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Perfectly spiced, creamy chicken enchilada soup is an easy slow cooker favorite, perfect for busy days!
Chicken enchilada soup has all the best flavors we love about Chicken Enchiladas compiled into an easy soup made in the crockpot. It’s a little different from our Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup but just as creamy and satisfying!
The perfect crockpot soup
I LOVE SOUPS!!! Seriously, there is something about warm, delicious soup recipes and the holidays that make me so incredibly giddy!
This chicken enchilada soup in a slow cooker has to be a new favorite. It was SOO easy to make and turned out fabulous!! We’ve always been suckers for green chiles and Enchiladas, so making a soup version of these things sounded wonderful.
Chicken Tortilla Soup is a Mexican food classic. It has some flavors in common with this chicken enchilada soup such as chicken and chiles, but tortilla soup is generally spicier and thinner. Whereas, chicken enchilada soup is creamier and tends to be milder.
The combination of chicken, green chiles, spices, corn, and cream cheese makes this recipe irresistible. You really can’t beat throwing everything in the slow cooker and having a delicious meal within a few hours. Pretty amazing!
Mix and Heat!
This chicken enchilada soup recipe takes minutes to put together, then the crock pot does the work!
COMBINE + COOK. Place chicken broth, enchilada sauce, green chiles, water, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and shredded chicken in a crock pot on HIGH. Cook for 3½ hours.
ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS. After cooking for 3½ hours add corn, rice, and cubed cream cheese. Stir and cook for ½ hour.
SEASON + SERVE! Add salt and pepper to taste and top with Monterrey Jack Cheese.
Stovetop Instructions
If you’re in a pinch for time, make this green enchilada soup on the stovetop instead of in the crockpot.
- Add broth, enchilada sauce, diced green chilies, water, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and chicken to a large pot.
- Bring to a boil, and add rice and cream cheese.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes. Mix well so all cream cheese chunks are gone.
- Add salt and pepper and cheese right before serving.
Recipe Tips
The flavors of this green enchilada chicken soup really are phenomenal. It has all the ingredients similar to Enchiladas but in a soup form.
Flavor variations. Add more flavor with bell peppers, black beans, and other types of cheese. Swap out the cream cheese. It will change the flavor and texture a bit, but you can substitute the cream cheese with pureed cottage cheese or plain yogurt.
Best toppings. After dishing the soup into bowls, top the soup with a dollop of sour cream, avocado slices, tortilla strips, diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, or a pinch of fresh cilantro. Place a lime wedge on the side of the bowl to squeeze over the soup.
Chicken. Use boneless skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs. Cook Shredded Chicken, use precooked packaged chicken, or shred a rotisserie chicken. You can also follow our Slow Cooker Roast Chicken recipe. Once done, remove the bones and shred the chicken.
Thin out soup. If the crockpot chicken enchilada soup is too thick, add a little more chicken stock until you reach your desired texture.
Thicken soup. If the soup is too thin, add a little more cream cheese or rice. Add flour: In a separate bowl combine ¼ cup of soup and 2 tablespoons of flour. Mix until smooth then add back into the soup.
Storing Info + Side IDEAS
STORE. Place this creamy chicken enchilada soup recipe in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.
FREEZE. Place the soup in an airtight container and store it in the freezer for 4-6 months. Let the soup thaw in the fridge. Slowly reheat in a pot over LOW heat. Stir constantly to keep the cream cheese combined with the soup.
Serving suggestions. Serve green chicken enchilada soup with some of our favorite bread and salads:
Recipe FAQ
Absolutely! Place the raw chicken (not frozen) in the pot along with the other ingredients in step 1. Cook the soup on HIGH for 3-4 hours or LOW for 5-7 hours. Remove the chicken and shred it with a fork. Add it back in and complete steps 2 and 3.
If you are not used to eating spicy food you might find this soup a little hot. To make it more mild you can reduce or omit the chili powder and cumin. Use a mild or medium enchilada sauce and green chiles instead of a hot one. Serve with toppings that provide a cooling effect, such as sour cream or avocado slices.
Absolutely! If you prefer a vegetarian or meat-free version of this soup, you can simply omit the chicken from the recipe and use a vegetable broth. You can add additional veggies like bell peppers, black beans, or even tofu for added texture and protein.
For More Slow Cooker Soups, Check Out:
- Crockpot Taco Soup
- Crockpot Hamburger Soup
- Crockpot Tortellini Soup
- Crock Pot Baked Potato Soup
- Crockpot Taco Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Green Chili Chicken Soup
Chicken Enchilada Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
- 2 (14.5-ounce) cans chicken broth
- 2 (15-ounce) cans mild green enchilada sauce
- 2 (4-ounce) cans diced green chiles
- ⅔ cup water
- 1½ tablespoons ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅔ cup corn, thawed if frozen
- ⅔ cup instant rice
- 1 (8-ounce) block cream cheese, softened and cubed
- salt and pepper to taste
- Toppings: Monterey Jack cheese fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Combine chicken, broth, enchilada sauce, green chiles, water, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 3½ hours.
- Add corn, rice, and cream cheese. Stir and cook on high for 30 minutes more.
- Add salt and pepper to taste and top with Monterey Jack cheese and cilantro before serving.
Video
Notes
- In a large pot, combine chicken, broth, enchilada sauce, green chiles, water, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder, and bring to a boil.
- Add corn, rice, and cream cheese, reduce the heat, and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Mix well so all cream cheese chunks are gone, then add salt and pepper. Serve garnished with cheese and cilantro.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this soup for a potluck with my running club and it was the first thing gone! This is a fantastic recipe and clearly a fan favorite. I used the white meat from a rotisserie chicken to save time and it worked great! This is now one of my go-to recipes – thank you!
How do you make it creamier without cream cheese ?
You could try using sour cream or plain greek yogurt instead. Or heavy cream. It probably will be a bit thinner of a texture than the cream cheese would give.
Make this soup
I made the chicken enchiladas soup today! I love it! Can’t wait to try more of your recipes. I am a Mother of 5, grandmother of 25, with 2 great grandsons, a boy and girl greats due Christmas! I am 73 years old, with an adorable 85 year old husband, we’ve been married 28 years in March. Thank you for sharing your talents and gifts!
This is a fabulous recipe. I like to throw in a can of petite diced tomatoes and a jalapeno pepper that has been lightly sautéed is a nice addition too.
I made this Chicken Enchilada Soup last week and it was an instant hit. My family loves it. In fact I’m making it again today.
I absolutely love this soup! I put the raw and thawed 2 1/2 large chicken breasts in the crockpot along with the broth, green enchilada sauce, water, green chilies and the spices. I cooked that on low for about 4 hours, then shredded the chicken and put it back in. After about another hour I put in the thawed corn, long grain white rice (thought it would hold up better than instant rice), and the softened cream cheese cut up in small squares. I then used a whisk to get the cream cheese incorporated, and it worked perfectly. Cooked that until the rice was done, about another hour. Will makes this again and again, as my husband had 2 bowls of it. Thanks Lil’Luna!!
Love love love this recipe
I’ve lost count of the times I’ve made it & I’ve lost count of the people I’ve given the recipe to.
It’s so easy & yummy
I use a rotisserie ckn & I add more a 12 oz pkg of frozen corn so I have to play with the amount of rice & broth but that’s the beauty of this recipe, you just tweak it to your preference of thickness. I also find that the cream cheese is easier to incorporate if I add the hot soup from the crockpot to the cream cheese in a separate bowl to melt the cream cheese down. I zap it in the microwave @ 50% power to bring it close to room temp. Then I ladle some hot soup & stir to get rid of the lumps before I add it all back to the crockpot for the last 1/2 hour before serving.
We always too with fresh pico de gallo & tortilla strips. It’s perfection.
Thanks so much for posting this recipe. ❤️
Meant to give 5 stars
I’d give more if I could!!
I’d give it more than 5 stars if I could. I’ll be making this frequently. I live alone so this feeds me for days without cooking again. It’s my new all-time favorite soup! I picked up a package of precooked and shredded chicken – seriously easy to prepare this way.
Can i use raw chicken and cook it in the crock pot at the same time as the recipe
You probably could. I wouldn’t recommend using frozen chicken, but thawed, raw chicken should be fine. You may have to cook it a little longer in the crockpot for the chicken to fully cook. As long as the internal temp of the chicken is 165, it is fully cooked.