This Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup is loaded with flavor and comes together in minutes for a meal the whole family will love!
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While this Instant Pot creamy chicken enchilada soup is PERFECT for cooler weather, it’s also something that I’d happily eat no matter the temperature outside! Plus, with just a few simple ingredients, this soup is SO flavorful, and you can easily customize it to your liking with different toppings.
How To Make
The base of this Instant Pot creamy chicken enchilada soup is meant to taste like, you guessed it, enchiladas! You get the enchilada sauce flavor by combining chicken broth with tomato sauce and plenty of Mexican spices. If you’re really short on time, you can use canned enchilada sauce instead, but we love the extra flavor from adding your own spices!
One of my favorite things about this soup is that the spices give it so much flavor that you don’t need to chop garlic, onions, etc to start it with, so your prep time is almost zero! Here’s how you’ll throw this easy soup together:
- Add the ingredients to the Instant Pot – add the broth, tomato sauce, and spices to the Instant Pot and stir to combine, then add the chicken thighs, corn, and black beans.
- Set the Instant Pot – place the lid on the pot and seal the pressure valve, then hit the ‘soup’ button and set to cook for 20 minutes.
- Prepare the Tortilla Strips – while the soup cooks, cut the tortillas into thin strips and heat the avocado oil in a small pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the tortilla strips. Cook 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until crisp.
- Release the Pressure – once the timer goes off, immediately release the pressure by turning the knob on top of the Instant Pot from ‘sealed’ to ‘venting.’ Once the pressure has fully released, remove the lid from the pot.
- Shred the Chicken – remove the chicken from the Instant Pot, and transfer it to a bowl or your cutting board. Shred the chicken with two forks, then place it back in the Instant Pot.
- Add the Sour Cream + Lime Juice – add the sour cream and lime juice to the soup and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and add additional salt as needed.
- Serve + Enjoy – serve the creamy enchilada soup with tortilla strips, avocado, sour cream, and cilantro and enjoy!
Toppings for Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup
Another one of my favorite things about this Instant Pot creamy chicken enchilada soup is the toppings! I’m pretty much down for any soup that involves toppings (especially when one of those is sour cream!) so that everyone can customize their own bowl.
Here, we went for tortilla strips (you can use corn or grain-free), sour cream, lime wedges, diced red onion, and fresh jalapeno, but the possibilities are ENDLESS when it comes to enchilada soup toppings. Here are a few more ideas:
- Shredded cheese
- Cilantro
- Hot sauce
- Diced avocado
- Sliced black olives
- Chopped fresh tomatoes
How To Make Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup Smooth
Because this variation calls for black beans + corn, you’ll need to omit those ingredients if you’re looking for a smooth chicken enchilada soup. If you like more of a textured soup, though, leave the beans and corn in, and try adding some extra veggies to the mix as well – chopped bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, and even greens would all work well in this soup!
Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup Video
Can I use shredded chicken in place of chicken thighs?
Yes, if you happen to have shredded chicken on hand, or you want to just grab a rotisserie chicken, you’ll simply add about 4 cups of shredded chicken in with your ingredients, and you can reduce the cooking time to 10 minutes instead of 20.
More Favorite Soup Recipes
Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
Ingredients
For the soup:
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt to taste
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (may use breasts if desired)
- 1, 16 ounce can black beans rinsed and drained (omit for Paleo and Low Carb)
- 1 cup frozen corn omit for Paleo and Low Carb
- ½ cup sour cream or an equal amount of cream from the top of a can of full-fat coconut milk for dairy-free
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
To garnish:
- 3 corn tortillas or two grain-free tortillas
- 3 tablespoons avocado oil or ghee
- Diced red onion for garnish
- Additional sour cream for garnish
- 1 jalapeno thinly sliced
Instructions
- Add the broth, tomato sauce, and spices to the Instant Pot and stir to combine, then add the chicken thighs, corn, and black beans. Place the lid on the pot and seal, then hit the ‘soup’ button and set to cook for 20 minutes.
- While the soup cooks, cut the tortillas into thin strips and heat the avocado oil in a small pan over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, add the tortilla strips. Cook 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until crisp.
- Once the timer goes off, immediately release the pressure by turning the knob on top of the Instant Pot from ‘sealed’ to ‘venting.’ Once the pressure has fully released, remove the lid from the pot and remove the chicken and transfer to a bowl or your cutting board. Shred the chicken with two fork then place it back in the Instant Pot.
- Add the sour cream and lime juice to the soup and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and add additional salt as needed.
- Serve with tortilla strips, avocado, sour cream, and cilantro and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- To make in a slow cooker: follow the instructions as-is, and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours, until the chicken easily pulls apart.
- To make on the stovetop: follow step 1, adding all of the ingredients to a large pot, then cover and cook over medium-low heat for 30-40 minutes, until the chicken shreds apart easily with a fork. Stir in the sour cream and lime juice, taste for seasoning, garnish, and serve!
- Diced avocado, cilantro, cheese, and hot sauce would also make great additions for topping this soup!
Nutrition
Fantastic recipe! Husband and toddler approved. I had trouble with the sour cream separating some?
So glad they loved it! Sometimes it helps to whisk the sour cream with a little bit of the hot soup (in a separate bowl) before adding it to the soup!
Made this soup as written a few weeks ago. Flavour was great, but too much liquid. I made this tonight and used chicken drumsticks (which I then deboned), two cans of beans, double the beans. Flavour was rich!
Loaded with all of the fixin’s and family ate it up! Super win! Love Cassy Joy and her team!
If you were just to use canned enchilada sauce, how much would you recommend?
Hi Heather! I would do a 1:1 sub for the tomato paste, so 8 ounces of enchilada sauce. ~Melissa
Is this enchilada soup or tortilla soup? The description changes throughout, but it seems more like enchilada soup?
This was delicious! I wanted something quick and easy and warm and I happened to have almost all of the ingredients already on hand. No corn, beans or tortillas, but I threw in a bag of frozen sliced onions and peppers and served it over brown rice. It was so good!! My husband, who generally does not like soup for dinner, was very impressed and asked that I make it weekly during cold weather months!
I make this soup a lot! Use coconut cream instead of the sour cream, so delicious and easy to prepare!
Great idea! So glad you love this one, Laura!
This was so delicious and easy to make!
Score!! So glad you enjoyed it!