One of my favorite things to order at Mexican restaurants is chicken tortilla soup. Something about the warmth of the soup, the gooey cheese, the rich rice, the crunchy tortillas, and the soft avocados combine to make an amazing, yet simple dish. I never thought of making this soup until I came across a recipe on my Instant Pot app. With some tweaks, I’ve come across my favorite version of chicken tortilla soup. And since it’s made in the Instant Pot, you can set it and let it do the work!
Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 10 oz. cans of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 can black beans
1 can yellow corn
1 package Uncle Ben’s (or rice of your choice) Whole Grain Ready Rice
1 avocado
1/2 lime
Shredded Mexican cheese
Tortilla chips of choice, crunched up into small pieces
Directions
- In your Instant Pot (I have the 6-Qt Duo Model), open the lid and combine the chicken thighs, Rotel tomatoes and green chiles, chicken broth, onion, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir well.
- Close the lid of your instant pot and be sure to set your vent to “Sealing Mode.”
3. Set your Instant Pot to pressure cook on High for 9 minutes.
4. Once the pressure has built (give this time, it takes longer than you’d expect sometimes!), let the soup cook for 9 minutes. Then, after cooking time is up, allow the pressure to naturally release (don’t flip to venting yet) for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, you may quick release the vent and let the pressure decrease. (My model reads LO: + however many minutes has passed to show the natural release time –example LO:10 for this recipe!)
5. Carefully open the lid and take out chicken thighs with tongs to shred separately. Return back to the soup.
6. Set the Instant Pot to “Saute” mode for 7 minutes. Stir in strained and rinsed canned corn and black beans. Stir well.
7. As corn and black beans are heating in the soup, make the rice in the microwave. Add to the soup and stir.
8. Add in lime juice.
9. Ladle soup into bowls for serving. Garnish each bowl with a sprinkle of shredded cheese (once this is mixed in it creates melty goodness), avocado, cilantro, and crushed of tortilla chips.
Weight Watchers Freestyle SP: 8 points for one serving (about 6 servings total). Points were calculated using the Recipe Builder on the WW app. **NOTE: These points can be lessened by omitting the rice, cheese, and avocado … even more by using chicken breasts instead of thighs, though the flavor of the thighs is much better in this, in my opinion!**
Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 10 oz. cans of Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 can black beans
1 can yellow corn
1 package Uncle Ben’s (or rice of your choice) Whole Grain Ready Rice
1 avocado
1/2 lime
Shredded Mexican cheese
Tortilla chips of choice, crunched up into small pieces
Directions:
1. In your Instant Pot (I have the 6-Qt Duo Model), open the lid and combine the chicken thighs, Rotel tomatoes and green chiles, chicken broth, onion, garlic, cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir well.
2. Close the lid of your instant pot and be sure to set your vent to “Sealing” mode.
3. Set your Instant Pot to pressure cook on High for 9 minutes.
4. Once the pressure has built (give this time, it takes longer than you’d expect sometimes!), let the soup cook for 9 minutes. Then, after cooking time is up, allow the pressure to naturally release (don’t flip to venting yet) for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, you may quick release the vent and let the pressure decrease. (My model reads LO: + however many minutes has passed to show the natural release time –example LO:10 for this recipe!)
5. Carefully open the lid and take out chicken thighs with tongs to shred separately. Return back to the soup.
6. Set the Instant Pot to “Saute” mode for 7 minutes. Stir in strained and rinsed canned corn and black beans. Stir well.
7. As corn and black beans are heating in the soup, make the rice in the microwave. Add to the soup and stir.
8. Add in lime juice.
9. Ladle soup into bowls for serving. Garnish each bowl with a sprinkle of shredded cheese (once this is mixed in it creates melty goodness), avocado, cilantro, and crushed of tortilla chips.
