If you ever had the Chicken Enchilada Soup at Chili’s you know that it’s delicious. I may be a food blogger and all but I’m not ashamed to tell you that Chili’s was the inspiration for this recipe. After a trip to Costco one evening we stopped in at a Chili’s for a quick bite and my Husband and Son both got this soup and could not stop talking about it and BEGGED me to make it at home.
I Can’t Just Make Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup
I had to go and make it better by SMOKING THE CHICKEN first, because who doesn’t want all that amazing smoke flavor to make this already amazing soup even more flavorful?
By first smoking the chicken on your pellet smoker or grill you add smoke flavor to this soup, and we all know that smoke flavor is like adding umami- the unsung hero of any dish that amplifies it while adding no calories!
When I got my Moinkbox in the mail, I knew exactly what I was going to make with those chicken breasts!
Have you heard of Moinkbox? Moinkbox is a Meat Subscription box that works with family farms, aka “tender hearted carnivores” and ensures that all meat is ethically sourced and harvested and their seafood it is sustainably caught. The Moinkbox is fully customizable so you can pick what suits your needs and it comes with a ton of meat so each month’s subscription (which can be paused when you want) is a great value!
I am super happy to have found Moinkbox because I am not a fan of factory farms and how they treat their animals. I’m also not a fan of all the junk ingredients you end up ingesting when you buy meat at the grocery store from the factory farm.
Moink’s commitment is that their meats do not contain:
Antibiotics, growth hormones, GMO grains, artificial colors or solutions, sugar or nitrates. What a score to have found a company I can 100% trust with my health and their treatment of their animals!
If you want to give Moink a try, use my promo code Moinbox.com/GrillGirl and you’ll get free ground beef for a year! Now that is an amazing Moink box Coupon!
So, back to the soup. The main ingredient that makes this Chili’s (copycat) Enchilada soup taste like Chicken Enchilada soup is MASA HARINA.
What is MASA HARINA?
Masa Harina is corn flour- it is the flour used to make tortillas and all kinds of other Latin dishes like tamales. In order to make Masa Harina, corn kernels are dried, cooked and soaked in a lime solution (calcium hydroxide, not the citrus fruit) to make hominy. After it has finished soaking, the kernels are rinsed, dried, and ground into a fine powder resembling flour- and that is how Masa Harina is turned into corn flour.
For the unique texture of this Smoked Chicken Enchilada Soup, a Smoked version of Chili’s Chicken Enchilada Soup recipe, you have to use Masa Harina – it cannot be switched out for Corn Meal. You can find Masa Harina most likely in the flour or Latin section at your grocery store, and if not here is a link on Amazon.
How to Make this Smoked Chicken Enchilada Soup Recipe:
- Dry rub the chicken. Mix all of the seasonings together in a small bowl and then sprinkle them over the chicken breast.
- Smoked the Chicken at 250 until it reaches an internal temp of 160 with an internal read thermometer such as the thermapen. This should take no more than an hour. Once it has reached the proper internal temp, remove and cover under foil until it’s ready to be added to the soup. While the Chicken is smoking, start making the soup.
- Sauté the onions. Add the onions to large stock pot or dutch oven and sauté until they break down.
- Add the Spices. Let them get fragrant. Next, add the green chiles.
- Add the chicken broth. and chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil.
- Prepare the masa harina. Remove 2 cups of the hot broth from the pot and add it to a large bowl. Add 1/2 cup of masa harina to the hot broth and whisk. The mixture will thicken quickly.
- Add the rest of the ingredients. Add the Masa Harina and the rest of the ingredients to the pot.
- Thicken the soup. Allow the soup to simmer for 20 more minutes to thicken.
- Add the cheese! In this last step, remove the pot from the heat and add the cream cheese and cheddar cheese to the soup. Stir in the cheese until melted.
- Garnish: With tortilla strips and cilantro and serve with lime wedges. This is a great opportunity to put out all your favorite hot sauces!
Lastly, this soup is perfect to serve on Taco Tuesday when wearing my “Margaritas Made Me Do It” shirt found in the GrillGirl Shop!
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Smoked Chicken Enchilada Soup (Chili's Copy Cat Recipe)
- Total Time: 2 hours + 5 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
This Smoked Chicken Chili Recipe similar to the one found at Chili's is amplified by smoking the chicken on your pellet smoker or any smoker before adding it to the soup, giving it NEXT LEVEL flavor. Even if you don't smoke the chicken first, you can add smoky flavor by first rubbing the chicken first with a dry rub that consists of Smoked Paprika. This Smoked Chicken Enchilada Soup (Chili's Copycat recipe) uses Masa Harina, otherwise known as Corn Flour, which can be found in the Latin Section of the grocery store. This recipe is guaranteed to become a family favorite!
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 4 chicken breasts from your Moinkbox
Dry Rub:
- 1 tsp olive oil- to help bind the rub to the chicken
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
Soup:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin, separated
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder, separated
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- ½ large white onion, diced
- 1 4-oz. can green chilis – use as much as you like (I only use a tbsp so my kid will eat it!)
- 1 cup red enchilada sauce
- 6 cups (Organic) chicken broth
- 1/2 cup masa harina (+ more if you need it)*
- 4 oz. cream cheese, softened and cut into cubes
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
Combine the salt, pepper and smoked paprika. Rub the chicken with the olive oil. Next, rub the chicken with the dry rub.
Heat Smoker to 250 degrees. Add the chicken and let it smoke until it reaches an internal temp of 160 degrees.
While the chicken is smoking, go start on the soup.
Heat a large stock pot on low to medium heat. Add the olive oil and then add the onions and let them reduce down. Next, add the spices and let them get aromatic in the onion mixture for a few minutes. Next, add the green chilis then add the chicken broth. Pour the chicken broth into the pot and bring to a boil over high heat (and then turn to a simmer).
Remove 2 cups of the broth and put in another bowl. Next, mix in ½ cup of the Masa Harina to the broth and mix well getting the lumps out. Pour the Masa Harina mixture back into the stock pot and add the red enchilada sauce to the soup. let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes.
At this point, the chicken should be ready. Chop the chicken up into bite sized pieces add back into the soup.
Remove the soup from the heat.
Next, add the cheese, stir into the soup and use a whisk to help get the clumps out. Next, add the cream cheese.
Congrats- the soup is officially done!
Garnish with lime tortilla strips and cilantro and serve with lime wedges. Put out your favorite hot sauces this soup is perfect for a splash of hot sauce!
I guarantee your family will LOVE this recipe!
Notes
Note: this recipe was developed in partnership with my friends at Moinkbox.com. I only work with brands I use and personally recommend.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: Smoked Chicken Enchilada Soup Recipe, Chicken Enchilada Soup Chili's, Smoked Chicken Enchilada Soup Recipe, Chilis Copycat Smoked Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Method: smoke, simmer
- Cuisine: American, Fresh Mex, Mexican
