This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This Chicken Enchilada Soup recipe is so creamy, thick, and easy to make. Loaded with hearty shredded chicken and beans, it is a crowd-pleasing soup that’s full of your favorite Mexican flavors and very comforting and delicious.
Enchilada soup is one of the most flavorful soup recipes that is not only filling and comforting, but it is full of flavor and a crowd-pleasing soup recipe that will put a smile on everyone’s face. This soup is loaded with beans, chicken, and all the Tex-Mex flavors you love all in one delicious bowl of soup. Easy-to-make Creamy Chicken Enchilada soup is perfect for any night of the week. Especially on a busy weeknight when you need dinner ready in no time.
Reasons to love this soup
- Best-tasting soup ever: The taste of this soup is seriously out-of-this-world good.
- Filling: This soup will keep you full, happy, and satisfied. Perfect for lunch or as a light dinner.
- Healthy and good for you: Packed with fiber and protein, this soup is good for you in every way.
Ingredients you will need
- Butter or Ghee: to keep this on the healthier side, you do not have to use butter. You may use avocado oil.
- Onion: use white sweet onions or cooking onions
- Veggies: Celery Stalks, Carrot, Red Bell Pepper,
- Beans: Red Kidney Beans and Black Beans
- Seasonings: Ground Cumin, Chili Powder, Dried Oregano
- Garlic Cloves: do use fresh garlic
- One can of Diced fire-roasted Tomatoes
- Tomato Paste
- Fresh or Frozen Sweet Corn: you may use canned corn if that’s all you have and you don’t want to make a trip to the grocery store.
- Shredded Cooked Chicken: make your own chicken or get a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. To prepare your own, check out our post on How to poach chicken breast.
- Low-Sodium Chicken Broth– If you plan to poach your own chicken you may save the broth from that.
- Mexican Shredded Cheese Blend for garnishing, or you may also use Monterey jack cheese
- Salt and pepper, to your taste
- Optional: If you prefer to add some enchilada sauce, you can. We didn’t but it certainly won’t hurt and will add some flavor to the soup.
HOW TO MAKE CREAMY CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP
This chicken enchilada soup recipe is made on the stovetop. We will also be showing you further how to make it on your crockpot, slow cooker, and instant pot.
Note: Recipe calls for cooked shredded chicken. Either get a storebought rotisserie chicken and use that or cook your own at home using chicken breast (scroll down to learn how to cook the chicken for your enchilada soup).
To make enchilada soup on your stovetop:
- Prepare vegetables and ingredients: Set up all the ingredients and get your shredded chicken ready.
- Cook vegetables: Add butter or oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. First, add the onions, celery, carrots, bell pepper, garlic and cook until softens, about 5-6 minutes. Then, stir in seasonings, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and chicken broth and bring to a boil.
- Cook and prep soup: Lower the heat and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, or until veggies are very tender.
- Blend: remove from heat and using a hand blender, blend the soup until smooth and creamy. (This is optional if you don’t want to blend you can skip this step).
- Add beans and chicken: Place the soup back over medium heat and add in beans, corn and shredded cooked chicken. Stir to combine and boil for a couple of minutes, just to heat it all up.
- Serve: Pour into bowls and top with your favorite toppings. Enjoy!
SOUP TOPPING Options
Endless toppings to come up with, but here are some optional toppings you can add to your creamy chicken enchilada soup are:
- Chopped avocado
- Sliced jalapeño
- Fresh chopped cilantro
- Green onions
- Lime wedges
- Crushed Tortilla Chips
- Sour cream or yogurt etc.
- Shredded Cheese
How to cook chicken for enchilada soup
Cooking the chicken is quite simple. You can use any pot or a dutch oven. It would be easiest to use a rotisserie chicken but you can certainly cook your own. We recommend using skinless and boneless chicken breasts.
- Add chicken into a pot full of water
- We like adding some sort of herbs to give the chicken some flavor. Use half an onion and a bay leaf. sometimes we use a cinnamon stick but not for this particular recipe.
- Allow boiling for about 15-20 minutes until you easily insert a knife or a fork through the chicken.
- Then, drain it in a colander and let it cool off. Or you can just remove the chicken and place it on a cutting board while you save the chicken stock.
- Finally, using your hands or forks, shred chicken.
- If you have an Instant pot, you can simply make this Instant Pot Chicken Breast to use in this enchilada soup.
How to make enchilada soup using an instant pot, crockpot or slow cooker
There are other ways to make chicken enchilada soup other than using your stovetop. Here are other ways to cook up your soup.
How to use an Instant Pot:
- Using the saute option, add the oil or butter in the instant pot, then add the onions, celery, carrots, bell pepper, garlic and cook until softens, about 5-6 minutes.
- If using raw chicken, add in with the veggies in the previous step at the bottom.
- Add in the seasonings, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and broth.
- Next, add in the beans, corn, and shredded cooked chicken (if using pre-cooked shredded chicken). Stir to combine.
- Then, place the lid on the Instant Pot and seal. Using the “manual” setting, cook on high pressure for 10-12 minutes.
- Allow the instant pot to natural release for 10 minutes or so before doing a quick release.
- Finally, remove the lid from Instant Pot, shred the chicken (if used raw whole chicken breast), and serve with your favorite toppings.
- Note: You may remove a portion of the soup towards the end. Blend it and then add it back into the soup. Mix and serve.
How to use a crock-pot or slow cooker
- In a pan or skillet, add oil or butter over medium-high heat add the onions, celery, carrots, bell pepper, garlic and cook until softens, about 5-6 minutes.
- Transfer to crockpot or slow cooker and add in the seasonings, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and broth.
- Then, add in beans, corn, and shredded cooked chicken. Stir to combine cover and set it on High for 2 hours or low for 4 hours if using cooked chicken.
- Note: You may add raw chicken breasts to the crockpot or slow cooker right before you add in the veggies at the very bottom and set it to cook longer. 6 hours on low and 4 hours on high. Then towards the end use a fork to shred the chicken.
- Also Note: You may remove a portion of the soup towards the end. Blend it and then add it back into the soup. Mix and serve.
Frequently asked questions
To thicken your enchilada soup, mix about 1-2 tablespoons of whole wheat flour with some cold water add over the soup, and let it cook for a few more minutes.
Another option would be to blend some of the beans and add them back in to make the soup thicker.
Place your creamy chicken enchilada soup in a tightly sealed container in the fridge for 4-5 days. Store in the freezer for 3-4 months. To reheat, place in a pot/pan and reheat on the stovetop or microwave in a bowl.
You can get creative with what you serve with your enchilada soup. Some ideas for you would be some toasted garlic bread, cornbread, biscuits, grilled cheese sandwiches, roasted corn like this street corn on the cob, Tacos, Mexican Rice, etc
soup recipes you may also like
- Italian Chicken Veggie Soup
- Creamy Chicken Broccoli Soup
- Vegetable Beef Soup
- Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Homemade Roasted Tomato Soup
- Healthy Lasagna Soup
- Taco Soup Recipe
- Mexican Sweet Corn Soup
- Beef and Barley Soup
Remember to subscribe to my NEWSLETTER for free and receive recipes like this Easy Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup Recipe delivered right to your inbox!
If you try a recipe and you like it, please use our hashtag #healthyfitnessmeals on INSTAGRAM for a chance to be featured! FOLLOW Healthy Fitness Meals on FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER for all of our latest blog posts and recipes.
Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Butter or Ghee, or avocado oil
- 1 Medium Onion, diced
- 2 Celery Stalks, sliced
- 1 Medium Carrot, thinly sliced
- 1 Large Red Bell Pepper, diced
- 2-3 Garlic Cloves, chopped
- 1½ Tsp Ground Cumin
- 1 Tbsp Chili Powder
- 1 Tsp Dried Oregano
- 15 oz Diced fire-roasted Tomatoes, 1 can
- ¼ Cup Tomato Paste
- 4 Cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
- 14.5 oz Red Kidney Beans, drain and rinsed, 1 can
- 14.5 oz Black Beans, drain and rinsed, 1 can
- 1 Cup Fresh or Frozen Sweet Corn
- 2 Cups Shredded Cooked Chicken
- 1 Cup Mexican Shredded Cheese Blend, for garnishing
- Salt and pepper, to your taste
Instructions
- Melt butter or ghee (add avocado oil if using) in a large stockpot over medium-high heat.
- Add onion, celery, carrots, bell pepper, garlic and cook until softens, about 5-6 minutes.
- Stir in seasonings, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and chicken broth and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, or until veggies are very tender.
- Remove from heat and using a hand blender, blend the soup until smooth and creamy. Place the soup back over medium heat and add in beans, corn and shredded cooked chicken.
- Stir to combine and boil for a couple of minutes, just to heat it all up.
- Then pour into bowls and top with shredded cheese or your favorite toppings. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Fresh, frozen, or canned corn
- Oil- avocado, olive oil, or vegetable oil
- Try Shredded turkey, ground chicken, or ground turkey
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What is the nutritional value on this recipe. Carb Content, sodium,sugars,calories
It is indicated at the bottom.
This soup was delicious. Easy directions and a breeze to make. It was a big hit in my home. Rena never fails with her recipes. They’re always amazing.
It’s so good I agree. Thanks for the review
My picky eater day made this with me. I halved the Chili Powder and cooked the chicken in the soup. Then I blended only half so it had some texture. Everyone in my family loved it! Next time I want to add kidney and white beans as well and may try ground meat, too. Thank You!!
Sounds like a great plan! Thanks for the feedback and glad you loved it
Made this tonight! It was soooo good! If you are like me and NEED some heat, throw in some cayenne pepper and top with fresh crunchy jalapeños!
Yay. Glad you loved it.
Saving this for a cold day!
I followed the recipe to the letter only thing i changed was instead of sour cream i add Philadelphia cream cheese before blending and man it was a hit everyone had seconds and me and the wife had leftover for lunch the next day! So so delicious way way better the chilies chicken enchilada soup!
Amazing. So glad you guys loved it.
Agree, cheese cream add some flavor. I do the same when I make my spaghetti
I do not see sour cream or cream cheese in ingredients. Am I missing something?
Same. I’ve looked over recipe many times. Still don’t see any mention of cream cheese. I added half and half, and now looks just like the photo, and it is delicious! I used Trader Joe’s frozen Mexican style roasted corn with the little sauce blobs instead of plain corn. So yummy.
Haha. That was the key, It looks and tastes creamy without the cream. But adding a bit of half and half sounds heavenly.
This was delicious! I’m not a fan of cumin, so I used half of the recommended, but other than that I stuck to the recipe. The picture showed avocado and jalapeno so I added those, and I crumbled tortilla chips into my bowl for texture. I had two helpings.
Yummy. So glad you loved it.
It is so hard to find truly “creamy” recipes that can be made totally dairy free. This tastes exactly like my enchiladas and is so comforting (and I don’t have to clean up enchilada sauce spatters after all over my counter after!).
Yay! Love it. Thanks for the feedback.
Made this 2 ways! First version I used total hot spicy diced tomatoes, cooked the chicken with chipotle chili pepper and cayenne pepper as the main seasoning and added jalapeños at the end! That was for my BFF who loves spicy.I don’t like spicy that much only a little kick! This soup is so so good I love that it incorporates veggies and you blend it to make it a thicker soup. I love that so much I hate chunks of onion and tomato in my soup. My new go to soup recipe!!
I love the idea of spicy! Wish my kids can handle the heat. lol
DELISH!! Cozy, comforting, easy, and healthy! Loved this recipe – will definitely make again!
Thanks so much. Glad you loved it
Made this for my family tonight using a store bought rotisserie chicken. It was AMAZING! So easy to make. Soooo tasty! I will definitely be adding this into our regular dinner rotation from now on and have forwarded your recipe already to several family and friends encouraging them to try it too!
We love this too! Thanks for such a great feedback
Made for my son and daughter in law. They make it regularly and so do I. It’s excellent!!
Perfect. Glad they loved it.
If using chicken breasts from scratch, please don’t boil them. Instead, use breasts with skin and bones, brush skin with salt and pepper, coat lightly with oil and bake at 350 for 20-40 minutes, depending on the size, on a cookie sheet.Let cool, remove skin and bones , and shred. The chicken will have much more flavor!
An Ina Garten tip.
Great thick soup…more than enough for my husband and me so we can have leftovers tomorrow! Very tasty…i dont have an imersion blender so we just cooked a little longer, added the cheese and stirred it in….i did add diced jalapeno and chives. Im going to snack on it all night!!!
Drooling! Glad you liked it.
Ummmm this soup is PERFECT. So yummy! Love that it’s flavors-of-Latin-America, but it’s not black bean soup, but it’s not tortilla soup, but it has black beans, and it has chicken – it’s just awesome. AND my 4 year old loves it?! He probably got in more veggies in one sitting than ever in his life thank you!
This is so awesome. Thanks for the feedback. Glad he loved it
I am making right now! Cannot wait…it smells fabulous. Do you drain the beans and corn … it just says rinse.
Yes. Definitely drain and rinse. I will fix it. Thanks
For someone on a diet, this was SO good!!! So many veggies, and AMAZiNG comfort food for fall! I’m thinking next time, I might just half the recipe. It’s a bit much food for a single person. Ha ha.
Freeze them in individual size containers. I am glad you loved it.
Love it but is cup of cheese for topping only? There’s no direction for it.
Yes, Its topping.