Okay, guys. If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll know that I have documented in (painful detail) the descent into madness that comes from 4 snow days. The snow was pretty, the snow was fun, we like snow. The first snow day was fun. And then we all got a little The Shining on each other (sans the axe or the creepy twins). I have probably gone soft during my years in Louisiana.
Because I have gone soft and because my house is 80 years old (but feels like 52 million years old right now), we were reallyreallyreally cold a lot of time, which resulted in us eating a lot of soup. Lasagna Soup. Corn Chowder. Chicken & Sausage Gumbo. And this one.
On the Mexican soup spectrum, this 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 taste 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.)
To get started, you’re going to need a whole bunch of vegetables (that your kids and husband are never gonna see–score.) You’ll need a chopped onion, garlic, carrots, celery, a red bell pepper, and a jalapeño pepper.
In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add the onion, garlic, carrots, celery, bell pepper, and saute until fragrant and the vegetables are tender.
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 cup diced tomatoes,
and water and then blend until smooth using an immersion blender (you can also it in batches in a regular blender). Bring to a boil and tear the tortillas and add them to the soup (6 will be pretty thick, it just depends on personal preference). Cover and turn the heat down to low and simmer 30-45 minutes or until the tortillas are breaking apart. Remove from heat. Whip out your immersion blender again and blend until smooth. Add the remaining tomatoes, the shredded chicken breast meat from a rotisserie chicken
and the cream and stir until combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately with green onions, shredded cheese, and fried tortilla strips. Makes 8 servings.
Chicken Enchilada Soup
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 5–6 cloves garlic, 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)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 heaping teaspoon cumin
- 1 heaping teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, divided
- 1 cup water
- 5–6 6″ yellow corn tortillas
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Shredded breast meat from 1 medium rotisserie chicken
- 1/2 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, garlic, carrots, celery, bell pepper, and saute until fragrant and the vegetables are tender.
- 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 cup diced tomatoes, and water and then blend until smooth using an immersion blender (you can also it in batches in a regular blender). Bring to a boil and tear the tortillas and add them to the soup (6 will be pretty thick, it just depends on personal preference). Cover and turn the heat down to low and simmer 30-45 minutes or until the tortillas are breaking apart. Remove from heat. Whip out your immersion blender again and blend until smooth. 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 with green onions, shredded cheese, and fried tortilla strips.
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.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
Questions & Reviews
My good golly, this was delicious! I followed your directions to a T, and it was almost perfect., and the sound of spoons scraping the bottom of bowls was music to my ears. Every one of my guests went back for seconds. Today, I warmed up the leftovers and it was so good I thought I might faint. Those flavors had morphed overnight into something even more spectacular. I will make again, and again, and again. My picky veggie-hating son even liked it. I didn’t tell him about the giant pile of veggies that went into it.
Thanks for a great recipe!
P.S. Using my immersion blender on this was so satisfying.
This looks fantastic! With two kids in evening sports, this will be perfect!
Hi Kate and Sara! I don’t know that you’ll see this since this is an old post but in case you do… I just had chicken enchilada soup from chili’s tonight and fell in love (hence why I came here searching for a recipe, you’re always my first search!!!). I just had weight loss surgery and am on liquids and purées for a while, do you think I could blend the chicken up in this? I’ve never blended chicken so I am not sure how that works! if not I can strain in of course, but I’ve gotta get a ton of protein in too, so I thought win-win! (Triple win being an OBB recipe!)
Hey Casey! Ya know, I’ve never blended chicken before, but if you have a pretty good blender, immersion blender, or food processor, it would probably work. You would probably still have some texture in there, but if you don’t mind that I think you’d be okay. I hope your recovery and weight loss goes well!
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!