Slow Cooker Chicken Corn Soup Recipe

When it comes to comfort food, nothing beats a hearty bowl of soup. Not only will it instantly warm you up, but the right ingredients can make it nutritious, too. Our slow cooker chicken corn soup is made with chicken broth, which is jam-packed with protein, fatty acids, vitamins B and C, and selenium, according to Web MD. Chicken is a good source of selenium, as well as protein and niacin (via Healthline). In addition, corn is a great source of fiber and potassium, as reported by Health.com.

Aside from its impressive health benefits, this chicken soup is seamless to pull together. Recipe developer Jaime Bachtell-Shelbert notes, "I love using the slow cooker for its ease of use and the ability to set it and forget it until meal time. It makes meal prep a snap." And as far as the chicken corn soup itself goes, Bachtell-Shelbert says that what she likes most about it is the vegetable content and its adaptability. "You really can add any green or herb that you want and can easily toss in other veggies such as carrots or potatoes," she says.

With so much going for it, there's no reason not to put your slow cooker to work so you can enjoy this chunky chicken soup ASAP.

Before you even get started, you'll need to gather all of the necessary ingredients. Some of the items on this list you may already have in your pantry or refrigerator, while others you might have to pick up at your local supermarket.

As far as the stars of the show are concerned, this recipe calls for chicken thighs or breasts, in addition to corn. (Bachtell-Shelbert opted for organic super sweet corn.) You'll also need to grab an onion, fresh parsley, fresh spinach, salt, pepper, and optional green onions for topping. For the base of the soup, you will of course need chicken broth. Once your ingredients are rounded up and ready to go, you can get cooking.

To get this chicken soup recipe going, you will need to heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat so you can brown the onions. Once the oil is heated, add the onions to the pan, and cook them. Stir until they become translucent, which Bachtell-Shelbert says should be only about five minutes or so. Once the onions are cooked, you are ready to transfer them to the slow cooker.

The next step is preparing a puree. Place 2 cups of corn and ½ cup of chicken broth into a food processor, and blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Bachtell-Shelbert says you can also use an immersion blender to achieve the same result. Once the puree is mixed well, add the mixture to the slow cooker. Then, add the remaining corn, chicken, broth, salt, and pepper to the slow cooker as well.

How long you cook the chicken depends on your schedule. You can either cook the soup on low for seven hours or on high for three hours. To make sure that the chicken is done, you can always use a thermometer to double check, but Bachtell-Shelbert says that cooking either way provides a sufficient amount of time for the poultry to thoroughly cook, adding that there's no notable difference between the two cooking times.

After cooking, remove the chicken from the slow cooker, and place it on a plate. Use two forks to pull the chicken from the bones. When finished, return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker. 

The next step is to add the parsley and spinach to the soup. Once you have everything in the slow cooker, stir all of the ingredients well until you see that the spinach is starting to wilt, which means it's done.

Once cooled, the soup is finally ready to serve. You can top it with sliced green onions or even your favorite cheese. Warm biscuits, breadsticks, pretzel rolls, and crackers are also solid options to serve on the side. Of course, there's nothing wrong with enjoying this soup just as it is straight from the slow cooker. Bachtell-Shelbert says her family enjoys this soup in the summertime with a large salad and grilled bread, and that sounds like a delicious game plan to us!