Delicious & Healthy Weight Watchers Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup (Low Point Recipe)
Are you searching for a heartwarming, satisfying meal that effortlessly fits into your healthy eating plan? Look no further than this incredible Weight Watchers Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup! It’s the perfect blend of robust taco flavors and comforting soup, all made incredibly simple with the magic of your slow cooker. This recipe is designed to be both healthy and hearty, making it an ideal choice for busy weeknights, meal prep, or feeding a crowd.
What makes this chicken taco soup truly special for those following the Weight Watchers program is its exceptionally low point value. The primary version of this recipe, as outlined below, clocks in at just 1 Weight Watchers point for four generous servings. That means if you enjoy a single serving, it’s a wonderful zero-point Weight Watchers soup! This makes it a fantastic foundation for a fulfilling meal without compromising your daily points. We’ll also show you how to reduce the points even further in our variations section, especially by leveraging a zero-point homemade tomato sauce.
We understand that many of our readers use various Weight Watchers programs, both current and older plans. For your convenience, we’ve included point totals for the Personal Points plan, PointsPlus plan, as well as the popular Blue, Purple, and Green plans. You’ll find these detailed point calculations within the comprehensive recipe card located at the very bottom of this page. However, for the most accurate and up-to-date information tailored to your specific Weight Watchers plan and any ingredient adjustments you might make, we always recommend plugging the recipe directly into your official WW app.
One of the best parts about a low-point Weight Watchers recipe like this chicken taco soup is the freedom it gives you to add delicious toppings! A sprinkle of reduced-fat shredded cheese, a few crunchy tortilla chips, or some baked tortilla strips can elevate your soup experience, and with such a minimal base point value, you can truly afford to splurge a little on your favorite garnishes without guilt.
Why You’ll Love This Healthy Slow Cooker Taco Soup
There are countless reasons why this Weight Watchers chicken taco soup will become a staple in your kitchen. From its ease of preparation to its incredible versatility, it’s designed to make healthy eating both enjoyable and simple:
- Effortless Preparation: This Weight Watchers taco soup recipe epitomizes simplicity. After a quick browning of the ground chicken on the stovetop – a step that locks in flavor and moisture – you simply combine all the ingredients in your slow cooker. Then, let your appliance do the heavy lifting! Whether you set it to cook on low for 7-8 hours or on high for 4 hours, you’ll return to a perfectly cooked, flavorful meal ready to enjoy with minimal fuss. It’s the ultimate “set it and forget it” dish.
- Nutritionally Balanced & Weight Watchers Friendly: As mentioned, this is a genuinely low-point Weight Watchers soup. It’s packed with lean protein from the ground chicken and an abundance of fiber-rich vegetables like bell peppers, onions, corn, and diced tomatoes. This nutrient-dense combination ensures you’re getting a healthy, filling meal that supports your weight loss journey without sacrificing taste.
- Unleash Your Creativity with Versatile Ingredients: One of the standout features of this recipe is its incredible adaptability. It serves as a fantastic base that you can easily customize to fit your personal taste, dietary needs, or what you have available in your pantry. In the “Variations/Substitutions” section below, we’ll dive deeper into several ways you can tweak this recipe to make it uniquely yours – from swapping proteins to adjusting the spice level.
- Comforting and Satisfying: Perfect for a chilly evening, a casual game day gathering, or simply when you’re craving a hearty meal, this WW taco soup delivers warmth and satisfaction in every spoonful. Its rich flavors and wholesome ingredients make it a comforting dish that will impress your friends and family, leaving them feeling full and content.
Ingredients for Your Weight Watchers Chicken Taco Soup
Gathering your ingredients for this slow cooker chicken taco soup is straightforward. We focus on fresh vegetables and lean protein to keep this recipe healthy and delicious. Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 lb lean ground chicken (weighed raw)
- 3.5 cups chicken broth
- 1.5 cups tomato sauce (for the lowest Weight Watchers points, consider using our zero-point WW tomato sauce)
- 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes (undrained)
- 1 (15 oz) can black beans (rinsed and drained, optional – see variations)
- ½ cup chopped red bell pepper
- ½ cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1 cup diced red onion
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 (30g) package taco seasoning (check labels for WW points; see image below for a brand example or make your own for zero points!)
- 1 tsp onion powder
- Dash of salt & black pepper, to taste
Step-by-Step Process for Making Your Weight Watchers Chicken Taco Soup
Making this healthy chicken taco soup in your slow cooker is incredibly easy. Just follow these simple steps for a delicious and satisfying meal:
- Prepare Your Tomato Sauce (Optional): If you plan to use our zero-point homemade tomato sauce to further reduce your Weight Watchers points, prepare it ahead of time according to its recipe instructions. This will ensure it’s ready to go when you assemble your soup.
- Brown the Chicken: In a large frying pan on your stovetop, cook the lean ground chicken over medium-high heat until it’s fully browned and no longer pink. This step is crucial for developing flavor and ensuring the chicken maintains its texture in the slow cooker. Once cooked, carefully drain any excess fat from the pan.
- Assemble in Slow Cooker: Place your slow cooker insert into its heating unit. Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes (including their juices), and chicken broth to the crockpot. Stir these liquid ingredients together until well combined.
- Add Remaining Ingredients: To the slow cooker, add the browned chicken, diced red and green bell peppers, diced red onion, black beans (if using), minced garlic, and frozen corn. Give everything a good stir to distribute the ingredients evenly.
- Season Generously: Sprinkle in the taco seasoning, onion powder, and a dash of salt and pepper. Stir thoroughly to ensure all the spices are well incorporated and flavor the soup uniformly.
- Slow Cook to Perfection: Cover your slow cooker with its lid. Cook the soup on the HIGH setting for 4 hours, or on the LOW setting for 7-8 hours. The longer cooking time on low often results in deeper flavors. The soup is ready when the vegetables are tender and the flavors have melded beautifully.
- Serve and Garnish: Once cooked, ladle the hot soup into bowls. For an extra touch of flavor and texture, consider topping your soup with reduced-fat shredded cheese, a handful of tortilla chips or baked tortilla strips, a dollop of fat-free Greek yogurt (as a sour cream alternative), or even some sliced jalapeños for an added kick. Enjoy your healthy, hearty, and delicious meal!
Variations and Substitutions for Your Weight Watchers Taco Soup
One of the true joys of this Weight Watchers Chicken Taco Soup recipe is its incredible versatility. It’s easy to adapt to your personal preferences, dietary needs, or simply whatever ingredients you have on hand. Feel free to experiment and make it truly your own!
- Achieve a Zero-Point Weight Watchers Soup: The only ingredient in the base recipe that typically carries Weight Watchers points is the packaged taco seasoning, which usually totals around 3 SmartPoints (SP) for a 30g packet. Since this recipe makes 12 servings, one serving is effectively zero points, and four servings would be 1 SP. However, if you want the entire pot of chicken taco soup to be truly zero points, you can easily make your own homemade taco seasoning! Many online recipes offer delicious, zero-point, Weight Watchers-friendly taco seasoning blends. For example, check out this wonderful recipe from realadvicegal.com.
- Customize Your Beans (or Omit Them): As a long-time reader might know, beans aren’t everyone’s favorite ingredient! If you’re like me and prefer to skip them, rest assured, the soup still tastes fantastic without them. For those who enjoy beans, feel free to swap out the black beans for other varieties. Kidney beans offer a heartier texture, while pinto beans provide a creamy consistency. Both will pair nicely with the rich flavors of the soup. Just remember to rinse and drain any canned beans before adding them.
- Substitute Your Favorite Lean Protein: While lean ground chicken makes this recipe exceptionally healthy and low in points, you have several other excellent protein options:
- If you’re aiming for a more traditional taco soup flavor and don’t mind a slight point increase, you can substitute lean ground beef. Just be sure to select the leanest option available and thoroughly drain any fat after browning. Remember to update your Weight Watchers app to get the most accurate point values when using beef.
- Another fantastic option, noted by one of our brilliant readers (thanks, Rosalie!), is to use lean ground turkey. This keeps the recipe as low in points as possible while offering a slightly different flavor profile that’s still wonderfully savory.
- For a delicious plant-based version, as suggested by another insightful reader (thanks, Sharmaine!), you can easily make this recipe vegetarian by replacing the chicken with veggie crumbles. Ensure your chosen veggie crumbles are unseasoned or lightly seasoned to control the overall flavor profile.
- Simplify with Store-Bought Tomato Sauce: If you’re short on time and can’t whip up our zero-point veggie tomato sauce, a high-quality store-bought tomato sauce is a perfectly acceptable substitution. Just be sure to check the nutritional label for added sugars or oils, and input the specific brand into your Weight Watchers app to accurately track the points. Many brands offer low-sugar or no-sugar-added options that work great.
- Amplify the Heat: If you love a little extra kick in your soup, it’s incredibly easy to add some spice. Simply dice up your favorite green chilies and toss them into the crockpot along with the other vegetables. Jalapeño peppers are a classic choice, offering a moderate heat, while serrano peppers are excellent if you’re seeking something noticeably spicier. For milder heat, you can remove the seeds and membranes; for more intensity, leave them in! Always remember to de-seed the chilies first if you prefer less heat. A dash of cayenne pepper or a squirt of your favorite hot sauce at serving time also works wonders.
- Transform it into Ranch Dressing Taco Soup: For a delightful flavor twist, you can easily turn this into a Weight Watchers-friendly chicken taco ranch dressing soup. Simply add your favorite ranch seasoning mix to the slow cooker in equal proportion to the taco seasoning. So, if you’re using a 30g packet of taco seasoning, you’d add approximately 30g of ranch seasoning mix as well. This will introduce new flavors but will also add additional Weight Watchers points, so be sure to check the total in your WW app.
Expert Tips and Tricks for the Best Taco Soup
To ensure your Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup turns out perfectly every time, keep these helpful tips and tricks in mind:
- Batch Cooking and Freezing: This recipe yields a generous 12 one-cup servings, making it fantastic for meal prepping! Cook a large batch, let it cool completely, then divide it into individual portions for easy grab-and-go lunches or quick dinners. This soup freezes exceptionally well. Store it in airtight containers or freezer-safe bags for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy, simply thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat gently on the stovetop or in the microwave for those busy weeknight meals.
- Don’t Skip Browning the Chicken: While it might seem like an extra step, browning the ground chicken before adding it to the slow cooker is crucial. This process creates a rich depth of flavor through caramelization (the Maillard reaction) that you wouldn’t get if you simply added raw chicken. More importantly, it helps seal in the juices, preventing the chicken from becoming dry or crumbly during the long slow-cooking process, ensuring tender and flavorful meat in every bite.
- Adjust Seasoning to Your Liking: Taco seasoning blends can vary in saltiness and spice level. Taste your soup towards the end of the cooking cycle and adjust the salt, pepper, or additional spices as needed. If you like a spicier soup, you can add a pinch of cayenne pepper or extra chili powder. For a fresher flavor, a squeeze of lime juice right before serving can brighten up the entire dish.
- Mind the Liquid Level: Different slow cookers can vary in how much liquid they retain. If your soup seems too thick, you can add a little extra chicken broth or water to reach your desired consistency. If it’s too thin, a quick trick is to mash a small portion of the beans against the side of the pot to thicken it naturally, or simmer uncovered on high for a short period (if your slow cooker allows) to reduce some liquid.
How Many Weight Watchers Points Does This Taco Soup Have?
This Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup is truly a Weight Watchers superstar when it comes to point values, making it an excellent choice for a healthy and satisfying meal without compromising your daily budget.
The primary version of this recipe, meticulously crafted with lean ingredients, results in a fantastically low point count. For every four servings of this delicious soup, it registers just 1 Weight Watchers point! This means that if you choose to enjoy a single, generous serving, it’s an incredible zero-point Weight Watchers meal on many plans.
As detailed in the comprehensive recipe card at the bottom of this page, and depending on your specific Weight Watchers program and zero-point food list, this soup typically falls into these point ranges:
- Personal Points: 0-2 points per serving (depending on your individual zero-point food allowances).
- Freestyle SmartPoints (Blue & Purple Plans): 0 points per serving, when calculated using the WW recipe builder.
- SmartPoints (Green Plan): 1 point per serving, calculated using the WW recipe builder.
- PointsPlus: Approximately 2 points per serving, using a PP calculator.
For those aiming for absolute zero points across the entire batch, we’ve also highlighted a variation in the section above that achieves this by using homemade, zero-point taco seasoning. With such a low-point foundation, you have the flexibility to add a few indulgent toppings like reduced-fat shredded cheese or a small handful of baked tortilla chips without significantly impacting your total points for the meal. It’s all about balance and enjoying delicious food on your Weight Watchers journey!
Related Healthy Recipes You’ll Love
If you’re a fan of this healthy and flavorful chicken taco soup, you’re in luck! We have a collection of other delicious and Weight Watchers-friendly recipes that we think you’ll absolutely adore:
- If soup is your go-to comfort food, be sure to check out our extensive list of 27 delicious Weight Watchers soup recipes for more warming and wholesome options.
- Remember, using our homemade vegetable tomato sauce recipe is a brilliant way to keep the points for this dish, and many others, as low as possible. It’s a versatile staple!
- If you enjoyed the taco flavors in this chicken taco soup, you’ll definitely love our Southwest Chicken Taco recipe for another easy and flavorful meal.
- And for another twist on taco-inspired dishes, these Weight Watchers friendly white chicken chili tacos are a delicious and satisfying choice.
Slow Cooker Weight Watchers Chicken Taco Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken, weighed raw
- 3.5 cups chicken broth
- 1.5 cups tomato sauce *I used my zero point veggie tomato sauce, recipe linked in opening write up
- 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 15 oz can black beans
- 1/2 cup diced green bell peppers
- 1/2 cup diced red bell peppers
- 1 cup diced red onion
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 2 garlic cloves, diced
- 30 g package taco seasoning *see picture for my brand
- 1 tsp onion powder
- Dash of salt & pepper
Instructions
-
Cook the ground chicken in a frying pan on stove and drain. Place crockpot on high and add in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and chicken broth.
-
Stir in the cooked chicken, diced veggies, garlic and corn.
-
Mix in the taco seasoning, onion powder, salt & pepper.
-
Let cook on high for 4 hours or low 7-8 hours.
-
*Note- Feel free to add in black beans, I am just not a fan of any kind of bean.
-
Makes 12- 1 cup servings, the only ingredients with points was my taco seasoning pack which has 3SP total, so 1 serving is zero points, 4 servings would be 1SP
-
Soup will freeze well.
Notes
Freestyle smart points- (blue & purple) 0 using the WW recipe builder
Smart Points- (green) 1 using WW recipe builder
Points PLus- 2 using a PP calculator
Nutritional info per 1 cup serving- Calories.. 101…Fat 0.8g..Sat fat 0g…Carbs 9.4g…Fiber 2g…Sugar 3.2g..Protein 10.7g using My Fitness Pal *Note- this includes all ingredients, old SP/PP were figured out before entering the veggies into the equation