Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup Recipe

Between tortilla soup, taco soup, enchilada soup, and quesadilla soup, it can start to feel like we're just naming soups with corn in them after our favorite Mexican entrées. Maybe there is some truth to that, but all of these soups are markedly different and highlight the delicious ingredients that make each meal unique. Tortilla soups feature crispy strips of tortilla whose corn flavor melts into the soup like pozole. Taco soups typically feature crumbly beef and an array of fresh toppings — almost like a chili but brothy. Enchilada soup gets the cheese treatment, becoming the creamiest of the soups while still full of spicy chiles and tender chicken. It should remind you of cheesy, gooey enchiladas.

This chicken enchilada soup recipe developed with Michelle McGlinn is done in the slow cooker, which makes it easy and hands-free. By throwing the ingredients in a slow cooker, the chicken tenderizes and the flavors develop all while you're at work or running errands. When you're ready to eat, just melt the cheeses into the soup, pull the chicken, and prepare your toppings. It's easy and, if we're being honest, even better than regular enchiladas (but don't make us choose).

To develop the best flavor, you'll need to sauté the veggies first, so you'll need a drizzle of olive oil, onion, and garlic. From there, you'll need boneless, skinless chicken thighs (breasts work too), enchilada sauce, pinto beans, black beans, a can of green chiles, corn, chicken stock, chili powder, cumin, cream cheese, pepperjack, cheddar, salt, and pepper. Our recipe instructions call for corn on the cob, but you can also use frozen kernels. Conversely, if you'd prefer to use fresh chiles instead of canned, we encourage it –- use jalapeños, poblanos, or hatch chiles and steam the skins before chopping.

Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat.

Add onion and garlic and sauté until softened, about 2-3 minutes.

Add the chicken to the slow cooker along with the onion and garlic.

Add the enchilada sauce, pinto and black beans, green chiles, corn, stock, chili powder, and cumin.

Stir to combine everything, cover, and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6 hours.

Remove chicken and shred using two forks.

Add cream cheese, pepperjack, and cheddar to the slow cooker. Stir the mixture until cheese is mostly melted. Some clumps may remain.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Return the chicken to the slow cooker and cover. Keep on high for another 30 minutes, or until cheese is completely melted.

To serve, garnish with corn chips, avocado, and cilantro.

Adding cheese to crockpot meals can be tricky, especially a dense cheese like cream cheese. If you add the cheese too soon or while it's too cold, the cheese can curdle in the hot broth. If you see small beads of cream cheese in your soup, it means the cream cheese was too cold or the cheese has been in the soup for too long.

To avoid the clumps, make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature and make sure to add the cream cheese in the final 30 minutes of cooking. Don't worry if you see clumps within the first few minutes; stir continuously then let the slow cooker continue cooking for another 30 minutes. After this time, your cheese should melt into the soup completely.

If you're in a rush, consider tempering the cream cheese into the soup by whisking a small amount of broth into the cream cheese until combined before adding the slurry to the soup. This way, the cream cheese is melted before joining the rest of the soup. If you're really, really in a rush, just swap the cream cheese for heavy cream.

To make this on the stovetop, follow the first few steps by heating the oil and softening the vegetables in a Dutch oven or deep pot instead of a skillet. With the vegetables softened, add the chicken, enchilada sauce, seasonings, beans, and broth, and stir well to combine. Bring to a boil, then lower the temperature to a simmer and cover the pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is fall-apart tender, about 30 minutes. For optimal flavor, cook for an hour.

Once the chicken is shredded, continue with the recipe as written by stirring the cheese into the soup to melt. Because the temperature is higher and more direct on the stovetop, the cheese doesn't need an additional 30 minutes to blend into the soup. Instead, remove the pan from the heat once the cheese is completely melted and serve. If you cook the cheese for too long on the stovetop, it will become gluey.

Enchilada soup makes a magnificent meal on its own, especially with the array of healthy toppings you can add, like avocado, radish, and cilantro. You can also treat this soup like a side dish for salads and sandwiches, pairing it with esquites or vegetarian eggplant pambazos. You could also make quesadillas to dunk into the cheesy broth, but don't say we didn't warn you –- it's a lot of cheese.

This soup is best stored in airtight containers for up to a few days in the refrigerator. Because the broth contains a great deal of cheese, reheating can be a challenge. We recommend gently reheating the soup over the stove so that the cheese melts into the broth without getting sticky. To avoid this, whisk continuously while the soup warms up. Because of the cheese, we don't recommend freezing this soup. Instead, store it in the fridge and try to eat it within a few days.