MM and I were looking for something simple, comforting, and warm during a couple of rough weeks in our profession. The tough weeks didn’t really inspire me to try something new – weekends were to be used for relaxation, disconnection, and just flat out staring into empty space while breathing very slowly…

Yoga is my friend.

In any case, we went back to a tried and true recipe – Enchilada Soup!

Print Recipe

Enchilada Soup

Easy, warm, spicy, flexible soup made in a crockpt

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time4 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time4 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Mexican

Equipment

• Crockpot or slow cooker; stick blender

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 large Spanish onion, diced yellow onion can be substituted here
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 32 oz low sodium chicken stock
• 6 small corn tortillas, diced
• 20 oz red enchilada sauce (2 10-oz cans)
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup Colby jack cheese
• 1 Tbsp chicken soup base
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp chili powder medium strength
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ⅛-¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

Garnish Examples

• Sour cream
• Salsa
• Shredded cheese
• Tortilla chips

Instructions

• Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat until it starts to shimmer. Sauté the onion until tender, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, and cook for another 2 minutes, until fragrant.
• In a slow cooker or crockpot, combine all ingredients except chicken and garnishes. Cook on high for 2 hours, or low for 4 hours.
• Using a stick blender, blend the soup until smooth – make sure to scrape a spoon around the sides and bottom of the crockpot! Add shredded chicken and cook on high for 30 minutes, until heated through. Serve with your selection of garnishes

Notes

You can do quite a bit to this particular recipe – increase or decrease the spices, add another cup of cheese, change the Colby jack cheese out for Mexican cheese, add a can or two of corn (after pureeing the soup, but before the chicken)…  Make it your own, but beware: this soup is addicting!  

This particular soup is warm not only in temperature, but can be warm in spice – especially if you’re busy cooking the onions and your loved one takes the responsibility of putting all the rest of the ingredients in the crockpot. It’s a great help to have that assistance, but you’re giving a large amount of control for the spiciness to someone who may or may not tolerate more spicy food.

That’s a level of trust you must be comfortable with. Either that, or willing to add more sour cream as a garnish after the fact… 🙂