I love enchiladas, but I don’t always love the work! With this fantastic Instant Pot creamy chicken enchilada soup recipe, it takes all the thinking and work right out of the recipe.
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If you love Chicken Enchiladas, you will go crazy over this creamy chicken enchilada soup recipe. Soup can be a hit or miss in my house sometimes, but never with this deliciously creamy and easy recipe! Plus, with all of the flavor and chicken, my husband LOVES it!
You can make this recipe as hot and spicy or less spicy as you would like by changing the amount of chili powder or sriracha sauce, but how we have it is a good balance with a medium heat level. So, if you and your kids like spicer foods, add more spice and make it just how you like it!
This is a great family dinner recipe to make on those colder and busier evenings because it doesn’t take much work at all! You’ll be surprised later on how easy this recipe truly is.
Recipe Ingredient Notes
To make our chicken enchilada soup, you need the following ingredients:
- Boneless chicken breasts
- Garlic
- Chili powder
- Worcestershire sauce
- Sriracha sauce
- Onion
- Red bell pepper
- Black Beans
- Corn
- Red enchilada sauce
- Chicken Broth
- Salt and Pepper
- Milk (slow cooker version only)
- Heavy cream (Instant Pot version only)
- Sour cream
- Sharp cheddar cheese
- Tortilla Strips
Equipment Needed
For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:
How to Make Our Chicken Enchilada Soup Recipe
Instant Pot Instructions
- Place chicken in the Instant Pot.
- Add in the garlic, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, sriracha sauce, onion, red pepper, black beans, and corn.
- Then add in the enchilada sauce, chicken broth, salt and pepper, to taste.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and put in locked position. Set the knob to sealing. Press the Manual/Pressure Cook button and set the timer for 20 minutes.
- When cook time is done, do a quick release.
- Remove chicken breasts from the pot and shred, then return chicken to the pot.
- Add in cream, sour cream, and cheddar cheese; stir until completely melted and soup is smooth.
- Serve topped with tortilla chips and fresh cilantro.
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Spray a large slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
- Add all of the ingredients except the milk, sour cream, cheese, and tortilla strips to the slow cooker and let cook on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken is fully cooked.
- Remove chicken from slow cooker and add in cheese, sour, cream, and milk (as much or as little as you prefer).
- Shred the chicken with two forks and return to slow cooker.
- Let soup cook on low for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and soup has reached desired thickness.
- Serve topped with sour cream, shredded cheese, and tortilla strips if desired.
Recipe Notes
- Store any leftover soup in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat in microwave.
- To lower the sodium in this recipe, use low-sodium canned goods (such as the corn, black beans, cream of chicken soup) and omit the salt.
- For the slow cooker, we don’t recommend adding your dairy ingredients at the beginning of cooking this recipe and letting it simmer all day long – the milk, sour cream, and cheese may curdle.
Freezer Meal Modification
- Place chicken breasts, garlic, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, Sriracha sauce, onion, red bell pepper, black beans, corn, and red enchilada sauce into a gallon-sized freezer bag. Place freezer bag into freezer and it will last up to 90 days.
- When ready to use, dump ingredients from bag into Instant Pot and add 4 cups of chicken broth in with the frozen food. Place the lid on top, move the valve to SEALING, and press the MANUAL button. Set timer for 30 minutes. Do a 5 minute NATURAL RELEASE when the timer is done. Follow the rest of the instructions as written.
Explore More Delicious Soup Recipes
Explore our collection of soup recipes made in the stovetop, slow cooker or Instant Pot. For more soup inspiration, check out our full list of soups
- 20-Minute Chicken and Dumplings
- Chicken and Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Chicken Corn Chowder
- Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Chicken Tortellini and Vegetable Soup
- Creamy Chicken and Potato Soup
- Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup
- Creamy Chicken Fajita Soup
Creamy Enchilada Soup Recipe
Prepare our quick and easy creamy chicken enchilada soup in the Instant Pot or slow cooker for a hearty, flavorful soup.
Serving servings
Ingredients
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, skinless
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 15 ounces black beans, rinsed and drained
- 15 ounces corn, do not drain
- 20 ounces red enchilada sauce
- 4 cups chicken broth
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ milk, slow cooker version only
- ½ cup heavy cream, Instant Pot version only
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 cup tortilla strips, optional
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Place chicken in the Instant Pot.
- Add in the garlic, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, sriracha sauce, onion, red pepper, black beans, and corn.
- Then add in the enchilada sauce, chicken broth, salt and pepper, to taste.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and put in locked position. Set the knob to sealing. Press the Manual/Pressure Cook button and set the timer for 20 minutes.
- When cook time is done, do a quick release.
- Remove chicken breasts from the pot and shred, then return chicken to the pot.
- Add in cream, sour cream, and cheddar cheese; stir until completely melted and soup is smooth.
- Serve topped with tortilla chips and fresh cilantro.
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Spray a large slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
- Add all of the ingredients except the milk, sour cream, cheese, and tortilla strips to the slow cooker and let cook on low for 6-8 hours or until chicken is fully cooked.
- Remove chicken from slow cooker and add in cheese, sour, cream, and milk (as much or as little as you prefer).
- Shred the chicken with two forks and return to slow cooker.
- Let soup cook on low for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and soup has reached desired thickness.
- Serve topped with sour cream, shredded cheese, and tortilla strips if desired.
Notes
- Store any leftover soup in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Reheat in microwave. To lower the sodium in this recipe, use low-sodium canned goods (such as the corn, black beans, cream of chicken soup) and omit the salt.
- For the slow cooker, we don’t recommend adding your dairy ingredients at the beginning of cooking this recipe and letting it simmer all day long – the milk, sour cream, and cheese may curdle.
Nutrition
Calories: 426 kcal · Carbohydrates: 33 g · Protein: 25 g · Fat: 23 g · Saturated Fat: 12 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 85 mg · Sodium: 830 mg · Potassium: 523 mg · Fiber: 8 g · Sugar: 9 g · Vitamin A: 1760 IU · Vitamin C: 25 mg · Calcium: 257 mg · Iron: 2 mg
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
I have been looking for a good chicken enchilada soup recipe, thank you! Pinning, stumbling and tweeting 🙂
Can be made with cooked chicken from the deli, Rotel diced tomatoes with lime juice & cilantro, a tablespoon of taco seasoning mix, one or two cans of mexci-corn, white and black beans, chicken stock (or broth) and all the jalapeno, onion and garlic you like. When you bowl it up start with lime flavored chips then cheese the soup and finish off with fresh lime juice. Ready in minutes.
This looks good! I think I’ve tried another version of this soup, but this looks delicious!
A good soup for winter is always a huge plus!!! I can almost smell how good it is!!! Thank you so much for sharing on Trick or Treat Tuesdays.
Yum, looks good! I have a chicken tortilla soup that I make and looks almost identical to this.
Tastes yummy!!
Do you have to cook the chicken before adding?
I made this tonight – wow! That was so good and surprisingly easy. Thank you!
Should the chicken be raw or cooked when you put it in the crockpot?
Ditto about chicken…raw or cooked in crockpot..I want to cook this now 🙂 Thanks for your great recipes
I’m wondering the same thing, cooked or raw put into the crockpot or stovetop? I don’t want to mess it up. I also saw on your other recipes the chicken isn’t specified if cooked or uncooked
For the stovetop it tells you in the first two lines to simmer the chicken for 20-25 minutes til cooked through. For the Slow Cooker it tells you to add the cut up chicken and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.
I made this yesterday and it turned out fantastic! It was chilly out and what a perfect day to make soup and I’m so glad I did! It made so much that I was able to feed 4 people (includng myself) and still have some left over. I omitted the cayenne powder, cilantro, & the jalopeno peppers but it was really good, flavorful, & still had a kick to it
Will definitely be making again..thank you for a great recipe! 8)
I forgot to add that I used the slow cooker method on high for 3 hours which worked out perfectly
thank you for this recipe, perfect for this time of year and love these flavors!
Million dollar recipe 🙂
Oh my gosh, this is DELICIOUS !!!!!
Can you suggest a substitute for the heavy cream?
Thanx
You would be fine using milk.
Planning to make this tonight. I’m going to use hamburger meat because I already have some made. Do I still need to cook for 20 minutes since my meet is already cooked?
Just made this tonight. I added a jalapeno.
No, you would probably be fine with 4-5 minutes.
How big is a serving?
About 1 1/2 cups.
This recipe is amazing! Even though I didn’t have any cilantro, it was so delicious. Easy to make. The house smelled wonderful while it was cooking and tasted just as fabulous as it smelled. Next time I will make sure I have cilantro on hand.
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe! I was wondering if this would be an okay soup to freeze after making?
This soup will freeze great in a freezer container.
This looks fantastic! Does the timing change whether the chicken breasts are frozen or thawed?
Will it still be ok if I added the cream before starting the 20mins?!! I read it wrong and added it instead of waiting until after the 20mins… =(
What are the weight watcher points for this recipe? I don’t see the nutrition info.
Hi Renee. I’ll try to get the nutrition info out by tomorrow on this recipe. We are slowly converting over all of our recipes to our new site and adding the nutritional info. 🙂
Ok thx
How many cups of broth?
I have the same question.
Thanks so much for catching this! It’s 4 cups. We updated the recipe.
Thank you! I was going to make this two days ago, then *life* I was going to use 2 C broth, happy to see you updated! (The timing was great for me)
Do you use frozen chicken breasts?
We used frozen chicken breasts.
Does the cooking time change if you use fresh chicken breasts instead of frozen?
Delicious!!! So tasty and easy to make!!!
This soup is delicious! Thank you for the recipe. My husband and I love it.
I was wondering if this recipe freezes and reheats well. TIA
Glad I found this online. The first time it was a YouTube video and I couldn’t find it again 😂. Anyway wanted to leave a review as I have made this so many times now and it’s a winner in my family. Thank you
This soup will freeze great in an airtight freezer container.
We cook frozen chicken breasts for about 21 minutes and they are perfect.
One of the first recipes I made in the instant pot and it’s become a regular in our rotation! How would you change the recipe if you didn’t have enchilada sauce and wanted to make your own?
Here is a link to homemade enchilada sauce. https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/red-enchilada-sauce/
Love this soup! Wish it was in the IP cookbook. I’ve checked a few times just in check I’ve over looked it and don’t see it
Wondering the same! What did you end up doing?
This recipe is a staple in our house! Love it and so does the family! ❤️
Can you use frozen chicken? If so how long do you cook and do you follow all directions the same.
This recipe is with frozen chicken. So follow as directed.
This was amazing! But it takes longer than 30 minutes as it took 30 minutes just to get to the temperature to start cooking.
Yes, you have to realize the cooking time is after it comes to pressure. Not all Instant Pots are the same brand or come to pressure in the same amount of time. So when you set it for 20 minutes that is the cook time after it comes to pressure. So glad you enjoyed the soup. We absolutely love our Instant Pots.
This was delicious! Since you gave the timing for frozen, I used frozen chicken tenderloins and frozen corn and cooked for 30 minutes. It worked well, although I probably could have set it for 25 minutes. Also, since I only had a 28oz can of enchilada sauce, I used that, then filled the empty can and used that amount of water. I added bouillon to the pot since I didn’t have premade broth. Other than those minor things, I made as stated. Definitely a keeper!
My daughter had oral surgery the day before, and this blended nicely. She had 2 large bowls of it! 🙂
This soup is so good and easy to make! I will definitely make this again. I followed the recipe exactly as it was written.
Great recipe! It really tastes so much like the one at Cafe Zupas! Really easy to make too! Thanks!
We are so glad you like it. It’s a family favorite.
Can you give timing if not using an Instapot?
This recipe is similar and will help you figure out the cooking time. https://www.sixsistersstuff.com/recipe/slow-cooker-chicken-enchilada-soup-cafe-zupas-copycat/
This soup is so delicious!
Easy and so yummy. We have made this recipe multiple times before. We love making cheese quesadillas to dip into this soup! So good!
This is a great recipe! I’ve made it many times. With chicken, chorizo and hamburger. I have modified it a bit by adding a can of Rotel and at the end before adding the cream and cheese I turn the pot to saute low and added around 8 cut up corn tortillas, or a couple handfuls of crushed tortilla . Let it thicken the soup for about 10 min. Then add the cheese and cream etc.
What is the difference between the instant pot vs slow cooker? I’ve always made the instant pot version but then realized the slow cooker had a couple different ingredients.
The recipes are just slightly different flavors overall, but the biggest difference is the clear liquid needed for cooking in the instant pot versus the creamy soups used as the base for the slow cooker version.
I’ve made this SEVERAL times over the years and it’s a family favorite! The only thing I’ve changed to this recipe is I do 5 chicken breasts and only 1 tbsp of chili powder to take down the heat for my kids. We all LOVE this recipe! It tastes even better a day or 2 later and freezes well too!
We LOVE this recipe!!!!! It’s soooooo good!
This is one of my family’s favorites So yummy! Just the right amount of spice. Thank you for a great recipe!
No, you do not. Whether in the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker, each appliance will cook the raw chicken breast.
No, you do not. Whether in the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker, each appliance will cook the raw chicken breast.
No, you do not. Whether in the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker, each appliance will cook the raw chicken breast.
I made this in my InstaPot. It was absolutely delicious and I will make it again. And again. And again😂
I made this in my InstaPo and it was to-die-for. I will add this to my “often made” recipe collection.