Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup (Printable Version)

Mexican-inspired soup with tender chicken, black beans, and vegetables made quickly in the Instant Pot.

# What You'll Need:

→ Proteins

01 - 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs

→ Vegetables

02 - 1 medium yellow onion, diced
03 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
04 - 1 red bell pepper, diced
05 - 1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
06 - 1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
07 - 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes with juices

→ Beans

08 - 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed

→ Liquids and Seasonings

09 - 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
10 - 1 tablespoon tomato paste
11 - Juice of 1 lime
12 - 1 teaspoon chili powder
13 - 1 teaspoon ground cumin
14 - 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
15 - 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
16 - 1 teaspoon salt
17 - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

→ Toppings

18 - Tortilla strips or chips
19 - Sliced avocado
20 - Chopped fresh cilantro
21 - Shredded cheese
22 - Sour cream
23 - Lime wedges

# How To Make It:

01 - Set Instant Pot to Sauté mode. Add a splash of oil, then cook diced onion, garlic, and bell pepper for 2 to 3 minutes until softened.
02 - Stir in tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1 minute until aromatic.
03 - Add chicken, diced tomatoes with juices, black beans, corn, and chicken broth. Stir thoroughly to combine.
04 - Secure lid and ensure valve is set to Sealing. Set to Pressure Cook on High for 10 minutes.
05 - Allow natural pressure release for 5 minutes, then carefully quick-release any remaining pressure.
06 - Remove chicken from pot and shred using two forks. Return shredded chicken to soup.
07 - Stir in lime juice. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
08 - Ladle soup into bowls and top with tortilla strips, avocado, cilantro, cheese, sour cream, and lime wedges.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It tastes like you've been simmering it for hours when you've actually invested maybe fifteen minutes of actual work.
  • The Instant Pot does the heavy lifting, so you can prep while it cooks and still feel like you've accomplished something.
  • Feeds a crowd or gives you lunch all week, and it freezes beautifully if you manage not to eat it all immediately.
02 -
  • Don't skip the natural pressure release step; jumping straight to quick-release can make the chicken tough and dry, which defeats the whole purpose.
  • The spice-blooming step in sauté mode genuinely changes the flavor profile from flat to dimensional, so those extra two minutes matter more than you'd think.
03 -
  • Buy pre-minced garlic in a jar on your worst days—no one's judging, and it cuts five minutes off your prep without changing the outcome.
  • Toast your spices in a dry skillet for thirty seconds before the soup if you want to deepen the flavor even more, though the sauté blooming works beautifully on its own.
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