Creamy Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup: A Flavorful Southwestern Delight!

This hearty and delicious Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup recipe combines the flavors of chicken, cheese, and enchilada sauce for a comforting and satisfying meal. Perfect for a cold day or anytime you’re craving some Southwestern flair in your soup!

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Don’t you just love a creamy, flavor packed soup? This easy chicken enchilada soup is an explosion of flavor in every bite and tastes just like classic chicken enchiladas, in soup form. Add your favorite toppings and make it your own! Also try my Chicken Fajita Soup for another tasty option!

Why You’ll Love this Cheesy Enchilada Chicken Soup

• Packed with Flavor– if you love Mexican food, you’ll love the flavors of this easy cheesy chicken enchilada soup. Creamy, cheesy, and hearty. Tender chicken, tangy enchilada sauce, corn, black beans, peppers, and more combine into a soup made in no time!
• Quick and Easy– using simple ingredients and minimal prep time, this cheesy enchilada soup is perfect for busy weeknights or lazy weekends!
• Customizable– make this soup your own by adding in your favorite toppings, making a homemade enchilada sauce versus canned, or changing the red enchilada sauce to a green enchilada sauce. You can keep this mild, or make it spicy. So many great options!
• Freezer Friendly– this soup tastes just as good reheated from the refrigerator or freezer, which makes it perfect for meal prepping, making ahead for gatherings, or saving the leftovers for another day.

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Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup Ingredient Notes

This cozy soup is definitely one of my go to recipes on a cold evening. So many ways to make it your own, increase the spice level, and use what you have on hand. Below is a brief overview on each ingredient.

• Olive Oil– you’ll use this to saute the veggies. You can also use vegetable oil or canola oil.
• Onion– I use a white or yellow onion, diced in this recipe. You can use shallots if desired for a milder flavor.
• Bell Pepper– green bell peppers are my fav as they add a slight sweetness and crunch to the soup. You can use yellow, red, or orange if desired. To kick up the spice, you can also use poblano or jalapenos.
• Red Enchilada Sauce– this brings all the flavor, so be sure to use your favorite brand. If you prefer homemade, see recipe in notes below.
• Cream Cheese– full fat cream cheese is best as it offers the most creaminess. You can use plain Greek yogurt if you don’t prefer cream cheese, however, it will change the soup and make it a bit more tangy.
• Diced Tomatoes– any type works great, I use canned, however freshly diced works too. Also feel free to use Rotel or any other tomato product with onions and peppers included.
• Black Beans– rinsed and drained, you can also use Pinto beans or kidney beans in place of the black beans.
• Corn– I tend to use canned corn, however, frozen corn works great too. You can also use canned Mexi-corn.
• Chicken Breast– cooked and shredded or diced chicken is best. You’ll want it cooked before adding into the soup. Rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken works great too. If you have turkey leftovers, you can use that in it’s place.
• Chicken Broth– I use low sodium chicken broth or chicken stock to cut down on the salt content. Vegetable broth works too.
• Shredded Cheese– my favorite is Cotija, however, Mozzarella, sharp Cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack cheese, etc. work great too.
• Toppings Desired– see options below.

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Toppings for Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas Soup

This soup is fully customizable, but here are some of my family favorites to top our bowls with:

• Sour Cream or plain Greek Yogurt
• Diced Green Onions
• Crushed Tortilla Chips
• Cilantro
• Diced Avocado
• Additional Cheese
• Diced Tomatoes
• Green Chiles

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How to make Chicken Enchilada Soup

1. Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat.
2. Once oil is heated, add in the onion and green pepper, cooking for about 3-5 minutes.
3. Pour in the enchilada sauce and cream cheese, stirring until cheese is completely melted.
4. Add in the tomatoes, beans, and corn, allowing to cook for about 5 minutes.
5. Add in the cooked chicken and broth, cooking on low for about 10 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and serve in bowls. Garnish each bowl with shredded cheese and toppings of choice before serving! Enjoy!

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How to make homemade enchilada sauce

• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup water, or more if needed
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• Salt to taste

1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir flour and chili powder into the oil; cook and stir until smooth. Gradually stir tomato sauce, water, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and brown sugar into the flour mixture, respectively. Reduce heat to low and cook until thickened, about 10 minutes. Use 10 ounces of sauce in this soup and save the remainder for another recipe.

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Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup Variations

• Feel free to increase the spice level by adding in some chili powder, Cayenne powder, jalapeno, hot sauce, or even a spicy enchilada sauce.
• Increase the amount of veggies as desired.
• Change the chicken up and use turkey, shredded pork, brisket, or even ground beef.
• To make this soup smooth versus chunky, use an immersion blender until desired consistency is reached.
• If you don’t want to use a Rotisserie chicken and don’t have any precooked chicken on hand, you can boil 1-2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts over the stove top, allow the chicken to cook in your crock pot, or even cook the chicken in your Instant Pot/ air fryer.
• If you find the soup is too thick for your liking, feel free to add a bit more chicken broth or water.
• Make this vegetarian by omitting the chicken and using vegetable broth in place of the chicken broth.

Slow Cooker Version

Prefer to make this in your slow cooker versus on the stove? Here are the simple directions to do just that!

1. Add the oil, chopped onion, green pepper, enchilada sauce, diced tomatoes, black beans and corn. Since you’re slowly cooking this soup, feel free to use raw chicken, then pour in the chicken broth and stir in everything together.
2. Set your slow cooker to low and cook for 6-8 hours or on high for about 3-4 hours. Remove the chicken breasts and shred them using two forks.
3. Return the shredded chicken to the slow cooker and add in the softened cream cheese. Stir well, and allow to cook for another 30 minutes or until the cream cheese is completely melted. Before serving, top with desired toppings. Enjoy!

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Storing and Freezing

• Allow the soup to fully cool before storing in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator up to 4 days. If freezing, place leftovers in a freezer safe container or bag in freezer up to 3 months.
• To reheat, allow to thaw overnight in fridge and warm up in the microwave or on the stove top.
• If making ahead, prepare up to 24 hours in advance and allow to cool. Place soup into refrigerator until ready to heat and serve.

Exact Ingredients

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• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, de-seeded and diced
• 10 oz. red enchilada sauce
• 8 oz. cream cheese
• 14 oz. diced tomatoes
• 1 cup black beans
• 1 cup corn (frozen or canned works)
• 2 cups chicken breasts, cooked and diced/shredded (whichever preferred)
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup Cotija cheese, shredded (or Mozzarella)
• Toppings: Sour Cream, Green Onions, Avocado