Cheesy Enchilada Soup

I’m loving soup season and one of my husband’s favorite Mexican meals is enchiladas. I decided to create this cheesy enchilada soup and keep it on repeat all Fall and Winter long.

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Ingredients

3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or chopped (or 1 lb grass-fed ground beef)

10 cups of chicken bone broth

15 oz navy or pinto beans, cooked

15 oz black beans, cooked

1/2 cup of jasmine or basmati rice

4 oz green chilies

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 tsp ancho chili powder

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tbsp oregano

1 tsp coriander

salt & pepper, to taste

3 tbsp cornmeal ( I grind my own corn)

1 medium bell pepper, diced

1 medium onion, diced

2 ears of corn on the cob (or 1 cup frozen corn)

1 cup white cheddar or Monterey pepper jack cheese

Toppings

Sour Cream

Extra Cheese

Sliced Lime (to squeeze)

Fresh cilantro, chopped

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Directions

1. Cook the chicken or you can also use a rotisserie chicken. Once it is finished cooking, either shred or cut it up into small pieces. If using ground beef, brown it until cooked and set aside.
2. In a 6 quart dutch oven or large stock pot, add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat and stir in all the spices, salt, pepper, beans, corn, pepper, rice and green chilies (you can also add the chilies as a topping once the soup is ready to serve). Give it a good stir.
4. Next, add the chicken (or beef). Stir everything together and add the lid.
5. Simmer for around 25-30 minutes. 10-15 minutes before it’s finished cooking, add the cornmeal. Whisk it with about ½ cup of cool chicken broth or water to make a smooth slurry. Stir it into the simmering soup and cook, stirring occasionally. This gives the cornmeal time to soften and thicken the soup without leaving a gritty texture.
6. Add the shredded cheese and stir until melted.
7. The soup will be a little thick when it is finished cooking due to the rice and cornmeal.
8. Serve in bowls and add desired toppings.

Tips

• This enchilada soup can be made with either chicken or ground beef. If using beef, I still like the taste of chicken broth instead of beef broth (can have a more rich, savory taste due to the marrow and collagen extracted during the slow cooking process). It’s a personal preference, so try either one. I’d love to know in the comments if you do use beef broth.
• Feel free to omit the rice if you like. It will be more soupy if you do.
• If using store-bought cornmeal, use 1/4 cup of cornmeal.
• If using fresh corn on the cob, you’ll need to run a knife down the side to cut the kernels off. Alternatively, I love using my corn stripper.

Why Use Cornmeal?

When I think of enchiladas, I think of all the delicious filling wrapped inside a corn tortilla. Cornmeal will give this soup an authentic taste as well as thicken it up some. You’ll make a slurry with either room temperature chicken broth or water. Once it’s made, follow the directions above or in the recipe card below. Here’s how to do it:

Fresh-milled cornmeal – Start by adding 3 tbsp of cornmeal to either the broth or water. Whisk it together until it’s blended smoothly. Grinding fresh corn will thicken the soup noticeably more and has a fresh corn flavor.

Store-bought cornmeal – Add 1/2 cup of cornmeal to either the broth or water. Whisk it together until it’s blended smoothly.

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Why You’ll Love This Soup

What comes to mind when you bite into an enchilada? When you are at a restaurant, they always ask you if you would like chicken or ground beef. My husband usually gets one of each. They usually come with the meat, beans and cheese and then topped with either a red or verde sauce. You usually get a side or rice and/or more beans. Adding the rice to this soup was such a huge hit plus it’s filling. It kind of feels like you are eating an enchilada with every spoonful.

Other Soups You May Like

Homestead Chicken Noodle Soup

Tuscan FarmhouseSoup

Slow Cooker Mexican Beef Soup

Items Used in This Recipe

Ancho Chili Powder (mild and flavorful pepper)

Dutch Oven

Ladle

Chef’s Knife

Stainless Steel Corn Stripper

Organic Chicken Bone Broth

Cheesy Enchilada Soup

This recipe is loaded with all the flavors of a traditional enchilada meal but in a soup. It’s the perfect cozy meal for Fall and Winter. Pair it with a pan of old-fashioned southern cornbread.

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Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded or chopped (or 1 Ib grass-fed ground beef)
• 10 cups chicken bone broth
• 15 oz navy or pinto beans (cooked)
• 15 oz black beans (cooked)
• 1/2 cup jasmine or basmati rice
• 4 oz green chilies
• 3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 2 tsp ancho chili powder (mild flavor)
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried coriander
• salt & pepper (to taste)
• 3 tbsp cornmeal (I grind my own corn)
• 1 medium bell pepper (diced)
• 1 medium onion (diced)
• 2 ears of corn on the cob (or 1 cup frozen corn)
• 1 cup white cheddar or Monterey pepper jack cheese

Toppings

• sour cream
• extra cheese
• sliced lime (to squeeze)
• fresh cilantro (chopped)

Method

 

1. Cook the chicken or you can also use a rotisserie chicken. Once it is finished cooking, either shred or cut it up into small pieces. If using ground beef, brown it until cooked and set aside.
2. In a 6 quart dutch oven or large stock pot, add the chicken broth and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat and stir in all the spices, salt, pepper, beans, corn, pepper, rice and green chilies (you can also add the chilies as a topping once the soup is ready to serve). Give it a good stir.
4. Next, add the chicken. Stir everything together and add the lid.
5. Simmer for around 25-30 minutes. 10-15 minutes before it’s finished cooking, add the cornmeal. Whisk it with about ½ cup of cool chicken broth or water to make a smooth slurry. Stir it into the simmering soup and cook, stirring occasionally. This gives the cornmeal time to soften and thicken the soup without leaving a gritty texture.
6. Add the shredded cheese and stir until melted.
7. The soup will be a little thick when it is finished cooking due to the rice and cornmeal.
8. Serve in bowls and add desired toppings.

Notes

• This enchilada soup can be made with either chicken or ground beef. If using beef, I still like the taste of chicken broth instead of beef broth (can have a more rich, savory taste due to the marrow and collagen extracted during the slow cooking process). It’s a personal preference, so try either one. I’d love to know in the comments if you do use beef broth,
• Feel free to omit the rice if you like. It will be more soupy if you do.
• If using store-bought cornmeal, use 1/4 cup of cornmeal.
• If using fresh corn on the cob, you’ll need to run a knife down the side to cut the kernels off. Alternatively, I love using my corn stripper.

I hope you enjoy making this recipe for you and your family all year long.  Please share this post over on Pinterest and tag me on Instagram.

Wendy Lea Walker, NTP

Nutritional Therapy Practitioner

I’m Wendy. A wife, empty-nester mama, homemaker, homebaker, gardener and small-time farmer. I love sharing wisdom and knowledge I’ve learned along the way. Anyone can garden or homestead, no matter where you live. It’s a mindset. You just have to start somewhere. I believe food is medicine. Feed the body real whole foods and healing will begin. I’m an advocate for eating real food and enjoy sharing all my fresh-milled flour recipes. I’ve learned to slow down over the years from all the noise that came with life and enjoy creating a simple cottage home.