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Copycat Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup is the creamy, masa-thickened, cheese-melted bowl that tastes exactly like the chain restaurant version after one Sunday afternoon of testing in our Dutch oven. Seared chicken, toasted spices, masa harina for body, and red enchilada sauce build a soup that lands between a hearty chili and a creamy tortilla soup. If you loved our Copycat Chili’s Southwest Egg Rolls, this is the bowl that goes with them.
One Dutch oven, 35 minutes, and dinner is in the bowl with tortilla strips and a shower of melty cheese.
Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup Quick Look
- 🕐 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🍴 Cook Time: 25 minutes
- ⏳Total Time: 35 minutes
- 🍽 Serving: 6 bowls
- ⚡ Calories: 450kcal per bowl
- 🌶 Flavor Profile: Creamy, smoky, and rich with seared chicken, toasted Mexican spices, masa-thickened broth, and a melted cheddar-Jack finish (Chili’s restaurant copycat soup, weeknight Dutch oven dinner).
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our Copycat Chili’s Southwest Egg Rolls.
Quick Answer
Sear seasoned chicken breasts in a Dutch oven, toast garlic with chili powder, cumin, and onion powder, then build a broth with chicken stock and the seared chicken. Whisk masa harina into reserved stock and stream it into the simmering pot to thicken. Stir in red enchilada sauce, simmer until creamy, then melt in shredded Monterey Jack and sharp cheddar off the heat. Serve with tortilla strips, fresh cilantro, and sour cream.
Jump to:
- Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- How This Compares to the Original
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup FAQs
- Other Recommended Copycat Recipes
- Copycat Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup (Tortilla Soup Recipe)
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Masa harina is the secret thickener. Most chicken enchilada soup recipes skip the masa harina and use flour or cornstarch to thicken. That gives you a thick soup, but not the right thick soup. Masa harina is dried corn dough, the same ingredient used to make corn tortillas. When whisked into the broth, it thickens the soup AND adds that subtle corn-tortilla flavor that makes Chili’s version taste like enchiladas in a bowl. Without it, you just have cheesy chicken soup. With it, you have the real thing.
- Searing the chicken builds the flavor floor. Golden-brown fond on the Dutch oven bottom dissolves into the broth and carries the smoky-spicy notes through every bite.
- Toasting the spices before liquid wakes them up. 30 seconds of chili powder, cumin, and onion powder in hot oil deepens the warm-spice backbone before stock dilutes them.
- Red enchilada sauce ties it to the chain version. The 10 oz can adds tang and color you cannot replicate with just tomato or chiles.
- Cheese off the heat keeps it silky. Stirring Monterey Jack and sharp cheddar in after the burner is off prevents the cheese from breaking or going stringy.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Tastes exactly like the Chili’s version. Masa harina + red enchilada sauce + Jack-and-cheddar finish is the chain-restaurant fingerprint, dialed in at home.
- One Dutch oven, 35 minutes. Sear, simmer, thicken, melt – dinner in the bowl with zero side dishes required.
- Pantry-friendly spices. Chili powder, cumin, onion powder, and garlic do all the flavor work – no specialty seasoning required.
- Naturally gluten-free. Masa harina (corn flour) is the thickener instead of wheat flour.
- Doubles as a tortilla soup. Garnish with crushed tortilla chips and a squeeze of lime and it lands right between the two chain versions.
How This Compares to the Original
Chili’s serves their chicken enchilada soup as one of their most popular menu items. The restaurant version is a thick, smooth, cheesy soup with a noticeable corn-tortilla flavor from the masa harina, topped with shredded cheese, crumbled tortilla chips, and pico de gallo. This copycat nails the flavor profile by using the same masa harina as the thickening agent, which is the ingredient most generic chicken soup recipes miss. The Velveeta (or processed American cheese) gives it the same smooth, velvety melt that the restaurant achieves, though you can use shredded cheddar if you prefer a sharper flavor. The main difference from the restaurant is that the homemade version lets you control the spice level, use real chicken instead of pre-cooked, and make a full pot for the family instead of paying per bowl.
Key Ingredients
- Chicken breasts: 3 boneless skinless breasts. Searing them whole before slicing keeps them juicier than dicing first.
- Chicken stock: 3 boxes (96 oz total) of unsalted – reserve 2 cups cold for the masa slurry.
- Masa harina: 1 1/4 cups (Maseca or Bob’s Red Mill). The corn-tortilla thickener that gives the soup its chain-restaurant body.
- Red enchilada sauce: 1 10 oz can – the tang + color that ties this to the Chili’s version. Old El Paso or Las Palmas both work.
- Monterey Jack & sharp cheddar: 2 cups each, shredded. Off the heat – that’s how the soup stays silky instead of stringy.
- Mexican spice trio: chili powder, ground cumin, onion powder. Toast 30 seconds before adding stock.
- Tortilla strips, cilantro, sour cream: the chain-restaurant garnish trio – do not skip.
See the recipe card below for exact quantities and the full ingredient list.
Variations and Substitutions
- Tortilla soup spin: add 1 cup of crushed tortilla chips during the simmer and a squeeze of fresh lime at serve – turns this into a full tortilla soup.
- Rotisserie shortcut: swap raw chicken breasts for 3 cups shredded rotisserie. Skip the searing step and add the chicken at the same point as the masa slurry.
- Green chile version: sub green enchilada sauce for red. Adds a brighter, jalapeno-forward flavor.
- Slow cooker: sear and toast spices in a skillet, transfer everything (except cheese) to a slow cooker, cook 4 hours on low. Stir in cheese at the end.
- Spicy bump: add a diced jalapeno or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne with the spices for extra heat.
- Dairy-free: use a plant-based shredded cheese alternative. The soup body comes from masa, not cheese, so the texture holds.
How to Make Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Season the chicken breasts on both sides with kosher salt and pepper.
- Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the oil, and sear the chicken on both sides until golden brown. Remove and set aside.
- Add the minced garlic, chili powder, ground cumin, onion powder, and remaining salt to the pot. Toast about 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Reserve 2 cups of chicken stock for later. Add the rest to the pot and scrape up the fond. Return the seared chicken and simmer.
- Once the chicken is cooked through, take it out, thinly slice, and return it to the pot.
- Whisk the reserved 2 cups of chicken stock with the masa harina until smooth, then stream it into the simmering pot.
- Stir in the red enchilada sauce. Bring back to a simmer and simmer for another 10 minutes to thicken.
- Turn off the heat. Add half of the Monterey Jack and half of the cheddar; stir gently until melted and silky.
- Ladle into bowls and top with more cheese, tortilla strips, fresh cilantro, and a dollop of sour cream.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
Five small moves that separate a creamy Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup from a thin, grainy one.
- Whisk the masa with COLD stock. Adding masa directly to hot liquid makes it clump. Cold-whisked slurry streamed in gives you silky body every time.
- Sear the chicken hard. Don’t move it for the first 3-4 minutes. The fond on the bottom is half the flavor of the finished soup.
- Toast spices in oil 30 seconds, no more. Burnt spices turn bitter and ruin the broth. Pull as soon as they smell deeply fragrant.
- Cheese OFF the heat. Add half the cheese after the burner is off and stir slowly. Cheese added to a boiling pot will break and go stringy.
- Simmer 10 minutes after the masa. The corn flavor needs that time to bloom and the soup needs that time to fully thicken – rushing this step gives you flour-soup taste.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Pile on tortilla strips, a shower of extra cheddar, fresh chopped cilantro, and a generous dollop of sour cream – that is the chain-restaurant garnish trio.
- Slice an avocado on top for richness and a squeeze of lime for brightness.
- Serve with our Copycat Chili’s Southwest Egg Rolls on the side for the full chain appetizer-and-soup combo.
- Add warm flour tortillas or cornbread on the side for dipping and soaking up the broth.
- Pair with a crisp green salad or our Grilled Roasted Corn Salsa for color and crunch.
Make this Copycat Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup this week – one Dutch oven, 35 minutes, and the entire family is at the table. Tag us on Instagram @ThisSillyGirlsKitchen when you do; we love seeing your cheesy, masa-thick bowls.
Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup FAQs
They are very similar but not identical. Chili’s chicken enchilada soup is thicker, creamier, and finished with cheese. Their tortilla soup is brothier and topped with crisp tortilla strips. This recipe lands in the middle – thick like the enchilada soup, with optional tortilla strips on top for the tortilla soup spin.
Masa harina is finely ground corn flour used to make tortillas. It thickens the soup and adds the corn-tortilla flavor that defines Chili’s version. Find it in the Mexican aisle (Maseca brand is most common) or with the flours. Do not substitute cornmeal – the texture will be gritty.
Yes. The soup tastes even better the next day. Cool fully, refrigerate up to 4 days. Reheat gently over low heat, whisking occasionally. Stir in fresh cheese as you reheat if needed – the original cheese sometimes settles.
Cool fully, portion into freezer-safe containers (leave 1 inch headspace), and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat gently and whisk in 1/4 cup hot water if it thickened too much during freezing.
Yes. Skip the searing step entirely. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the Dutch oven, toast the spices, build the broth, add 3 cups shredded rotisserie at the same point you would normally return the sliced chicken. Total cook time drops to about 20 minutes.
Substitute 1 cup of tomato sauce mixed with 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Simmer 5 minutes before adding to the soup. Old El Paso, Las Palmas, and Hatch all sell red enchilada sauce in the Mexican aisle.
Yes to both. For the slow cooker, combine everything except the cheese and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or high for 2 to 3 hours. Add the cheese in the last 30 minutes and stir until melted. For the Instant Pot, use the saute function to brown the chicken and saute the onion, then pressure cook on high for 10 minutes with a 10 minute natural release. Add the cheese after releasing pressure and stir until smooth.
Both are Tex-Mex chicken soups, but they are built differently. Enchilada soup has a thick, creamy, cheesy base made with enchilada sauce and masa harina. It is smooth and rich. Tortilla soup has a thinner, tomato-based broth that is lighter and brothier, topped with fried tortilla strips. Think of enchilada soup as the creamy version and tortilla soup as the brothy version. Both are delicious, but they are not the same dish.
Other Recommended Copycat Recipes
If you made this Copycat Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup, leave a star rating and a comment below. We love hearing how your family liked it. Tag us on Instagram @ThisSillyGirlsKitchen so we can see your cheesy, masa-thick bowls.
Keep the cozy Mexican flavors coming with our easy ground beef wet burritos.
Keep the Chili’s copycat night going with our creamy cajun chicken pasta recipe, juicy cajun chicken over penne in a silky Parmesan sauce.
Copycat Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup (Tortilla Soup Recipe)
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt divided
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 3 – 32 ounce boxes unsalted chicken stock, divided
- 1 ¼ cups masa harina corn flour
- 10 ounce can red enchilada sauce
- 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese divided
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese divided
Instructions
- Season the chicken breasts on both sides with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and pepper.3 chicken breasts
- Heat a dutch oven over medium-heat. Once hot, add the oil and sear the chicken on both sides, do not crowd the pan, you may need to do this step in batches. Place the seared chicken on a plate, set aside.3 chicken breasts
- Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, and the remaining 1 & ½ teaspoons salt and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds.3 chicken breasts
- Reserve 2 cups of chicken stock for later, add the rest to the pot and scrape the bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the seared chicken back to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes covered.3 chicken breasts
- Take the chicken and thinly slice it. Add it back to the pot.
- Mix together the remaining 2 cups of chicken stock and the masa harina until smooth. Slowly stream in this mixture while whisking.3 chicken breasts
- Add the enchilada sauce and mix it in. Bring back to a simmer and simmer for an additional 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. The soup will thicken from the masa harina.3 chicken breasts
- Turn off the heat, add half of the Monterey Jack cheese and half of the cheddar cheese. Stir it in until melted. Taste, adjust seasoning if necessary.3 chicken breasts
- Serve with more of the cheeses on top, the tortilla strips, cilantro, and sour cream.3 chicken breasts
Notes
- To make this spicy you can add ½ teaspoon chipotle powder or cayenne pepper. You can also add some diced fresh jalapenos or chopped pickled jalapenos as well.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
- Use any of your favorite taco toppings, some suggestions are above.
- If you want to bulk up this recipe you can add corn, black beans, pinto beans, or even rice!
- This is great to double to freeze for later.
- You can also use shredded chicken for this recipe.
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
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This recipe asked for too much flour. I’d more go with a half a cup of flour. The soup was way too thick. I ended up having to add an extra 4 cups of chicken broth.
I followed the recipe and it came out very bland. Pretty disappointed, but I am going to go back and add some things to it to doctor it up.
Followed recipe (but added 1 tbs cayenne powder) and it was amazing! Everyone went back for seconds and some thirds. Will make many more times (especially since I have 4 lbs of corn flower to use up).
Absolutely delicious and tastes better than Chilis! Thank you 😊
This tastes EXACTLY like Chili’s soup. It is delicious! I followed it to a T!
This is delicious and a pretty good copycat recipe! Only things I change/would change: I added a diced onion and sautéed that with the spices, and if you get regular sodium chicken stock there’s probably enough sodium in that, I would wait till the end to add any additional salt to taste.
Can I make this is something other than a Dutch oven?
WOW!! This recipe is fantastic. I put only about a half cup of masa, and used chicken broth instead of chicken stock as that’s what I had on hand. I think next time I might add another chicken breast.
This soup was delicious 😋 However, I would suggest adding more chicken. I used a whole rotisserie chicken, a can of Rotel, and a can of rinsed black beans. It still was mostly the yummy broth. Next time, I will double the chicken and beans. Still really delish!
I made this tonight and my family loved it!! It was a really great soup!
Actually, you add the seared chicken back in the pt and then simmer, but the chicken would still be cooked with the additional cooking after step 5. I will update the recipe, thanks for pointing that out.
Trying this right now! So, you let just the stock, garlic, and spices simmer for 30 minutes before adding the chicken and sauce?
It’s 3 32 ounce boxes, sorry for the confusion, I updated the recipe.