In the mood for comfort soup, but also craving Mexican flavor? Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup has you covered (and hopefully keeps you warm too!).
Why We Love It
Ready in less than one hour, Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup’s creamy tomato base blends perfectly with its cooked chicken, black beans and corn. The consistency is just right and welcomes a tangy dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese and tortilla strips on top. Delicious!
(Plus it reminds us of our favorite Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas, which were the inspiration for this recipe!)
Why You’ll Love It
Have leftover chicken in the fridge? This is a great way to use it. You can take a break from taco night with all its dishes and fixings and try this soup instead! Plus, when you use leftover chicken, Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup is a one pot meal cooked exclusively on your stove top.
Isn’t it great when you only have one cooking pot to clean???
Ingredients for Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 15 ounce can red enchilada sauce
- 2 cups of cooked chicken, cut into small pieces
- 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
- 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 8 ounce bar of reduced fat cream cheese, softened (Philadelphia brand highly recommended)
- 3/4 cup reduced fat shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided (save 1/2 cup of this for your topping)
- Light or reduced fat sour cream for topping (you’ll likely use one cup or less)
- Tortilla strips (you’ll likely use 1/2 cup or less)
Additional toppings of your choice could include scallions, diced avocado, red pepper flakes and more!
How to make Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup
You’ll want to gather the following equipment:
- cutting board
- chef’s knife
- large pot
- stirring spoon
- ladle
Kitchen Ready Betty tip: Before starting, allow the cream cheese to soften on your counter. Thaw the frozen corn simultaneously in a separate bowl. These two ingredients can keep each other company while your soup gets started!
You can always add a little water to your bowl to expedite the thawing process. Just be sure to drain the excess water before adding the corn to the soup.
Prepare the base. Pour the chicken broth and enchilada sauce into your large pot. Stir gently until blended. Partially cover and place on the stove. Bring to a boil over medium to high heat, stirring occasionally. After it boils, turn the heat down to its lowest setting and allow the soup to simmer for about 5 minutes.
Add the pre-cooked chicken, corn and black beans. Stir occasionally while soup simmers, about 12-15 minutes.
Add in the cheeses. Break up the softened cream cheese bar into small chunks and add to the pot. Also add 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese at this time (save the other 1/2 cup for garnish when serving).
Stir, stir, stir. We want the cream cheese and shredded cheese to blend into the broth. What we don’t want are large chunks or glops of cheese floating around in there, so stir the soup regularly for the next few minutes as you raise the heat ever so slightly.
Again, we strongly suggest reduced fat Philadelphia cream cheese! It is far superior to any store brands. Sargento’s Reduced Fat 4 Cheese Mexican Blend (Monterey Jack, Asadero, Cheddar and Queso Quesadilla) is perfect for the shredded cheese portion.
Once blended well, return the heat to its lowest setting, stirring occasionally. I would suggest maintaining this step until about 5 minutes before you are ready to serve. This keeps the soup warm, and the cheese melted and glop free.
Remove from heat and allow to stand about 5 minutes. While the soup is resting, gather your toppings so they’re ready to go!
Spoon Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup into bowls, then add the toppings. Dollop a generous tablespoon or more of reduced fat sour cream over each portion. Then evenly divide the remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese and sprinkle that as well as the tortilla strips on top of each serving.
When stirred in, these toppings make an amazing tangy, creamy, crunchy addition! Feel free to add other toppings, such as scallions or red pepper flakes as well!
Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup Leftovers?
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate. Enjoy within 3 days. When reheating the soup, stir occasionally until evenly heated over low to medium heat on your stovetop. (You can also reheat it in the microwave. Just make sure you stir it a lot before serving in order to prevent those dangerous heat pockets!)
Don’t forget to have your toppings on hand when you enjoy the soup again!
A Note About the Chicken
We love using leftover grilled chicken breast in Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup. It is our go-to every time. But it’s understood that you might not always have that on hand, so yes, you can use a rotisserie chicken instead if that’s easier for you!
Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup Origin Story
One Taco Tuesday, I decided I wasn’t in the mood to deal with all the bowls and accoutrements. Leftover chicken was in the fridge and I had a can of enchilada sauce in the pantry that didn’t have any future destination.
It was one of those days where a good bowl of soup could make everything better, so I scrounged around for other ingredients that I usually use to make Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas {coming soon}. I got out my chicken broth and pot and started experimenting. The rest is, as they say, soup history. I hope it comforts you on a cold Taco Tuesday or any day you need a change of pace too.
Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup
Description
A wonderfully tangy and creamy chicken enchilada inspired dream, this savory soup, with its creamy tomato base and chicken, corn, black beans and cheese, will have everyone at your table wanting more. A generous dollop of sour cream, cheese and tortilla strips added on top makes it a comfort soup sensation. You just might want to double this recipe from the start!
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Soup
Toppings
How to Make Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup:
Prep time!
-
Cream cheese and frozen corn preparation.
Before starting the soup, soften the cream cheese on your counter. Also begin to thaw frozen corn in a separate bowl.
The cream cheese and corn can soften and thaw respectively while you start to make the soup. You do not need to complete this step several minutes ahead of time. For faster thawing, place cold water in the bowl with the corn. Drain before adding to the soup in step #2 below.
Make the soup.
-
Prepare the base.
Pour chicken broth and enchilada sauce into a large pot. Stir gently until blended. Partially cover and bring to a boil over medium to high heat, stirring occasionally. After it boils, turn heat on burner down to lowest setting. Allow the soup to simmer for about 5 minutes.
-
Add the hearty ingredients.
Add the pre-cooked chicken, corn and black beans. Stir occasionally while soup continues to simmer for an additional 12-15 minutes.
-
Add in the cheeses!
Break up the softened cream cheese bar into small chunks and add to the pot. Next add 1/4 cup of the shredded cheese. Raise the heat slightly and stir consistently for the next 5 minutes or until cheeses blend smoothly into the soup.
It is important to stir consistently after adding the cream cheese in order to avoid lumps or little specks of cheese in the broth! This method works if the cream cheese is soft. If you prefer, mix the cream cheese separately in a small bowl with some of the broth before adding it to the soup. -
Reduce heat and keep warm.
Return heat to its lowest setting, stirring occasionally. Maintain this step until about 5 minutes before ready to serve.
-
Remove from heat.
Remove from heat and allow to stand 5 minutes.
Ready to serve!
-
Toppings.
Ladle soup into individual servings. Dollop a generous tablespoon or more of reduced fat sour cream over each portion. Evenly divide the remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese and sprinkle over each serving. Then top with tortilla strips.
Enjoy it again!
-
Storage.
Store leftovers in an airtight container, refrigerate and enjoy within 3 days.
-
Reheating.
This soup tastes best when it is reheated on the stovetop over low to medium heat. Stir occasionally until soup is heated through.
Note
I always use reduced fat Philadelphia brand cream cheese for this recipe.
Sargento's Reduced Fat 4 Cheese Mexican Blend is perfect for the shredded cheese portion.
You can swap out the pre-cooked chicken for rotisserie.
