Healthy and easy Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup with a spicy kick and a hint of lime, topped with all of your favorites like avocado, shredded cheese, tortilla strips, and cilantro.
For more Mexican-inspired dishes, check out my popular posts for Instant Pot Cheesy Mexian Chicken and Rice, Mexican Beef and Rice Skillet, and Sheet Pan Chili Lime Shrimp Fajitas.
Soup weather is here and I’m beyond ready. I’m like, triple ready. You should see my pantry, it’s packed to the brim with everything I could possibly need for any and all kinds of soup. I have your broth, tomatoes in all varieties, tortilla chips, beans, green chilies, onions, chilis in adobo, stock, bullion, and spices galore. The fridge and freezer are also prepared, full of chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, fresh and frozen produce, cheese, yogurt, and sour cream.
Once I stocked everything up for the week, I just kinda stared blankly into the pantry, wondering which delightful soup to make first. I knew this time around it had to be fast, because we had a busy day ahead of us, and I wouldn’t have much time for cooking. So I thought of the Instant Pot. Then, I thought, I was kind of in the mood for a Mexican-inspired soup because, well, I’m always in the mood for that and it seemed extra comforting on this particular day.
I got out the necessary tools and ingredients from the fridge and pantry and went to work putting together this pressure cooker chicken tortilla soup. (An Instant Pot is actually an appliance that is most commonly used as a pressure cooker, among other things.)
This recipe is also great if you are on a budget and can be made into a vegetarian option too.
Toppings for Chicken Tortilla Soup
The toppings I love (and always have on hand) include:
- Cheese
- Sour cream
- Jalapenos
- Sliced black olives
- Hot sauce
- Salsa
- Avocado
- Guacamole
- Diced red or green onions
- Limes or lime juice
- Tortilla strips or chips
- Chopped cilantro
Storage Directions
Like most soups, cooked Tortilla Lime Chicken Soup will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. Be sure to let it come to room temperature before putting it in an airtight container in the fridge.
To store it even longer, you can freeze this Instant Pot soup recipe. Again, let it come to room temperature before putting in freezer-safe containers. It will last in the freezer for about 3-4 months. Thaw before reheating in the microwave or stovetop.
How to Thicken Chicken Tortilla Soup
If you’d like this healthy chicken soup to be a little thicker, there is a simple solution for that. You can make a roux and add it to the soup during step 6. What you’ll want to do while the soup is cooking in the Instant Pot is to mix 4 tablespoons of white flour with about 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl to make a paste. When you take the chicken out to shred, add the roux to the Instant Pot and stir in. You can add a little bit more roux if it’s not as thick as you like. Keep stirring until it thickens to your desired consistency.
Add the chicken back to the pot after shredding, and finish steps 7 and 8.
How to Make Vegetarian Chicken Tortilla Soup
You can make this dish into an Instant Pot vegetarian tortilla soup, no problem. It’s as simple as omitting the chicken and doubling up on beans instead. I use canned beans or pre-cooked beans for this recipe when making a vegetarian version. Two cans of black beans work great but you can substitute any beans you like or two different varieties for that matter.
You’ll skip the searing part for the chicken and move right to step 3, which is when you’ll add your beans to the Instant Pot as well. Instead of cooking for 7 minutes, set the timer for only 5 minutes. Otherwise, you can follow the rest of the directions, skipping the parts that talk about chicken.
Instant Pot or Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 4 cups chicken broth - (I use low sodium)
- 1 can black beans - drained and rinsed
- 1 can yellow corn - drained and rinsed
- 1 can diced tomatoes and chiles
- 1 10-ounce can mild enchilada sauce
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt - or to taste
Instructions
Slow Cooker
- Place chicken in the bottom of your slow cooker. Add broth, beans, corn, Rotel (diced tomatoes and chiles), enchilada sauce, and seasonings.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours.
- Uncover, use two forks to shred chicken (careful not to over-shred, you still want some chunks of chicken) and stir. Serve with desired toppings.
Instant Pot
- Place chicken in the bottom of your pressure cooker. Add broth, beans, corn, Rotel (diced tomatoes and chiles), enchilada sauce, and seasonings. Put the lid on, lock into place, and turn the vent valve to the SEALED position.
- Set to Manual/Pressure Cook on high for 15 minutes.
- Turn the vent valve to VENT to do a quick release. Once the float valve drops, remove the lid.
- Use two forks to shred chicken (careful not to over-shred, you still want some chunks of chicken) and stir. Serve with desired toppings.
So easy and tastes amazing!
Have you tried making this in your Instant pot?
I haven’t yet! If you do, I’d love to hear how it turns out!!
Can this be made then frozen for a later date?
yes, I think so!
My entire family loved it!
I am 76 years old and have never made this before. I doubled the recipe. I made this for my daughter, her husband, their son and his wife and myself. It was a huge hit! I loved it so much, I’m going to make it quite regularly. Absolutely addicting.