20-Minute Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup
As promised, here is your second chicken enchilada soup recipe in one week!
For those of you who missed Monday’s post on Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup, I mentioned that our Gimme Some Oven Facebook seemed split down the middle when I asked whether they would like a slow cooker or 20-minute version of this soup. So I decided to make both! Although to “cheese” things up a bit, I based the 20-minute version off of the chicken enchilada soup I happen to adore at Chili’s.
Yes, I admit it, I love Chili’s. When I was in high school, Chili’s was the first restaurant “hangout” my friends chose once we got our drivers licenses and realized we could eat bottomless chips and salsa for (back then) just $2. Then in my early twenties, Chili’s happened to be right around the corner from the Sunday night church I attended, and all of the hipsters piled in the booths and hung around until midnight to close out the week. And now — my friends all totally judge me for loving Chili’s, so I have made it a tradition to very happily eat at one of those mini-Chili’s whenever I see one in an airport, where I order chicken enchilada soup and a margarita (a must before long flights) and eat chips and salsa to my heart’s content.
Some things never change…
…including this soup. I learned how to make a copycat version of it back in college, and still enjoy cooking it to this day. Although I admit I have made a few tweaks to the recipe over the years, such as replacing Velveeta with real cheese. Here’s how I make it!
The two things about the Chili’s version of chicken enchilada soup that separates it from all others is that it is thick and it is cheesy.
The thickness is due to using masa harina, a corn flour that is available in any grocery store. (Just look for it in the flour section.) It’s the same flour that is used to make corn tortillas, and it gives the soup a velvety thickness as well as some nice corn flavor.
As I mentioned above, I’m pretty sure (although not positive) that the Chili’s version of this soup uses some sort of processed cheese like Velveeta. But I much prefer to use regular sharp (or extra sharp) cheddar. As with anytime you melt cheese in a soup, be sure to buy the block of cheese and then grate it yourself just before using it, because the pre-shredded stuff has a coating on it that doesn’t melt as well.
If you have the time, I also highly recommend making my homemade red enchilada sauce for this soup. It’s also quick and easy to make, and it is packed with my favorite enchilada seasonings. But if you’re in a hurry, the canned stuff will also work. (You may just want to add in an extra 1/2 or 1 teaspoon of chili powder if you use the canned sauce, as its flavor isn’t quite as strong.)
I also enjoy adding in some black beans, fire-roasted diced tomatoes and chopped green chiles to my chicken enchilada soup for substance. But if you want to go the chili’s route, they pretty much just have the thick broth + chicken, which also works.
Once you mix up your soup base, just stir in the shredded cheese one handful at a time. And then this thick and cheesy soup is ready to serve!
You can either serve it plain…
…or load it up with all kinds of toppings. Whatever sounds good.
And for old time’s sake, I have to also recommend serving it with some good chips and salsa. Because…just because. :)
Enjoy!
20-Minute Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup
This delicious chicken enchilada soup is thick, cheesy, and ready to go (once your ingredients are prepped!) in just 20 minutes!
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup diced white onion (about 1 small white onion)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup masa harina (corn flour)
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
- 1 1/4 cups (or 1 10-ounce can) red enchilada sauce, homemade or store-bought*
- 1 (14-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juices (I prefer fire-roasted)
- 1 (4-ounce) can chopped green chiles
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, freshly grated
- 1 teaspoon salt, or more/less to taste
- optional toppings: tortilla chips/strips, diced/sliced avocado, grated cheese, sour cream, chopped fresh cilantro, and/or pico de gallo
Directions:
- Heat the oil in a large stock over medium-high heat. (To save time, peel and dice the onion for the minute or so that the oil heats.) Add the onion and saute for 5 minutes, or until cooked and translucent. Add the garilc and saute for an additional minute until fragrant. Stir in the masa harina and cook for an additional minute.
- Pour in half of the chicken stock, and stir until completely combined. Add in the remainder of the chicken stock, and stir to combine. Immediately add in the chicken, enchilada sauce, black beans, tomatoes, green chiles, salt and cumin, and stir until combined. Continue stirring occasionally until the mixture reaches a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and let it simmer for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally so that the soup does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Then stir in the cheese, one handful at a time, until combined. Taste, and season the soup to taste with salt.
- Serve the soup warm with desired toppings.
If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a photo and hashtag it #gimmesomeoven. I'd love to see what you cook!
Check out these other related recipes too!
Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup
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This was seriously delicious!!! I even made the homemade enchilada sauce. It really does taste like the soup that Chili’s makes….it’s a taste of America for us ex-pats living overseas. Thank you for both of the recipes.
Thanks, Jeannie — we’re so happy you enjoyed it! :D
This is my favorite soup I’ve ever made. And I’ve never written a review/comment. Sig other took a bite and said “Woah.” Very quick and easy to make. Only thing I did differently was sautéed diced red pepper with the onion to add more veggies. I threw everything in a crock pot to keep warm until we were ready and melted the cheese in at the end. Great recipe!!
Wow, thank you so much for your sweet comment, Ashley! We’re thrilled that you loved this! :)
Hi. I am having a party and am makes my three different soups in slow cookers. I think your 20 min chicken enchilada soup looks amazing, , but do you think it would be okay to make per directions and then put on warm in crock pot for serving?
I like the cheesy version.
Thank you,
Chelcey
Hi Chelcey! Yes, we think that would be just fine — we hope you enjoy!
Hi. Me, again.
Would it also work to make your 20 min version in the crock pot and just add cheese closer to party. I am not sure how the masa harina will work but n a crock pot.
Thanks,
Chelcey
Hi Chelcey! We haven’t tried this particular recipe in the crockpot, so we can’t say for sure, but we think it should work!
Sounds so good and easy to make.
We’re happy you enjoyed it, Mark!
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I saw someone mention that the macros and calories were listed, but I don’t see those anywhere. Would you mind providing those?
HI Kelly! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently don’t publish nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. We’re also not familiar with macros. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!
This was seriously such a good recipe!! It was spicy, warm, and delicious. I actually didn’t put cheese in it (forgot to buy it) and it is still really delicious! Great recipe, will be making it again soon!
We’re so happy you liked it, Angeli! :)
So so yummy and easy! Very impressive.
Thanks, Jeanne — we’re so glad you enjoyed it!
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Wow! I love your soups. They looks taste well. Yummy!!!
This is soup is one of the top 10 best things I’ve ever made…..and top 10 easiest!
That’s such a nice compliment, Ilana — we’re so glad you love it! :)
We just had this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! Thanks for such a quick and tasty recipe!
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Sarah!
I made this today and it was YUMMY. I didn’t add cheese today but will tomorrow. Thanks for sharing.
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Lois! :)
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Made this a few months ago and it was delicious! However, I froze half of it and now trying to figure out the best way to add a little more liquid once defrosted (its much more of a stew at this point, after some of the ingredients soaked up the liquid). Any suggestions?
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Amanda! :) Once defrosted, we would just add some chicken stock and/or water to whatever pot you reheat this in (to whatever your desired consistency is). We hope this helps!
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Can this be done in the slow cooker? If so, how would you recommend preparing it? Thanks in advance!!
Hi Alessandra! We actually have a slow cooker enchilada soup recipe here: We hope you enjoy! :)
OMG I made this the other night and it was so yummy my husband loved it !! Will defennitly make it agin I did double the recipe just because I was not sure and we had a bunch left over. So I will know next time not to double. But it was so yummy thank you for sharing
Thanks for sharing, Nikki — we’re so glad you and your husband enjoyed this!
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Great recipe! I didn’t use masa harina but 1 tbsp wheat flour instead. I also made enchilada souce and it’s good. I will try other your soup recipes!
Thank you, Kate — we’re glad you enjoyed the soup!
This soup is amazing!! I made it in my crockpot. I just chopped my onion and threw it in. I added the masa and cheese about thirty minutes before serving. I added a couple more cups of chicken stock. I think I can skip Chili’s next time now ?
Thank you, Michelle, we’re so happy you liked it! :)
You have listed 1/2 cup of masa harina in the recipe but the directions don’t say what to do with it. Where does it go?
Hi G! It’s listed in the last line of the first step of directions.