Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup
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Enchilada Soup – all the flavors of an enchilada with a deliciously spiced red sauce in comforting and hearty soup form! It’s loaded with lean shredded chicken, creamy black beans, tender corn, sweet tomatoes and it’s all bathing in a creamy, cheesy broth. What’s not to love?
Enchilada Soup
With the freezing cold season not too far around the corner this most definitely a recipe your going to want to add to your list to try! It’s just like the kind you get at restaurants and it’s perfectly easy to make (especially if you take the shortcut and just add leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken).
You can’t go wrong with these enchilada flavors. Delicious and robust chili spices and tangy, rich cheese were a match meant to be. There’s just something so perfect about that combination.
Enchiladas are one of the all time best foods if you ask me, so why not transform those flavors it into a soul warming soup to enjoy on chilly days? It only makes sense right?
This is just one of those soups everyone can agree on and after first bite you will be craving it time and time again, it’s addictive!
Start out soup season on a great note with this perfectly delicious Cheesy Enchilada Soup!
Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup Ingredients:
- Olive oil – Used for sauting. Vegetable oil will work great too.
- Yellow onion and garlic – These start the soup out with lots of fresh flavor.
- Low sodium chicken broth – If you want to make the soup even better try it with a homemade broth.
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts – A great substitute here, which I like to use, is to replace chicken breasts with shredded rotisserie chicken (2 cups), add it at the end of cooking soup so it doesn’t end up overcooked.
- Canned diced tomatoes with green chilies – Be sure to get “mild” unless you want a really spicy soup. The soup is already a little spicy as is.
- Tomato sauce – In a pinch 1/3 cup tomato paste mixed with 2/3 cup water can be substituted.
- Chili powder, ancho chili powder, cumin, and coriander – These spices give the soup that classic enchilada flavor. If you don’t have ancho chili powder just use more regular chili powder.
- Masa harina – This is a finely ground corn flour commonly used in latin cooking. Here it gives the soup that corn tortilla flavor you get from enchiladas.
- Frozen corn – In my opinion frozen corn tastes so much better than canned but if you don’t mind canned that will work here too.
- Black beans – Be sure to rinse to remove excess sodium before adding to soup.
- Shredded sharp cheddar cheese – Use freshly grated as it will melt into soup better than the powder coated pre-shredded.
Topping Ideas for Enchilada Soup:
I know we’ve already got a pretty lengthy list of ingredients above so I will say toppings are totally optional. If you pick just one I recommend tortilla chips or tortilla strips. They add some textural contrast and a delicious flavor. Other good toppings here are chopped cilantro, fresh diced tomatoes, cheese, and diced avocado.
Is There a Substitute for Masa Harina?
Unfortunately no. While you could thicken the soup with flour you’ll be lacking the corn flour flavor you get from the masa harina (which is traditional to enchiladas from the corn tortillas they are made with, which are mostly made up of masa harina).
You can usually find it in the latin food section of grocery stores. If not it’s available online.
How to Make Enchilada Soup:
- Saute onion and garlic in a large pot.
- Add 2 cans chicken broth and chicken and simmer to cook through. Set chicken aside, rest briefly then shred.
- While chicken is resting, pour canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, ancho chili powder, cumin and coriander into soup.
- In a mixing bowl whisk together remaining 1 can broth with masa harina until well blended and no lumps remain. Pour into soup and stir.
- Simmer until soup has thickened. Stir in black beans and corn and heat through.
- Mix in cheddar cheese off heat. Stir in up to 1 cup water to thin slightly if desired.
- Serve warm with desired toppings.
More Delicious Mexican Inspired Soups to Try:
- Chicken Avocado Lime Soup
- Chicken Pozole Soup
- Creamy Mexican Corn Chowder
- Mexican Vegetable Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Taco Soup
Follow Cooking Classy
Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 medium)
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic (3 cloves)
- 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
- 2 large (8 to 10 oz each) boneless skinless chicken breasts*, pounded to an even thickness
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 (4 oz) can mild diced green chilies
- 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
- 2 to 3 Tbsp (14g) mild chili powder, to taste
- 1 1/2 tsp (4g) ground cumin
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 1/4 cups (186g) fresh corn, or frozen corn
- 3/4 cup (100g) masa harina,** or up to 1/4 cup more as needed to thicken
- 1 (14.5 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed well
- 1 3/4 cup (7 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese (rest at room temp while soup simmers before adding to soup so it melts smoother)
Optional Topping Ideas
- Shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese , tortilla strips or crushed tortilla chips, diced Roma tomatoes, diced avocado, chopped cilantro, sour cream
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Dab chicken dry with paper towels on both sides and season both sides lightly with salt and pepper. Sear chicken until browned on both sides about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to plate and set aside.
- Return pot to medium heat, drizzle in remaining 1/2 Tbsp olive oil, add in onion and saute 4 minutes, then add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer. Add 2 Tbsp chili powder, cumin and paprika and saute 10 seconds.
- Pour 3 1/2 cups chicken broth, the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and green chilies, season with salt and pepper to taste and up to 1 Tbsp more chili powder if preferred. Return chicken to soup and add fresh corn now if using fresh.
- Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until chicken has cooked through (165°F in center of each piece), about 8 to 12 minutes.
- Remove chicken to a cutting board and rest 5 minutes then shred or chop.
- While chicken is resting, in a medium mixing bowl whisk together remaining 1 1/2 cups chicken broth with 3/4 cup masa harina until well blended and no lumps remain. Pour into soup and stir well.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook stirring occasionally until soup has thickened, about 5 minutes (if you'd like soup thicker add 1/4 cup masa mixed with 6 Tbsp water and simmer a few more minutes, thickening varies by brand). Stir in black beans and frozen corn if using frozen and heat for a few minutes.
- Let soup rest off heat 5 minutes then stir in cheddar cheese, mixing until melted (whisking helps if it's clumping). Serve warm with desired toppings.
Notes
- *2 1/2 cups cooked rotisserie chicken or leftover cooked chicken works great here too, just wait until the end to add it.
- **I've tried a few brands of masa harina here, Bob's Red Mill Organic Masa Harina Corn Flour is my favorite. It also thickens quite well without needing a lot and 3/4 cup has been sufficient. Other brands I usually need about 1 cup.
- Recipe updated Sept. 2026.
- Recipe yields about 12 cups.