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Healthy, easy, and delicious Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup is the tastiest comfort food in under 30 minutes. Instant Pot, slow cooker, and stovetop instructions are included.

a bowl of tortilla soup on a cutting board with cilantro and limes
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This chicken tortilla soup in the Instant Pot is pure comfort food made in a flash. Pile on your favorite toppings and let’s make some amazing soup!

I also pulled out one of my favorite recipe hacks and used organic bottled vegetable juice! You get an awesome soup base, there are way more veggies than normal in your meal, and it adds a delicious and healthy taste.

I also use vegetable juice in Instant Pot Beef Stew, Ravioli Soup, Ground Beef Vegetable Soup, and Instant Pot Mexican Rice.

If you are new to pressure cooking and the Instant Pot, check out this post on easy Instant Pot recipes for beginners.

Taco Soup Toppings & Variations

Top your chicken tortilla soup with:

Fun pro tip: add 4 oz of warmed cream cheese to the hot soup after it has finished cooking, and put the lid back on for 10 minutes to let it get good and melty. Then stir! You’ll now have an amazing creamy tortilla soup.

Serve with Air Fryer Biscuits for the best dinner ever.

Meal Prep Tips

  • Use rotisserie chicken to speed up your prep time. Add it with the other ingredients at the end of the cooking time.
  • Use frozen garlic, frozen carrots, frozen onions, and frozen peppers for a true dump-and-go meal.
  • If you’re pressed for time, slice the chicken breast into 3 large pieces and add them to the Instant Pot. Remove the chicken breasts once the soup has finished cooking, shred them with two forks in a bowl, and return the shredded chicken to the soup.
chicken, green pepper, carrots, and onions in an Instant Pot | Sustainablecooks.com

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes:

  • I used jasmine rice for this recipe, but feel free to use brown. Increase the cooking time for brown rice to 20 minutes in the Instant Pot and double it for the stovetop. For brown rice, the time remains the same for the slow cooker set on high. You can also use leftover Instant Pot Garlic Butter Rice.
  • Make this Instant Pot Tortilla Soup plant-based by using veggie broth, excluding the chicken, and doubling the beans.
  • Use the full amount of chili powder recommended for a version with more heat. Use the lower amount recommended in the recipe below for a kid-friendly soup.
  • The recipe can be made into a soup or stew depending on your desired consistency. See recipe notes for details.
  • If you don’t have all the seasonings called for in this recipe, use your favorite packaged taco seasoning (or even homemade Gluten-Free Taco Seasoning). The flavor will be different but still tasty.
Instant Pot tortilla soup in a bowl with cilantro, sour cream, cheese, lime, and green onion

WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS

One serving of Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup has 3 WW Freestyle SmartPoints.

4.89 from 18 ratings

Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Pressure/depressurizing: 15 minutes
Total: 35 minutes
Instant Pot tortilla soup in a bowl with cilantro, sour cream, cheese, lime, and green onion
Healthy, easy, and delicious chicken tortilla soup in the Instant Pot is the tastiest comfort food in under 30 minutes.

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Add all the ingredients to the Instant Pot.
    1 cup onion, 2 cups carrots, 1 green pepper, 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast, 5 cloves garlic, 3 cups chicken stock, 3 cups vegetable juice blend, 1 cup frozen corn, 1 can black beans, drained, 1/3 cup rice, 2 tsp mild chili powder, 2 tsp smoked paprika, 2 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • Lock the lid into place and set the steam release handle (valve on top) to “Sealing”. Press Manual>High Pressure>6 minutes. 
  • When the soup has finished cooking, the Instant Pot will beep and switch to ”keep warm". Allow it to sit with the lid on for 5 minutes and then do a manual release with the nozzle set to venting.
  • Top with your favorite toppings.
    salt & pepper to taste

Notes

  1. 2 tsp of chili powder is perfect for people who don’t like spicy. 3 tsp (1 tbsp) would be better for those who like a bit of heat.
  2. If you prefer more of a soup consistency, use 5 cups of chicken broth. If you want it more stew-like, only use 3 cups of chicken broth.
  3. Use rotisserie chicken to speed up your prep time. Add it with the other ingredients at the end of the cooking time.
  4. If you want to use brown rice, you’ll need to increase the cooking time to 20 minutes in the Instant Pot and stovetop. Cook time remains the same for the slow cooker set to high.
Slow cooker Instructions
  1. Add all the ingredients (note: increase liquids by 2 cups) but rice to the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 6 hours or LOW for 8 hours.
  2. Add rice in the last hour of cooking.
Stovetop Instructions
  1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute carrots, onion, and chicken for 4 minutes. Add green pepper and garlic and saute for 1 more minute. 
  2. Add all the other ingredients, place the lid on the pot and cook over medium heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. You may need to increase the liquids by 1-2 cups.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cupCalories: 216kcalCarbohydrates: 29gProtein: 14gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 125mgPotassium: 754mgFiber: 6gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 6610IUVitamin C: 50.4mgCalcium: 58mgIron: 2.2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Fusion
Tried this recipe?Mention @sustainablecooks or tag #sustainablecooks!

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Helping you serve up budget-friendly sustainable recipes with a side of balanced living.
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43 Comments

  1. Just made this, in the crock post last night for dinner. MMMMmmmmm. Even my husband ate it, and he is a picky eater. Loved it, thanks for sharing!5 stars

    1. Winning over picky eaters is my favorite thing so I’m thrilled it was enjoyed in your house. Thank you so much for telling me!

  2. It was delicious. I just got an Instant Pot and panicked when I started it and hit Soup/Stew instead of manual and I am not sure if it’s the reason the rice soaked up the liquid…..it was delicious but more like a stoup! Can’t wait to try it again because I have a giant bag of basmati rice in the panty!5 stars

    1. So glad you liked it Laurie! Did you follow the “thicker” directions or the “soupier” directions? I’m more of a broth girl myself.

      I have a recipe coming up in the next few weeks that uses more of that leftover basmati in a very delicious way.

      1. I may have only done four cops next time I’ll try five for sure. Can’t wait for more uses for the rice!

  3. Yum! Thanks for the great recipe. Made mine veggie by leaving out chicken and using veggie broth. So good! I did break down and buy the small instant pot so I’m still figuring it out, but this was easy and so flavorful! 5 stars

    1. KC, did you get the 3 quart Instant Pot? I’ve seen it but could never figure out if it were too small to really make a lot of meals. Would be great to hear a review from you!

  4. I am an instapot virgin and I was able to make this today very easily thanks to the clear instructions Sarah provided.  I did not add the peppers as my family are meh to them. I added 1 cup vegetable broth and 2 cups chicken broth along with the vegetable juice (awesome idea by the way!) and the soup was the perfect consistency as we like soup on the thicker side. The soup was very flavorful and the rice was cooked well!!  I’m a fan! Thanks for the recipe!!!5 stars

    1. I do believe at this point you’re approaching “Instant Pot advanced beginner status” girl! Thrilled you all enjoyed this soup.

  5. I make a similar recipe (crick pot & vegetarian) and use the leftovers (if you have them ;), to make nachos. I drain off the liquid (freeze as “stock” for the next batch or to add to another soup for extra flavor) and what’s left I use to top tortilla chips. Add some veggie cheese, broil, and add whatever toppings on that. Super yummy and a great way to stretch leftovers. 5 stars

  6. Making this tomorrow. My 11-year old has been asking to cook with me (you’re welcome to his future spouse) so I think this will be a good one to try, he’ll get to learn about the IP too! The veggie juice soup hack is so clever, excited for Sunday dinner!! Thanks Sarah5 stars

    1. Nice work on getting kids involved Mom! The veggie juice soup hack is one my friend Laney taught me over 10 years ago. I use it in beef stew too!

      Can’t wait to hear what you thought of the Tortilla Soup!

      1. Turned out super tasty but I will reduce the amount of rice next time and/or increase the liquid. Soaked up all 4 cups of vegetable broth. My husband dubbed it “burrito guts” and liked scooping with corn chips. Added some Tobasco to my bowl to make my spicy-living momma proud.

        Side note. Started listening to My Dad Wrote a Porno podcast. Oh. My. Gosh. Love it. I’m very fond of British humor/people/accents so thanks for the recommendation! I think it’s a better alternative to the radio sometimes but I’m afraid I’ll be laughing to hard to listen while driving 😉4 stars

      2. I hear yah! I prefer my soups soupy so I totally do the full 6 cups of broth.

        OMG isn’t it the best?? Have you seen photos of them? James is adddddorable.

  7. This sounds really good, although my hubby is NOT a soup guy (he says he doesn’t “get” soup? Too liquid-y, I guess). I usually don’t make soups because the recipes always make SO much for just one person, but this looks so delicious. Maybe if I halve it? I love the addition of rice, seems like it would be more filling that way.

    1. My husband is also indifferent to soup (calls it “garbage water”) but alas he married a total soup lover so he gets what he gets.

      I think making half of it would work just fine. I would plan another recipe for later in the week to use up the pepper and onion so that you can use up the leftovers. Maybe fajitas or omelets?

      1. I actually love green peppers so they don’t usually go to waste in our house! 😉 Actually if I planned to make the tortilla soup early in the week and then make this one pan sausage/pepper/onion pasta dish that we love, that would be a perfect schedule5 stars