Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup is a thick and hearty soup recipe that comes together in less than 25 minutes.
Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup brings back a lot of good memories for me…
Back when I was a server at Chili’s I would constantly serve people their Chicken Enchilada Soup and enjoy a bowl for myself at the end of my shift. I loved squeezing the sour cream on top of each bowl, it made me feel pretty cool.
It’s by far one of my favorite bowls of soup. It’s creamy, just a tad spicy, and full of robust flavors.
I only ever worked the night shifts, so I was never in the kitchen when they were making the soup, and I kick myself for not asking for a recipe. I’m sure they’re not allowed to give them away, but I knew the cooks pretty well and I probably could have snagged the secret recipe, had I thought of it.
Well, the weather has taken a dramatic shift towards winter where I am. The days have gone from warmth and sunshine, to dreary and rain filled with a bitter chill. Yup, it’s Fall. Or maybe we just skipped Fall and went straight into winter? Either way, I was craving this soup…
It had to happen.
I couldn’t have been more happy with this soup.
Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup Recipe
With just a few small tweaks, it’s EXACTLY like the Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup from Chili’s.
The recipe makes A LOT. We ate soup for days, and we loved every last slurp of this delicious, hearty, and cheesy soup.
My husband brought it in his lunch to work, and his work buddies were jealous. {that’s a win for me}
The recipe calls for enchilada sauce, and since my garden was filled with an abundance of tomatoes this year, I made my enchilada sauce from scratch. Definitely not necessary for this soup, but I had to mention that so you would think I am totally awesome. 🙂
Anyways, this soup- make it. You’ll love it.
Promise.
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Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup
Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup is a thick and hearty soup recipe that comes together in less than 25 minutes.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups onion, diced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 cup Masa Harina (found in the Mexican isle of your grocery store)
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup of canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 (15oz) can RED enchilada sauce
- 8oz Velveeta cheese, cubed
- 3 cups chicken, shredded (I buy a rotisserie chicken from the deli and pull the chicken off the bones)
Toppings
- Tortilla strips
- Sour cream
Instructions
- Heat a LARGE (12 quart preferably) pot over medium high heat and add the vegetable oil. Once hot, add the onions and spices and saute until onions are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- In a separate bowl combine the Masa harina with 4 cups of chicken broth and whisk until combined. Pour mixture into the large pot, and stir constantly, cooking, for 2-3 minutes. Mixture will become thick.
- Pour in the remaining chicken broth, enchilada sauce and crushed tomatoes, stir and bring to a boil.
- Add the cubed Velveeta cheese, and stir until melted. Stir in the shredded chicken.
- Serve topped with sour cream and tortilla strips. Enjoy!
recipe slightly adapted from Just a Pinch
Originally published on 9/30/2013. Updated on 9/8/2017
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LOVE this recipe and have been making it since I found it on your website a few years ago. I make a triple batch and freeze 1/2. I had lumpy Masa Harina too until I started heating up the chicken broth and whisking the broth/Masa Harina combination completely before putting it into the soup.
Nice! I just made another batch and froze some for next month when I am in Hawaii and the kids are home with a sitter! 🙂 hehe
I”m all set to try this recipe this week as it’s finally cool here and I love Chili’s, but hate the price! My question is…what do y’all think about putting it in a crockpot? I was thinking of it going on low, but wasn’t sure how long to let it go or if maybe it wouldn’t work in a crockpot.
I love the soup, but only had ground beef and salsa last night, so I made this variation which turned out very well too:
Cheesy Taco soup
Use 1 pound ground beef, brown with onion (or 1 Tbsp minced onion), no need for the oil. Mix in spices and let it become fragrant. Continue with step 2 using vegetable broth. For step 3, use half to a full jar of mild salsa for enchilada sauce and crushed tomatoes. For step 4, omit the chicken.
I found this recipe last week. .so when I went grocery shopping.. I bought the needed ingredients. Omg! This is exactly like Chilis. I love Chilus so much I have gone to the takeout…order 4 bowls to take home….costing me $20.00…..for soup!
I promise ….it is soooooo good! Thank you for recipe!
I used the masa with no problems.
We just had our first taste of COLD winter weather so I’m going through all of my “winter” recipes. Just found your recipe and can hardly wait to give it a try. Looks yummy! Need to pick up a couple of the ingredients then it’s soup time for us. Thanks for posting.
Looks good, except I will skip the velveeta and use real cheese instead. 🙂
This was awesome! My entire family (even the picky eaters) loved it! We made enough to freeze, too!
PS Would you share your enchilada sauce recipe? I have lots of tomatoes in my garden, too!
Hi Phyllis, I use this recipe from Recipe Girl as a guide to making my own enchilada sauce:
http://www.recipegirl.com/2006/05/01/enchilada-sauce/
To get the tomato sauce from your tomatoes you’ll need to boil the tomatoes, peel them, get all the seeds out and then blend them all together. It’s a labor of love, but totally worth it in the end. 🙂 Hope that helps!
Hi, I live in England, but I’m an American, and love Mexican food! I can’t get masa harina, enchilada sauce, or velveeta over here. Any suggestions?
I totally feel your pain. I’m an American living in Canada and the Mexican food selection at the grocery stores are slim to none. Masa harina is basically ground corn flour, so you might want to check the baking isle for something similar. As for velveeta substitute… I would just look for a processed cheese, or you could possibly try some American cheese? I can’t promise results with these substitutions though. Hopefully you’ll find a way to make it work! 🙂
Thanks Shawn, I feel your pain, too. I think I’ll just hold on to this recipe until they become a bit more enlightened over here! 🙂
I’ve had this recipe for years & love the soup! But, the consistency of mine always ends up a little grainy? Thoughts?
Hi Lori! The Masa could make the soup grainy if you do not cook it smooth. Just make sure to whisk whisk whisk until it’s smooth, and you should be golden! 🙂
what exactly is masa harina. The same as corn mail used for polenta or for arepitas?
Masa Harina is more of a corn flour than a corn meal. You can find it in the Mexican isle of your grocery store. If you can’t find the masa, corn meal might work as well.
I made this tonight and it was delicious! It really does taste just like the soup at Chili’s. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
I made this in a 8qt pot and it worked fine. My masa harina was corn so I used more cumin and cayenne and just tasted til it was right. Also used 12oz of velvetta. And I added real garlic, we are a garlic family(: and it is really close! I’m quite surprised. This is my fave thing at my fave restaurant. Thank you!
I’ve been craving chicken enchiladas but not in actual enchilada form (think pasta and this soup!) Love how you made the sauce from scratch, which is something I’d do too. I never had Chili’s soup, so I bet this one is even better.
Oh, you will totally love this soup then! It’s so creamy and delicious. It really does taste like enchiladas in soup form! 🙂
If anyone is scared of hesitant of Velveeta, this recipe works. http://www.budget101.com/copycat-clone-recipes/homemade-velveeta-3630.html
This is my fav soup from Chili’s too!!! I could eat it every day!!!
One of my FAVORITE types of soup! Slurp!
Mine too! So good! Hope you and your little baby bump are doing good! 🙂
I’m obsessed with this soup without even tasting it. Love the photos and it looks soooo fantastic!
Aww thanks Ashley! You have to try the soup, you will be hooked! It’s so good! 🙂
Love! I’m a huge fan of enchiladas but never thought to put their flavors in a soup! So good!
Oh my gosh, you will totally love this then!
This looks sooo amazing! Totally making it!
Thanks Stephanie, we REALLY loved this soup, you will totally love it too! 🙂