cheese/chips on top).

For the baked tortilla strips:

Preheat oven to 375 and line a large baking sheet with foil. Brush both sides of the tortillas lightly with oil, then stack and cut them into strips (I use scissors for this). Sprinkle the strips with kosher salt, then spread them out on the pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned and crisp (keep an eye on them – cooking time will depend on how thick your tortillas are).
Serve the soup with any or all of the topping ideas above!

Notes

To change things up, add black beans and corn as you’re heating up leftovers. Or let people customize their own bowls and stir them in if they want!

Sneak in more veggies: chopped bell pepper or sliced carrots can go in at the beginning (the carrots aren’t weird, I swear).

The cooled, cooked soup freezes well!

To make an easy meal later in the week, cook an extra chicken breast or 2 with the soup. Set it aside (with a little broth to keep it moist) after you shred it and use the shredded chicken for quesadillas, burrito bowls, or taco salad!

To make the soup without a crockpot, heat a little olive oil in a large pot over medium and saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes. Add the cumin, broth and salsa, and cooked, shredded rotisserie chicken (or other leftover chicken), and simmer for about 30 minutes.

This recipe is slightly adapted from Baley of 715 West Photography!