Green Chicken Enchilada Soup is simple and delicious! With no veggie chopping and the crockpot doing the work, you can have this soup assembled in just minutes!
The Best Green Chicken Enchilada Soup
Two meals that are always a hit in my house are this chicken chili and these green chicken enchiladas. That’s where the inspiration for this Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup came from! I knew I needed to combine both flavors to create my kids’ dream dinner, and lets me honest, mine too!
It’s hearty, protein-rich, thick, and boasts the creamiest, most delicious consistency. It’s comfort in a bowl and a dinner your family is guaranteed to love.
Ingredients
- Beans (White Kidney and Black): Add heartiness, fiber, and protein.
- Chicken: I use thighs but breasts work as well. Trim any extra fat before adding.
- Fire-Roasted Green Chiles and Tomatoes: Offer smokiness and mild heat.
- Green Enchilada Sauce: Make your own or use store bought.
- Seasonings: Scale up or down for personal preferences.
- Fresh Cilantro: If you’re not a fan, leave it out!
- Chicken Broth: Use more for a thinner soup and less for thicker.
- Cream Cheese: Adds creaminess and a hint of tang.
- Toppings: I love sour cream, cheese, avocado, lime, and cilantro on top.
Quick Tip
You’ll only use 10 ounces (286 grams/1 and 1/4 cup) of green enchilada sauce for this soup. Utilize leftover sauce in enchiladas, over scrambled eggs, with rice and beans, or in a breakfast casserole.
How To Make Green Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Combine: In a slow cooker, add beans, chicken, chiles, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, spices, and broth.
- Cook: Set on low for 5-7 hours or high for 3-5 hours.
- Add Cream Cheese: Mix in softened cream cheese until smooth.
- Shred Chicken: Return shredded chicken to the soup.
- Serve: Garnish with toppings like sour cream, cheese, and avocado.
Storage
- Refrigerate: Keep in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Reheat: Warm on the stovetop over medium-low heat.
- Freeze: In an airtight container for 4-6 months. Thaw green chicken enchilada soup in the fridge.
- Reheat: Slowly on low heat, stirring constantly to maintain cream cheese consistency.
More Delicious Soup Recipes
Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup
Quick and Easy Green Chicken Enchilada Soup: Assemble in minutes without chopping veggies. Let the slow cooker do the work for a creamy, hearty, and flavorful meal.
Equipment
- 6 quart slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 can (15.5 oz) white kidney (cannellini) beans drained and rinsed
- 2 cans (15.25 oz EACH) black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs (~5 thighs) (or breasts)
- 2 cans (4 oz, EACH) fire-roasted diced green chiles
- 1 can (14.5 oz.) fire-roasted diced tomatoes optional
- 1 can (10 oz) green enchilada sauce
- 4 teaspoons ground chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 3/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh cilantro optional
- 1 cup chicken broth or stock (2 cups for thinner soup)
- 1 package (8 oz.) full-fat cream cheese softened (reduced fat doesn't melt well into the soup)
- Toppings: sour cream (lite or fat-free), freshly grated sharp pepper-jack or Monterey jack cheese, diced ripe avocado, fresh lime, and fresh cilantro (See Note 1)
Instructions
- ADD TO SLOW COOKER: Add the drained and rinsed white and black beans, fat-trimmed boneless skinless chicken thighs (or breasts; if using breasts cut each breast into 4 pieces), both cans of diced green chiles, fire-roasted diced tomatoes (undrained), and green enchilada sauce. Add all the seasonings: chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper. If desired, add in the fresh cilantro. Pour in the chicken stock or broth (1 cup for a thicker chili and use 2 cups for a thinner soup-like consistency)
- COOK: Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 5-7 hours or high for 3-5 hours or until the chicken is cooked through (165 degrees F or easily shreds).
- CREAM CHEESE: Remove the chicken from the crockpot and set aside in another bowl. Add softened cream cheese (partially melt in the microwave first) into the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for another 30 minutes or until the cream cheese melts and is easily stirred into the soup. Briskly whisk to get the cheese completely incorporated.
- CHICKEN: Meanwhile, shred the chicken with 2 forks. Once the cream cheese is incorporated, add the chicken into the soup and stir.
- SERVE: Ladle chili into bowls and serve with desired toppings. We love adding a big handful of pepper-jack cheese, fat-free sour cream, a wedge of lime and some cilantro!
- STORAGE: This soup stores well in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat over medium-low heat on the stovetop. Freeze in an air tight container for 4-6 months.
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Don’t forget the toppings they add a lot! If I could only pick three toppings for this soup, they would be the cheese, sour cream, and lime juice. I highly recommend at least those 3 additions. As far as cheese, our favorite is pepper-jack cheese, but Monterey Jack cheese is another great topping. Even sharp cheddar works here. Lite sour cream works well in this soup.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 443kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 40g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 1413mg | Potassium: 1191mg | Fiber: 18g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1082IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 267mg | Iron: 7mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I always get nervous to make things in the crockpot since I can’t adjust seasonings as I go, but decided to give this a try since it has great reviews. Wow! I am so glad I did. My whole family (husband, 4 yr old, 3 yr old, and 18 month old) all loved it. We ate it all in two days! Thank you for the recipe. It was delicious. In fact, I’ve already passed the recipe on!
That is so wonderful to hear!! I’m thrilled everyone in your family loved it 🙂 Thanks so much Jennifer!
Would this work with ground chicken?
I would cook it in a skillet first and then add it to the crockpot 🙂
This sounds amazing! But my favorite part of enchiladas are the corn tortillas, so I think I would have to incorporate them in somehow. They’re not enchiladas without them.
Thank you Cindee! I’m sure you could tear them up and toss them on top of the finished soup and that would be delicious 🙂
Made this today and it was a HUGE hit with my family. Even my picky eater had several bites. Going to work this into the rotation for sure!
I am SO thrilled to hear this was a huge hit! Thanks so much for the comment and review Margaret!
We loved this!! I did change a few things…I wanted more of a soup than chili so I doubled the enchilada sauce and added one more cup of stock…also I love hominy so I added that as well, made it with 1.5 LB of chicken thighs….garnished with pepper jack cheese, cilantro, and lime as suggested. Also added some crushed tortilla chips… AMAZING!! I want to eat more, but I am so full!! This is definitely on my list of go-to’s! A big hit with the whole family!!!
Hi Stacie! Thanks so much for your comment and for sharing what you changed 🙂 I’m so thrilled this was a big hit and am so glad you took the time to tell me!
just out of curiosity, how much is a serving size?
If you evenly divide the soup into 8 equal parts, each individual part would be one serving size. Hope that helps!
This soup is awesome!!! My husband and I loved it!
So happy to hear that! Thank you Diedra! 🙂
I’m attempting this recipe as stovetop version of this as I type this. I only rinsed the white beans and didn’t drain all the others as I figured I would need more available liquid, also I’m using a Copper Chef 6qt pan. So far all is well! Thanks for the recipe!
OH EMM GEE! This was fabulous! 4 people = no soup left! The stove top method works excellently and only about an hour total. Thanks again this is definitely moving into the rotation!
Wow! This was a serious home run. I am a soup fanatic, it’s what I do, and I rarely follow a single recipe. I find a few and mash them, or one and make a lot of changes. Soup is forgiving (unlike baking). I made this exactly as written, not a single change, and it was crazy good! Although the temps here are still high the wicked allergy season left me craving comfort and warm soup. Thanks for an absolutely perfect recipe. This is in our regular rotation now!
Wow what a compliment!! Thank you so much Michelle 🙂 I’m so thrilled this was such a hit especially coming from a soup fanatic 🙂
I made this for dinner last night and it was so delicious and so easy. I have a 2.5 month old so easy is key! I only added one can of black beans and no white beans as I’m not a bean fan. I also used 1/3 less fat cream cheese. Other than that followed the recipe exactly and even added the tomatoes. Thank you thank you thank you!
I’m so thrilled to hear this was a hit in your home! Thank you so much for the comment Ashley 🙂