Chicken Enchilada Soup

Name: Chicken Enchilada Soup
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons olive oil; 1 medium onion, (diced); 1 jalapeño (seeds and stem removed (optional)); 1 teaspoon minced garlic ((about 2 cloves)); 1/2 cup masa harina; 3 cups chicken broth; 2 1/4 cups red enchilada sauce; 3 cups cooked shredded chicken ((about 1 1/2 pounds)); 1 14-ounce can black beans, (rinsed and drained); 1 14-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes; 2 4-ounce cans diced green chiles; 1 teaspoon salt, (plus more to taste); 4 ounces cream cheese

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By: IsabelPosted: 10/30/19

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This Chicken Enchilada Soup recipe comes together in only 30 minutes and makes for one of the easiest and most flavorful soups you’ll ever make! Full of shredded chicken, black beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, green chiles and enchilada sauce, this creamy soup will keep you full and satisfied.

Chicken enchilada soup topped with tortilla strips.

When life gives you enchilada sauce and shredded chicken but no tortillas (so sad, but sometimes it happens), it’s time to make some chicken enchilada soup!

This is a fun riff on my red chicken enchiladas recipe. It’s got all the basic enchilada ingredients, plus a little more veggies to make it a full meal.

Watch how to make Chicken Enchilada Soup

Chicken Enchilada Soup Ingredients

Enchilada sauce: You can use 2 10-ounce cans of red enchilada sauce or you can make your own (which I highly recommend). The flavor of homemade enchilada sauce is 10 million times better than any store-bought version I’ve ever tried! Here are two homemade options – Easy Enchilada Sauce made from chili powder or Authentic Red Enchilada Sauce made from whole dried chiles.
Shredded chicken: You can use any leftover shredded chicken you have in the fridge or make your own using this shredded chicken recipe. If you don’t have time to make your own from scratch, you could also buy a cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and shred it at home.
Masa harina: This is the secret ingredient that gives the soup that distinct corn tortilla flavor that everyone loves! You can typically find this near the other flours in the grocery store or in the Hispanic foods aisle. Learn more about masa harina here.
Canned goods: Canned black beans, diced green chiles and fire-roasted tomatoes make this recipe super quick and easy to throw together.
The secret ingredient: Cream cheese! Just a little bit (about 4 ounces) makes this soup creamy and irresistible.

Sauteed onions and garlic for chicken enchilada soup.

How to make Chicken Enchilada Soup

The first thing you’ll need to do is saute some onions, jalapenos and garlic in a large pot or Dutch oven until the onions become translucent.

The jalapeno is completely optional and can be left out if you don’t want to add any extra spice.

Masa harina in a dutch oven with onions for chicken enchilada soup.

Next, add in the masa harina and cook it for about 1 minute to get rid of that raw masa flavor.

Then, add in the shredded chicken, enchilada sauce, chicken broth, all the canned good and a touch of salt. Stir everything together to get rid of any lumps of masa that may be at the bottom of the pot.

Cook everything for about 10 minutes or until the soup begins to simmer.

Pouring enchilada sauce into a pot for chicken enchilada soup.

Once the soup is simmering, remove it from the heat and stir in the cream cheese. Continue stirring everything together until the cream cheese has completely dissolved and melted into the soup.

A dutch oven full of chicken enchilada soup with a ladle.

Feel free to add in some more broth if the soup has thickened too much. And if you want to make the soup even creamier, you can totally add in some more cream cheese!

I served this soup in some bowls with crispy crunchy tortilla strips and chopped cilantro, but you could serve it with homemade tortilla chips and chopped green onions as well!