Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Making chicken tortilla soup in the instant pot is a breeze. Trust me anyone who loves flavorful soup or Mexican inspired dishes is going to love this Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup. This is now one of our new favorites and added to our instant pot recipes because we all need more dinner ideas that can get on the table quick.

On this particular afternoon I didn’t manage grab photos with the toppings. I was so focused on getting food on the table for my hungry teen. Teens are always hungry when they get home from school. Right? My teen posed the question, should I snack now or will we have an early dinner? I took that as a hint to make dinner. I gave her the option of waiting for the soup. Why? Because Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup is done so fast, it was a no brainer to have her wait for something healthy to eat. 

Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup 

I went to take the photos the next day with the yummy toppings. But, after heating up the left over tortilla soup she raced in and had already ATE ALL the leftovers.

Oh, well just envision all the goodness of the garnishes like tortilla chips, shredded cheese, sliced or diced avocados and a dash of fresh squeezed lime added to the top of this soup, adding to the already amazing taste of the soup. Or keep it light and omit the yummy toppings. Your call but, either way this is the soup you want to make right now! 

The only thing I love about winter is the excuse for making homemade soups for dinner. Taking photos is a challenge especially in winter since I don’t like to use studio lights. I prefer natural lighting just like I like natural, wholesome ingredients in my cooking. 

Now that winter is officially here it’s three cheers to soup weather! Hip, hip hurrah!

This is my new version of a family favorite Chicken Tortilla Soup. If you don’t have an Instant Pot yet you can see our other version or adapt this for cooking in a soup pot on the stove or slow cooker.

Chicken Tortilla Soup 

Here’s what we typically add to the soup when it’s spooned into our soup bowls. We add shredded cheese, corn tortilla chips, and avocado. Squeeze a bit of lime on top. It’s a melting pot of flavors right in your mouth! 

If you love extra spicy add diced chili peppers or jalapenos to the recipe. A lot of time I add poblano peppers to the recipe but, this day I didn’t have them on hand. But, a dash of cayenne pepper will help if you don’t have peppers on hand and want to spice things up. 

Ingredients

• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts *cut into cubes
• 1 onion 
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 jalapeno pepper or poblano pepper (optional) 
• salt, pepper, cumin, oregano
• olive oil
• 1-32 ounce chicken broth
•  14.5 oz fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 small can salsa de jalapeno
• 1 -14.5 oz. canned black beans
• 1- can corn 

Toppings for chicken tortilla soup 

• tortilla chips
• avocados
• limes 
• shredded cheese (Mexican 3 cheese, pepper jack, sharp cheddar cheese)

Directions for making Chicken Tortilla Soup in the Instant Pot

1. 1. Set your Instant Pot on Saute
   2. Peel and chop your onion and garlic cloves
   3. If using peppers cut, seed, rinse and chop (use care oils from peppers can burn, wash hands immediately with soap and water) 
   4. Wash and chop your red bell pepper
   5. Toss them all in the pot, with 1 tbsp. olive oil and saute until onion is translucent 
   6. Add your cubed chicken meat
   7. Then add your fire roasted tomatoes, salsa de jalapeno, and chicken broth
   8. Stir and add in your spices
   9. Hit cancel. Close the lid of your pot, ensure it seals and set to Pressure Cook on high for 10 minutes *make sure valve is on sealing
   10. Let it cook and let it vent naturally for at least 10 minutes then put valve to venting to release any left over pressure. 
   11. It will stay on warm 
   12. Add can of drained black beans and corn stir in and cover
   13. Serve after a few minutes when black beans and corn are heated. 

Recipe Note: Reserve canned black beans and corn to add until soup is cooked. Adding after just to warm. If you use fresh corn cut it off the cob and add it when cooking soup. 

Cooking this tortilla soup in my instant pot really cuts prep time and cook time for this family favorite! From cooking it in a soup pot taking about 1-1/2 hours to under 30 minutes in the Instant Pot.

We hope you enjoy today’s soup recipe as much as we do. If you have a larger family you might consider making your soup in the 8 quart Instant Pot. Since there is only three of us we love having leftover soup for the next day. I love not having to cook daily. Win, win. 

Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe 

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Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Making chicken tortilla soup in the instant pot is a breeze. Trust me anyone who loves flavorful soup or Mexican inspired dishes is going to love this Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup. It's quick and easy! 

Course Soup

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword chicken tortilla soup, instant pot chicken tortilla soup, chicken tortilla soup in the instant pot

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 6

Author Theresa Huse DearCreatives.com

Ingredients

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into cubes
• 1 onion peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
• 1 jalapeno or poblano pepper (optional) seeded, rinsed and chopped
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp. cumin add more if you like
• 1 to 2 tbsp. oregano crushed in your hand
• olive oil
• 1 32 ounce organic chicken broth
• 1 14.5 ounce fire roasted tomatoes we like Hunts
• 1 small can El Tapo Salsa de Jalapeno tomato sauce with jalapeno
• 1 14. 5 ounce canned black beans drained
• 1 14. 5 ounce canned corn drained

Toppings for the Chicken Tortilla Soup

• 1 bag corn tortilla chips
• 1 pound package shredded Mexican Three Cheese or shredded Sharp cheese
• 2 limes quartered
• 1 avocado diced into bite sized pieces

Instructions

1.  Set your Instant Pot on Saute. 

2. Saute Peel and chop your onion and garlic cloves. 

3. If using peppers cut, seed, rinse and chop (use care oils from peppers can burn, wash hands immediately with soap and water)  

4. Wash. seed and de-vein then chop your red bell pepper. 

5. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil (or other vegetable oil) to the instant pot. 

6. Toss the onions, garlic, peppers and red bell peppers in the pot to saute in the olive oil. 

7. Saute until onion is translucent. Then begin adding the rest of the ingredients. 

8. Add your cubed chicken meat. Then add your fire roasted tomatoes, salsa de jalapeno, and chicken broth. Stir. 

9. Add your spices. 

10. Hit cancel. Close the lid of your pot, Ensure it seals and set to Pressure Cook on high for 10 minutes *make sure valve is on sealing

11. Let the soup cook for full time and let it vent naturally for at least 10 minutes. Then carefully, put valve to venting to release any left over pressure. 

12. It will stay on warm. Open lid and add can of drained black beans and corn stir in and cover again. Let the black beans and corn heat up for a few minutes. Then  Serve after black beans and corn are heated. 

13. Garnish with the suggested toppings or your favorite toppings. 

Recipe Notes

I put the cook time as 25 minutes to include 5 minute saute time and 10 minute pressure release time. 

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Happy cooking!