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.
This is my crockpot right now! Looking forward to my work lunches this week- I’ll update my review then! I appreciate your easy recipe as well as including nutritional info 🙂
I hope you loved this soup Colleen! 🙂
It’s one of the first cold and rainy days where I live. I put this in my crockpot and shared your link on my blogs Facebook. Can’t wait to eat this tonight.
I hope you love it Karis! 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
My son and daughter who are 11 and 12 are picky eaters. The looks I got when they see soup is what’s for dinner did not go over well.
In this case, it went very well! They wanted a second bowl and even talked about it on the way home from school the next day.
Very delicious recipe. This will be in rotation more than the normal.
Haha! 🙂 I’m SO happy this one went over well 🙂 Thrilled it was a hit! Thanks for the comment Nellie.
This recipe is SO good. It is now one of our go-to soups because it is so easy and so delicious. I add the tomatoes like you suggest (yum) and I also add a can of sweet corn because my family likes corn. Perfect for these cold winter days and being a busy mom. Thank you for sharing!!
I’m so happy to hear this has become a go to! 🙂 Thanks so much for the comment Robyn!
Do you need to add the cream cheese?
I am looking for nondairy recipe.
Hi Helen! It’s definitely best (in my opinion) with the cream cheese. I’d recommend this soup for a non-dairy option:https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/slow-cooker-salsa-verde-chicken-soup/
I didn’t use the cream cheese for a healthier version, and I added fire roasted tomatoes and it was extremely delicious. For people who want it to be creamier, you can always add a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt.
So happy to hear that! Thanks for reporting back and helping other readers Skylar 🙂
Do you think I could ah substitute coconut milk for the cream cheese? I also cannot have dairy but would love to try this recipe!
I don’t think that would taste right. I’ve had a few people write in that they’ve left out the cream cheese entirely and still loved the soup; maybe you could try that?
Okay, thank you!!! ?
This was so good! I added jalapeños for extra kick and even tried it over off left over rice! It was great. 100% going in the rotation for winter. Perfect receipe for college kids who never have time to cook!
I’m thrilled this was a hit! 🙂 Thanks for the comment Alexandra!!
Made this wonderful green chile enchilada soup today. Amazing and satisfying flavors! I will definitely be making more of this soup! Thanks for sharing with others!
So happy to hear this was a hit! Thanks Beverly 🙂
Just made this tonight it was sooo good and flavorful! And super easy to make. Definitely going to be making this again! Thank you for the recipe
Thrilled to hear you enjoyed this! Thanks for the comment April! 🙂
This one looks like a winner! Just two quick questions…how spicy/hot is this? My husband loves soup so can’t wait to make it but he doesn’t like his book really spicy/ Should I cut back on the chili powder? Also, do you drain/rinse the white and black beans? Thanks!
Thank you BB! I would say it’s pretty mild, but I can handle a lot of spice. So maybe add half the chili powder and then you can add more after a taste test before serving it 🙂 And yes, drain and rinse! Enjoy!
I’m a young (23) American girl working in Italy, from Arkansas, so I MISS Mexican food and Tex-Mex so much. I tried this recipe so I could have a big batch for lunches in the office all week and it was so great! Reminds me so much of home. My boyfriend is Italian and struggles to embrace Mexican cuisine (Italian stomachs aren’t used to the spices and such, they think the food is too heavy), but he LOVED this recipe and ate two bowls for lunch! My mom just shipped over a bunch of green chillies and spices for me, so this was a perfect way to use them. Thanks so much for the great recipe!
Awe this made my day! 🙂 I’m so thrilled you were able to enjoy this soup in Italy and that your boyfriend enjoyed it too 🙂 Thanks Lindsey!