Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup (copycat)

Enjoy a taste of the Southwest, with this delicious Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup recipe (copycat), with pico de gallo and tortilla strips!
If you enjoy the flavor of chicken enchiladas, chances are pretty good you will love this copycat recipe of this famous restaurant’s much requested item… Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup! It’s so good… all that cheesy, chicken enchilada goodness in a big bowl of soup!

I found this soup recipe in one of my cookbooks I’ve had for a long time. This Chili’s chicken enchilada soup is thick and cheesy, and packed with chicken. Because of the addition of masa harina, enchilada sauce and spices, this soup tastes just like a good ol’ chicken enchilada!

Scroll Down For A Printable Recipe Card At The Bottom Of The Page

How To Make A Copycat Version Of Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup

Here’s what you do to make this delicious soup:  Add boneless, skinless chicken breasts to hot oil in a large pan, and cook each side for 4-5 minutes, until browned.

Remove the browned chicken from the pan. Set the chicken aside, to cool.

Add chopped onion into the pan. Cook the onions on medium heat for a couple minutes. Add minced garlic for the last 30 seconds. Stir the garlic well, for only 30 seconds, to keep garlic from burning (and becoming bitter). Immediately add the chicken broth to the pan.

In a separate bowl, mix 2 cups of water with Masa Harina (found in Mexican food section in grocery store). Whisk this mixture until it is well blended and smooth. Add the water/Masa Harina mixture to the onion/garlic broth, and stir (or whisk) well, to combine.

Add 1 additional cup of water, enchilada sauce, cheese cubes, and spices to the soup. Stir to combine. Bring the Chili’s chicken enchilada soup to a boil over medium heat, stirring often until the cheese has completely melted.

Shred the cooled, reserved chicken into small pieces. I use two forks to do this, because the chicken shreds well, when pulled by two forks. Add all of the shredded chicken to the Chili’s chicken enchilada soup.

Reduce heat, and simmer soup on low heat for 30-40 minutes. Chili’s chicken enchilada soup will thicken quite a bit as it cooks.

Preparing Tortilla Strips To Garnish Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup

While the soup is simmering, prepare the corn tortilla strips. These will be used later to garnish the soup! To do this, cut 3-4 corn tortillas in half, then into thin strips.

Coat the strips with a Tablespoon or two of vegetable oil. Gently mix the tortilla strips and oil, to coat, then spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Bake the tortilla strips at 375° for 6-8 minutes, then flip the strips over. Bake the other side of the strips for 6-8 minutes, until they are crispy and light brown in color.

When done, set them aside to cool completely.

Make a quick pico de gallo while the tortilla strips are baking in oven. Chop and mix the pico de gallo ingredients in a small bowl.

The pico de gallo contains chopped tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper. It will be used to garnish Chili’s chicken enchilada soup before serving.

Serving Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup

When the Chili’s chicken enchilada soup is done, ladle it into individual bowls. Top each bowl of soup with pico de gallo, and baked tortilla strips.

You can also add grated cheddar cheese or sour cream too, if desired.

While I think we will agree that this is probably not the “healthiest soup”, it really is delicious, and tastes just like a yummy chicken enchilada. Every once in awhile, that’s a GOOD thing!

Hope you will consider trying this recipe! It’s really tasty, and besides that, all those people requesting it at Chili’s can’t be wrong. Agreed?

Take care, have a great day, and please come back again soon for more family-friendly recipes!

Looking for More SOUP Recipes?

You can find all of my recipes in the Recipe Index, which is located at the top of the page. I have lot of absolutely delicious soup recipes, including:

• Sundowner Soup
• Hearty Minestrone Soup
• Creamy Avgolemono Soup
• Southwestern Chicken Soup

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Original Recipe Source: “Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2”, by Todd Wilbur, Published by Penguin Group, 2007, pages 118-119.

5 from 1 vote

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Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup (copycat)

Prep Time

25 mins

Cook Time

35 mins

Total Time

1 hr

 

Enjoy a taste of the Southwest for lunch or dinner with this delicious Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup recipe (copycat), with pico de gallo and tortilla strips!

Category: Soup

Cuisine: Southwest

Keyword: Chili's chicken enchilada soup

Servings: 10 servings

Calories Per Serving: 248 kcal

Author: JB @ The Grateful Girl Cooks!

Ingredients

For Soup:

• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 chicken breasts (skinless/boneless)
• 1/2 cup diced onion
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup Masa Harina (found in Mexican food section of grocery store)
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup red enchilada sauce
• 16 ounces Velveeta Cheese (small box), diced into cubes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

For Tortilla Garnish:

• 3-4 corn tortillas
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

For Pico de Gallo:

• 1 medium tomato , diced
• 1 heaping Tablespoon minced red onion
• 1 Tablespoon lime juice
• 1 handful cilantro (approx. 3 Tablespoons), chopped
• Salt and Pepper , to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To prepare soup:

1. Add vegetable oil to a large pan. Heat on medium heat. When oil is hot, add chicken breasts to pot; cook chicken for 4-5 minutes per side, until they are light brown. Remove from pan; set aside.
2. Add chopped onion to pan. Cook over medium heat for two minutes,; add the minced garlic for the last 30 seconds (so it won't burn and become bitter). Add chicken broth to the onions.
3. In bowl or large mixing cup, mix the masa harina with 2 cups of water. Mix well, to combine, then add to chicken broth and onion mixture in pan. Whisk well, to combine.
4. Add remaining water, enchilada sauce, cheese cubes, and spices to the pan. Cook, and bring it all to a boil.
5. Shred the chicken into small pieces (I use two forks to do this); add chicken to soup. Reduce the heat and let soup simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring often to prevent scorching on the bottom of pan. Soup will thicken as it cooks. Prepare tortilla strips and pico de gallo while soup cooks. When done, ladle soup into serving bowls, and garnish with pico de gallo and tortilla strips.

To Make Tortilla Strips:

1. Cut tortillas in half, then cut into thin strips. Coat strips with vegetable oil, then bake at 375 degrees for 5-6 minutes on each side (flipping midway through baking), until light brown and crispy.

To Make Pico de Gallo:

1. Combine ingredients in small bowl. Mix well. Taste test; add additional salt/pepper, if desired.

Recipe Notes

Original Recipe Source: "Top Secret Restaurant Recipes 2", by Todd Wilbur, Published by Penguin Group, 2007, pages 118-119.

Nutrition Facts

Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup (copycat)

Amount Per Serving (1 serving)

Calories 248 Calories from Fat 81

% Daily Value*

Fat 9g14%

Saturated Fat 5g31%

Cholesterol 40mg13%

Sodium 1552mg67%

Potassium 462mg13%

Carbohydrates 22g7%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 6g7%

Protein 18g36%

Vitamin A 815IU16%

Vitamin C 11.1mg13%

Calcium 295mg30%

Iron 1.6mg9%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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