Enchilada soup is perfect for celebrating Cinco de Mayo’s vibrant culture and rich history. It’s a vegan dish that you can add meat to if you want.
When I developed this recipe, it was a cold day. Cold days are great for soup. We love enchiladas, and this soup has traditional ingredients, including corn tortillas, enchilada sauce, and beans. Of course, you are more than welcome to add your favorite meat, chicken, beef, or even pork. It’s a great way to use up leftovers; just add them to the soup.
The Instant Pot for Enchilada Soup Beans
If you have no other reason to *buy an Instant Pot, this is it. Beans are done in 50 minutes—that’s right, without soaking. The trick to making good beans is using plenty of water, some epazote, a bay leaf, and pieces of broken-up garlic. If you have little garlic cloves sitting around, this is the place to use them.
A Blender to Make Enchilada Sauce
I don’t remember where I found this recipe, but it does make the best red enchilada sauce. The original recipe calls for dried New Mexico chili peppers, but I like the smokiness of chipotle. You can usually find dried chipotle chili peppers where you find other dried peppers. Chipotle peppers are the smoked variety of the jalapeno pepper. They’re firey, hot, and smoky. I use this sauce for my Stacked Enchiladas.
Stacked Enchiladas with Red Chipotle Sauce
Making the sauce is pretty simple. Soak the chilis in hot water for about an hour, then remove them from the water and put them in a blender with a cut-up onion, a few garlic cloves, and two cups of the soaking water. Puree them and cook the sauce until it thickens. I didn’t need to cook the sauce here because it went into the soup pot and cooked there.
Tortillas Thicken the Soup
Don’t throw away that good pot liquor when you make the beans and put them in the pot. It’s used as a thickener for the soup.
Corn tortillas are wonderful because they taste good, they can thicken sauces, and they are gluten-free. If you have an intolerance to gluten, consider corn tortillas.
When I make Country-Style Ribs with Green Chili Sauce, the sauce is also thickened with corn tortillas.
Country-Style Ribs with Green Chili Sauce for the Instant Pot
Enchilada Soup for Cinco de Mayo
While many may associate Cinco de Mayo with margaritas and tacos, this holiday holds deeper significance, making it an occasion worthy of nationwide recognition and celebration by Americans.
Cinco de Mayo commemorates the Mexican army’s victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Contrary to popular belief, it is not Mexico’s Independence Day (which is celebrated on September 16) but rather a testament to the resilience and bravery of the Mexican people in the face of adversity.
As Americans, it’s important to honor Cinco de Mayo. It has been suggested that, had the 4,000 Mexican soldiers not defeated the 8,000 French in Puebla, France would have aided the Confederate States of America in the American Civil War, and the United States’ destiny could have been very different.
Make it a Cinco De Mayo Mexican Feast
Serve guacamole and salsa in addition to the soup. Make extra chips in your air fryer. Cut corn tortillas into eights, spray them lightly with olive oil, sprinkle them with salt, and pop them in the air fryer for about seven minutes. You can also do that in the oven.
Enchilada Soup Recipe
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Enchilada Soup
Equipment
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Ingredients
~~ — Red Sauce — ~~
- 3 pods New Mexico Chili Peppers
- 2 Chipotle peppers, dried
- 2 cups Water, boiling
- 1 Onion, quartered
- 4 cloves Garlic
~~ — Beans — ~~
- 1 pound Black beans
- 1 teaspoon Epazote
- 2 cloves Garlic, broken up
- 2 Bay leaf
- 3 quart Water
~~ — Soup — ~~
- 2 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 Onion, chopped
- 1 Bell pepper, chopped
- 1 Carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 Jalapeno peppers, chopped
- 1 tablespoon Vegetable base
- 2 cups Water, boiling
- 10 ounce Plum tomatoes, canned
- 2 Chipotle peppers in Adobo
- 2 tablespoon Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Oregano
- 4 Corn tortillas, broken up
~~ — Tortilla Chips — ~~
- 4 Corn tortillas
- 1 teaspoon Olive oil
- ½ teaspoon Salt, kosher
~~ — Garnish — ~~
- ½ cup Sour cream
- ¼ cup Cilantro, chopped
- ¼ cup Green onion, chopped
- ½ cup Pepper jack cheese, grated
Instructions
- Mise en Place
Prepare the chilis
- 3 pods New Mexico Chili Peppers, 2 Chipotle peppers, 2 cups WaterThe chilis have to be rehydrated first. Put the chilis in a large bowl and pour the boiling water over them. Let them soak for at least one hour. Set them aside.
Prepare the beans
- 1 pound Black beans, 1 teaspoon Epazote, 2 cloves Garlic, 2 Bay leaf, 3 quart WaterPut the beans in the inner pot of the Instant Pot with 3 quarts of water, the bay leaves, epazote, and broken up pieces of garlic. Put the top and seal the pot. Set the beans for 50 minutes. Use the natural release method.
Prepare the soup
- 2 tablespoon Olive oil, 1 Onion, 1 Bell pepper, 1 Carrot, 1 Jalapeno peppersHeat the Dutch oven then add the olive oil. When the olive oil is hot, add the onions. Sauté until the onion becomes translucent then add the carrots. Sauté for about 5 minutes to get the carrots a bit soft. Add the jalapeno and bell pepper. Sauté until the pepper is soft.
- 1 tablespoon Vegetable base, 2 cups WaterMix the vegetable base with the water and pour that into the pot. Stir well to combine.
Make the Red Sauce
- 1 Onion, 4 cloves GarlicRemove the chilis from the bowl and put them into a blender with the reserved quartered onion, 4 garlic cloves, and the liquid in the bowl. Puree the sauce then add it to the soup.
Continue with the Soup
- 10 ounce Plum tomatoes, 2 Chipotle peppers in Adobo, 2 tablespoon Cumin, 1 teaspoon OreganoUsing a spider or slotted spoon, add the beans to the pot, but do not throw away the liquid as it will be used later in the recipe. Add the plum tomatoes, breaking them up with your hands. Don’t forget to add the liquid in the can. Stir, Add the chipotle peppers, oregano and cumin. Stir and simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour.
Thicken the Soup
- 4 Corn tortillasBreak up for tortillas and add them to a blender. Add 2 cups of the bean liquid. You may pour the remaining liquid into the soup pot. Puree the mixture and add it to the pot.
- If you wanted to add cooked meat, this would be the time to do it. To add meat, it must be cooked beforehand.
- Cook the soup on low, uncovered, for about 30 more minutes.
- 4 Corn tortillas, 1 teaspoon Olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon SaltCut the remaining tortillas into eights, spray them with olive oil and sprinkle salt on them. Cook them in the air fryer at 400 for 7 minutes or until they have crisped up. You can also put them on a baking sheet in a 400 degree oven for about 7 minutes.
Garnish
- 1/2 cup Sour cream, 1/4 cup Cilantro, 1/4 cup Green onion, 1/2 cup Pepper jack cheesePour the soup into a tureen or keep it in the Dutch oven. Top with soup with the tortilla chips and sprinkle some cheese on top as well as cilantro. Serve with the remaining cheese, sour cream, cilantro, and green onion. If you wish, you can also include salsa, guacamole and additional chips.
- Enjoy!
Wow! Thank you! I made this for Cinco de Mayo and it was a hit.
Hey there You have done a fantastic job! I will certainly digg it and personally recommend to my friends. I’m confident they’ll love this.