Chicken Tortilla Soup is a spicy, hearty, soup inspired by Mexican cuisine. This homemade Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla soup is made in a fraction of a time and is an excellent protein-fiber, rich, one-pot complete meal, loaded with chicken and veggies. Serve it with your choice of toppings and you have a warm and comforting bowl of soup to devour!!
WHAT IS TORTILLA SOUP
Tortilla soup is a traditional Mexican soup, made with fried tortilla chips submerged into tomato or chicken broth. This soup is made with onions, garlic, chili peppers for the smokiness and heat, some beans, corn, flavored with chili powder and cumin powder. Served with some crispy tortilla strips, some avocado, lime, sour cream.
My family loves Mexican food. I remember years back I was introduced to Mexican cuisine, I just fell in love with it? I have tried many Mexican dishes, including this Tortilla Soup.
Last time, when I visited this local Mexican restaurant, I ordered this Tortilla soup. It was amazing, quite different than what I had tried before. I just so wanted to try this Tortilla soup at home. After couple of attempts, I was successful in making the same tasting soup that we devoured at the local Mexican restaurant.
Some recipes that I tried had plain tortillas added, while others added crispy fried chips to thicken the soup. There was some variation in the make and the ingredients used.
The Tortilla Soup I tried at this local Mexican restaurant had no tortillas or chips added and still the soup had a nice consistency.
What I found fascinating about this soup was that at all the other restaurants I tried this soup, it was mainly served with some crispy tortilla strips or chips. This local restaurant served cheesy Taquito with the Tortilla soup. Oh my....loved this combo of Tortilla soup with crispy cheesy Taquito. This Tortilla Soup was an instant hit in my family. I just knew I had to try this recipe at home.
This recipe of Chicken Tortilla Soup is my version of Mexican inspired Tortilla Soup. I have added some chicken for that extra protein and flavor, thus making it a little more hearty and a complete one-pot meal. Sometime, I also substitute tofu instead of chicken, which adds quite a depth to this soup, and thus keeping it vegetarian.
This Tortilla soup, is one soup that I can have all year round. With all the goodness of fresh vegetables, beans, heat from the jalapeno peppers and chicken makes a complete protein-fiber rich and most filling, comforting bowl of soup. I always make a double batch of this soup, as we love to have it the next day too and sometimes I pack it for lunch too.
WHAT IS TAQUITO
Taquito, also known as Flautas, are Mexican rolled tacos filled with some chicken, beans, or cheese. The taquito are filled with some filling and are than deep fried.
I like to keep mine vegetarian and fill it with some cheese. I like to shallow fry mine instead of deep frying. These taquito make a great dipping for the soup.
My kids love to dip these cheesy taquito in the Tortilla soup and have it. This combo of tortilla soup and cheesy taquito is a hit in my family. A complete meal...bringing smiles to everyone's face ?
HOW TO MAKE TAQUITO
This is such a fun thing to make, I always involve my kids to make their own Taquito. They can add as much or as little cheese they like. Here's how to make Taquito at home:
Take a flour tortilla, spread some cream cheese, add some shredded cheese.
Tightly roll the tortilla into a roll.
Heat some oil in pan to shallow fry.
Carefully place the seamed side down of tortilla in the pan. Note: You can make two - three taquitos at the same time.
Shallow fry the Taquito until crispy on each side, 2-3 mins.
Remove the Taquito onto a paper towel, to absorb any extra oil.
Repeat with the remaining tortilla roll.
Note: You can also make taquito in a panini maker.
TIPS FOR EASY ROLLING THE TAQUITO
I find this small trick very helpful while rolling the Taquito. Heating the tortilla just for few seconds, helps roll the tortilla with ease.
Heat a pan, lightly grease the pan with some oil, place the tortilla in the pan and warm it up for few seconds.
Alternatively, you can also microwave the tortilla for 4-5 seconds. This will help soften the tortilla.
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
The Chicken Tortilla soup is easy, dump and go recipe, that comes together in under 30 minutes... a perfect weeknight dinner. I start with some onion, garlic, jalapeno, fresh or canned tomatoes, some spices - cumin powder, chili powder, oregano. Chicken, black beans for some extra protein and some fresh or frozen corn for some sweetness, to give a nice balance of sweet, savory and spicy flavor to this soup.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP IN INSTANT POT
On saute mode, add oil, onions, garlic, jalapeno, saute for 1-2 minutes.
Add spices - chili powder, cumin powder, oregano, saute for 30-60 seconds.
Add black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, give a quick stir.
Add chicken on the top. Add chicken broth, salt and pepper to taste.
Close the Instant Pot lid with pressure valve on sealing position. Pressure cook on high pressure for 8-12 minutes, depending upon the size of the chicken breast. Allow 10 minutes of natural pressure release.
Open the Instant Pot, remove the chicken, using a fork shred the chicken into small pieces. Add the shredded chicken back to the soup.
Turn ON saute mode, bring the soup to a gentle boil. Turn off the Instant Pot. Add some cilantro.
Serve Chicken Tortilla Soup, with choice of your topping and some cheesy Taquitos on the side. Enjoy!!
VARIATIONS TO THIS CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
PROTEIN - Chicken, meat of choice, or tofu for vegetarians, works great.
Optional: I like to sear the chicken for couple of minutes on each side, before pressure cooking, adds quite a flavor to the soup. I sometimes also use, shredded rotisserie chicken in the soup.
If using tofu, add a smoked tofu (available in most grocery stores). If you can't find smoked tofu, saute the tofu in a pan, and than add it to the soup, which adds lot of flavor.
VEGETARIAN - skip the chicken, add more veggies, such as zucchini, bell peppers, green beans, carrots, celery, corn (plain or roasted), cabbage, all make a great vegetarian addition to the soup.
BEANS - pinto beans, black beans, kidney beans, or even a combination of beans works just fine. Making it without beans, totally works.
TOMATOES - fire roasted diced tomatoes, or diced tomatoes (can or fresh) can be used for this soup.
BROTH - low sodium vegetable or chicken broth adds an additional layer of flavor. Low sodium broth helps control the sodium intake. You can also use a bouillon, mix it with water as per package instructions and use it.
SEASONINGS - use taco seasoning instead of chili powder
CHIPOTLE PEPPER - use chipotle pepper in the adobe sauce for smoky flavor and heat
SALSA - add your choice of salsa in combination to diced tomatoes.
CHEESE - monterey jack, pepper jack, mexican blend, habanero, all work great.
DAIRY-FREE - skip the cheese, sour cream
TOPPINGS FOR CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP
For the toppings you can be creative and add as much or as little toppings of your choice. Some of the toppings we like on our soup:
AVOCADOS
CHEESE
SOUR CREAM
TORTILLA CHIPS
CORN CHIPS
CILANTRO
LIME
Here are some more SOUP recipes from blog. Enjoy!!
Broccoli Cheddar Soup – thick, creamy soup made with broccoli, cheddar cheese
Chicken Gnocchi Soup - restaurant style chicken gnocchi soup
Cream of Mushroom Soup – cream, comforting, earthy flavors in a bowl of soup
Chicken and Cabbage Soup – healthy, low-carb, chicken and cabbage soup
Tomato Carrot Beetroot Soup – smooth, velvety textured, different version of tomato soup
Here are some more recipes from blog. Enjoy!!
How to grow Sprouts - Lentil and Beans
How to Steam Broccoli / Instant Pot – easiest and a healthier way to make broccoli
Strawberry Jam – 3-ingredients, super easy, finger-licking homemade Strawberry Jam
Top 10 recipes of 2019 – collection of top 10 recipes of 2019
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lbs chicken breast
- 1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ginger, chopped
- 1-2 jalapeno pepper chopped, as per taste (de-seed the pepper for less heat)
- 1 14.5 oz can fire-roasted tomatoes
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
- ½ tablespoon dark chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tablespoon oil
- salt & freshly crushed pepper, to taste
For Cheesy Taquito:
- 8 flour tortillas, small size
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or choice of cheese)
- 4 oz cream cheese spread
- ½ cup oil, for shallow frying Taquito
For Toppings:
- Handful of fresh cilantro
- 1 lime or lemon
- 1 avocado
- 4 oz sour cream
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or choice of cheese)
- Tortilla or corn chips, as needed
Instructions
Instructions for Chicken Tortilla Soup in Instant Pot:
- Turn ON the Instant Pot on SAUTE mode (high). When it displays "HOT", add oil.
- Add onions, garlic, ginger, jalapeno, saute for 1-2 mins.
- Add spices - chili powder, cumin powder, oregano, saute for 30-60 secs.
- Add black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, give a quick stir.
- Add chicken on the top. Add chicken broth, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well. Turn OFF SAUTE mode.
- Close the Instant Pot lid with pressure value on sealing position.
- Turn ON MANUAL / PRESSURE COOK (high) mode for 12 mins, followed by 10 mins of natural pressure release.
- Open the Instant Pot, remove the chicken, using a fork shred the chicken into small pieces.
- Add the shredded chicken back to the soup.
- Turn ON the Instant Pot to SAUTE mode, bring the soup to a gentle boil. Turn OFF Instant Pot.
- Serve Chicken Tortilla Soup, with choice of your topping and some cheesy Taquito. Enjoy!!
Instructions for Taquito:
- Take a flour tortilla, spread some cream cheese, add some shredded cheese.
- Tightly roll the tortilla into a roll.
- Roll the remaining tortillas, in same manner.
- Heat some oil in pan, carefully place the seamed side of tortilla down in the pan.Note: You can make two - three taquito at the same time.
- Cook the Taquito until crispy, 1-2 mins. Flip the taquito and cook on the other side.
- Remove the Taquito onto a paper towel, to absorb any extra oil.
- Repeat with the remaining tortilla roll.
How to serve Chicken Tortilla Soup:
- Serve the soup hot with toppings of your choice - avacoda, lime, dollup of sour cream, some shredded cheese.
- Serve one-two Taquito as a dipping for the soup. YUM!!!
Notes
- Depending upon the size of the chicken breast - small to large, adjust the cooking time from 8 - 12 mins. For small size, cook for 8 mins, for large, thick size, cook for 12 mins. Chicken thighs may also be used. Adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- Frozen chicken may also be used. Adjust the cooking time accordingly.
- Adjust the consistency of the soup by adding more broth.
- For dairy-free soup – skip the cheese, sour cream
- Variations for this Chicken Tortilla Soup - please refer to the post discussed earlier.
- Toppings for Chicken Tortilla Soup - please refer to the post discussed earlier.
- How to make Taquito? - please refer to the post discussed earlier.
- For stove top version: Follow the same recipe. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked. Remove the chicken from the soup, shred it and put it back to the soup. Enjoy the Chicken Tortilla soup garnished with your choice of toppings.
- How to thicken the Chicken Tortilla Soup? -You can add some crushed tortilla or corn chips into the soup to thicken the soup to a desired consistency.
Disclaimer
Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
KEYWORD
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