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When I was growing up, I loved going to Chili’s with my friends are ordering Enchilada Soup. I decided to create my own version! This Chicken Enchilada Soup is nourishing, comforting, and absolutely delicious.
This Chicken Enchilada Soup is a Paleo/Whole30 version, and though it’s cheeseless and gluten and grain-free, it is still so creamy and absolutely delicious! This soup not only tastes like heaven, but it comes together quickly and with very few steps.
If you’re looking for a nutritious, hearty, comforting dinner that your whole family is sure to love, this Chicken Enchilada Soup will be just the thing!
Ingredients:
- Chili Powder
- Cumin
- Sweet Paprika
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Dried Oregano
- Cayenne Pepper
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Yellow Onion
- Red Bell Pepper
- Green Bell Pepper
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- Ghee
- Arrowroot Flour
- Tomato Paste
- Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- Canned Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
- Canned Diced Mild Green Chiles
- Shredded Chicken I use rotisserie
Step-by-step:
step one: make the spice mixture
In a small bowl, combine all of the spice mixture and set aside.
step two: cook the veggies
Heat a dutch oven or large pot over medium heat with olive oil. Add the yellow onion, red bell pepper and green bell pepper. Saute, stirring until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. While sautéing, season the vegetables with salt and pepper.
step three: make the roux
Melt the ghee, sprinkle in the arrowroot flour, and stir until well combined.
step four: add the spices
Add the spice mixture and the tomato paste and stir to combine.
step five: add the broth
While stirring, slowly pour in chicken broth, using a spoon to scrape up the brown bits on the bottom of the pot.
step six: add the tomatoes and chiles
Add the diced tomatoes and green chiles. Stir to combine and increase heat to bring to a boil.
step six: incorporate the chicken
Once boiling, reduce heat, and stir in the shredded chicken. Cook, simmering and uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
step seven: finish and serve!
Remove from heat, taste and add more salt, if desired. Ladle soup into bowls and top with the radishes, iceberg lettuce, and cilantro, and serve with lime wedges.
Recipe FAQs:
Despite having a ton of spices, I wouldn’t say it’s super spicy, though if you’re very sensitive to spice, you can skip the cayenne pepper!
It sure does! Check out the “freezer tips” in the notes for my suggestions on how to preserve the quality when freezing!
Tapioca flour or cornstarch works great in this recipe!
If you are a lover of hearty, bold flavors in your soups– you’ll absolutely love this Chicken Enchilada Soup! Leave a comment after you try it!
Looking for more soups and stews? Try these!
Chicken Enchilada Soup
Ingredients
For the Spice Mixture:
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
For the Soup:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup yellow onion finely diced
- 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot flour
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 14.50z can fire roasted diced tomatoes undrained
- 1 4oz can diced mild green chiles undrained
- 3 cups cooked shredded chicken (I use Rotisserie)
For Serving:
- 4 radishes thinly sliced and cut into matchsticks
- 1 cup iceberg lettuce thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped
- 1 lime cut into wedge
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine all of the spice mixture and set aside.
- Heat a dutch oven or large pot over medium heat with olive oil. Add the yellow onion, red bell pepper and green bell pepper. Saute, stirring until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. While sautéing, season the vegetables with salt and pepper.
- Once the veggies are tender, melt the ghee. Sprinkle in the arrowroot flour and stir until well combined.
- Add the spice mixture and the tomato paste and stir to combine. It's going to look like a little bit messy/clumpy, but just bare with me.
- While stirring, slowly pour in chicken broth, using a spoon to scrape up the brown bits on the bottom of the pot.
- Add the diced tomatoes and green chiles. Stir to combine and increase heat to bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce heat and stir in the shredded chicken. Cook, simmering and uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat, taste and add more salt, if desired.
- Ladle soup into bowls and top with the radishes, iceberg lettuce, cilantro, and serve with lime wedges.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- To freeze, let the soup cool completely, then transfer it to airtight containers or freezer bags, leaving some space for expansion. Label and date the containers before placing them in the freezer.
- To thaw, move the container to the refrigerator and let it defrost overnight, or for a quicker option, use the microwave’s defrost setting. Further reheat the soup or stew in a pot on the stove over medium heat, stirring occasionally until it reaches a simmer, or microwave it in intervals, stirring in between, until heated through.
- If you feel like the contents of the soup (i.e. noodles, rice, etc.) soaked up most of the liquid, you can add 1 to 2 cups more broth to rehydrate the soup and get it to the desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This soup is absolutely delicious and easy enough to make on a busy weeknight! The spices add so much flavor, and don’t skip the toppings! Thanks Alex for another great recipe 🙂
This soup is absolutely bangin’! Made it for the first time today exactly as written. It has a nice kick, so I would adjust slightly if you cannot tolerate spice. Alex, you killed it on this one!
Yay! So glad this was a hit. Thank you for commenting!
Do you think this soup would freeze well?
Yes it does!
I had to modify quite a bit – I’m vegetarian and I was in a hurry! I subbed vegetable broth for the chicken, and used chickpeas and black beans instead of chicken. My husband won’t eat cooked tomatoes that are still chunky, so I used Sofrito tomato base in place of the tomato paste and canned tomatoes. Everyone loved it! I think what made it so good was the perfect combination of spices. (I did use Chipotle powder instead of cayenne.) The spices were warm, but not too spicy, and, as stated above, the toppings helped to balance it out. Thanks for a great recipe!
This soup is amazing!! It has the right amount of spice and the toppings make it perfectly balanced. I followed the recipe exactly, besides adding avocado on top, and had no issues. I’ve been making Alex’s recipes for years and they always turn out delicious!
What could you use I stead of arrowroot?
Tapioca flour or cornstarch could work.
What can you use in place of the ghee?
butter or avocado oil works just fine!
This was excellent. I added a spoonful of chipotle chiles in adobo for deeper chile flavor+heat. I used the immersion blender on the veggie+stock mix before adding the chicken. Plus avocado garnish. Turned out rich and satisfying.
THAT SOUNDS GOOD ILL TRY WEDNESDAY
This was delicious. I used chicken thighs since I had those on hand. I put them in instapot with about 1.5 cups of homemade chicken stock and set it to zero. Removed the chicken and stock. Then sauteed the veggies right in there and threw everything back in following the steps above. Absolutely delicious and easy! I topped it with fresh radish, cilantro, green onions, avocado, and jalapeno!