Yowsa. Or, rather, olé! This fire-eater chicken enchilada soup is some mighty good (and kickin’) soup. As unbelievable as it was, it was even better the second day. This started out as a copycat of Chili’s enchilada soup, but it quickly took several turns towards even greater… greatness. The flavor is fantastic, definitely southwestern. We absolutely loved the texture and flavor the ground tortilla chips (versus using masa harina) gave to the soup.
No Boring Soup Here
For the chicken, I used leftover fire-eater roasted chicken. It has tremendous flavor, and is moist to boot. It also added some more kick to this fire-eater chicken enchilada soup, and kick is good. You can use any cooked chicken you have on hand, but you might want to add some more cayenne (or hot sauce). You want this dish to have plenty of spicy goodness.
I like to use my good ole trusty Dutch oven to make this soup and pretty much darned near anything like it on my stovetop. It’s nice and big and sturdy. That extra weight helps it maintain and distribute heat perfectly. As an added bonus, it’s actually pretty easy to clean up too!
This soup is a based on a copycat of Chili’s enchilada soup.
Fire-Eater Chicken Enchilada Soup
Ingredients
For the soup
- ½ tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ cup sweet onion diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup tortilla chips lightly ground
- 1 cup water
- 1 28 ounce enchilada sauce
- ¾ pound extra sharp cheddar cheese cubed
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne or more
- hot sauce to taste
- 1 pound cooked chicken cubed or shredded (I used fire-eater roasted chicken breast)
- 1 14 ounce black beans rinsed and drained
For the garnish
- Tortilla strips
- Shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- Pico de gallo or chunky tomato salsa
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven.
- Add onion and cook until starting to soften.
- Add garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
- Add the chicken broth.
- Mix ground tortilla chips with the water and add to the pot.
- Add enchilada sauce, cheese, chili powder, cumin, cayenne and hot sauce. Bring to a boil while stirring constantly (or the soup will scorch). Reduce the heat to a simmer.
- Add chicken and beans. Simmer 30-40 minutes until thickened.
- Serve with desired garnish.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are approximate.
