This recipe has all of the traditional ingredients that go into a classic tortilla soup — green chiles, tomatoes, black beans, and corn but unlike the traditional version, it’s made in the pressure cooker! Instead of cooking it on the stovetop and keeping an eye on it, this pretty much becomes a dump-and-start recipe.
Straying from tradition, I also wanted to add more flavor and protein to this soup, so chicken was added. Feel free to remove the chicken if you’d like for this to be a vegetarian tortilla soup. If you want to try another Instant Pot recipe, my Instant Pot Cashew Chicken recipe is a family favorite.
Key Ingredients You Need
- Tomatoes — to keep things simple and easy, I use canned diced tomatoes. If you’d like to dice up your own, you’re welcomed to do that but keep in mind that the liquid from the can contributes to the overall liquid amount in the recipe.
- Black beans — it’s important to remember to rinse and drain your canned black beans before using as it removes the extra sodium.
- Chicken breasts — be sure to look for good quality breasts by checking the label. Some breasts are injected with salt water to help them look plump and the texture of the breasts will be different when cooked in the pressure cooker.
- Lime — it really makes a difference to finish the soup off with a touch of fresh lime. It adds a brightness to the soup and brings it all together.
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
Step 1: Set Instant Pot to Sauté and add in oil. Once the oil is heated add the onions in and sauté for a few minutes until the onions are soft and translucent. Next, add in garlic and sauté for 1 more minute.
Step 2: Add in remaining ingredients (excluding corn and lime juice) and stir.
Step 3: Pressure cook on high for 10 minutes.
Step 4: Once done, remove chicken and shred using 2 forks and return back to the Instant Pot.
Step 5: Add the corn and lime juice with the shredded meat back to the pot. Stir well and add salt and pepper to taste.
Step 6: Garnish with tortilla chips/strips, avocado, cheese sour cream, and/or cilantro.
Tips For This Recipe
- To prevent a burn notice, make sure there isn't anything stuck to the bottom of the liner before you pressure cook. If needed, deglaze the bottom of the pot with some stock after you sauté the onions and garlic.
- To add a smokier flavor to your tortilla soup, you can swap the canned diced tomatoes for canned fire-roasted tomatoes.
- If you have fresh corn, feel free to use that in place of frozen corn. Frozen corn allows us to easily make this tortilla soup year-round!
- If you would like to use boneless skinless thighs in place of the breasts, decrease the cooking time by one minute.
- This recipe was tested in a Fagor America 8 QT but will work in any brand pressure cooker and in any 6 QT pressure cookers as well with no adjustment needed.
- If you already have shredded chicken in your fridge, you can skip cooking the breasts with the soup and stir in your cooked shredded chicken at the end along with the corn.
Frequently Asked Questions
One of the joys of using a pressure cooker is that you can cook from frozen! If the chicken breasts you have are frozen, you can increase the cooking time by a couple of minutes. However, keep in mind that if your breasts are frozen together in a block of sorts, the parts that are stuck together will not be cooked evenly. I suggest using thawed breasts for the best results or make sure your frozen breasts are not stuck together.
Yes, this chicken tortilla soup recipe can definitely become vegan very easily. I would skip the chicken and replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth. For the toppings, instead of using greek yogurt or sour cream, you can use a vegan, nut-based yogurt. Just make sure you buy a vegan yogurt that has a neutral taste. It is best to let all of the flavor or the instant pot tortilla soup shine through.
Once the soup has cooled to room temperature, store the soup without any toppings in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. If you would like to freeze this, again, skip adding any toppings and transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. A space-saving way to freeze soup is by freezing it in a bag, making sure to squeeze out any air, and then lay it flat so it freezes flat. This saves you a ton of freezer space and it thaws much faster.
The big difference between the two methods is the time it takes to make. The pressure cooker uses pressure to cook the soup much faster than in a pot on the stovetop. In terms of flavor, I always feel that cooking soup in a traditional pot gives you a bit more flavor. However, cooking soup in the traditional way takes many hours, more than I want to commit for a weeknight recipe.
Here are a few healthy sides that I like to serve alongside this recipe: Avocado Hummus Taquitos, Goat Cheese Balls, Zucchini Fritters, and Mango Salsa.
IF YOU LOVE THIS RECIPE TRY THESE OUT!
If you’ve tried this Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe then don’t forget to leave me a rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 4 oz can mild green chiles
- 1 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 cup corn frozen
- 1-2 tbsp lime juice
- salt and pepper to taste
Garnish:
- tortilla strips/chips
- avocado slices
- shredded cheese
- sour cream
- lime wedges
- cilantro
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to Sauté and add in oil. Once oil is heated add in onions sauté for a few minutes until onions are soft and translucent. Next add in garlic and sauté for 1 more minute.
- Next, add in remaining ingredients (excluding corn and lime juice) and stir. Pressure cook on high for 10 minutes.
- Once done, remove chicken and shred using 2 forks and return back to the Instant Pot with corn and lime juice. Stir well and add salt and pepper to taste.
- Garnish with tortilla chips/strips, avocado, cheese sour cream and/or cilantro.
Notes
- To prevent a burn notice, make sure there isn't anything stuck to the bottom of the liner before you pressure cook. If needed, deglaze the bottom of the pot with some stock after you sauté the onions and garlic.
- To add a smokier flavor to your tortilla soup, you can swap the canned diced tomatoes for canned fire-roasted tomatoes.
- If you have fresh corn, feel free to use that in place of frozen corn. Frozen corn allows us to easily make this chicken tortilla soup year-round!
- If you would like to use boneless skinless chicken thighs in place of the breasts, decrease the cooking time by one minute.
- This recipe was tested in a Fagor America 8 QT but will work in any brand pressure cooker and in any 6 QT pressure cookers as well with no adjustment needed.
- If you already have shredded chicken in your fridge, you can skip cooking the breasts with the soup and stir in your cooked shredded at the end along with the corn.
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