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 soup sounds delicious – will it fit in a 4 qt slow cooker or should I just make on the stove? Thanks.
I think a 4 quart would be a little too full!
I only have a 4qt slow cooker and it is a little full, but it fits! One of my favorite recipes, I make it once a month!
Oh thank you Ty!! So glad you enjoy this recipe 🙂
I love this recipe so much – discovered it two years ago and others keep “borrowing” my copy so I come back to this site to print it again. Making it for my Bible Study gals next week and they’re going to be so comforted!
Yay!! So happy to hear that! Thanks so much for the comment Stephanie! 🙂
Wow! Another fab recipe rrom Chelsea. I have made this meal twice because we all loved it so much. The flavors are incredible. Thank you!
Thank you so much Jenny!! 🙂
I hope this doesn’t sound stupid but…is green enchilada sauce the same as salsa verde? Can you use salsa verde instead of the green enchilada sauce?
This recipe sounds amazing!
Thanks bunches! ?
It doesn’t sound stupid! Not quite the same thing; here’s an image to help.
I have a dairy allergy as does my youngest child so I don’t add the cream cheese and it STILL tastes amazing. I have a few other allergies so I make my own green enchilada sauce and it didn’t taste any different from using the canned stuff (which I have used before despite the allergy). I ran out of time today so I threw it in my instant pot with the chicken and broth on bottom first and then everything else added on top. I set it to manual 10 minutes and then did a 5 minute natural release and then did a quick release and it worked perfectly. Thanks for posting the recipe. Every member of my family loves this which is no small feat. Many picky eaters. Thanks again!!! ❤️❤️❤️
Yay!! I LOVE hearing this so much <3 I'm thrilled this recipe is a hit and thanks for sharing pressure cooker tips! 🙂
Amazing Soup recipe. It looks wonderful.
Love love love this recipe!!! I didn’t read all the comments (because there are so many!!) and my question may be redundant. So I apologize if it is.
I know there are 8 servings but how much is a serving? 1 cup? 1 1/2 cup?
Hey Jennifer! So glad you’re loving this recipe 🙂 To get one serving, you’ll equally divide the entire soup into 8 equal parts; each part is one serving. Thanks for your comment!
I make this for dinner all the time ever since I’ve discovered the recipe! I add Frozen corn and extra green enchilada sauce ?
Yay! I’m so happy to hear this! Thanks Holly! 🙂
Made this tonight. Yum! So good. I substituted one can of black beans with pinto beans. Added a teaspoon of garlic powder. Got that idea from another reviewer. Used the hot diced green chillies. Used a can of hot rotel tomatoes. Thank you for sharing the recipe. ? Delicious.
Oohhh that sounds delicious! I’m so glad you enjoyed! 🙂
Thanks for a fabulous recipe! We’re in the midst of a kitchen remodel and I needed a good crockpot recipe for this first cold weekend. The only changes I made were to use about half the amount of cream cheese and divided the paprika so that half of it was smoked paprika. We loved the soup and I’ll make this again and again! Thanks!