Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup
Chicken enchilada soup is a thicker, richer cousin of chicken tortilla soup—like eating an enchilada with a bowl and a spoon. It's the best of both dishes' worlds! This soup requires little prep work for the amount of flavor it yields. I started with my favorite red enchilada sauce as the base; it's so easy but packs in tons of flavor, way more than your average canned stuff. I tossed the sauce into my slow cooker along with corn, beans, and chicken thighs, then left it overnight. By morning, I had a luscious soup needing little more than salt and pepper. A splash of heavy cream and cheddar cheese take this recipe over the top! My fiancé asked if we could keep a batch in the refrigerator at all times—the sign of a real winner.
Chicken enchilada soup is a thicker, richer cousin of chicken tortilla soup—like eating an enchilada with a bowl and a spoon. It's the best of both dishes' worlds! This soup requires little prep work for the amount of flavor it yields. I started with my favorite red enchilada sauce as the base; it's so easy but packs in tons of flavor, way more than your average canned stuff. I tossed the sauce into my slow cooker along with corn, beans, and chicken thighs, then left it overnight. By morning, I had a luscious soup needing little more than salt and pepper. A splash of heavy cream and cheddar cheese take this recipe over the top! My fiancé asked if we could keep a batch in the refrigerator at all times—the sign of a real winner.
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- sour cream
- tortilla chips
- 1 medium onion chopped
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- for serving:
- cilantro
- 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
- neutral cooking oil such as canola or safflower
- 1 large jalapeã±o seeded and finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons mexican-style chili powder
- 2 ripe tomatoes roughly chopped
- 2 cups chicken stock plus more for thinning if needed
- 1 (15-ounce) can yellow corn drained
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans drained
- 2-3 pounds chicken thighs skins removed (see recipe notes)
- heavy cream to taste (optional)
- cayenne pepper optional
- grated cheddar cheese
- Carbohydrate 11.6961779223836 g
- Cholesterol 31.8000000040577 mg
- Fat 11.6862104187642 g
- Fiber 0.650783333048387 g
- Protein 10.5304150037879 g
- Saturated Fat 6.05144000046687 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (218g)
- Sodium 966.508001376503 mg
- Sugar 11.0453945893353 g
- Trans Fat 0.697791333519722 g
- Calories 194 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large Dutch oven or skillet over medium heat.
- Add the onions and jalapeño and cook until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and sugar and stir until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and stock.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Bring to a gentle boil, then transfer to the bowl of a slow cooker.
- Add the corn, beans, and chicken thighs to the slow cooker.
- Cover and set on low for 6 to 7 hours (or high for 4 hours).
- Shred the cooked chicken using two forks (if using bone-in thighs, remove the chicken to shred; discard bones and return meat to the soup).
- Stir in a splash of heavy cream if desired.
- Season the soup with additional salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper, to taste.
- Serve with cheddar cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips, and cilantro for garnish.
Can heavy cream be omitted from slow cooker enchilada soup without losing mouthfeel? Dairy fats coat the tongue, mitigating capsaicin burn from jalapeños and chili powder by binding to hydrophobic spice molecules. Coconut milk offers a viable 1:1 fat-equivalent substitution, though its lauric acid profile introduces a subtle tropical aroma. Oat milk lacks sufficient fat content and will separate under acidic tomato conditions; avoid using it as a direct dairy replacement.
Bone-in chicken thighs outperform boneless cuts in slow-simmered broths because collagen dissolves into gelatin over six hours at low heat, imparting body without requiring starches. Raw starches like flour will scorch against the ceramic insert of a slow cooker if added at the start of a 7-hour cycle. Incorporate any desired thickeners during the final thirty minutes of cooking once the meat is removed for shredding.
Freezing cooked corn introduces starch retrogradation, which causes individual kernels to release amylose molecules upon thawing and turn slightly spongy. Separate the batch before adding canned corn if freezer storage exceeds two weeks; add fresh or thawed kernels exclusively during reheating.
