Chicken Enchilada Soup
This chicken enchilada soup turns a can of red enchilada sauce, shredded chicken breast, black beans, and corn into a brick-red broth that coats the back of a spoon, with cream cheese and cheddar melted in at the end so the pot tastes like a tray of enchiladas without any rolling or baking.
Equipment
- 6-quart (5.7 L) Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed soup pot with a lid - heavy pot for even heat
- Chef's knife - for dicing the onion and pepper
- Instant-read thermometer - to confirm chicken reaches 165°F (74°C)
- Two forks or meat shredding claws - for shredding the chicken
- Box grater - for shredding the cheddar
- Wooden spoon - for scraping the bottom of the pot
- Ladle - for serving
- Colander - for rinsing the black beans
- Measuring cups and measuring spoons
- Small bowl - for pre-mixing the spices
Ingredients
For the soup
- 1 tablespoon olive oil - 15 ml
- 1 medium yellow onion - about 1 cup / 150 g, diced
- 1 medium green bell pepper - about 1 cup / 150 g, diced
- 4 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder - 8 g
- 1½ teaspoons ground cumin - 4 g
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika - 1 g
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano - 1 g
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt - 3 g, plus more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 can red enchilada sauce - 15 oz / 425 g
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth - 950 ml
- 1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes - 14.5 oz / 411 g, undrained
- 1 can diced green chiles - 4 oz / 113 g, undrained
- 1 can black beans - 15 oz / 425 g, drained and rinsed
- 1½ cups frozen corn kernels - 225 g, no need to thaw
- 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts - 680 g, about 2 large breasts
- 4 ounces cream cheese - 115 g, cut into ½-inch (1 cm) cubes and softened at room temperature
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese - 115 g, freshly shredded from a block
For serving
- ½ cup sour cream - 120 g
- 1 ripe avocado - diced just before serving
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro - 4 g
- 1 lime - cut into 6 wedges
- 1 cup tortilla strips or lightly crushed tortilla chips - about 30 g
Instructions
- Cut the cream cheese into ½-inch cubes and set out to soften. Dice the onion and bell pepper, mince the garlic, drain and rinse the beans, open the cans, mix the spices in a small bowl, shred the cheddar, and pat the chicken dry.
- Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Sauté the onion and bell pepper for 5 to 6 minutes until translucent, then stir in the garlic for 30 seconds and the spice mixture for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Pour in the enchilada sauce and broth, scraping up browned bits. Add the tomatoes and green chiles with their liquid, stir in the beans and corn, and nestle the chicken breasts fully into the liquid. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring once or twice, until the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C) on an instant-read thermometer.
- Lift the chicken out, shred it into bite-size strands with two forks or meat claws, and return it with any juices to the pot.
- Reduce the heat to low until the soup stops bubbling. Stir in the softened cream cheese until melted, then add the cheddar a handful at a time, stirring until smooth. Taste and add salt as needed, then remove from the heat.
- Ladle into 6 bowls and top each with tortilla strips, sour cream, diced avocado, cilantro, and a lime wedge squeezed over just before eating.
Notes
- Fire-roasted tomatoes add more smoky depth than regular diced tomatoes, so the soup tastes like it simmered for hours.
- Add the cream cheese only after the soup stops bubbling; dairy added to a boiling pot turns the broth grainy.
- Use block cheddar shredded fresh rather than bagged shreds, since the starch coating on pre-shredded cheese resists melting.
- Soften the cream cheese and cut it into small cubes so it melts evenly without leaving white streaks.
- Pull the chicken as soon as it reaches 165°F (74°C); every extra minute past that point dries the breast out.
- Wait to salt until the cheese is in, since enchilada sauce, broth, canned tomatoes, and cheddar all bring salt.
- Choose the heat level at the store: mild enchilada sauce gives a family-friendly pot, hot sauce gives a real kick.
- Keep tortilla strips and avocado off the pot and add them to each bowl at the table so they stay crisp and green.
- To freeze, stop after shredding the chicken and before adding the dairy; freeze up to 3 months, thaw overnight in the fridge, and stir in the cream cheese and cheddar while reheating.
- For a thicker restaurant-style soup, whisk 2 tablespoons masa harina with ½ cup hot broth, stir it in after the chicken returns to the pot, and simmer 5 minutes.
Nutrition
Serving: 1BowlCalories: 510kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 35gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 105mgSodium: 910mgFiber: 7gSugar: 8g
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