This extra-flavorful Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup is so quick to put together. It’s a clean-eating, gluten-free meal that will have you coming back for seconds every time!
Believe it or not, one of the most popular posts on this here blog is my Shredded Chicken Enchiladas post from way back in the day when I didn't really follow a clean eating lifestyle. In fact, the only real lifestyle I followed at that time was a tasty food kinda lifestyle.
It wasn't until a couple years ago, in fact, that Dustin and I started to switch from making our food tasty into making our food tasty AND healthy.
Shockingly, this wasn't as hard as you might think.
WHAT IS ENCHILADA SOUP?
Enchilada soup is made by taking the ingredients from your favorite enchilada dish and in this case, combining everything in the crock pot. I love spicy enchiladas loaded with chicken and beans. For this soup, I’ve used white and black beans, and have also added yummy salsa verde. When you top the soup with cilantro, Greek yogurt, and shredded jack cheese, the taste is well, pure enchilada! Delicious!
IS CROCK POT CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP HEALTHY?
As much as I love my Shredded Chicken Enchiladas this crock pot chicken enchilada soup recipe is definitely the healthier, but equally tasty option. Also, you don’t need anything but your slow cooker to prepare it so it’s super mess-free! Follow my tips to enjoy this scrumptious crock pot chicken enchilada soup tonight:
- Make this soup in the crock pot to release as much flavor as possible while it cooks throughout the day
- Use chicken breast in addition to chicken thighs (to reduce the saturated fat from the thighs)
- Always choose the low sodium option, of both the chicken stock and the canned beans to keep that sodium intake in check
- Going for fresh veggies (in this case tomatoes) over the canned version will also help you stay in that sodium safe zone
- Don’t go overboard with the toppings on your crock pot chicken enchilada soup, especially the shredded jack cheese
It's funny though (and when I say "funny," I kinda also mean weird and annoying, to a degree) that some of the most popular recipes on the blog are from waaaaay back when we didn't focus on healthy eating. Now, that's not to say that the blog hasn't had it's share of healthy, clean-eating recipes go viral, too. In fact, some posts like my Parmesan Zucchini Spears and Banana Ice Cream have been very popular...
Alas, if you go back to the beginnings of this blog, you'll certainly find bad photographs (sigh) of refined, yet tasty foods.
Over the past couple years, I've tried to update a lot of the posts from their former unhealthy-ish form into cleaner recipes, but I haven't been able to get to all of them. I also want to share new, fun recipes so it's a give and take of fixing the old with bringing in more new, if that makes any sense. #bloggingtroubles
That all being said, these Shredded Chicken Enchiladas are pretty darn great and not a super bad choice if you're looking for a yummy weeknight dinner 🙂
CAN YOU MAKE CROCK POT ENCHILADA SOUP VEGAN AND DAIRY-FREE?
Vegan - To make this yummy and flavorful soup vegan, use tofu instead of chicken. You can also leave out the tofu if you want – this soup is so savory, you won’t miss it. You’ll want to keep up the protein (and the beans do that somewhat) and can try seitan as a meat substitute. But when you use seitan, the soup is no longer gluten-free. Vegan cheese can be used as a garnish as opposed to the jack cheese. Also, you will replace the low sodium chicken broth with vegetable broth.
Dairy-free - It’s super easy to make the soup dairy-free. Use plant-based yogurt in place of the Greek yogurt and use vegan cheese as a topping instead of the jack cheese.
One way I like to enjoy my healthy eating lifestyle is to make new creative ways to enjoy the flavors of less-than-healthy foods.
Take this crock pot chicken enchilada soup, for example. I take all the yumminess of green chile chicken enchiladas and turn it into a healthy soup. That way, you get the shredded chicken, zesty homemade tomatillo salsa verde, fresh lime and cilantro, and all the satisfying denseness of an enchilada, without all the guilt-inducing cheese and high-carb tortillas.
Pretty sweet, right?
This technique also works great with protein shakes (like my Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Protein Shake or Pumpkin Cheesecake Smoothie), energy balls (like my Chocolate Brownie Energy Balls), and Ice creams (like my Chocolate Banana Ice Cream, among others) to get that coveted flavor and texture fix without eating highly refined and fattening foods.
WHAT TYPE OF CHICKEN TO USE IN CROCK POT CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP
While you can definitely use any part of the chicken you have on hand for this chicken enchilada soup recipe, I’ve found that the combination of chicken thighs and breasts brings the best of both worlds. By cooking the chicken breasts in the slow cooker they stay tender and juicy and the chicken thighs give them that extra punch of flavor, making this crock pot chicken enchilada soup a great dish to incorporate in your healthy lifestyle.
RECIPE SUBSTITUTIONS FOR CROCK POT ENCHILADA SOUP
There are tons of ways to vary this soup and that’s one of the reasons I like it. You can mix and match things a bit and still end up with an incredibly flavorful dish. And if you are missing an ingredient, you can look for a replacement in your pantry.
- Instead of white and black beans, try pinto beans, great northern beans, red kidney beans, and garbanzo beans
- Switch out the chicken breasts and thighs for rotisserie chicken
- Use cooked shredded beef instead of chicken
- Instead of salsa verde, you can use a red tomato salsa
- Use organic whole canned tomatoes in place of fresh tomatoes
Is there anything better than a satisfying, hot bowl of deliciousness straight from the slow cooker? I mean -- we're looking at the following with this recipe: (1) it's a crock pot recipe so that means you hardly had to do anything but wait, (2) it's a filling bowl of soup <--- YUM, and (3) chicken enchiladas!!
WHAT GOES GOOD WITH CROCK POT CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP?
I enjoy a tasty salad as an accompaniment to this crock pot chicken enchilada soup. Summer corn edamame salad is a good choice, and I also like the make-ahead healthy taco salad. And what spicy soup is complete without tortillas? Try spinach tortillas, cassava flour tortillas, corn tortillas, and cauliflower tortillas.
Once you're on the crock pot bandwagon, I've got some other yummy soups on the blog, all healthy, that you can make with a slow cooker, too!
BTW this crock pot chicken enchilada soup recipe also uses my 10 Minute Salsa Verde recipe as the yummy green chile base. It takes just 10 minutes (seriously) to make and adds so much flavor to the soup.
Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup
HOW TO STORE CROCK POT CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP
Before I store the soup, I let it cool. Place the soup in an airtight container and store for up to 5 days. To reheat, simply place in a pot to simmer and warm up, which gives the kitchen wonderful spicy aroma, all over again!
HOW TO FREEZE CROCK POT CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP
I love this recipe so much that I intentionally make loads of this chicken enchilada soup so I can enjoy it throughout the week. The soup freezes beautifully and it will just take you a couple of minutes to reheat it. Follow my tips on freezing the crock pot chicken enchilada soup and you’ll have a warm and filling dinner ready in no time!
- First, allow the crock pot chicken enchilada soup to cool completely. You may want to transfer to a large bowl and place in the refrigerator to cool.
- Freeze in either gallon– or quart-sized freezer bags or freezer safe containers for easy thawing and storage.
- Leave enough space at the top of the bag to allow for expansion during freezing. Squeeze as much air as possible out of the top of the bag and seal securely.
- Place the soup-filled freezer bags in the freezer, in a single, flat layer (using a rimmed baking sheet is helpful). Allow to freeze completely. Then, stack them on top of each other or standing side by side.
- Thaw bags of frozen chicken enchilada soup in the refrigerator overnight.
Crock Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup
Equipment
- Crock Pot
*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Ingredients
- 2 cups salsa verde (see my easy recipe)
- 1 can white beans, low sodium, drained and rinsed
- 1 can black beans, low sodium, drained and rinsed
- ½ lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 cups fresh tomatoes, (approx. 2 large tomatoes), diced
- 4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoon fresh cilantro
- 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup plain greek yogurt
- Garnish: fresh lime optional, cilantro, shredded jack cheese
Instructions
- In a large crockpot, pour in the chile verde sauce, drained white beans, drained black beans, boneless skinless chicken thighs and breasts, diced fresh tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, sea salt, ground black pepper, chopped cilantro, and low sodium chicken broth. Stir to combine.
- Now, cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 3-4 hours, or until the chicken is tender and easily shreds.
- Remove the chicken from the crockpot and set aside.
- Add in plain greek yogurt into the crockpot and stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on high for another 15-20 minutes, or until the yogurt melts completely and is easily stirred into the soup.
- Shred the chicken with 2 forks and then add back into the soup.
- To serve, top with a dollop of greek yogurt, shredded jack cheese, and extra cilantro and don’t forget the lime to squeeze on top.
Video
Nutrition
This post contains affiliate links for products I use regularly and highly recommend.
Rose Williams
If you use cooked shredded chicken, do you add it at the beginning with all other ingredients?
Lacey Baier
I would add it in near the end just to heat through so you don't overcook the chicken.
Tammy
All I can say is OMG! Delicious wouldn't change a thing. Thank you for keeping us healthy!
Denise Wilde
I made this last night and it was outstanding! Hearty and healthy. Be sure to add the greek yogurt. The only change I made was to use a can of pinto beans instead of black beans - daughter's preference.
Lacey Baier
The greek yogurt is EVERYTHING isn't it?? So good right at the end! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂