Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
Experience the bold flavors of Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup with our easy recipe. This hearty soup combines tender chicken, savory spices, and crispy tortilla strips for a Tex-Mex delight.
Let the Instant Pot do the work, making it a quick and flavorful choice for a satisfying meal. Enjoy the comforting taste of chicken tortilla soup with the convenience of Instant Pot cooking!
Contents
Why You’ll Love Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
With a cook time of just 20 minutes, it’s hard to believe that a soup this good can be made. But trust me on this one – your Instant Pot can crank out some crazy good recipes!
This easy chicken tortilla soup Instant pot recipe will soon become a family favorite because it is:
- Fast and simple to come in the pressure cooker.
- Loaded with flavors such as chili powder.
- Perfect for having as leftovers – Who doesn’t love leftover soup!
Recipe Ingredients
All you have to do to get started is gather up the simple ingredients listed below.
- Olive Oil: Used for sautéing the onions and garlic.
- White Onion: Provides a savory and slightly sweet flavor to the soup.
- Cloves garlic : Infuses the soup with aromatic flavor, adding depth and complexity to the overall taste profile.
- Diced Green Chiles: Adds a mild heat and a tangy flavor to the soup, enhancing its overall spiciness and adding a subtle kick.
- Fire-Roasted Diced Tomatoes: Brings a smoky and slightly charred flavor to the soup, adding depth and richness.
- Red enchilada sauce: Contributes a rich and tangy taste to the soup, providing a bold and vibrant flavor profile.
- Chili Powder: Adds a mild spiciness and a rich earthy flavor to the soup, enhancing its depth of taste.
- Cumin: Infuses the soup with a warm and earthy note, adding complexity and complementing the other flavors.
- Black Beans: Adds a protein-rich element to the soup, providing texture and substance.
- Low Sodium Chicken Broth or Stock: Provides moisture and a savory base for cooking the soup, enhancing the overall flavor and giving it a comforting depth.
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts or Shredded Chicken: Adds a tender and juicy element to the soup, providing protein and a satisfying texture.
- Canned or Frozen Corn: Adds a sweet and slightly crisp texture to the soup, contributing a burst of freshness and enhancing the overall flavor profile.
- Salt and Pepper: Enhances the taste of the soup, bringing out the natural flavors of the ingredients and helping to balance the overall seasoning.
- Shredded Cheese: Used as a garnish, it adds a creamy and indulgent element to the soup.
How to Make Chicken Tortilla Soup in the Instant Pot?
Get ready to be amazed at how simple this chicken tortilla soup recipe is!
Step One: To start, gather all of your ingredients and set your Instant Pot to the sauté function. Add the oil. Once hot, sauté the chopped onion for 5 minutes or until lightly brown stirring occasionally. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
Step Two: Cancel the saute function. Add a half cup of chicken broth and scrape any brown bits from the bottom of your Instant Pot. This will ensure there is no burn message while pressure cooking.
Step Three: Add remaining broth, chicken breast, spices, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, chilies, and beans. Close the Instant pot lid and seal the pressure valve. Pressure cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
Step Four: Quick release pressure and remove the chicken. Shred the chicken and return it to the pot. Serve and enjoy with your favorite topping such as lime-crumbled tortilla chips (smeared with lime juice) or homemade tortilla strips, sour cream, green chilies shredded cheese and diced avocado.
Optional Toppings & Add Ins
I love toppings! Some of my favorite toppings for Chicken tortilla soup are:
- Crispy tortilla strips or tortilla chips
- Shredded cheese
- Fresh Cilantro
- Diced Onions
- Fresh Jalapenos
- Lime Wedges
- Sliced Avocado
- Sour Cream
You can easily add on anything that you’d like! Putting your own toppings on your chicken tortilla soup bowl is the best.
How to Use Leftovers
Here are two ways to use leftover Chicken Fajita Soup:
Chicken Tortilla Soup Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
If you want to mix it up, another yummy way to use leftover Chicken Tortilla Soup is to turn it into Chicken Tortilla Soup Stuffed Sweet Potatoes!
Just bake some sweet potatoes until they are fork tender and slice them open. Top with your leftover Chicken Tortilla Soup, extra toppings, and enjoy as a new meal option.
Chicken Tortilla Soup Flatbread Pizza
You could also turn it into a Chicken Tortilla Soup Flatbread Pizza by layering it on a flatbread crust with some cheese and extra toppings, then baking it in the oven until the crust is crispy and the cheese is melted.
So many delicious options with Instant Pot tortilla soup leftovers!
FAQ’S
Can You Freeze Chicken Tortilla Soup?
Yes, you totally can! If you’re a fan of meal prep and freezing soups, this is a great recipe to do that with. All you need to do is make sure that you’re letting the soup cool down all the way before adding it to a freezer-safe bag.
Freezing it in a bag is a great tip because as it freezes, the bag will be flat and easier to stick in the freezer so that it doesn’t take up a bunch of room. If you don’t have a freezer bag use an airtight container.
Can I Use Frozen Chicken Breasts In Tortilla Soup?
Yes, absolutely! You can add frozen chicken breasts right into the soup and let it cook on high pressure for an extra 5 minutes or so until the chicken breast is cooked through.
Why Does This Chicken Tortilla Soup Use Frozen Corn Kernels?
I like using frozen corn kernels because it adds just the right amount of sweetness and is super convenient. Plus, frozen corn tends to be a bit more tender than canned corn. But if you prefer, you can use canned corn with the same pressure cook time.
Why Use Low Sodium Chicken Stock?
Using low-sodium chicken stock allows you to control the amount of salt in your soup. Regular chicken broth can often be high in sodium and using a low-sodium version will help keep the sodium levels in check while still providing plenty of flavor.
Can I Make Chicken Tortilla Soup in the Slow Cooker?
Yes, you can certainly make this recipe in the slow cooker. Just follow all of the steps above but instead of setting your Instant Pot to sauté, set your slow cooker to the brown/saute function or cook on high for about 30 minutes before adding in the rest of the ingredients and cooking on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours.
How Do I Make My Own Tortilla Strips?
Making homemade tortilla chips or strips for toppings on this Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup is super easy. Take a few corn or flour tortillas and cut them into long, thin strips.
Heat up some olive oil in a pan and fry the cut tortillas until they are crispy. Drain them on a plate lined with paper towels to remove excess oil. Sprinkle with salt and enjoy as a topping for your soup!
What About Air Fryer Tortilla Strips?
You could also air fry your tortilla strips to get crispy without all the extra oil. Simply add the strips to your air fryer basket and cook for about 5 minutes.
Should Tortilla Soup Be Thickened?
If you want to thicken it up your Instant Pot chicken tortilla soup can, but I really like the consistency of this soup as is. Making the soup any thicker would make it almost have a chili consistency.
Can I Use Homemade Chicken Stock Or Chicken Broth?
You could also use homemade chicken stock for an even richer flavor. But, either way, just be sure to taste the soup before serving and adjust the seasoning as needed.
Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons Olive Oil
- 1/2 cup Onion diced
- 1 TBSP Cloves Garlic minced
- 4 ounce Diced Green Chilies
- 1 Can can fire roasted diced tomatoes 14.5 Oz
- 15 ounces Red Enchilada Sauce
- 1 TSP Chili Powder
- 1 TSP Cumin
- 15 ounce Can of Black Beans rinsed and drained
- 4 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
- 1- pound Chicken Breast Boneless Skinless
- 1 cup Corn drained if canned
- Salt And Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Set the instant pot to sauté and add the oil. Once hot, sauté onions for 5 minutes or until lightly brown. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
- Cancel the instant pot. Add a half cup of broth and scrape the instant pot bottom to remove onion and garlic.
- Add remaining broth, chicken, spices, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, chilies, and beans. Close the lid and seal the pressure valve. Cook on high for 10 minutes or until chicken is 165° internal.
- Quick release pressure and remove the chicken. Shred chicken and return to the pot.
- Serve and enjoy with your favorite topping such as lime crumbled tortilla chips or tortilla strips, sour cream, shredded cheese, and/or avocado.
Notes
Nutrition
More Instant Pot Recipes
If you love instant pot cooking then why not try more of our delicious Instant Pot Recipes.
The possibilities are endless with the Instant Pot! Happy cooking!
