On the Mexican soup spectrum, this enchilada soup is kind of the polar opposite of our Chicken Tortilla Soup. While that one is spicy and lime-y and thin and broth-y and kind of relies on the add-ins, this one is hearty and filling and tastes just like chicken enchiladas. Except soup. So either that’s really weird for you or it sounds amazing (or a little bit of both, in which case, I totally think you need to just take a walk on the wild side. You won’t regret it, I promise.)
Ingredients Needed
- Diced onion
- Fresh garlic
- Carrots
- Celery
- Bell pepper
- Jalapeño
- Chili powder
- Cumin
- Ground coriander
- Dried oregano
- Smoked paprika
- Chicken broth
- Diced, canned tomatoes
- Corn tortillas
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- Shredded, cooked chicken – from a rotisserie chicken or pre-cooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
- Cream
- For garnishing, all or a few of your choice: sliced green onions, sour cream, tortilla chips or strips, shredded cheddar or pepperjack
How to Make Chicken Enchilada Soup
The following steps are a quick overview, keep scrolling for the printable recipe and more detailed instructions!
- Start by sautéing lots of veggies. These will get puréed, so if you have picky eaters, it’s a great way to sneak them in! Saute onion, garlic, carrots, celery, bell pepper, and jalapeño.
- While the vegetables are cooking, combine a spice mix of chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, and smoked paprika. When the vegetables are tender, add the spices and stir to combine.
- Add chicken broth, some diced tomatoes, and water and bring it to a boil.
- Drop in some torn corn tortillas, which will cook down and help to thicken the soup.
- Simmer this until everything is super tender (about 30-45 minutes) and then puree it with an emmersion blender. You’ll then add more tomatoes, some shredded chicken and finish it off with just a little cream.
- You can garnish with your favorite toppings- we love sliced green onions, shredded cheese, diced avocado and crushed tortilla chips!
Frequently Asked Questions
The tortillas blend up very smoothly and create both the delicious texture, and flavor. If you don’t have them or aren’t able to include for dietary reasons, it’s okay to leave out, but the soup will be more thin and brothy. You could also substitute some masa harina (corn flour).
Yes! After sautéing the vegetables, add them to your slow cooker and continue with recipe as written, cooking on high for 4 hours or low for 8. Puree. Add the remaining diced tomatoes, shredded chicken breast and cream, stir to combine.
Of course. There’s a small amount of cream and it adds a delicious richness to the soup. If you can’t have cream, you can leave it out or use a plant-based alternative.
Chicken Enchilada Soup
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper chopped (remove the seeds and membranes to cut down on the heat)
- 5-6 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 heaping teaspoon cumin
- 1 heaping teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes divided
- 1 cup water
- 5-6 6-inch yellow corn tortillas
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Shredded breast meat from 1 medium rotisserie chicken Or 2-3 cooked, shredded, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- ½ cup heavy cream
- chopped green onions
- sour cream
- shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese
Instructions
- In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add the onion, carrots, celery, bell pepper, jalapeño, and sauté until fragrant and the vegetables are tender, 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds more.
- While the vegetables are cooking, combine the chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, and smoked paprika. When the vegetables are tender, add the spices and stir to combine.
- Add the chicken broth, 1/2 the can of diced tomatoes (just eyeball it), and water and bring to a simmer.
- Tear up the tortillas into the soup. Cover and turn the heat down to low and simmer 30-45 minutes.
- Remove from heat or turn it down to very low. Use an immersion blender to puree soup.
- Add the remaining tomatoes, the shredded chicken breast meat and the cream and stir until combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately and add toppings as desired, like green onions, shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips.
Notes
- Slow Cooker Instructions: After sautéing the vegetables, add them to your slow cooker and add the spices. Stir to combine. Blend with the chicken broth and 1/2 cup of tomatoes until smooth, either with an immersion blender or in a traditional blender. Add water and torn tortillas and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. If necessary, blend again. Add the remaining diced tomatoes, shredded chicken breast and cream, stir to combine, and serve immediately
- Store cooled soup in an airtight container in the fridge and eat within 3-4 days for best results.
- Freeze individual portions for an easy meal on busy days! For best results, freeze before adding the cream. Once reheated, add a splash of cream or a nice dollop of sour cream.
Questions & Reviews
Made this for dinner and it was SO GOOD everyone LOVED it and the leftovers for lunch were soooo good! =) Thanks for another great recipe!
Making this tonight and I am so excited. My kids will have no idea they are eating veggies! I actually had all the ingredients on hand and using some leftover chicken breast
I made the chicken enchilada soup it was awsome i also made it with spanish rice on the side. My 16yr old son gave my 2 thumbs up thanks a million!!!
I am dying to try this recipe. I’m looking for one that is as good or better than the chicken enchilada soup at Zupas. Plus, I couldn’t help but share it on my blog today 🙂 Hope you have a great weekend!
Ok, I made a lot of changes to this recipe based on what I had. It still turned out delicious! I’m going to list what I did so that if you are thinking of making the same changes, you can learn from my mistakes.
Left out bell pepper and celery – broth was probably thinner and less healthy but still tasted divine.
Left out coriander – was still delicious.
Subbed pickled jalapeno for fresh – still had flavor.
Subbed flour tortillas for corn – DO NOT DO THIS. Flour tortillas turn into little slimy things, even after slow cooking and blending. If you have no corn tortillas, just leave it out or throw in a can of drained corn to replicate the corn flavor. I served it over corn chips and should’ve just done that and skipped the flour tortillas.
OK. I hope that helps some other doofus like me. I know I didn’t really make “this soup” but it was great anyway ;).
OH! And I used chicken bouillon/boiling water in place of chicken broth. Still good. 🙂
So..I live in Japan so I can’t really find corn tortillas. BUT! I do have some jiffy corn bread mix. Would it work if I made it with crumbled corn bread in it? Too sweet?
I thickened it with a mixture of masa harina and water. Worked great..and I love to put it on top of rice and then top the soup with Pico do Gallo and sweet corn. Addicting!!
I’m thinking of making this, but I live in a country where you can’t get corn tortillas. The closest I can get is a “corn” tortilla that is about 20% corn and the rest wheat. This is what we normally use for enchiladas. Do you think it would work in this soup?
Ok, I never comment but I had to because we love this recipe! I love how many veggies my kids are eating and they don’t even know it. Even my picky 18 month old loved it. A few notes for people like me who read all the comments before they make things. I have made this twice– the first time I didn’t have smoked paprika and the second time I did. It was good both ways the smoked paprika is a really strong flavor and it could kind of overpower the other flavors. I also subbed half and half for cream both times because that’s what I had and it was still really yummy. Also, I ended up using more like 8 corn tortillas but we like it really thick. Oh, and I didn’t use all the breast meat from a chicken, only about half which was plenty, even the time I doubled it. I think this soup could even stand alone without the chicken for a meatless monday (if you don’t count chicken broth, haha). Anyway, thanks for this we love it and it is already in the rotation plus it is great as leftovers.
This looks delicious! I am making this for a soup swap and I’m so excited to share this recipe with them! How many quarts of soup does the recipe make? I am not sure whether to double, triple, or quadruple it!
This was totally delicious and everyone in my family (husband and my 9 year old twins) loved it! My only substitution was using a handful of tortilla chips instead of soft tortillas, because I have a heck of a time finding fresh corn tortillas in my neck of the woods. On that note, I also use hard taco shells instead of corn tortillas when I make enchiladas. When they bake in the sauce they get nice and soft and you would be hard pressed to notice the difference in the end product.
Made this last night as I somehow had every ingredient except the bell pepper (which I did have, but it was no longer fresh). This was actually quite easy despite all the perceived chopping! Since I knew I was going to be blending the soup anyway, I just did a rough chop on all the veggies. And to be honest, I forgot to blend it the first time when it was just the veggies and broth, so I really only blended it the once and it turned out great!! Thanks again for another hit!
I am making the slow cooker taco chicken tonight, and am sure to have leftovers, which I think could go nicely in this soup! About how many cups of shredded chicken do you put in this recipe? Thanks!
I totally don’t know, hahaha! Maybe 2-3? Until it looks right? 🙂
Looks great! But I have Masa Harina (spelling?) in my cupboard… could I substitute that for the tortillas? How much? Just needs more recipes that use it up. Thanks.
I know there are similar recipes out there that use masa harina, but I have had better luck with the corn tortillas and I also don’t have any idea how much you would need. I’m so sorry I’m not of more help!
I made this tonight and it was delicious – I’ll definitely make it again! Thanks for the recipe!
I can’t see in the directions where to add the jalapeno pepper? I assuming it is when I saute the other vegetables.
Yep! Just with the other veggies! 🙂
Made this last night, and it was a hit with the entire family. Sooo delicious, and I love that there are all of those veggies in there. Definitely way different than Chicken Tortilla soup, everyone make this! (P.S. I wasn’t in the mood for the tomatoes-in-my-soup fight last night, so I blended the whole can instead of dividing, and it was great, so it’s an option.)
This looks incredible I love chicken enchilada soup and no one seems to have a very healthy and yummy version, but yours seems fabulous and I will be making it tonight for dinner!
Oh my goodness!! I just made this soup, and…wow! I have tried other enchilada soup recipes and this one is by far the best ever! My family loves it! This isn’t what I would call an easy recipe, but all that chopping is sure worth it. Thanks for a great new soup recipe!
Can I use flour tortillas in place of the corn ones? I have a bunch of them in my fridge 🙂
I wouldn’t. 🙂 I’m sorry!
How many servings would you say it makes? Thank you!!
About 8-10.
Loved it!!! Made it last night and it was a hit!! I’m just glad there are leftovers!! Yum!! thanks for your wonderful recipes!!!
Made this and LOVED it! What a great way to use up some of the older tortillas in my fridge. I definitely should have doubled this we ate every last drop!
Heaven! Both my kids ate this and my husband and I added pickled jalapenos on top as well. My mouth is watering at thought of eating it again! Another win for OBB 🙂
Hooray!! I’m seriously so happy. 🙂
This tastes just like enchiladas in a bowl. Such a great easy recipe … thank you! minimal preparation and dinner was ready when we walked in the door:-)
Awesome!! I’m so glad you guys liked it!
Made this soup last night. My kids ate it. That is the highest compliment I can give a recipe. Thank you!
Hooray!!! Mine ate it, too, which is HUGE, haha!
I don’t love the flavor of corn tortillas. Could I just leave them out or would that be total chicken enchilada soup blasphemy?
I think in this recipe, it just wouldn’t work because they thicken it up and also add a lot of flavor.
This looks very similar to the Chicken Enchilada Chili from Zupas, which is my hands down favorite. I’m excited to try this and see how it compares. Looks delicious! Do you think it would freeze very well? I haven’t experimented with freezing milk-based soups or soups with cream.
There isn’t too much cream in here, so you’d probably be okay. You might need to thin it out with a little broth, but that’s no big deal. 🙂
I feel your pain on the snow days. We’ve had so many this year I have lost count. It’s around 10, including all of last week. I found a great way to deal with them, though. My husband and I went to Puerto Rico, where it was 85 and gorgeous, and my parents stayed with our kiddos. The kids were on better behavior because Grandma and Grandpa were here so there was way less fighting, Grandma and Grandpa loved the bonding time with the kids, and I got to be completely devoid of responsibility somewhere sunny and warm. Win, win, win!
And the soup looks delicious! I have leftover chicken tortilla soup in the fridge, but as soon as we finish that one I’m going to try this one. Thanks!
This looks so very good Kate! Can’t wait to try it, thanks for sharing!