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Growing up, my friends and I frequented Chili’s. One of my go-to orders was their Enchilada soup. Holy YUMMO. Gosh that soup is freaking good which is why I had to create my own Chicken Enchilada Soup.
Well, I had a craving for it and thought I’d do a little Paleo/Whole30 spin and make a creamy, cheeseless, gluten and grain-free version of that soup in my own kitchen for a wholesome weeknight meal that the whole family will just gobble up. This soup not only tastes like heaven, but it comes together quickly and with very few steps.
If you are a lover of hearty, bold flavors in your soups– you’ll absolutely just love this Chicken Enchilada Soup! Enjoy!
And if you’re looking for another twist on this recipe, try my Chicken Enchilada Chili!
For more recipes like this, check out my Soups + Stews Round Up!
CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP
Ingredients
For the Spice Mixture:
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
For the Soup:
- 2 tbsp 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 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp ghee
- 2 tbsp arrowroot flour
- 2 tbsp 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 tbsp 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!
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!