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This Slow Cooker Green Enchilada Chicken Soup is sure to become a favorite! Bright, creamy, and dairy-free, there’s so much to love about this cold-weather dish.
Green enchiladas are an absolute favorite in my house (as you can see from the variety of recipes I have on my blog and in my cookbooks)! The brightness and creaminess is something I absolutely love so I wanted to reimagine the flavors in this simple soup.
And I already know what you are thinking, “Simple?! With this many ingredients?!” But y’all, I designed this recipe to use so many pantry staples and convenient condiments. Between the green enchilada sauce, canned green chiles, and a few other items, you don’t need to spend a whole lot of time prepping to create big flavor!
Oh, and if you want to make it in an Instant Pot, I’ve got you covered! The recipe at the bottom of this post has instructions for making this soup in a slow cooker or an Instant Pot, so take your pick!
ingredients:
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
- Yellow Onion
- Green Bell Pepper
- Poblano Pepper
- Jalapeño Pepper
- Garlic Cloves
- Diced Green Chiles
- Green Enchilada Sauce
- Chicken Broth
- Kosher Salt
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- Chili Powder
- Ground Cumin
- Dried Oregano
- Fresh Cilantro
- Bay Leaf
- Pinto or Cannellini Beans
- Dairy-Free Cream Cheese
- Freshly Squeezed Lime juice
- Monterey Jack Cheese (For Serving)
- Fresh Cilantro (For Serving)
- Radishes (For Serving)
- White Corn Tortilla Chips (For Serving)
- Lime Wedges (For Serving)
Step-by-Step (SLOW COOKER METHOD):
Step One: Add Ingredients to Slow Cooker
In a slow cooker, add the chicken, onions, bell pepper, poblano, jalapeño, garlic, green chiles, enchilada sauce, broth, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and cilantro. Stir until well combined. Add the bay leaf, cover, and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours, or preferably on low for 8 to 10 hours.
Step two: shred chicken and add the final ingredients
When the cooking time is complete and the chicken is tender, transfer the chicken to a cutting board and shred it with two forks. Transfer the chicken back to the soup. Add the beans and cream cheese and stir until well combined. Cover and cook on low until the beans are tender, about 10 minutes.
Step three: add lime juice, serve, and enjoy!
Before serving, stir in the lime juice. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish as desired!
Recipe FAQs:
If you can tolerate dairy, you can use regular cream cheese instead! But the Kite Hill brand dairy-free cream cheese is a wonderful option.
I love putting out lots of topping options so everyone can garnish their soups exactly how they want to! I’d recommend shredded Monterey jack cheese, chopped fresh cilantro, white corn tortilla chips, and lime wedges.
I hope y’all enjoy this Slow Cooker Green Enchilada Chicken Soup! Comment below once you try it!
looking for more Enchilada-inspired Recipes? try these!
Sour Cream and Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas
Salsa Verde Chicken Enchilada Bake
Slow Cooker Green Enchilada Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup finely diced yellow onion (from about 1/2 large onion)
- 1 cup finely diced green bell pepper (from about 1 small bell pepper)
- 1/2 cup finely diced poblano pepper (from about 1 small poblano pepper)
- 1/4 cup seeded and finely diced jalapeno pepper (from about 1 jalapeno pepper), optional
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 (4-ounce) cans diced green chiles
- 1 (15-ounce) jar green enchilada sauce, such as Siete Foods
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 (15-ounce) cans pinto or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 8 ounces dairy-free cream cheese, such as Kite Hill
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Optional, for serving:
- shredded Monterey Jack cheese (omit for dairy-free)
- chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- sliced radishes
- white corn tortilla chips
- lime wedges
Instructions
SLOW COOKER METHOD:
- In a slow cooker, add the chicken, onions, bell pepper, poblano, jalapeño, garlic, green chiles, enchilada sauce, broth, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and cilantro. Stir until well combined. Add the bay leaf, cover, and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours, or preferably on low for 8 to 10 hours.
- When the cooking time is complete and the chicken is tender, transfer the chicken to a cutting board and shred it with two forks. Transfer the chicken back to the soup. Add the beans and cream cheese and stir until well combined. Cover and cook on low until the beans are tender, about 10 minutes.
- Before serving, stir in the lime juice. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish as desired!
INSTANT POT METHOD:
- In an Instant Pot, add the chicken, onion, bell pepper, poblano, jalapeno, garlic, green chiles, enchilada sauce, broth, salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and cilantro. Stir until well combined. Drop in the bay leaf and lock in the lid. Make sure the valve is sealed. Cook on Manual High Pressure for 20 minutes.
- When the cook time is complete, release the pressure manually by turning the valve. Once the pressure is released, carefully open the Instant Pot. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and shred with two forks. Transfer the chicken back to the soup. Add the beans and cream cheese and stir until well combined. Cover and keep on ‘warm’ until the beans are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Before serving, stir in the lime juice. Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish as desired!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by Eat Love Eats.
This is one of the best soups I have ever made! Super easy and delicious. Even with a few modifications hard to mess up.
I added a can of corn and addtional can of beans to stretch it out to make sure there would be plenty but also leftovers for our family of 4.
I didn’t use any of the herbs on the ingredient list because my husband dislikes herbs though I did use the other spices as ditected.
I used regular cream cheese instead of dairy free.
For the lime we squeezed in to our personal bowels fresh instead of adding in to the whole soup-my husband not a big fan of lime.
Also our experience:
Was extra yummy when we scooped soup on to a tortilla chip. (We personally love the brand juanitas)
Toppings we added:radishes, shredded cheese, sour cream, fresh cilantro, lime.
Which all made it extra yummy.
I will be making this again for sure and sharing with others even.
So happy you loved it!
I tripled this recipe for family Thanksgiving, and it was PERFECT. Multiple people asked for the recipe! Plus, putting something in the crockpot in the morning and just enjoying the day with family was incredible.
I’m so happy to hear this!
Is there a way to do this without a crockpot or instant pot?
You could cook it on the stovetop in a large, heavy-bottomed pot (like a Dutch oven) over low heat for 3 to 4 hours!
This soup is DELICIOUS! I made a few adjustments based on the ingredients I had on hand. I omitted the bell pepper and cream cheese, and use 28 oz of enchilada sauce and 3 cups of chicken broth. I also charred the peppers, onion and garlic before adding to the crock pot. This will definitely be a go to recipe for the winter!
Yum! Glad you liked it!
This is SO good! Prepped everything on a Sunday evening and cooked it the next day while I was at work. Perfect for a busy weeknight. Very flavorful! I added corn because I had some left over but it needed no modifications!
It’s such a great make-ahead option! So glad you enjoyed it!
Can you freeze this dish?
Yes, absolutely! Just let the soup cool to room temperature before storing it in an airtight container. Be sure to leave a little bit of room since it will expand once frozen.
Served this at my office for Crocktober Tuesday. Rave reviews from everyone. Absolutely delicious.
So glad to hear that!
This was delicious, I used regular cream cheese! Perfect crock pot meal that the whole family loved. It will be in our fall soup rotation 🙂
So glad to hear that, Nicole!
This was SO delish. Was my first time using vegan cream cheese but won’t be my last. Per other reviews, I did let it soften a little and blended it with some of the soup before incorporating it and the extra step was worth it. So much flavor, perfect for my lunches for the week.
I liked the recipe overall but had 2 little issues. The cream cheese didn’t incorporate well and stayed a little chunky in the crock pot. If I did this again, I’d take some broth out and mix in the cheese on the side until creamy, then add it in. Also, if a person isn’t big on citrus flavor, pare down the lime juice. Just some thoughts…. thanks.