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 favorite crockpot chicken enchilada soup! My recipe is a little different but not much. I use only black beans, 3 cups of chicken broth, & I use a good medium enchilada sauce. I also use garlic powder & serve with tortilla chips. Sometimes I add a can of tomato sauce. Yum!
Loved this recipe so much! I wasn’t alone either…my three little ones went crazy over it. I added a little extra cayenne to give it just a little more kick. 🙂 Thanks for a great recipe, I’ll definitely be making this again soon!
I’m so happy this was a big hit and especially with the little ones 🙂 Thanks for the comment!
I screwed up and thought I had black beans before I went to the store for the rest of the ingredients…. Turns out I had kidney beans, oops. I had 2 cans of white beans and 1 can of pinto beans so I said screw it, and just made it like that. Turned out pretty good! I substituted sour cream for greek yogurt (fage 0%) and added pepper jack, cilantro, and my guilty pleasure… crunched up fritos 😉 Turned out pretty good!
Also added a can of corn, too!! 🙂 The fritos though… life changer!!!
So happy you liked this soup and the crunched up fritos sound AMAZING!
This soup is excellent with Fritos or tortilla chips (my favorite)! Love this soup.
THIS SOUP WAS PERFECT. I added in 3 jalapenos because I love things extra spicy and had with Santa Fe style tortilla strips on top. SO GOOD. seriously one of the best crock pot meals iv tried yet. Thank you!
I’m so happy this was a hit!! Thank you so much for taking the time to comment Liv 🙂
I made this recipe last night. I didn’t plan ahead, so I was unable to use the crockpot. I used a cast iron dutch oven at 350 for 1.5 hours. Turned out perfect. Another 15 minutes or so to melt the cream cheese.
Only thing I was confused about is that in both steps 4 and 5, you have the chicken removed and placed in a separate bowl. I think I may be misunderstanding the directions. I took out the chicken in step 4, added the cheese, and put it back in the oven without the chicken. I added the now shredded chicken back after the cheese was melted and whisked to incorporate.
So happy to hear it was perfect in the dutch over! The chicken is removed to be shredded and to allow easier mixing of the cream cheese 🙂
Thanks for responding Chelsea.
I understand ‘why’ it’s removed, just not when, since you have it in two different steps.
Was the chicken added to the crockpot frozen or thawed? Thanks!
Thawed chicken 🙂
Can you make this with frozen chicken thighs? If so, what would I need to change in the recipie ?
You can use thawed chicken thighs — same amount as breasts 🙂
I have this in the crockpot right now. I added 2 jalapeños one with the seeds and one without. I also added a can of rotel and a bag of frozen Fiesta corn. Can’t wait to try it.
Hope you love it! 🙂
Love this recipe big hit with my husband! Can you use pork stew pork instead of chicken and if so how?
I’m so happy to hear that Stephanie! Thank you 🙂 I’ve never tried pork in this soup, so I’m not really sure without further testing. I would probably cut the pork into 1 inch cubes and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Let me know if you give it a try. 🙂
I have this in the Instant Pot now, and I doubled it for some sweet friends who just had a baby. It just barely fit in the 6qt pot with a doubled recipe (I left out the tomatoes). Thank you for sharing this recipe!
You’re welcome! I hope you and your friends love it 🙂 Congrats to your friends!
30 minute version! Made 12/12/16 Used leftover cooked chicken, 1 can of black beans, 1 cup chicken broth, red enchilada sauce, no extra salt, no canned tomatoes. I added enchilada sauce & softened cream cheese to a sauce pan heated over med heat then added chicken until cream cheese was combined well. Added rest of ingredients and mixed until heated through. Add more seasoning to taste. Toppings we used were sour cream, fresh lime wedges for squeezing over the soup, monterey jack cheese, & tortilla strips. AWESOME! DELICIOUS! 2 thumbs up from all 4 girls in my house (7-15 years old). Enjoy flavor my husband didn’t even reach for the hot sauce! Thanks!!
Thank you so much for sharing Anne! This will be so helpful for other readers 🙂