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Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup Instant Pot recipe has all the amazing flavors of a regular tortilla soup with extra creamy goodness. This easy Instant Pot creamy tortilla soup gets ready in 30 minutes and is loaded with beans, corn, juicy shredded chicken, tomatoes, cream & an amazing bunch of seasonings. Don't miss the tips & the recipe video.
Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
The addition of a few dashes of cream takes this regular chicken tortilla soup several notches up. It's that incredible goodness that you can't deny.
The creamy Tex-mex flavors of this Tortilla soup will keep you coming back for seconds and thirds. Top it with creamy avocado slices, fresh cilantro, lime wedges, dollop of sour cream and slices of Jalapeno (if you love spicy food). This Tex-mex soup is pure bliss 😀
Ingredients
Find the Ingredients with actual measurements at the bottom of the post. The list below is just a reference.
- Chicken: Boneless & skinless chicken breasts or thighs works best. We chose chicken breasts.
- Aromatics: Onion & garlic.
- Jalapeno: We love the creamy tortilla soup spicy. You can skip adding the jalapeno if you do not prefer spicy food.
- Black Beans: Drained and rinsed from the can.
- Corn: Whole corn kernels drained & rinsed from the can or if using frozen corns than thaw them.
- Tomatoes: Canned Diced tomatoes with Jalapenos or green chilis is what we love. You can use regular diced tomatoes also.
- Tomato Paste: From the can or tube.
- Seasonings: Paprika, Chili powder or cayenne pepper powder, cumin powder, oregano, Worcestershire sauce, red pepper flakes for slight heat. Skip them totally if you are heat intolerant.
- Liquid: Chicken stock. You can also use better than bouillon paste or cubes dissolved in hot/warm water in place of canned chicken stock.
- Dairy: Heavy whipping cream.
- Garnish: Jalapeno, fresh cilantro, lime wedges, sour cream (we skipped this one), Tortilla chips (store bought).
- Oil: You can use any neutral oil like avocado oil, canola, light olive oil etc.
Tips & Tricks
- Types of chicken you can use: You can either cook the chicken breasts along with the broth, take them out, shred them and put them back in the soup. Or you can also add pre-cooked left over or rotisserie chicken at the end after mixing in the heavy cream. It's a super versatile recipe.
- Spicy Tortilla soup: Increase the amount of red pepper flakes in the recipe, you can also add 1-2 chopped Jalapeno along with the aromatics for an intense heat just like we did.
- Non-spicy Creamy Tortilla Soup: Skip the red pepper flakes and also the jalapeno from the recipe.
- Freezing the soup: Leave out the heavy cream and freeze the soup for up to 3 months. You can add the heavy cream while re-heating the thawed soup.
- Optional Thickener: We did not use any thickener for todays recipe. If you wish to thicken the soup use about 3-4 Masa Harina diluted in same amount of water. Add the slurry to the soup before adding the cream. Simmer to thicken and than proceed with the recipe.
Method
Find the detailed step by step recipe along with measurements + Video at the bottom of the post.
Step #Saute aromatic & seasonings
Set the Instant Pot on SAUTE function and keep it on HIGH heat setting. Add oil and saute the onion and garlic until the onion begin to become translucent.
Add the chopped jalapenos now if you prefer spicy soup. Saute for 30 seconds and all all the dry seasonings. Saute for another 30 seconds.
Step #2 Pressure cook chicken
Pour the chicken stock and de-glaze the pot ver well scraping the sides and the bottom of the pot with the help of a spatula. This will help loosen any stuck food particles and as a result, will prevent the BURN error.
Now add the tomatoes, beans and corn and give everything a quick stir. Place the skinless, boneless chicken breasts in the pot. Do not stir.
Cancel the SAUTE function. Close the lid, seal the valve and PRESSURE COOK for just 6 mins on HIGH followed by a quick release (QPR).
Step #3 Add cream & shredded chicken
Once the pressure cooking cycle is over fish out the cooked chicken breasts and shred them.
While you shred the chicken add the room temperature cream or warm it up slightly in the microwave oven before adding it to the soup. This will make the cream stable, never add fridge cold cream into a hot pot of soup. The cream might curdle.
Mix well, bring the creamy tortilla soup to a gentle simmer and transfer the shredded chicken into the pot. Stir the soup to uniformly incorporate the shredded chicken. Turn off the Instant Pot.
Serve the soup hot and garnish it with your choice of toppings like tortilla chips, sour cream, cilantro, lime wedge, chopped avocado. Dig in!
What goes with creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup?
- Cheesy Quesadillas.
- Taquitos.
- Tacos.
- Burritos.
- Fresh Corn salad.
- Cabbage Slaw.
- Fajitas.
- A simple serving of Mexican Rice.
Can Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup be frozen?
Yes, you can freeze chicken tortilla soup for upto 3 months. I would recommend to leave out the cream. You can add it while re-heating the thawed soup.
Readers thoughts who tried the recipe
Made this today and WOW!!! So amazing! Thank you so very much for sharing. It’s the BEST soup I’ve ever made."
- Julie Spero.
I made this last night and it was awesome! I enjoy a lot of the foodies terminal soup recipes. They are well written, easy to follow and super tasty. Thanks! "
- Dorte Marshall.
I made your recipe a couple weeks ago and it was awesome, thank you!"
- Danielle Neff.
I made same recipe last week. My husband couldn't get enough. He loved it and so did I."
- Dawn Bittner Deville.
Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup Instant Pot
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Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds chicken (**boneless, skinless breasts or thighs)
- 15.25 oz Black Beans (**drained & rinsed)
- 15.25 oz Sweet Corn (**Whole sweet corn kernel drained & rinsed. If using frozen corn thaw them. 432 g.)
- 1 cup onion (**roughly chopped. Use yellow onion. 432 g.)
- 2 tbsp garlic (**minced)
- 1 Jalapeno (**roughly chopped. Skip if heat intolerant)
- 14.5 oz diced tomatoes (** with juices. I used diced tomatoes with Jalapeno for extra heat. You can use regular diced tomatoes.)
- 1 tbsp Tomato Paste (**Read NOTES below.)
- ¾ cups heavy cream (**at room temp. or slightly warmed.)
- 3 tbsp Avocado oil (**or use any neutral oil of your choice.)
- Salt (to taste) (**use according to your taste preference.)
Seasonings
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp Paprika
- ½ tbsp Cumin Powder
- 1 tsp chili powder (**or use cayenne pepper powder. Skip if you are heat intolerant.)
- ½ tsp oregano (**dried)
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
Liquid
- 4 cups chicken stock (**or use 2 tbsp better than bouillon paste diluted in 4 cups warm water.)
Garnishes (use your choice of toppings)
- ¼ cup Cilantro (**finely chopped)
- 1 cup avocado (**diced or sliced. You can use more.)
- lime wedges
- Tortilla chips (**I used store bought.)
Equipment Used
Instructions
- Instant Pot Settings: Set the Instant Pot on SAUTE function & keep it on HIGH heat setting.
- Saute Aromatics: Add oil. When the oil becomes hot gently release the chopped onion and garlic and saute until the onion begins to become translucent. Than, add the chopped jalapenos (skip if you hate spicy food) and saute for about 30 seconds. Also, add salt to quicken the process.
- Saute seasonings: Now, add all the dry seasonings like paprika, cumin powder, oregano, red pepper flakes & chili/cayenne powder (skip if you are heat intolerant) and saute for 30 seconds.
- De-glaze the pot: Next, add the chicken stock and de-glaze the pot very well scraping the sides & the bottom of the pot with the help of a spatula. This is help loosen any stuck food particles and prevent the BURN error.
- Pressure Cook: Now, add the Worcestershire sauce, the diced tomatoes with juice and the tomato paste and give everything a very good mix. Add the drained and rinsed black beans and corn and stir well. Now, transfer the boneless & skinless chicken breasts into the pot. Do not stir. CANCEL the SAUTE function. Pressure Cook: PRESSURE COOK on HIGH for just 6 minutes.
- Quick Pressure Release: Once, the pressure cooking cycle is over the Instant Pot will begin to beep. Immediately perform a quick pressure release (QPR) by manually moving the valve from the sealing to the venting position. Open the lid carefully once the steam escapes & the floating pin drops.
- Shred Chicken: Fish out the cooked chicken breasts onto a plate and shred the chicken with the help of a fork. Set it aside.
- Add dairy: Now, turn off the Instant Pot and add the cream (at room temperature or slightly warmed up) into the pot. Mix well. Hit back the SAUTE function and set the heat to LOW. For thicker soup read NOTES below #4.
- Add Shredded Chicken: Transfer back the shredded chicken into the pot. Give everything a good mix to fully incorporate the chicken into the soup. Bring the soup to a gentle simmer.
- Garnish & Serve: Turn off the Instant Pot. Serve the Creamy Tortilla Soup and top it with the topping of your choice like chopped avocados, chopped cilantro, lime wedges, tortilla chips & cream (we did not add any). Dig in! Enjoy!
Notes
- Tomato Paste: Dilute the tomato paste with 4-5 tbsp water. This will help the tomato paste to blend easily and quickly into the stock. Otherwise it'll form a lump and you have to stir a lot in order to uniformly incorporate it into the liquid.
- Heat Intolerant: Skip adding the Jalapenos, chili/cayenne pepper powder. You add the red pepper flakes in order to have a slight kick.
- Creamy chicken Tortilla soup consistency: This is a thin soup meant to be on the thinner side. This soup contains no thickeners. You can however control the consistency of the soup according to your liking by adding more stock, if you love super thin soups.
- To Thicken the soup: We did not use any thickener for todays recipe. If you wish to thicken the soup use about 2-3 tablespoons Masa Harina diluted in same amount of water. Add the slurry to the soup before adding the cream. Simmer to thicken and than proceed with the recipe.
- Storing Tips: The creamy tortilla soup will last for 5 days in the fridge when stored in air tight containers.
- Re-heating Tips: Re-heat the fridge cold soup over medium high heat on the stove top. You can also re-heat the soup in the microwave oven. For frozen soup, thaw the soup overnight in the fridge first and than re-heat following the above mentioned directions.
Sue L says
Made this tonight. Delicious!!
Foodies Terminal says
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Sue 🙂 Thanks so much for your lovely feedback, hope you try our other recipes as well 🙂 Take care Sue! - Meghna - xoxo.
Rachel says
My son and I really liked this recipe. The heavy cream adds a lot to the flavor in my opinion. I just added some on each bowl so that I could save the rest of the soup. I forgot a jalapeño and the red pepper flakes but it’s ok since my son doesn’t like Spicy. We added tortilla chips cheese and avocados. It was delicious.
Foodies Terminal says
So glad that you and your son enjoyed the recipe Rachel 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing your amazing feedback with us, totally appreciate it. Same here as well I skip adding the Jalapeno and the red pepper flakes whenever I make it for my 7 years old son, he can't tolerate spicy foods at all! The cream in the recipe totally elevates the flavor as you mentioned, so creamy but not overwhelmingly creamy. Hope you give our other recipes a try as well. Take Care Rachel. - Meghna.
Katie A. says
If using rotisserie chicken that’s already cooked would you still pressure cook for 6 minutes?
Foodies Terminal says
Nope Katie. I would add the rôtisserie chicken or pre-cooked chicken at the end and just simmer it on low for about 1 minute. Pressure cooking pre-cooked chicken would completely make the chicken chewy and tasteless. Hope you enjoy the recipe 🙂