Green Chicken Enchilada Soup

A change from your typical red enchilada soup, this Green Chicken Enchilada Soup is filled with your favorite chicken enchilada flavors. Top with cheese and tortilla chips for even more flavor!

Love a good Mexican inspired soup? You can also try this Taco Soup or Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Over the last month or so, I have brought you a few great recipe ideas that could be turned into lunch the next day, making lunchtime not only easier, but better for you than a trip to the drive thru. First, there were the BBQ Ranch Chicken Salad Sandwiches, then the Rosemary Ranch Chicken. Today, I’m going a little bit of a different direction.

Soup. One of my favorite things. I know with the other two recipes, I also posted about a way to change it up for lunch the next day. But one reason I love soup so much is the fact that you don’t really need to change it up the next day. Soup makes awesome leftovers.

On the go? Invest in a thermos that will keep the soup warm, and it’s the easiest lunch ever. Even kids can bring a thermos full of delicious soup with them in their lunchboxes!

And this soup – well, if you are a fan of Mexican food, this one is for you. I love a good traditional Chicken Enchilada Soup. But I thought it would be fun to do a soup based off of my favorite kind of enchiladas – the ones that are filled with cheese, chicken and green chiles. I can’t think of a better combination!

Ingredient Notes

Make sure to read through the full ingredient list in the recipe card below.

• Masa Harina: If you’ve never heard of masa harina, you are probably not alone. While it is not a hard ingredient to find, (most supermarkets carry it!), unless you are making a lot of Mexican food, you may have never bought it. It is basically dehydrated corn dough. You would use it to make corn tortillas. But it also works really well as a thickener for soups, which is why I use it here. Not only does it thicken the soup, but it gives you that tortilla flavor throughout the soup.
• Enchilada Sauce: I have only ever made this recipe using store bought green enchilada sauce. No matter what you use, just make sure it is a sauce that you love, because the flavor will really come through.
• Green Chiles: I really love green chiles, so we use 2 cans. If you aren’t as big of a fan, you can cut this back to 1 can.
• Spices: I use a basic blend of spices – just Chile powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Feel free to add in some of your favorite Mexican spices, though.
• Cheese: We love this with Monterey Jack cheese, but any easy melting cheese will work. You will also use cream cheese to make the soup nice and creamy.
• Chicken: I love using cooked, shredded chicken, and it works well in this recipe. You can also use a rotisserie chicken, or just cook up some chicken as the soup cooks and add it in at the end.

Tips and Tricks

This soup will continue to thicken up as it cools. If you don’t like the soup as thick, you can add extra chicken broth or water.

We keep things pretty simple and top ours with more cheese and crushed tortilla chips. But feel free to get creative and add sour cream, jalapeños, cilantro, or salsa.

You can also make this vegetarian by using vegetable broth and leaving out the chicken.

Store any leftovers in a container in the refrigerator. You may need to add extra liquid when reheating.

More Favorite Soups

Turkey Noodle Soup
Crock Pot Cheeseburger Soup
Crockpot Potato Soup

Green Chicken Enchilada Soup

5 from 1 vote

Author: Deborah Harroun

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour

Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Mexican

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A change from your typical red enchilada soup, this Green Chicken Enchilada Soup is filled with your favorite chicken enchilada flavors. Top with cheese and tortilla chips for even more flavor!

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Ingredients

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1/2 cup chopped onion
• ▢ 1 clove garlic minced
• ▢ 1 quart 4 cups chicken broth
• ▢ 3 cups water*
• ▢ 1 cup masa harina
• ▢ 1 can 10 oz geen enchilada sauce
• ▢ 2 cans 4 oz each diced green chiles
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Chile powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin
• ▢ Pepper to taste
• ▢ 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• ▢ 4 oz cream cheese
• ▢ 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
• ▢ More cheese and crushed tortilla chips for serving, optional

Instructions

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the chicken broth.
• Combine 2 cups of the water with the masa marina, whisking until smooth. Pour into the pot, along with the remaining cup of water, enchilada sauce, and green chiles. Season with the salt, Chile powder, cumin, and pepper to taste.
• Cook for 30-40 minutes, or until thickened.
• Stir in the Monterey Jack an the cream cheese. Cook until both cheeses have melted, whisking as needed, about 10 minutes. Stir in the chicken and cook until heated through.
• Serve topped with additional cheese and crumbled tortilla chips, if desired.

Recipe Notes:

*This soup gets thicker upon standing. If you like a thinner soup, you can use more water or chicken broth to thin it out.

Nutrition information provided as an estimate only. Various brands and products can change the counts. Any nutritional information should be used as a general guide. Nutritional information does not include optional toppings.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1/6 of recipe, Calories: 368kcal (18%), Carbohydrates: 25g (8%), Protein: 27g (54%), Fat: 19g (29%), Saturated Fat: 8g (50%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 86mg (29%), Sodium: 1245mg (54%), Fiber: 2g (8%), Sugar: 2g (2%)

Keywords: enchilada soup, green chicken enchilada soup, green enchilada soup