Creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup

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.