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Chicken Enchilada Soup (+Video)

Take your favorite Mexican dish and turn it in to this tasty and easy Chicken Enchilada Soup. A filling soup full of delicious enchilada flavors!

A TASTY MEXICAN SOUP RECIPE

It’s officially soup season! There is just something about soup that is so comforting when you get those first few chilly days of fall. So I start thinking of different soup ideas. My Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe is so popular that I thought I’d try to make another soup based on another favorite Mexican meal – enchiladas! It has very simple ingredients that easily come together to make a fabulously flavored and filling soup!

Close up of Chicken Enchilada Soup in bowl with toppings.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

What kind of chicken is best for this?

We prefer chicken breasts for this recipe. If you want to save time, you can use rotisserie chicken and skip the steps until you add the cut up chicken into the pot. You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs as well for a cheaper option and if you like dark meat!

What are some other ingredient ideas for this soup?

Some other ingredient ideas to make this soup a little heartier would be: corn, black beans, pinto beans or rice.

Can I make this spicier?

This is not spicy soup so you could add in 1/2 teaspoon of chipotle powder or cayenne pepper. Also, you can add some diced fresh or pickled jalapeños as well.

What is masa harina?

It is a Latin American corn flour that is usually used to make corn tortillas. For this recipe, we will use it to add flavor and to thicken the soup. You can usually find it near the flour in the grocery store or on the aisle that carries Latin American products. You could try to use corn meal as a substitute but the texture won’t be quite the same.

Can this be made in a crock pot?

Yes. Put the chicken with 2 cartons of chicken broth, seasonings and enchilada sauce in a slow cooker. Cook on low for about 6 hours. Take chicken out and shred or chop. Then mix together corn flour with the rest of the chicken broth. Add to slow cooker along with half the cheeses and turn on high until mixture thickens. Serve with your favorite toppings.

How do I store leftovers?

You can keep this soup stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator where it will keep for up to 5 days. This soup can also be frozen. Place in a freezer container or bag and it will keep for up to 3 months. To defrost, place in the refrigerator overnight and you can reheat on the stove or in the microwave until heated through.

Pinterest image overhead of bowl of Chicken Enchilada Soup, garnished.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)

  • chicken breasts
  • salt and pepper
  • vegetable oil
  • garlic
  • chili powder
  • ground cumin
  • onion powder
  • unsalted chicken stock
  • corn flour (masa harina)
  • red enchilada sauce
  • monterey jack cheese,
  • sharp cheddar cheese
Ingredients needed: chicken breasts, kosher salt, pepper, vegetable oil, garlic, chili powder, ground cumin, onion powder, unsalted chicken stock, corn flour (masa harina), red enchilada sauce, Monterey Jack cheese and sharp cheddar cheese.

HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP:

Season the chicken breasts on both sides with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and pepper.

Chicken breasts on plate seasoned.

Heat a dutch oven over medium-heat. Once hot, add the oil and sear the chicken on both sides, do not crowd the pan, you may need to do this step in batches. Place the seared chicken on a plate, set aside.

Seared chicken on plate.

Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, and the remaining 1 ½ teaspoons salt and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds.

Garlic, chili powder, cumin, onion powder and salt added to dutch oven.

Reserve 2 cups of chicken stock for later, add the rest to the pot and scrape the bits off the bottom of the pot. Add your chicken back to the pot and bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes covered.

Stock being added to dutch oven.

Take the chicken out of the pot and thinly slice it. Add it back to the pot.

Chicken breast cut up on cutting board.

Mix together the remaining 2 cups of chicken stock and the masa harina until smooth. Slowly stream in this mixture while whisking.

masa mixed together with chicken broth in a bowl.

Add the enchilada sauce and mix it in. Bring back to a simmer and simmer for an additional 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The soup will thicken from the masa harina.

Enchilada sauce being poured into dutch oven.

Turn off the heat, add the shredded Monterey Jack cheese and the shredded cheddar cheese. Stir it in until melted. Taste, adjust seasoning if necessary.

Cheese added to dutch oven.

Serve topped with tortilla strips, cilantro, sour cream and more cheeses, if you prefer.

Spoon holding up a bite of the Chicken Enchilada Soup.

WANT MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES?

Square image close up of white bowl with Chicken Enchilada Soup and garnishes.

Chicken Enchilada Soup (+Video)

Take your favorite Mexican dish and turn it in to this tasty and easy Chicken Enchilada Soup. A filling soup full of delicious enchilada flavors!
5 from 6 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients

Optional Toppings:

  • tortilla strips
  • fresh chopped cilantro
  • sour cream
  • shredded Monterey Jack and sharp cheddar cheeses

Instructions

  • Season the chicken breasts on both sides with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and pepper.
  • Heat a dutch oven over medium-heat. Once hot, add the oil and sear the chicken on both sides. Do not crowd the pan. You may need to do this step in batches. Place the seared chicken on a plate, set aside.
  • Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, and the remaining 1 ½ teaspoons salt into the pot and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds.
  • Reserve 2 cups of chicken stock for later and add the rest to the pot and scrape the bits off the bottom of the pot.
  • Add the browned chicken breasts back to the pot and bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes covered so the chicken can finish cooking.
  • Take the chicken out of the pot and thinly slice it. Add it back to the pot.
  • Mix together the remaining 2 cups of chicken stock and the masa harina (corn flour) mixture until smooth. Slowly stream in this mixture into the pot while whisking.
  • Mix in the enchilada sauce. Bring back to a simmer and simmer for an additional 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The soup will thicken from the masa harina.
  • Turn off the heat, add in the shredded Monterey Jack cheese and cheddar cheese.
  • Stir it in until melted. Taste, adjust seasoning if necessary.
  • Serve with more of the cheeses on top, the tortilla strips, cilantro, and sour cream.

Video

YouTube video

Notes

  • You can use rotisserie chicken, chicken breasts or chicken thighs for this recipe.
  • Use your own homemade enchilada sauce if you’d like.
  • Other ingredients can be added in to make it heartier, see above for some options.
  • This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Calories: 535kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 24g | Sodium: 1854mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g

Nutritional Disclaimer

“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

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4 Comments

  1. Could you chop and add 6 or more corn tortillas to your crock pot to sub for the masa harina?
    I think it would give it nice texture even if it didn’t thicken the soup as the masa would. Your thoughts?? BTW, love your quick and easy and tasty recipes!!

    1. Hi Susan, I never thought about it but I bet you could do that. They would be almost like flat dumplings. It definitely won’t make it thick but you could easily fix that with a cornstarch slurry (3 Tbsp cold water whisked with 3 Tbsp water, whisk into soup, turn heat up to high until thickened) if you wanted it thicker. I’d love to know how it turns out for you and what your thoughts were!