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A bowl of chicken enchilada soup, topped with shredded cheese, avocado slices and fresh cilantro.
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5 from 5 votes

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup

This chicken enchilada soup is packed with flavor and a hint of spice. It tastes just like traditional chicken enchiladas but with a fraction of the effort and can easily be made in your slow cooker, Instant Pot or over the stove top. 
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time4 hours
Total Time4 hours 10 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: enchilada soup
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 chipotle peppers diced (from canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce)
  • 1 Tablespoon of adobo sauce from can
  • 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
  • 1 14.5 oz can no salt added fire roasted diced tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt plus more to taste
  • ½ teaspoon fresh pepper plus more to taste
  • 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 15 oz can black beans rinsed and drained
  • 1 ½ cups frozen corn or 15 oz can of corn (drained)
  • 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro plus more for topping
  • 1 Tablespoon lime juice
  • Toppings: shredded Mexican cheese or cheddar cheese green onions and fresh cilantro, jalapeños, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, sliced avocado and tortilla strips/chips.

Instructions

Slow Cooker

  • Add all your ingredients to your slow cooker, except for the lime juice and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 7-8 hours until chicken is cooked through and easily falls apart.
    A slow cooker containing ingredients for slow cooker chicken enchilada soup: olive oil, yellow onion, garlic, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, tomato sauce, roasted tomatoes, dried oregano, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, low sodium chicken broth, black beans, corn, and fresh cilantro.
  • Remove the chicken from the slow cooker, allow to cool slightly and then use two forks to shred.
    Shredded chicken breasts on a plate.
  • Return chicken to slow cooker. Stir in lime juice. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed.
    Shredded chicken added to a slow cooker containing ingredients for chicken enchilada soup.
  • Serve in bowls and top with shredded cheese, cilantro, avocado and tortilla chips or desired toppings.

Stove Top

  • In a Dutch oven or deep pot, heat oil over medium high. Sauté onion and garlic, until fragrant and the onion is translucent, about 4-5 minutes.
  • Add chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, dried oregano, chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper, chicken broth, black beans, corn and chicken breasts. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a low, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until chicken is tender and cooked through.
  • Remove the chicken from the pot, allow to cool slightly and then use two forks to shred. Add shredded chicken, cilantro and lime juice and simmer for a few minutes until chicken is heated through. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed.
  • Serve in bowls and top with shredded cheese, cilantro, avocado and tortilla chips or desired toppings.

Instant Pot

  • Add olive oil to Instant Pot and put on sauté setting. Add onion and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes, until fragrant.
  • Add remaining ingredients (besides lime juice and toppings). Place the lid on the pressure cooker, lock lid and make sure the pressure release valve is closed.
  • Press cancel on the pressure cooker and set to high pressure for 15 minutes.
  • Once the timer reaches 0, the cooker will switch to keep warm. Carefully switch the pressure release valve to open to manually release the pressure. (I use tongs for this). Once the steam is released, remove the lid and use a fork or meat masher to shred the chicken. The chicken should be cooked through and will just fall apart.
  • Stir in lime juice and fresh cilantro. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed.
  • Serve in bowls and top with shredded cheese, cilantro, avocado and tortilla chips or desired toppings.

Notes

  • Want thicker soup? Use only 3 cups of chicken broth! Another option would be to add another can of black beans or white beans, but mashed up. This is a great trick for thickening up any broth-based soup!
  • Vegan: Make this soup vegan by using vegetable broth and 1-2 cans of rinsed and drained chickpeas or white beans in place of the chicken.
  • Add grains: Make this soup heartier by adding in cauliflower rice or cooked brown/white rice. You can stir frozen or fresh cauliflower rice or cooked white/brown rice directly to the soup once it’s done cooking and warming in the slow cooker. Stir and let warm until soup is warm throughout.
  • Less spice: If you’re not a fan of spice (or serving kiddos) simply reduce how much chipotle pepper and adobo sauce you use.
  • Shredded chicken: If you already have shredded chicken on hand you can skip adding the raw chicken breasts and add about 3 cups shredded chicken into the soup when you add the lime juice and cilantro. Heat until chicken is warm and serve. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1/6 | Calories: 441kcal | Carbohydrates: 63g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 720mg | Potassium: 1185mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 10g