Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

I have a love/hate relationship with my Instant Pot. I knew it would be great for easy dinners, but I had some trouble getting the hang of it at first. So while there are a lot of great sounding recipes out there, I pretty much only stick to super easy ones like this Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup. My Instant Pot totally saves me when I’ve forgotten to put something in the crockpot or don’t plan ahead for dinner (these Instant Pot Salsa Chicken Taco Cups are a go-to!). And who doesn’t love a good tortilla soup recipe?!

I only share things I love and think you’ll like too. This post contains affiliate links which means if you purchase through one of these links, I am compensated.

How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup in the Instant Pot is easy, but of course, you’re going to need an Instant Pot. This is Instant Pot model I use and LOVE it! It’s a 6 quart capacity which is perfect for my family of 4. I’ve never felt like I’ve run out of space and I’m always able to make enough to keep all of us happy. If you need to make a larger quantity, you can size up to an 8 quart Instant Pot.


 

• 2 large boneless chicken breasts
• 1 large sweet onion, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 package of gold and white corn, rinsed and drained
• 1 can of stewed tomatoes
• 1 small can of milk Enchilada sauce
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 Tablespoon chili powder
• 1 Tablespoon cumin
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 cup tortilla strips
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese

I’m obsessed with my Easy Tortilla Soup Recipe. It’s basically a dump recipe where you just open cans and pour them in. (By the way have you seen my Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake Recipe? It’s one of my most popular posts and for real, the best dessert ever!)

But there are some nights when I really want to spend the extra minute on dinner and this Instant Pot Tortilla Soup is the recipe I use. 

Adding chicken is a great way to make the soup even more filling. My kids aren’t huge soup fans, so I like to try to bulk it up a little more for them. 

Directions:

• • Set the Instant Pot to the ‘saute’ setting, and saute the chicken breast until they’re seared on all the sides.
  • Let them continue to cook for approximately 30 minutes until they’re done. 
  • Remove chicken and chop into chunks.
    • If you want to skip this part you can use pre-cooked rotisserie chicken, or you can make shredded chicken in the Instant Pot ahead of time! I like to set things and walk away so I only stand there to cook the chicken if I’m in a cooking mood.
  • Pour chicken broth in the Instant Pot, and stir to de-glaze the bottom of the pot (if sauteeing chicken. If not, just add the broth).
  • Add the cooked chicken, onion, green and red peppers, beans, corn, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, water and all the spices.
  • Give it a quick stir.
  • Put the lid on the Instant Pot and make sure to set the pressure valve to “seal”.

• Press “soup” setting (mine read “30” which means 30 minutes to cook – remember that it will take longer than that as you have to factor in time for the Instant Pot to pressurize. It took about an hour for it to come to pressure and cook the 30 minutes then immediately went on the “keep warm” setting).
• Let the pressure reduce naturally (meaning leave the valve alone and let the steam naturally, slowly, release on its own).
• I left it in the pot for about 2 hours but it would probably be ready as soon as the pressure has released naturally. Sometimes I like to make dinner early so I don’t get so stressed out about getting things on the table at a particular time.
• Remember! When “venting”: MAKE SURE TO USE AN OVEN MITT, AND KEEP HANDS AND FACE AWAY FROM THE VALVE WHERE PRESSURE IS RELEASED – READ INSTRUCTIONS IN INSTANT POT MANUAL. I like to use a spoon so that I’m even a little farther away. 
• Remove the lid, and stir soup.
• Add 1 cup of tortilla strips and stir. (I LOVE Have’A Chips or blue corn tortilla chips!)
• Add half cup of shredded cheddar cheese and stir.
• Taste for seasoning and add more salt and cheese based on your taste.
• Garnish with more tortilla strips and cheese and serve immediately. 

So tasty! I used to be so afraid of the idea of a pressure cooker. I had horrible visions of avocado green 70’s pressure cookers exploding in the kitchen and blasting hot food everywhere. I’m really glad that they reinvented these machines as Instant Pots. :) 

I’ve had mine for about a year and a half and while I still wouldn’t consider myself an expert (I always check the Instant Pot recipes by my friend Justine of The Typical Mom – she’s the Instant Pot Queen!) but I do use it about once a week. Plus I know I can revamp a lot of my other easy recipes to be made in the Instant Pot, I just haven’t played around with it yet.

More easy dinner recipes:

• Sweet and Sour Oven Baked Pork Chops
• Cream Cheese Chicken Eden Isle
• Slow Cooker Chicken Fajita Soup
• Beet and Goat Cheese Salad

Printable Chicken Tortilla Soup in the Instant Pot Recipe

Print

Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup

There's nothing like a delicious bowl of Chicken Tortilla Soup made easy by using the Instant Pot! So yummy! 

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword easy dinner recipes, instant pot recipes

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Servings 12

Author Sharon Garofalow

Ingredients

• 2 large boneless chicken breasts
• 1 large sweet onion
• 1 red pepper
• 1 green pepper
• 1 can of organic black beans
• 1/2 package of gold and white corn
• 1 can of stewed tomatoes
• 1 small can of mild Enchilada sauce
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• 2 cups of water
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1 teaspoon seasoned pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Chili powder
• 1 Tablespoon Cumin
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 cup Tortilla strips
• 1/2 cup  Shredded cheese

Instructions

1. Set the Instant Pot to the 'Saute' setting, and saute the chicken breasts until they're seared on all sides, and let them cook for approximately 30 minutes on the Saute setting until they're done. (Or use a cooked chicken from a rotisserie chicken and skip this part! - OR make shredded chicken in the instant pot, give it a quick clean and then make the rest of the soup).

2. Remove the chicken breasts to a  cutting board and chop into bite size pieces.
3. Pour chicken broth in the Instant pot, and stir to de-glaze the bottom of the pot.
4. Add the chopped chicken, onion, pepper's, beans, corn, tomato's, Enchilada Sauce, water, and all spices, and stir to blend.
5. Put the lid on the Pot until it beeps and is firmly closed.
6. Make sure the pressure valve is set to 'Sealing' and press the 'Soup' setting on the Instant Pot controls.
7. The setting on my Instant Pot read '30' (which is 30 minutes to cook).

8. It took about and hour in my Instant Pot, for it to pressurize and then cook the 30 minutes, and then the setting automatically went to 'KEEP WARM'.

9. Let the pressure release naturally (which means, do not turn the valve to let out the pressure, let it do it on its own!) This varies depending on what you've made but usually takes about 15-30 minutes to release. 

10. After the 15-30 minute resting period, you can remove the lid and check the taste and consistency. Turn the valve to 'Venting' MAKING SURE TO USE AN OVEN MITT, AND KEEPING HANDS AND FACE AWAY FROM THE VALVE WHERE PRESSURE IS RELEASED - READ INSTRUCTIONS IN INSTANT POT MANUAL. Or you can leave it on the warm setting for longer until you're ready for it or feel like it needs more time. 

11. Once all the pressure is released, remove the lid, and stir soup. 

12. Add in 1 cup of tortilla strips and stir.

13. Then add half a cup of shredded cheese and stir.
14. You may want to add a little more salt, or spices according to your taste.
15. Garnish with tortilla strips and cheese if desired.

Pin this Chicken Tortilla Soup for the Instant Pot

This Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup recipe is a lot easier than it looks. If you are new to using an Instant Pot it might take you a little bit longer. Once you get the hang of it though, meals come together faster! Do you own a pressure cooker? What’s your favorite thing to make?