Chicken Enchilada Soup
Chicken Enchilada Soup is a flavor packed dinner that’s just as easy to make as it is delicious! Perfect for those chilly nights when you just need something rich and warm to comfort you, but also packed with enough fresh flavor that it’s great to make throughout the year.
Chicken Enchilada Soup
It really just keeps getting colder, doesn’t it? While my mind day dreams of sunny skies, blue beaches, and lazy days swinging away in hammocks, the temperature outside is suggesting thick socks and hot soup.
Luckily, I have a rather large repertoire of soup recipes at my disposal to help get me through these freezing temps! Right now, my current favorite (it does change quite often, but still) is this incredibly flavorful chicken enchilada soup.
When it comes to seasonings, no one would ever describe this soup as bland. There’s ancho chili powder, cayenne, garlic powder, and SO much more in the mix. Other powerful ingredients like a minced chipotle chili, adobo sauce, and a fresh jalapeño make this soup deliciously spicy.
However, if spice isn’t your thing, don’t worry! This soup really isn’t overly spicy to begin with, and since you’re making it at home, you can alter this enchilada soup to be more or less spicy as you please.
Most soups take at least an hour to cook on the stove top, but this chicken enchilada soup comes together in under 30 minutes! Yes, really! It’s a quick, easy, and comforting weeknight dinner that’s totally stress free.
It’s got plenty of chicken, black beans, and corn to keep you full, while those numerous other tasty additions keep you coming back for more. This is one of those soups that will actually be a whole meal in just one serving, but it’s so good you’ll want to go back for more!
How to Make Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Heat the oil. Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium high heat.
- Cook the onion. Add the onion and cook until softened.
- Add the peppers. Stir in the bell pepper and jalapeño continuing to cook until softened.
- Make it fragrant. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.
- Stir in more ingredients. Stir in the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder and cayenne. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the tomato paste darkened and starts to become caramelized.
- Make it even more flavorful! Add the green chilis, adobo sauce, chipotle chili (if using), corn, black beans, tomatoes and enchilada sauce, stirring to combine.
- Boil, then simmer. Stir in the chicken breast and stock. Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn the heat to low. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Make it cheesy! Stir in the cream cheese and cheddar cheese continuing to stir until the cheese has melted.
- Zest it up. Add the lime zest and juice then season with salt/pepper to taste.
- Enjoy! Serve the soup garnished with sour cream, avocado, jalapeno, cilantro and queso fresco, if desired.
Tips for the Best Chicken Enchilada Soup
- For a super rich broth base, use Easy Homemade Chicken Stock instead of store-bought!
- When it comes to the chicken meat, you have a few options. You can cook the chicken breasts yourself and shred them, or save yourself some time and just shred a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.
- The spicier ingredients in this soup are the jalapeño, ancho chili powder, ground cayenne, green chilis, adobo sauce, and the chipotle chili. Like I mentioned before, this soup isn’t overly spicy because of all of the other ingredients at play. However, you can add and subtract the amounts of each of these spicier ingredients as you see fit to control the overall spice of the soup.
- As good as this soup is on it’s own, it’s even better with the garnishes! Don’t forget to garnish each bowl before serving.
As the temperatures keep dropping, keep your oven hot by making these soup recipes!
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Get the Recipe: Chicken Enchilada Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (stem discarded)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne
- 1 4.5 ounce can green chilis
- 2 tablespoon adobo sauce
- 1 chipotle chili, minced (optional…if you want less heat, leave this out.)
- 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
- 1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup enchilada sauce
- 2 cups shredded, cooked chicken breast
- 3 cups chicken stock, for richer flavor used beef stock
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 lime, zested and juiced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Sour cream, sliced avocado, sliced jalapeno, chopped cilantro and Queso Fresco for garnish, optional
Equipment
- stockpot
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot or dutch oven over medium high heat.
- Add the onion and cook until softened.
- Stir in the bell pepper and jalapeno continuing to cook until softened.
- Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.
- Stir in the tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder and cayenne. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the tomato paste darkened and starts to become caramelized.
- Add the green chilis, adobo sauce, chipotle chili (if using), corn, black beans, tomatoes and enchilada sauce, stirring to combine.
- Stir in the chicken breast and stock. Bring the mixture to a boil and then turn the heat to low. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the cream cheese and cheddar cheese continuing to stir until the cheese has melted.
- Add the lime zest and juice then season with salt/pepper to taste.
- Serve the soup garnished with sour cream, avocado, jalapeno, cilantro and queso fresco, if desired.