Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup
No matter their age, every single one of my family members LOVES this simple Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Soup. Everyone can customize their soup (more cheese! Tortilla strips! Hot sauce!) to get it exactly how they want it. It definitely hits all those cravings for Mexican food without the hassle of takeout or rolling your own enchiladas. I love being able to throw this soup together in my slow cooker before the day gets crazy, and then a delicious dinner is magically ready in the evening. We use Slow Cooker Enchilada Soup a lot during the busy fall and winter months, when we may not get a chance to sit down for dinner together between school and practice and other obligations. Everyone can fix their own bowl of soup when they’re ready (and they’re eating veggies to boot!). The real star of this Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup is the Italian dressing. You may not think of Italian dressing when you think of enchiladas, but the tangy dressing makes this soup stand out from all the others that only use broth and spices. You can use the packets, but I usually keep Italian dressing in the fridge since it’s the perfect marinade and sauce for so many things.
Customizing Your Crockpot Enchilada Soup
There are so many ways to remix this soup for your taste. Here are a few ideas that I’ve tried or seen other chefs do:
Speed things up with rotisserie chicken added towards the end of cooking. Try different types of salsa—like Mango Habanero! Swap the Italian dressing for actual canned enchilada sauce (green is our favorite, but red is delicious if you like more heat!). Use lightly browned ground beef if you prefer red meat to poultry. Melt cheese over chips and dip into the soup! Meal prep this Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup by mixing the chicken, liquids, and spices in a Tupperware or Ziploc, then freezing. Pull the mixture out to thaw the night before, then throw in your Crockpot with the canned ingredients in the morning.
