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Can I tell you one thing that makes me unreasonably happy on a day-to-day basis?
Strangers smiling at me.
Even better?
Strangers waving, or nodding, or offering a pleasant hello, or even (my favorite) the ol’ one-finger-raise-on-the-steering wheel.
For whatever reason, I always notice those little things and they make me so happy for a moment or two. Actually, I think the best way to say it is that my heart genuinely feels warmed. And I’m reminded how much I just really like people. And how cool it is that two complete and utter strangers can make an encouraging connection in this big world, however fleeting. And how a moment so brief can have the power to make your day just a little brighter…just like that!
Crazy. And very cool. And call me cheesy, but it makes me want to return the favor to the world and smile or wave or say hi to strangers more often. Yes. That is exactly what I want to do.
What does that have to do with this soup? Nada. But it’s wonderful and also makes me smile, and it will keep you feeling warm and happy all winter long. Here’s how to make it…
Actually when I had the craving to make a batch of chicken enchilada soup, I took to Facebook to ask all of you if you would prefer a slow cooker or a 20-minute version. Both are quick and easy, but I couldn’t decide…and apparently, neither could you! It looks like the responses were pretty much split down the middle.
So because I aim to please and make you smile, and because there’s no such thing as too much chicken enchilada soup in my world, I went ahead and developed both recipes! Thus, today you get the slow cooker version. And if you tune back in on Wednesday, it’ll be a stovetop 20-minute cheesy version that a slightly different flavor variation too. (Actually it’s a copycat take on my old-time favorite chicken enchilada soup from Chili’s — you’ll have to check it out!)
Today, though, it’s all about the slow cooker. And I think this may be a winner for one of the easiest slow cooker recipes I’ve ever published on this site. You basically just toss everything in the slow cooker. (Or if you love color as much as I do, you can line the ingredients all up to look extra pretty…which is also pretty much 100% useless but…pretty!)
Then add in the key ingredient — enchilada sauce.
Since it is the key ingredient and will basically serve as the seasoning for the soup, I can’t recommend enough that you use a really good enchilada sauce for this recipe. And — ahem — I happen to have a homemade red enchilada sauce recipe on here that is my all-time-forever-and-ever-favorite. So if you are so inclined, I highly suggest you make a batch of that. But any enchilada sauce will work.
Then just let it cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours — whatever fits your schedule.
And once it’s done, shred the chicken and you’re ready to go!
Seriously, just look at that! I can hardly believe it only took about 10 minutes of prep time.
SO good, so much flavor, and it’s actually pretty light and good for you too.
You can either serve it just plain…
…or garnish it up with whatever toppings sound good. (I’ve included a mega list of suggestions below if you like to go topping-crazy.)
However you serve it, I’m pretty sure that this one will make you and your friends and family smile. And then we can all go on with our days and pass on the smiles to some other people.
Add all ingredients to a large slow cooker, and stir to combine. Cook for 3-4 hours on high heat or 6-8 hours on low heat, until the chicken is cooked through and shreds easily. Use two forks to shred the chicken.
Serve warm, with optional garnishes.
You can also refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 5 days. Or freeze it for up to 3 months.
Notes
*If you are making this soup gluten-free, be sure to use gluten-free enchilada sauce.
**If you don’t like that much corn, just use half a can, drained
I love this recipe so much, I’ve probably made it 8 or 9 times now. The only adjustment I make is using chicken thighs instead of breasts, and that’s just a personal preference, the recipe is absolutely perfect as it is. Thank you so much!
Fantastic basic recipe, made it twice and great results, family loves it. Made a couple of mods, added half can of adobo with chipolte pepers for a bit of a kick. Went with yellow and white hominy vs corn. Finally a mix of chicken breast white meet with boneless/skinless thighs for a bit of dark meet and some chicken fat.
Our youngest son recently found your recipe online and shared it with me. I can’t wait to try it later this week. He said it was yummy!!! Funny coincidence…we used to live in you house on Bullinger and you are often my go to for recipes.
Oh my goodness, small world!! That’s so fun. I was actually just telling my husband the other day that it would be fun to walk back through that house again. :) Hope that you enjoy the soup, and thanks for saying hello!
For the past several years I’ve made a conscious effort to avoid canned beans due to the high amount of sodium and other preservatives. How would you tweak this to use dry black beans? (I usually soak them in water overnight in the fridge). Thanks!
I read this as ‘110 oz can’ not ‘1, 10 oz can’ ha! My husband called me from the store and said ‘are you sure you want 6 enchilada sauces??’
Sarah —
I’m glad you commented about how you read the 110 ounce can size cuz I skimmed through the recipe also and read it the same way and wouldn’t have caught myself if I hadn’t read your comment about it lol thanks for clearing it up for me haha
Love This! I made it yesterday, and my husband loved it as well. Would it work out if I made this as written, but substituted your green enchilada sauce instead of the red?
This soup is amazing and delicious! Our whole family loved it—even our ultra-picky daughter. We used Trader Joe’s enchilada sauce because of time, but will try the homemade next round.
I have made this soup a couple of times now. The whole family loves it. I did make the homemade red sauce as well and it is all delicious. Thank you for sharing.
Sooo easy to prepare, and compliments from all around the table. Thank you for this delicious recipe. I have now made it four or five times. I will add that frozen chicken breasts work fine in the recipe which makes it even doubly easy. Also I doubled the amount of red enchilada sauce since I like mine a little “soupier” (if that is a word).
This soup was a big hit at my house, and will definitely be added into our regular menu rotation. I started it later in the day, so I chopped up chicken breasts that I baked a few days ago to shorten the cooking time. DELISH!
The absolute best!!! I am obsessed with this recipe. It is so easy to just dump all the ingredients in and leave it cooking all day. Easy, delicious, perfect. I have only great things to say about this soup!
This recipe is delicious and so so easy. Also, it is only 1 point per serving on Weight Watchers! My husband loves it too. Thank you for this wonderful, delicious, simple, and healthy recipe.
I no longer own a slow cooker. Has anyone tried this recipe in an Instant Pot?
Tawni —
You’re Instant Pot has a Slow Cooker function on it!
Karen —
Hi – I didn’t use a slow cooker. I just cooked on the stove in a huge stock pot with a cover. Once it’s boiling I turn down to a low simmer. Then I just left it awhile. Awesome.
Rachel —
Jordan
Just use the stock to cook your chicken breasts on High Pressure for your normal time for breasts. I usually cook mine about 10-12 min depending on thickness and if frozen. Shred your chicken. I would add the onions personally to cook with chicken unless you plan to simmer the soup for a hour or so.
After you do your release and shred chicken just add all the other ingredients and use the sauté function to simmer for awhile to blend flavors.
You could probably just pressure cook all ingredients together for about 5-8 min on High if you DICED your thawed chicken. Just check chicken is cooked thru and that the beans don’t get too mushy lol
FYI…some of the instant pots have a slow cooker function if you wanted to try recipe as written. ;-)
Please forgive me for jumping in…Ive got THREE sizes of instant pots i love them so much and i try to cook nearly everything in them so I’m somewhat adapt at adapting ?
Good Luck
This is hands down my favorite chicken tortilla/enchilada soup!! I make it a LOT! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I love this and the baked potato soup recipe you have on here too! Leftovers (if any!) are always amazing even days later.
I have made the soup literally dozens of times and it is a go-to for sick friends, potlucks, Super Bowl, serving at a soup kitchen, you name it. Everyone loves it. It is savory without being spicy, but you can spice it up if you’d like; it freezes beautifully, and it’s truly a one- bowl meal. I like to put some chopped avocado. And shredded cheeseOn top, and scoop with tortilla chips. I would love to know how to adapt this recipe for pressure cooking.
This was excellent! I actually made it in my Instant Pot! I used a 19 oz can of enchilada sauce and 2 cans of green chiles. I set the pressure cook setting to 20 minutes. It was delicious and only took approx. 40 mins from start to finish (20 mins to come to pressure and 20 mins at pressure). Will definitely be making this again!
In your stove top version you call for masa harina, is that not needed in the crock pot version? We love the stove top version and I need a crock pot version that will be exactly the same (My fam doesn’t like much change!). Thanks!!
I have been making this for years and finally rated it. Our family including our 3 year old and 7 month old love this soup! It’s great to make for guests as well and everyone asks me for the recipe. I always make the homemade enchilada sauce too and I think it’s better that way. It’s one of our go to meals. Thanks!
Great recipe! Easy to throw together in the morning before work. Only modification was I added a 1/2 block of cream cheese at the end. Added plenty of creaminess.
I LOVE this soup and have made it so many times!! I usually follow this recipe exactly and it always comes out great but I’m wondering if anyone has found a good substitution for the chicken to make it vegetarian, I am trying to see if I can find a way to make it for my sister who is vegetarian. Thanks!!
This is amazing! I came to get the recipe for the enchiladas (which is my go-to enchilada recipe) and it being a Sunday, thought making enchiladas would be more than I’d be up for. I saw the link to this recipe and thought it the perfect solution. And I was not wrong! So tasty! And super easy. Highly recommend!
Delicious. Followed the homemade enchilada sauce and only added one can of beans. Family loved it…even my skeptical son who isn’t a Mexican food fan. Win for mom.
Your chicken enchilada soup is one of my go-to recipes -and now, a favorite of friends and family, too. I’ve yet to try a GimmeSomeOven recipe that is not delicious. It’s nice to have a dependable recipe site that doesn’t disappoint!
A family favorite at my house! I make it as written with homemade enchilada sauce and wouldn’t change a thing. It’s just my husband and I, so we always have a lot leftover and it also freezes great. Thanks for the excellent recipe.
This soup was so easy to make and tastes amazing! This is now one of our families favorites!
I love this recipe so much, I’ve probably made it 8 or 9 times now. The only adjustment I make is using chicken thighs instead of breasts, and that’s just a personal preference, the recipe is absolutely perfect as it is. Thank you so much!
Fantastic basic recipe, made it twice and great results, family loves it. Made a couple of mods, added half can of adobo with chipolte pepers for a bit of a kick. Went with yellow and white hominy vs corn. Finally a mix of chicken breast white meet with boneless/skinless thighs for a bit of dark meet and some chicken fat.
Our youngest son recently found your recipe online and shared it with me. I can’t wait to try it later this week. He said it was yummy!!! Funny coincidence…we used to live in you house on Bullinger and you are often my go to for recipes.
Oh my goodness, small world!! That’s so fun. I was actually just telling my husband the other day that it would be fun to walk back through that house again. :) Hope that you enjoy the soup, and thanks for saying hello!
Delicious and simple! My family and friends favorite….and the easiest meal you can make!
For the past several years I’ve made a conscious effort to avoid canned beans due to the high amount of sodium and other preservatives. How would you tweak this to use dry black beans? (I usually soak them in water overnight in the fridge). Thanks!
This was very good. Thank you for the recipe. Will be making it again.
I read this as ‘110 oz can’ not ‘1, 10 oz can’ ha! My husband called me from the store and said ‘are you sure you want 6 enchilada sauces??’
I’m glad you commented about how you read the 110 ounce can size cuz I skimmed through the recipe also and read it the same way and wouldn’t have caught myself if I hadn’t read your comment about it lol thanks for clearing it up for me haha
Love it!!!
Delicious and so easy!! Thank you for a great ‘throw and go’ slow cooker recipe. My whole family loved it.
Love This! I made it yesterday, and my husband loved it as well. Would it work out if I made this as written, but substituted your green enchilada sauce instead of the red?
This is so incredibly good and easy! I t is definitely a keeper and I will be making it again! Love it! ❤️
This soup is amazing and delicious! Our whole family loved it—even our ultra-picky daughter. We used Trader Joe’s enchilada sauce because of time, but will try the homemade next round.
Love this recipe. I made it last winter and now I’m making it again .
Awesome recipe. Made with your homemade enchilada sauce as well. Upon reheating leftovers, I did add more chicken broth. Great the next day!
Love this recipe
I have made this soup a couple of times now. The whole family loves it. I did make the homemade red sauce as well and it is all delicious. Thank you for sharing.
Sooo easy to prepare, and compliments from all around the table. Thank you for this delicious recipe. I have now made it four or five times. I will add that frozen chicken breasts work fine in the recipe which makes it even doubly easy. Also I doubled the amount of red enchilada sauce since I like mine a little “soupier” (if that is a word).
This recipe is fantastic! It’s so easy and so tasty. Excited to try out the Black Bean Chili Tonight! :)
I’m a big fan of this recipe..I’ve made it tons of times and shared it with many friends! My favorite soup and so easy to make!
This soup was a big hit at my house, and will definitely be added into our regular menu rotation. I started it later in the day, so I chopped up chicken breasts that I baked a few days ago to shorten the cooking time. DELISH!
The absolute best!!! I am obsessed with this recipe. It is so easy to just dump all the ingredients in and leave it cooking all day. Easy, delicious, perfect. I have only great things to say about this soup!
This is one of my all time favorites!! I make it at least once a month.
Would it still taste good to omit the green chilies?
I haven’t made it yet looks yummy
This is my favorite soup ever! And that’s saying something because I love soup lol!! So good! I have made it for the last 4 weeks straight
This recipe is delicious and so so easy. Also, it is only 1 point per serving on Weight Watchers! My husband loves it too. Thank you for this wonderful, delicious, simple, and healthy recipe.
I no longer own a slow cooker. Has anyone tried this recipe in an Instant Pot?
You’re Instant Pot has a Slow Cooker function on it!
Hi – I didn’t use a slow cooker. I just cooked on the stove in a huge stock pot with a cover. Once it’s boiling I turn down to a low simmer. Then I just left it awhile. Awesome.
Jordan
Just use the stock to cook your chicken breasts on High Pressure for your normal time for breasts. I usually cook mine about 10-12 min depending on thickness and if frozen. Shred your chicken. I would add the onions personally to cook with chicken unless you plan to simmer the soup for a hour or so.
After you do your release and shred chicken just add all the other ingredients and use the sauté function to simmer for awhile to blend flavors.
You could probably just pressure cook all ingredients together for about 5-8 min on High if you DICED your thawed chicken. Just check chicken is cooked thru and that the beans don’t get too mushy lol
FYI…some of the instant pots have a slow cooker function if you wanted to try recipe as written. ;-)
Please forgive me for jumping in…Ive got THREE sizes of instant pots i love them so much and i try to cook nearly everything in them so I’m somewhat adapt at adapting ?
Good Luck
This is hands down my favorite chicken tortilla/enchilada soup!! I make it a LOT! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I love this and the baked potato soup recipe you have on here too! Leftovers (if any!) are always amazing even days later.
I have made the soup literally dozens of times and it is a go-to for sick friends, potlucks, Super Bowl, serving at a soup kitchen, you name it. Everyone loves it. It is savory without being spicy, but you can spice it up if you’d like; it freezes beautifully, and it’s truly a one- bowl meal. I like to put some chopped avocado. And shredded cheeseOn top, and scoop with tortilla chips. I would love to know how to adapt this recipe for pressure cooking.
This was excellent! I actually made it in my Instant Pot! I used a 19 oz can of enchilada sauce and 2 cans of green chiles. I set the pressure cook setting to 20 minutes. It was delicious and only took approx. 40 mins from start to finish (20 mins to come to pressure and 20 mins at pressure). Will definitely be making this again!
How much is 1 serving? A cup? 2 cups?
So good!!!! MMMMMM……
In your stove top version you call for masa harina, is that not needed in the crock pot version? We love the stove top version and I need a crock pot version that will be exactly the same (My fam doesn’t like much change!). Thanks!!
I have been making this for years and finally rated it. Our family including our 3 year old and 7 month old love this soup! It’s great to make for guests as well and everyone asks me for the recipe. I always make the homemade enchilada sauce too and I think it’s better that way. It’s one of our go to meals. Thanks!
Great recipe! Easy to throw together in the morning before work. Only modification was I added a 1/2 block of cream cheese at the end. Added plenty of creaminess.
Tastes much better if you make the homemade enchilada sauce. Yum!
Made this as written, & it was fantastic! Super easy & lots of flavor. Served over home-made corn bread. Yum!
Absolutely easy and delicious. Made it just as the recipe called and it turned out great!
This is incredibly delicious and well worth the time to make the homemade enchilada sauce!!
Love this recipe. I make just as is with all recommended toppings and it is delicious… have made it at least a dozen times.
I LOVE this soup and have made it so many times!! I usually follow this recipe exactly and it always comes out great but I’m wondering if anyone has found a good substitution for the chicken to make it vegetarian, I am trying to see if I can find a way to make it for my sister who is vegetarian. Thanks!!
This soup has been my favorite for years!!!!
This is amazing! I came to get the recipe for the enchiladas (which is my go-to enchilada recipe) and it being a Sunday, thought making enchiladas would be more than I’d be up for. I saw the link to this recipe and thought it the perfect solution. And I was not wrong! So tasty! And super easy. Highly recommend!
Delicious. Followed the homemade enchilada sauce and only added one can of beans. Family loved it…even my skeptical son who isn’t a Mexican food fan. Win for mom.
Your chicken enchilada soup is one of my go-to recipes -and now, a favorite of friends and family, too. I’ve yet to try a GimmeSomeOven recipe that is not delicious. It’s nice to have a dependable recipe site that doesn’t disappoint!
We don’t love the enchilada sauce… is that a thing I can keep out… ? Funny, I know since it’s the name of the meal lol
A family favorite at my house! I make it as written with homemade enchilada sauce and wouldn’t change a thing. It’s just my husband and I, so we always have a lot leftover and it also freezes great. Thanks for the excellent recipe.
My family loves this recipe. It’s so easy and so yummy.
Any tips for adding a small pasta or rice to this?
This is great! I add a can of cream of chicken to make the soup creamy. My husband says it’s the best chicken enchilada soup he has had.