Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup
Published 10/13/2021 • Updated 3/18/2024
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Do you love Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup? Us too! It’s my favorite thing to order off the menu and I am SO GLAD we figured out how to make this recipe dupe because it tastes exactly like the chicken enchilada soup from Chili’s.
We love a good soup dupe recipe, and this Chili’s chicken enchilada soup is — dare we say — better than the original. There is nothing like a big steaming bowl of soup, especially when there’s a little bit of a chill in the air.
We went and tried a big bowl of Chilis’s enchilada soup (for the 100th time 😂) and recreated it so you can make it any time in your own kitchen.
why you’ll love copycat chili’s chicken enchilada soup
- It tastes exactly like enchiladas, but in a bowl. So if you’re an enchilada fan, this soup is going to blow your mind.
- This chicken enchilada soup is ready in under 1 hour.
- You learn a new way to thicken soup; with masa harina.
- Don’t forget, it tastes exactly like the Chili’s version!
What You Need for this Recipe
The ingredient list for this enchilada soup is short. There are 2 ingredients that are crucial to getting this soup to taste like Chili’s version: do not skip the enchilada sauce or the masa harina.
- Spices (cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika, salt): one way we give this enchilada soup a ton of flavor is creating a dry rub for the chicken. It is a delicious combination of classic enchilada flavors.
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts: you are going to shred these chicken breasts after they are cooked in spices and broth.
- White onion: the onion in this soup adds a delicious flavor base to any soup.
- Green chilis: add flavor, a bit of spice, and depth with green chilis.
- Enchilada sauce: one reason this enchilada soup tastes like enchiladas is because there are key ingredients used in enchiladas like enchilada sauce! Feel free to make homemade enchilada sauce or simple use store bought enchilada sauce. We love the Frontera brand enchilada sauce.
- Chicken broth: any broth will work for this soup, but we used chicken broth.
- Masa harina: masa harina is a corn flour that you use to thicken your enchilada soup.
- Cream cheese: the creaminess of this soup comes from a little bit of cream cheese. Do not skip it if you want a delicious and creamy soup.
- Shredded cheddar cheese: this chicken enchilada soup is finished with shredded cheese that melts to perfection.
What is Masa Harina?
Masa harina is most commonly known as corn flour. It is technically corn dough that is dehydrated and ground into a flour so when you simply at water to the masa harina, you have corn dough. That dough is usually used to make tortillas.
Knowing that masa harina can turn from flour to dough in minutes it seems like the perfect thickener for enchilada soup. That also means you have to use masa harina with caution or it could turn your soup into a thick brick.
Don’t Forget this
When you are making this soup, start with only 1/2 cup of masa harina. If your soup isn’t as thick as you’d like, add 1 tablespoon of masa harina at a time to the soup until it reaches your desired consistency. This will help to avoid over-thickening.
Things to Consider Before Making this Soup
Prepare ingredients before starting
It is always a great idea to measure out all of your ingredients before starting any recipe, but especially for this soup. Measure out your spices, get your masa harina ready, and this recipe will be ready in no time.
Use chicken thighs instead
Want to bring this soup to the next level? Feel free to use chicken thighs instead of breasts. It leaves you with fattier soup with a bit more depth of flavor.
Add some spice
This enchilada soup is very flavorful, but if you are looking for a little kick there are a few different ways you can make this soup spicy. Below are some great options.
- Add 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes to the dry rub that you put on the chicken.
- Use jalapeños instead of green chilies.
- Add 1-2 tablespoons of hot sauce to the soup.
- Use spicy enchilada sauce.
remember it’s a thick soup
This chicken enchilada soup is a thicker soup so don’t be alarmed. If the soup turns out too thick for your liking add extra broth to the soup before serving!
Tutorial
How to Freeze Soup & Chili
Learn how to freeze soup and chili with this easy How to Freeze Soup tutorial. We’ll share all of our tips and tricks to perfect freezer soup.
Serving Suggestions
We suggest serving this soup with lighter toppings since it is such a decadent soup. Fresh cilantro, red onion, or a little salsa would be delicious. And tortilla strips add a delicious crunch.
Storage
Let this soup cool completely before placing it in an air tight container and store it in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
A note on Reheating
We suggest reheating this soup on the stovetop over low heat. You will need to add 1-2 cups broth to thin out the soup as it will thicken in the refrigerator.
Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin, separated
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder, separated
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ large white onion, diced
- 1 4-oz. can green chilis
- 1 cup red enchilada sauce
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 cup masa harina, + more if you need it*
- 4 oz. cream cheese, softened and cut into cubes
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- First, add 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon chili powder into a bowl and mix.
- Sprinkle the chicken breasts with the spices. Be sure the chicken breasts are fully coated.
- Heat a large pot or dutch oven over medium/high heat. Add olive oil.
- When olive oil is fragrant, add the chicken breasts to the pot and brown on both sides for about 1-2 minutes. Remove from the pot.
- Add onions and ¼ teaspoon of salt to the pot and sauté for 3-4 minutes.
- Next, toss the green chilis with the onion and add the chicken back into the pot.
- Pour the chicken broth into the pot and bring to a boil over high heat.
- Turn heat to low and simmer the chicken for 5-7 minutes or until fully cooked (when the internal temperature is 165ºF). Remove chicken from the pot and shred the chicken with two forks. Set aside.
- Carefully, remove 2 cups of hot broth from the pot using a measuring cup and add the broth to a bowl.
- Whisk 1/2 cup of the masa harina into the hot broth. The mixture will thicken very quickly.
- Add the thickened broth to the pot and whisk into the onion and broth mixture.
- Add the paprika,1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon garlic, remaining salt, enchilada sauce and shredded chicken to the pot and mix until combined.
- Heat the soup over medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.
- After 20 minutes, remove the pot from the heat and add the cream cheese cubes to the soup and stir until it is melted and combined.
- Sprinkle the cheddar cheese into the soup and whisk until the cheddar cheese melts.
- Serve the soup with tortilla strips and a sprinkle of cheddar cheese.
Tips & Notes
- *Masa harina is the thickening agent used for this soup, start off with using just 1/2 cup and if you would like a thicker soup add a little more at a time at the end until the soup reaches desired consistency.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This soup is amazing! My whole family loves it and requests it often. To be honest, it is way better than the soup at Chili’s. I have probably made it a dozen times. I am making it this weekend for a get together with some friends! I always double the recipe and have plenty of left overs for days. I haven’t tried freezing it, but it’s really not necessary to do so for our family because we would just take it right back out of the freezer and eat it. None goes to waste here. Recipe wise, this soup always turns out perfect with no substitutions. I really like that it is cream cheese instead of velveta. Thank you for sharing the recipe! Maybe next time I will manage to get a photo before it’s all gone!
Wow, we’re blushing! So glad you and the fam love this soup as much as we do <3
10/10 super easy recipe to follow. Only change I made was use 1.5lb of chicken thighs instead of breast meat.
Great substitution! I bet chicken thighs were delish in this soup.
This was good and pretty easy! I combined a few steps to keep it simple. Baked the chicken in the oven just to avoid the splatter mess. Cooked the onions, (added some garlic) and then added the spices to help them bloom. I didn’t have masa harina so I ground up tortilla chips (which I’ve used in chicken tortilla soup before) and that worked well as a thickening agent. Cubed up the chicken and added it in until heated through. Thanks for sharing – we’ll make it again! Not for awhile though because it made a lot!
Amazing! And such a great idea to use ground tortilla chips — thanks so much for sharing that that variation worked <3
This was really close to Chili’s. So Good. Definitely will make again. My husband even liked it, and he’s almost never that enthusiastic about soup. I used left over rotisserie chicken. Just deboned it and it was delicious.