Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup is a zesty soup that will compliment your next taco night or makes a meal on its own. Tender chicken, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes and Mexican spices come together nicely in a hearty, healthy soup.
INSTANT POT CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
Did you recently buy an instant pot, otherwise known as a pressure cooker? They are very popular these days and for good reason.
I love them as much as you guys do. I can’t believe I can take frozen chicken out of the freezer, pop it in my Instant Pot and have a meal in under an hour. Or I can make a batch of hard boiled eggs. There are so many great uses for the Instant Pot, especially soups. Today’s Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla is on rotation at my house along with this Instant Pot Turkey Chili and this Instant Pot Lentil Soup.
The instant pot can be such a time-saver when it comes to preparing meals. This soup also freezes really well for leftovers which is always a plus in book. When you serve this lay out a variety of garnishes. Some of my favorites include jalapeños, chips, cheese, sour cream, green onions, cilantro and red onions.
You might remember the first recipe for this Instant Pot Turkey Taco Pasta I shared. Both of these recipes are fairly easy for beginnings, like me, and are the type of recipe that will feed a family with some leftovers.
I love having leftovers to eat during the week for another meal or lunches. With this Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup you can easily freeze half of the soup for later.
If you are a beginner to your Instant Pot head to the end of this post for some good resources from other bloggers that will help you get up to speed. If you don’t have an instant pot you can make this soup using this recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup.
With the popularity of the Instant Pot I knew I had to come up with something similar for you guys that you can throw in your pressure cooker. If you like heathy instant pot recipes than this one is for you!
WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE IN THIS TORTILLA SOUP?
CHICKEN: I used chicken breasts in my tortilla soup but you can also use boneless chicken thighs if you like.
BEANS: I used black beans in my soup but you can use whatever beans you have on hand.
VEGETABLES: I add diced tomatoes, corn along with garnishes like red onion, cilantro and green onion. You can use a variety of vegetables including poblanos, bell peppers, jalapeños, zucchini and more.
MODIFICATIONS YOU CAN MAKE TO THIS SOUP
RICE: You can make this Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup with rice. I love adding brown rice in but white rice or even quinoa would work.
VEGETABLES: The more vegetables the better. You can add additional vegetables like poblanos, carrots and celery.
SPICE: Do you like heat? Add crushed red pepper, cayenne pepper or diced jalapeños.
COOKING TIPS FOR THIS CHICKEN SOUP
Your Instant Pot will take some time to get up to pressure. When I first used it I forgot that the 5 minutes on Manual High didn’t actually mean it took 5 minutes. It takes time to come to pressure, cook for the 5 minutes and then of course it takes time to either natural or quick release.
Also remember when you use your Instant Pot to always make sure you turn off your Instant Pot when it is done depressurizing and then lift the lid away from your body.
Helpful Instant Pot & Pressure Cooker resources:
40 Essential Instant Pot Links
10 Basic Instant Pot Techniques {things like cooking applesauce, rice, ect}
Instant Pot Tips for Beginners
Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup is a zesty soup that will compliment your next taco night or makes a meal on its own. Tender chicken, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes and Mexican spices come together nicely in a hearty, healthy soup.
Ingredients
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 of a sweet onion or red onion, diced
- 1.5 pounds chicken breasts, boneless, skinless
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper {optional for spice}
- 1 teaspoon Mexican or regular oregano
- 1 - 15 ounce diced tomatoes {you can also use fire roasted}
- 1 - 5 ounce can of diced chiles
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 1 - 15 ounce can black beans, drained, rinsed
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Garnishes:
- Cheese
- Tortilla Strips
- Cilantro
- Diced red onion
- Jalapeno
- Avocado, diced
Instructions
Place the broth, garlic and onion in the Instant Pot. Place the chicken breasts on top followed by sprinkling all of the spices on top of the chicken. Next add the diced tomatoes, diced green chiles, corn and black beans.
Put the lid on the Instant Pot and lock the lid. Cook on MANUAL HIGH pressure for 5 minutes.
When it is done let the pressure release on its own {naturally} for 10 minutes. Then quick release the rest, using the quick release lever.
Once your pot is depressurized, remove the lid carefully {open away from your body}. Remove the chicken and place on a cutting board. Use two forks to shred the chicken and then return it back to the pot. Stir everything together.
Add the lime juice and cilantro and stir.
Taste and adjust seasonings including salt and pepper.
Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with cheese, tortilla strips, cilantro, red onion, jalapeños and avocado.
Notes
It is important to remember that the Instant Pot takes a little while to heat up and start the 5 minute MANUAL HIGH cook time. Build this into the amount of time the recipe takes along with the 10 minutes of natural release and then the quick release. I would say total this recipe took about 25 minutes.
Adjust the seasonings to your liking. I start with what I have listed and then taste the soup and adjust as needed at the end of cooking.
To help develop the flavor of the soup you can saute the vegetables in the spices for about 5 minutes. Make sure after you saute in your instant pot you use about 1/2 cup of broth to deglaze the bottom of the instant pot then add in the remaining ingredients according to the directions.
