This chicken taco soup combines a few crowd favorites into one dish. Chicken soup is well known for its comforting, soothing abilities, and I have never met someone who doesn’t like tacos! It is full of vitamins and protein, so whether you are under the weather or just looking for a nutritious lunch, this soup is a great choice! You can make this family friendly by using a milder salsa and omitting jalapenos or anything spicy.
This recipe produces from-scratch chicken soup in just 30 minutes instead of hours of simmering. Plus, it is an excellent way to use up leftover rotisserie chicken. This soup can also be frozen. If you plan to freeze some, I recommend making a double batch because people tend to want seconds of this soup!
Why You'll Love This Chicken Taco Soup
- Lovable Leftovers – This recipe is great because it can utilize leftover rotisserie chicken. You can also keep your leftover chicken taco soup in the freezer for 3 months, so it is a great way to avoid food waste!
- Fast and Easy – This recipe is super easy, and it is a twofold time saver. You can prepare this dish in just 30 minutes, plus you will save time on dishes! All you need to make this recipe is an instant pot and a bowl.
Ingredients for Chicken Taco Soup
- Olive Oil – You just need a little olive oil to sauté your onion, garlic and bell pepper.
- Onion – Onion helps add a base flavor note in most soups. You need ½ cup diced. I like to use yellow onion for this recipe.
- Garlic – You will need 3 cloves of garlic for your chicken taco soup. I prefer freshly minced garlic as it brings out the flavors of the dish more than garlic powder would.
- Chicken Stock – The stock is the base of your broth. It takes 4 cups for this dish.
- Chicken Breast – You need 1 ½ pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breast. This recipe can be a great way to make use of leftover rotisserie chicken as well, so feel free to use that instead!
- Bell Pepper – Red pepper is full of vitamin C, plus it adds a little warmth and zest to your soup. Small dice half of a bell pepper before you begin.
- Beans – For this recipe, I recommend a combination of black beans and pinto beans. You need an entire can of each. Drain and rinse your beans before you begin.
- Corn – Any type of canned corn will work for this recipe. Drain and rinse them before cooking. If you prefer to use frozen corn, you can add it straight to the pot.
- Tomatoes – Canned diced tomatoes cook perfectly in your broth. One can will do the trick!
- Tomato Paste – Tomato paste contributes both in flavor and consistency. You only need 2 tablespoons for this recipe, so you will have some leftover for later. You can add a little tomato paste into rice while it cooks, to add flavor, or you can freeze your tomato paste for future use!
- Taco Seasoning – We can’t make taco soup without taco seasoning! Use one pack (or 2 tablespoons) of your favorite kind.
- Salsa – Your salsa is going to help make up the flavor of your broth, so choose one you really like. I recommend going with a chunkier salsa so that your soup broth maintains a decent thickness.
- Cilantro – Cilantro adds such a lovely element of freshness to any dish. You only need 2 tbsp for your soup, but you may want to pick up a little extra for garnish.
- Optional Garnishes – This soup is delicious as is, but it is extra tasty when topped with a little something extra. Try cotija cheese, tortilla chips, lime wedges, Tajin, sour cream, jalapeno, or extra cilantro.
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Taco Soup
- In a pressure cooker, using the sauté function, cook the diced onion, diced bell pepper and minced garlic in oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes until onions become softer and translucent.
- Pour the chicken stock in the pot to deglaze and scrape to remove bits from the bottom of the pot.
- First nestle the chicken breasts in the broth.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and secure the lid. Change the function to pressure cook and cook for 20minutes. It will take a few minutes for the pressure to build and start to cook.
- When done cooking, release the pressure and then safely remove the lid. T
- Take out cooked chicken breast and shred in a separate bowl or in the pot.
- Return chicken to pot.
- Serve warm and garnish with cilantro, tortillas, sour cream and cheese if desired.
Step by Step Instructions
To begin, set your instant pot to the sauté function. Add your oil, diced onion, diced bell pepper, and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until your onions become translucent.
Next, deglaze the pot. Pour in your chicken stock, then scrape the bottom to free up any burnt or stuck pieces. This will help add flavor to your soup.
Add your chicken breasts to the broth. You want them to go in first so that they become moist and tender and absorb lots of flavor.
Pour your beans, corn, tomatoes, tomato paste, taco seasoning, salsa and cilantro on top of your chicken breast.
Place the lid on your pressure cooker and it to the pressure cooking function. Cook for 20 minutes. Release the pressure on your instant pot so that you can safely remove the lid. Remove your chicken breast and place it in a separate bowl to shred.
Return your shredded chicken to the pot and stir.
Serve your chicken taco soup warm with cilantro, tortilla chips, and cotija cheese!
Cook's Tips
- You can keep your leftover chicken taco soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Warm it in the microwave in 30-45 second intervals, or on the stovetop.
- If you like to meal prep, you can portion your soup into freezer bags and lay flat to freeze for easy storage.
- Soup will last up to 3 months in the freezer. Reheat it on the stovetop when you are ready to enjoy!
- There are some additional topping ideas you can add like crushed tortilla chips
- You can also use your own homemade taco seasoning to make this easy chicken taco soup. Some
FAQ
The consistency of this chicken taco soup is perfect as is, but if you wish to thicken it a little, you can mix in a tablespoon of dried mashed potato flakes.
Taco soup is good for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.
If you are a fan of chicken tortilla soup, you will probably love this similar recipe. I recommend garnishing with tortilla strips, however if you wish to use tortillas as a thickening agent, you will need to take a little extra time to prepare the recipe. First you will need to toast about 12 corn tortillas in the oven. Then, cut them into strips. Add these tortilla strips to the broth just before you put your chicken breast in. When you remove the chicken breast to shred it, you will need to puree your broth using a blender or immersion blender.
Looking for more easy hearty dinner ideas? Try these:
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Chicken Taco Soup
Equipment
- Equipment: Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- ½ tbs Olive Oil
- ½ cup Yellow Onion small diced
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 4 cups Chicken Stock
- 1 ½ lbs. Chicken Breast boneless & skinless
- ½ Red Bell Pepper small diced
- 1 can Black Beans rinsed
- 1 can Pinto Beans
- 1 can Corn rinsed
- 1 can Diced Tomatoes
- 2 tbs Tomato Paste
- 1 packet Taco Seasoning
- ½ cup Chunky Salsa
- 2 tbs Fresh Cilantro
- Optional Garnish: Cilantro Cotija Cheese, Tortilla Chips, Sour Cream, Lime, Jalapeno, Tajin
Instructions
- In an instant pot, using the sauté function, cook the diced onion, diced bell pepper and minced garlic in oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes until onions become softer and translucent.
- Pour the chicken stock in the pot to deglaze and scrape to remove bits from the bottom of the pot.
- First nestle the chicken breasts in the broth.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and secure the lid. Change the function to pressure cook and cook for 20minutes. It will take a few minutes for the pressure to build and start to cook.
- When done cooking, release the pressure and then safely remove the lid.
- Take out cooked chicken breast and shred in a separate bowl or in the pot. Return chicken to pot if need be.
- Serve warm and garnish with cilantro, tortillas and cheese as desired.
Notes
Reheat by microwave in 30-45 second intervals or stove top in a soup pot.
Can be frozen up to 3 months and re cooked stove top in a soup pot.
To freeze, divide the soup out into equal portions, cool and fill zip lock bags lay the bags down flat and they will freeze into sheets, making for easy freezer storage.
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