Delicious Chicken Tortilla Soup | Instant Pot |
Chicken Tortilla Soup is an easy and flavorful soup to make in the instant pot. This is a simple-budget-friendly recipe made with basic pantry items. A perfect combination of spices, meat, and veggies. To make it more flavorful add your favorite toppings such as cilantro, sour cream, and tortilla chips. This can be a dump-and-go recipe, but to truly get all the flavors out, I like to saute the vegetables and the spices with the meat. Trust me on that. Cooking the spices really enhances the flavor of your food. If you are short on time, you may dump all the ingredients and press start. Either way, you will still have a hearty chicken tortilla soup.
As they say, there is no such thing as soup season… or I think I just made that up! But really, you can have this soup in the winter or all year long. To save time, you can even make a big batch of soup and meal plan for the week. Store in an air-tight container for 5-7 days or freezer to be enjoyed later. Be sure to store it without toppings… you already knew that!
Watch us make chicken tortilla soup here
First, I like to saute my onions, so they blend with the soup later on. Garlic and jalapenos give the soup a nice aroma and flavor. You can skip the jalapenos if heat is a concern but I highly recommend it as it adds a unique flavor to the soup. I also like to saute the spices to truly bring out and infuse the flavors with the rest of the ingredients.
Let’s talk about the chicken. I like to cube my chicken ahead of time into bite-sized pieces. You can add large boneless chicken pieces and shred them later after it’s done cooking. This is a completely personal preference, as my family and I prefer small chunks rather than the thinly shredded chicken. If you have leftover chicken, you may also use it in this recipe. If using leftovers, I would pressure cook the soup first, then add the chicken and let it simmer. If you prefer a vegetarian version, you can totally skip the chicken and the soup will be just as good. Enjoy!
Checkout these other soup recipes on the spice genie blog
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Equipment
- Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 4-6 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
- 1 medium sized diced onion
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 Jalapeno (seeds removed and diced) optional
- 1 lb chicken boneless (cubes bite-sized)
- 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes (14 oz)
- 1 can corn (15 oz) drained and washed
- 1 can black beans (15 oz) drained and washed
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp chili powder (can add 2 tsp for more flavor)
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1/2 lime juice squeezed
- 1 tsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp chipotle peppers in adobo sauce Optional
Toppings – as needed
- cheddar cheese
- tortilla chips strips
- sour cream
- lime juice
Instructions
- Add 1 medium diced onion and saute until translucent. This step will soften the onion for the soup.
- Add 3 garlic cloves minced and jalapenos. Saute until fragrant.
- Add cubed chicken, 1 tsp cumin and 1 tsp chili powder. Saute for 2-3 minutes or until chicken is slightly browned.
- Add fire-roasted tomatoes and saute for 1 minute.
- Add 4-6 cups of broth, 1 tsp tomato paste, salt to taste and black pepper. Be sure to deglaze the pot.
- Add 1 can of corn and 1 can of black beans (drained and washed).
- ** Optional: For a unique smokey flavor, 1 tsp of chipotle in adobo sauce can be added at this point.
- Cover and seal the lid. Pressure cook for 15 minutes and 5 minutes NPR.
- When the pin drops, open the lid. Adjust seasoning and salt as needed.
- Add lime juice of 1/2 of a lime and cilantro. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Top it with tortilla chips, sour cream, and cheese.
Notes
- Jalapenos add some depth and a little heat to the soup. This is optional but highly recommended.
- I used cubed chicken in the recipe. You may use whole boneless chicken and shred after the pressure cooking cycle. I personally prefer the cubed chicken texture than the shredded chicken.
- Chipotle pepper with adobo sauce can also be added to give this soup for a deep smokey flavor. If you choose to add it, you may add 1 tsp of the sauce with the main ingredients (before pressure cooking).