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This Chicken Salsa Soup recipe is an easy and healthy dinner you can make in about 30 minutes. The BEST part about this soup is that it is great for using up leftover chicken – or add it to your meal prep dinner rotation! This soup is also weight watchers and macro approved!

salsa soup mixed with chicken and corn in a bowl.


30 Minute Salsa Soup Recipe

I love soup especially when it’s cold! I also love a bowl with all the toppings and this healthy Mexican Chicken Soup is one of my favorites to make.

At our house we call it salsa soup because salsa is one of the main ingredients. Salsa is such a great short-cut because it adds a ton of flavor and you don’t have to do anything but open a jar.

It’s light but loaded with flavor and you can garnish it with all of your favorite toppings. I love tortilla chips for crunch, a dollop of sour cream and, of course, a sprinkling of shredded cheese.

Weight Watchers Chicken Soup

This chicken soup with salsa is very deceiving – it’s hearty and filling, but it’s so light. If you’re on Weight Watchers it’s only 7 smart points or 5 Points Plus.

Making WW Taco Soup with chicken is easy and fast – this is a 30 minute soup recipe – and great for using leftover chicken. It’ll warm you up and make you feel good from the inside out!

Ingredients You’ll Need to Make Mexican Chicken Soup

  • Olive oil
  • Chopped onion
  • Minced garlic
  • Ground cumin
  • Reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • Canned diced tomatoes
  • Frozen corn
  • Fat free salsa
  • Shredded cooked chicken – I love using leftover chicken or grabbing a rotisserie chicken at the store.
  • Chopped cilantro

Use Leftover Chicken to Make it Easy

I love this recipe because I usually have all of the ingredients on hand. We eat a lot of chicken and there’s always leftovers in the refrigerator. This is a great way to use them up. Or, you can pick up a rotisserie chicken from the store. 

How to Make Easy Mexican Chicken WW Soup

  1. Cook the onion and garlic with the olive oil in a large non-stick pan until the onion is softened. Add the cumin and stir.
  2. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes, corn, and salsa. Bring it to a boil and then lower the heat to maintain a simmer. Simmer it for about 10 minutes.
  3. Add the shredded to chicken and simmer it in the broth for a few minutes until it’s heated up.
  4. Add the cilantro and stir.

It doesn’t get any easier than three steps! I love a 30-minute soup and this is one of my favorites. 

What if I don’t Have Leftover Chicken?

It adds more time, but you can cook the chicken first before you make the soup.

  • In the same pan you plan to make the soup, cook the chicken in some olive oil until it’s browned and cooked through. This will take about 10 minutes depending on how thick your chicken breasts are.
  • Remove the chicken from the pan and let it cool. Go ahead, at this point, and start making the soup. All of the flavor left behind by the chicken will just give your broth more flavor.
  • Once it’s cool enough to handle, shred or cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces.

I’ve also included these instructions in the recipe card.

salsa soup in white bowl with sour cream and tortilla chips and cheese with spoon

Don’t Forget the Toppings!

Just like tacos, you can top your bowl with all of your favorite garnishes.

  • Tortilla chips: You can turn this into a Weight Watchers Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe by adding tortilla chips!
  • Sour cream
  • Shredded cheddar cheese or Monterey jack cheese (or both!) – use low fat to keep it WW friendly
  • Chopped cilantro
  • A squeeze of fresh lime juice
  • Diced avocado

If you add toppings it will increase the Weight Watchers points, so just FYI. The soup itself is so light you can definitely add some garnishes and still have a healthy, light dinner.

Macro Friendly Mexican Chicken Soup

If you count macros instead of doing WW, then this soup is also great for you!

The macros per serving of this soup (4 total servings in the pot): 222 Calories 22C 4F 16P

salsa soup in white bowl

FAQ

What can I do with a lot of salsa?

Make soup! Adding leftover or homemade salsa to a recipe like this adds SO much flavor.

Can I use raw chicken to make this soup?

Yes you can start with raw chicken, but you’ll need to sauté it first before starting making the actual soup. Dice it bite size, then brown it on all sides and remove it from the pan. Cook the soup as directed.

How to store leftover soup?

This soup gets more flavorful as it sits – store it in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop.

Can I freeze salsa soup?

Freeze in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

How to make this into WW Chicken Tortilla Soup?

Simply add strips of tortilla chips into the soup before serving.

salsa soup in white bowl with sour cream and tortilla chips and cheese with spoon

Mexican Chicken Soup Recipe

5 from 6 votes
This is our favorite soup recipe – Mexican Chicken Soup! It's an easy 30 minute meal that's weight watchers approved – this healthy mexican soup is a chicken soup with salsa – and it's SO easy to make and so tasty.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Yield 4 servings
Serving Size 1 serving

Ingredients
 

  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 medium white onion chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 1 10 ounce bag frozen corn kernels
  • 1 cup fat free salsa
  • ½ pound cooked shredded chicken see note
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro optional
  • Sour cream Shredded cheddar cheese and/or tortilla chips, for serving, optional
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Instructions

  • Heat the oil in a large nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 8 minutes. Stir in the cumin and cook 1 minute.
  • Add the broth, tomatoes, corn, and salsa; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the flavors are blended, about 10 minutes. Add the chicken to the pan; heat through. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cilantro if using.
  • Serve the soup with sour cream, cheese and tortilla chips as desired.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Note:
To cook with raw chicken: In step 1, heat the oil in a large nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned, about 6 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate; set aside, then continue with onion and garlic.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 167kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 43mg | Sodium: 1580mg | Potassium: 643mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 536IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 87mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Soup
Cuisine American

Other weight watcher recipes:

This is our favorite soup recipe – Mexican Chicken Soup! It’s an easy 30 minute meal that’s weight watchers approved – this healthy mexican soup is a chicken soup with salsa – and it’s SO easy to make and so tasty.

Last Updated on January 19, 2024



Dorothy Kern

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4 Comments

  1. I grew up in San Antonio, and this IS Mexican chicken soup. It is NOT spicy tex mex, and the predominant flavor is and should be chicken. The veggies and rice are yummy, but chicken is the strongest taste. You start with water and chicken, turning the water into broth. 6 cups works fine if, like me, your pot doesn’t hold 8 (you can always add some water or broth at the end once it’s condensed a bit). If you don’t use good chicken or if you’re using flavorless cheap white meat it’s going to be tasteless and bland, obviously. You can start with good quality stock instead of water if you prefer to amp up the flavor. The only thing I added was a Mexican tomato bullion with the tomato sauce, and it was delicious. And as stated in the recipe, you’re expected to out flavorful toppings on this: fresh chopped cilantro, salty tortilla chips, sliced avocado, sour cream, etc. If you’re complaining it’s bland you either made it wrong, skipped the notes about chicken and toppings, or had completely false expectations about this soup. It is the Spanish equivalent to chicken noodle soup; a nice, simple, hearty, easy recipe for the fall, kids, sick days, etc. Tastes just like I’d expect from SA.

  2. I made this soup today. DELISH! Since I didn’t have frozen corn, I subbed a can of Roasted Corn (drained). Also, I added a little Coriander and two cups of pre-cooked Jasmine Rice.

    This is a new favorite!

  3. I love this recipe! I have been making a similar recipe I created for about 5 years. Mainly to use up any of my extra home canned tomatoes and salsa. I never thought to add corn. Love yours too! I did serve it over a little brown rice. Guests liked it with tortilla chips, and/or nacho Doritos And cheese.