Salsa Chicken & Black Bean Soup

I was trying to decide whether I love this recipe because it’s crazy easy to make, just plain tasty, or healthy (which can be hard to come by, as far as crock pot recipes go). Then I figured it’s probably not a bad thing if I can’t decide.

I originally found the recipe while looking for a black bean soup to make for my soup-loving husband. I made a couple recipes that required a lot of ingredients (several of which I didn’t usually have on hand) but tasted pretty bland. Then I found this one. The recipe comes from Stephanie of Crockpot 365, and it has “1.2K” likes on facebook. (Kind of blows your mind, right?) For having so few ingredients, it’s really flavorful. I suppose the salsa does a lot of the work for you. I’ll take it!

Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup
Adapted slightly from Crockpot 365

1 pound chicken (*I just do one chicken breast)
1 cup dried black beans (or 2 cans, drained and rinsed)
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup frozen corn
1 jar prepared salsa (16 oz)
1 1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 cup sour cream (to stir in at the end)
Toppings: shredded cheddar cheese, avocado slices, cilantro, green onions, broken tortialla chips, fresh lime to squeeze over the top

1. In a small saucepan, cover the dried beans with water, to one inch above the beans. Cover with lid, and let sit overnight.

2. In the morning, drain and rinse beans. Add to crock pot, along with all other ingredients except sour cream and toppings. Turn crock pot on to high, and cook for up to 9 hours. (*Depending on altitude and hardness of your water, your beans may need this much time to get soft. Here in California, my soup is ready to serve after about 5 hours, which is when I switch it to low and just wait until dinnertime.)

3. When you’re about ready to serve, stir in the sour cream. Spoon soup into bowls, and go crazy with toppings! (*Seriously, toppings are key!)

*Also, the originator of the recipe suggests is the comments adding two slices of uncured, raw bacon, trimmed of some of the fat and diced—at the beginning. I just noticed that idea in the comments, so I haven’t tried it. But it could be a fun addition!

This amount serves my family of four healthy-eaters nicely, but it’s not a huge recipe, so double it if you have more people. Enjoy!

This recipe marks three out of five of the best crock recipes the internet has to offer—as far as I can find, at least! For the other two, check out Honey Sesame Chicken and Pulled Pork Sandwiches. (Mmmm…) 

Linked up with The Dwelling Tree and MamaGab. Welcome to any first-time visitors!