This easy Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup is a thick, hearty soup recipe that comes together in less than 25 minutes.
If you love this creamy soup, you’ll also love my Chicken Tortilla Soup.
With just a few small tweaks, it’s EXACTLY like the Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup from Chili’s.
This easy Chicken Enchilada Soup pairs really well with Instant Pot Refried Beans, 5 Layer Black Bean Dip, or a side of the Best Black Beans!
Chicken Enchilada Soup Recipe
Simple ingredients like Mexican spices, masa harina, enchilada sauce, Velveeta cheese, and shredded chicken unite to create an easy enchilada soup recipe the whole family will love! On top of that, you can top your soup with your favorite toppings like tortilla strips, sour cream, shredded cheese, crushed tortilla chips, hot sauce, and more!
Ingredients Needed
Here’s the basic list of ingredients you’ll need in order to whip up Chicken Enchilada Soup. As always, you can find the full list of ingredients located in the printable recipe card below.
- Cumin
- Chili powder
- Garlic powder
- Cayenne pepper
- Masa Harina – a yellow corn flour, found in the Mexican aisle of your grocery store.
- Enchilada sauce – try my homemade version for the best flavor!
- Velveeta cheese
- Chicken – I buy a rotisserie chicken from the deli and pull the chicken off the bones. You can also cook boneless skinless chicken breasts and shred them.
Toppings
- Tortilla strips
- Sour cream
How to Make Chicken Enchilada Soup Recipe
Quick and easy enchilada soup is super easy to make and only takes 30 minutes!
SAUTEE
​Heat a large pot (preferably 12 quarts) over medium-high heat. Add the vegetable oil and allow it to heat up. Once it’s sizzling, toss in the diced onions and aromatic spices. Sauté this fragrant mix until the onions become soft and translucent, which usually takes about 5 minutes.
CREATE THE SOUP BASE
​In a separate bowl, combine the Masa Harina and 4 cups of chicken broth. Whisk it thoroughly until everything blends together. Next, carefully pour this mixture into the large pot. Keep stirring constantly as it cooks for about 2-3 minutes until the soup thickens.
ADD REMAINING INGREDIENTS
Next, add in the remaining chicken broth, enchilada sauce, and crushed tomatoes. Give it a good stir and bring the mixture to a rolling boil.
MELT THE CHEESE
Stir in the cubed Velveeta cheese until it melts. Then, add the shredded chicken. Stir to combine.
SERVE AND ENJOY
Serve up this delicious soup with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of tortilla strips. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips and Substitutions
- If you’re feeling fancy, try making your own enchilada sauce from scratch!
- Want to add a slight kick? Add some green chiles to the soup for a little extra spice!
Make Ahead and Storage
- This creamy Chicken Enchilada Soup recipe is best made the day of but if you’re in a pinch, you can make it 1-2 days beforehand. Reheat in a large pot and serve. For a quicker option, reheat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes until warm.
- Chicken Enchilada soup is also freezer-friendly. Freeze in individual containers for up to 3 months. Drop the frozen soup in a pot and reheat until warm.
- Place any leftover Chicken Enchilada Soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. When you’re ready to eat it, pour it into a small saucepan and reheat until warm.
Common Questions
Can I make this easy recipe in a crock pot?
Absolutely! In order to make this recipe in the slow cooker, you’ll want to:
- Sauté your onions and spices ahead of time, then add them to the slow cooker.
- Whisk together the chicken broth and masa harina so there are no clumps, then pour this into the slow cooker.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, enchilada sauce and chicken, then cook on LOW heat for 6 hours.
- Just before serving, stir in the velveeta cheese and cook an additional 30 minutes, stirring frequently until the cheese is melted into the soup.
Can I use green enchilada sauce instead of red?
​Yes! Try this recipe using my homemade Green Enchilada sauce in place of the red enchilada sauce.​
How can I thicken my enchilada soup?
If you follow the directions while making this soup, you should end up with a nicely thickened soup. The masa harina will help to give this soup the perfect consistency. If you feel like you would like you soup thicker, feel free to make cornstarch slurry with 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch and 1/4 cup water or chicken broth and pour it in the soup as it’s cooking.
More Soup Recipes
If you loved this tender Chicken Enchilada Soup, then you’ll love these dreamy soup recipes…
- Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Taco Soup
- Quick Tomato Soup Recipe
- Creamy Tuscan Tortellini Soup
This filling soup will warm you up any night of the week! Whether you need a delicious recipe in a pinch or want to add to your favorite soup recipes, this Chicken Enchilada Soup recipe is for you! If you try this recipe, please leave a comment down below!
Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup
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 aisle of your grocery store
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 15 oz enchilada sauce
- 8 oz 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!
Video
Nutrition
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Creamy Cajun Shrimp Pasta
Lori
Can I use corn meal instead of masa? Or is that the same thing? Also, I really don’t like Velveeta cheese would it work if I subbed it out for real cheddar cheese?
Shawn
I haven’t tested the recipe using those substitutions, so I can’t say if it would work.
Mary
What size canned crushed tomatoes. I bought a 28 ounce size can.
Shawn
You’ll just use 1 cup of the crushed tomatoes, so you can save the rest of that 28oz can for another use. 🙂
Mary
Thank you.
DIANE K O'Brien
1 Cup of Harissa seems like a lot in the cheesy enchilada soup. What can I substitute?
Shawn
The harissa is essential to give you the flavor of the enchilada soup.
M
Harissa and Masa harina are two very different things!
Juanita Brooks
How can I tweek the Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup to make it keto friendly, and gluten, soy, corn and rice free?
company search
I love you excellent idea. Thanks for sharing this great
John
I’m loving this as a fabulous family-friendly dinner idea!
Karl
I love this soup. Is there a canning recipe? And do you have the nutrition facts on it by chance? I don’t want to give it up!
Amanda
Loved this recipe and so did the whole family! I added a can of rotel at the end and it was fantastic!
Shawn
Nice! So glad you enjoyed it!
click here
Thanks for sharing this great. Keep sharing more useful and conspicuous stuff like this. Thank you so much
Keri Forbess-McCorquodale
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.
Shawn
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
Julie Jackson
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.
Karne
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.
DonnÃ
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.
Jean J.
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.
MAOM7
Looks good, except I will skip the velveeta and use real cheese instead. 🙂
Suzanne
This was awesome! My entire family (even the picky eaters) loved it! We made enough to freeze, too!
Phyllis
PS Would you share your enchilada sauce recipe? I have lots of tomatoes in my garden, too!
Shawn
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!
Phyllis
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?
Shawn
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! 🙂
Phyllis
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! 🙂
Lori
I’ve had this recipe for years & love the soup! But, the consistency of mine always ends up a little grainy? Thoughts?
Shawn
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! 🙂
Glenda ottenheim vinck
what exactly is masa harina. The same as corn mail used for polenta or for arepitas?
Shawn
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.
Michelle Hamby
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!
Dana
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!
Carla
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.
Shawn
Oh, you will totally love this soup then! It’s so creamy and delicious. It really does taste like enchiladas in soup form! 🙂
steph
If anyone is scared of hesitant of Velveeta, this recipe works. http://www.budget101.com/copycat-clone-recipes/homemade-velveeta-3630.html
Jocelyn @BruCrew Life
This is my fav soup from Chili’s too!!! I could eat it every day!!!
Dana
One of my FAVORITE types of soup! Slurp!
Shawn
Mine too! So good! Hope you and your little baby bump are doing good! 🙂
Ashley @ Wishes and Dishes
I’m obsessed with this soup without even tasting it. Love the photos and it looks soooo fantastic!
Shawn
Aww thanks Ashley! You have to try the soup, you will be hooked! It’s so good! 🙂
Nutmeg Nanny
Love! I’m a huge fan of enchiladas but never thought to put their flavors in a soup! So good!
Shawn
Oh my gosh, you will totally love this then!
Stephanie @ Eat. Drink. Love.
This looks sooo amazing! Totally making it!
Shawn
Thanks Stephanie, we REALLY loved this soup, you will totally love it too! 🙂