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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 my new favorite soup recipe!! I made it on the stovetop (sautéed onions and veggies first), the added liquids and chicken breast, and shredded chicken after 30 mins simmering. Highly recommend!!
My stove is out of commission so I thought it was time to break out the crockpot again. Your recipes are always so full of flavor and this one did not disappoint! I got pozole vibes – so yummy.
glad you enjoyed this one!
Loved this recipe – have made twice, once with the DF cheese and once without. Question: when I made the first time, I couldn’t get the CC to meld in like in the pics (I used the kite hill brand recommended) and it came out in chunks/goooy. How can I avoid this going forward? I enjoyed it without but I love a creamy soup vibe so don’t want to miss out!
It was good! Will keep this recipe in my rotation.
Glad it was a hit, Stacy!
Looking to make this today! I plan to make in a Dutch oven on the stove. Do you know the cooking equivalent time? Or would it make more sense to stick the dutch oven inside the oven to bake the chicken before pulling it apart?
I would cook it stovetop at low heat for 3-4 hours!
I should stop being surprised by now that everything Alex touches is gold. Absolutely delicious and chock full of flavor!!! Couldn’t find enchilada sauce so subbed medium green chile salsa and it was bomb
I made this recipe yesterday, it was a 10/10 5+ stars. My husband won’t stop talking about how good it is! If you are thinking of making this you will not regret it! I used orange bell pepper because that’s all I had, regular cream cheese, and frozen chicken thighs for 30 mins on manual pressure because I was on a time crunch!
I was wondering if anyone has tried this with a cup of plain greek yogurt? similar to the sour cream enchiladas?!
I’ve made this once a week since trying it a month ago. It’s absolutely perfect. I used regular cream cheese
Can you sub chicken thighs? And if so would you adjust the recipe at all?
You don’t need to adjust it at all- and yes you can definitely swap in chicken thighs!
Would you brown the thighs before throwing them in the instapot?
Delicious flavor! I did add the Kite Hill cream cheese. It was a little clumpy…any tips?
Maybe just make sure it’s at room temperature when you add to the soup so it doesn’t seize up/curdle at all.