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This chicken enchilada soup is creamy and packed with shredded chicken, black beans, fire-roasted tomatoes, green chiles, and enchilada sauce. It’s a quick and easy way to make a delicious and flavorful soup in just 30 minutes that will keep you full and satisfied!
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.
Ingredients in Chicken Enchilada Soup
- 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 this easy enchilada sauce is 10 million times better than any store-bought version I’ve ever tried! You could also try my homemade authentic enchilada sauce that’s made with whole dried chiles just like my Mom makes!
- 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. Here’s my favorite masa harina.
- Beans: 1 15-ounce can of drained and rinsed black beans is perfect. You could also use pinto beans if you prefer.
- Diced green chiles: You’ll need 2 4-ounce cans of green chiles. They typically come in both mild and hot varieties. Either works great.
- Tomatoes: 1 14-ounce can of fire-roasted tomatoes is perfect. If you can’t find the fire-roasted variety, you can use regular diced tomatoes.
- Cream cheese: Just a little bit (about 4 ounces) makes this soup creamy and irresistible.
How to Make Chicken Enchilada Soup
Cook some onions, jalapeños, and garlic in a large pot or Dutch oven until the onions become translucent.
The jalapeño is completely optional and can be left out if you don’t want to add any extra spice.
Thicken: Add in the masa harina and cook it for about 1 minute to get rid of that raw masa flavor. This will add lots of toasty flavor as well as help thicken the soup.
Add remaining ingredients: Stir in the shredded chicken, enchilada sauce, chicken broth, all the canned goods, 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.
Cream cheese: 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.
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!
Recipe Tips
- To make it spicy, mix in 1 or 2 teaspoons of cayenne and taste until it’s to your liking.
- To save time, use a rotisserie chicken and shred it at home! This is one of my favorite time-saving hacks. You could also use any leftover chicken in the fridge.
- Enchilada sauce provides a lot of the flavor in this soup, so if you can make your own, I highly recommend it. Here are two homemade options – easy enchilada sauce made from chili powder or authentic enchilada sauce made from whole dried chiles.
Suggested Toppings
Soups like this are best served with lots of toppings and mix-ins. Here are some of my favorites:
- tortilla strips
- chopped cilantro
- homemade tortilla chips
- shredded cheese
- avocado
- jalapeños
Storing and Freezing
Leftover chicken enchilada soup can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
To freeze, let the soup cool completely before transferring it to your favorite airtight freezer containers or bags. This can be kept frozen for up to 3 months.
To defrost, thaw the soup in the refrigerator overnight, and reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
More Soup Recipes
If you tried this Chicken Enchilada Soup Recipe or any other recipe on Isabel Eats, don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how it went in the comments below! I love hearing about your experience making it!
Chicken Enchilada Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium white onion, diced
- 1 jalapeño pepper diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup masa harina
- 2 ¼ cups red enchilada sauce (authentic red enchilada sauce, easy 10-minute enchilada sauce, or 2 10-ounce cans of your favorite store-bought sauce)
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 3 cups cooked shredded chicken (about 1 ½ pounds)
- 1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (14-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 2 (4-ounce) cans diced green chiles
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 4 ounces cream cheese, diced into small cubes
- Garnishes: cilantro, shredded Monterey jack cheese, tortilla strips, avocado slices
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and jalapeño. Cook for 3 minutes until the onions begin to soften. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Add the masa harina and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the enchilada sauce, chicken broth, shredded chicken, black beans, diced tomatoes, diced green chiles, and salt. Stir together and cook for 10 minutes, uncovered, until the soup begins to simmer. Stir the soup occasionally to ensure the masa harina gets fully distributed throughout the soup.
- Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cream cheese until it is completely melted.
- Serve in bowls garnished with shredded Monterey jack cheese, avocado slices, and cilantro.
Notes
- Chicken: To save some time, use a rotisserie chicken and shred it at home! This is personally one of my favorite time-saving hacks. You could also use any leftover chicken you have in the fridge.
- Enchilada sauce: This ingredient provides a lot of flavor in this soup, so if you can make your own, I highly recommend it. Here are two homemade options – easy enchilada sauce made from chili powder or authentic enchilada sauce made from whole dried chiles.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by Erin Jensen of The Wooden Skillet.
I cooked the chicken in one cup of chicken broth with a dash or two of cumin, pepper and salt for 6 minutes once it finished cooking I shredded the chicken and then added it back into the instapot while I finished the rest of the recipe. Soooo good!
I even had left over chicken for chicken enchiladas 😋
This soup is the best new soup recipe I’ve tasted in a long time! I couldn’t get enough of it. I used your method for shredded chicken and authentic enchilada sauce. That put everything over the top good. I only recently discovered you and this was my first recipe choice. A total winner.
Thank you!
Added a dash of cumin for a little more bite! TASTY! 😋
Needless to say “It’s a Keeper”
This was easy to make and delicious! I made it as our lunch soup for the week and just heated it and added tortilla chips and cilantro.
I’m kind of a new cook and tried this because it looked easy. It was so delicious I felt like a pro. We invited a neighbor over for a bowl and she came back the next day to ask for more. It made a lot and we ate every drop. My wife said, “I’m really going to miss this when it’s gone”. Success!
This was so good! My mother in law has had her go-to chicken enchilada soup recipe for years but had to ask for this recipe after trying this one!
Loved this soup. So quick, easy, and delicious! Great recipe for a cold evening after work.
Thank you so much, Melissa!
Too awesome. I need to make this soup. Also, your red pozole recipe gets me lots of compliments.
Awesome!!! Phenomenal, so quick and the whole family thought it was delicious! Thank you!
I am very excited to try this recipe. It sounds so delicious! I just need to buy some Masa Harina. 2 questions: How long will Masa Harina keep once opened? Can Greek Yogurt or sour cream be substituted for the cream cheese?
Thank you.
You can keep masa harina in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for 9-12 months. Sour cream or greek yogurt can also be used as a substitute in this recipe. The flavor won’t be exactly the same, but it will still be delicious. Enjoy!