Chicken Tortilla Soup for Crock Pot and Instant Pot

Make this delicious Chicken Tortilla Soup for Crock Pot or an Instant Pot! It is easy dinner recipe that can be made quickly and it makes an amazing family dinner! Click to save the recipe!

I’m a huge fan of Tex Mex flavors. There’s something about the acid from the lime, the Earthiness of the beans, corn, tomatoes and creaminess of a little avocado with a hint of spice. It is always such a medley of flavors for my mouth. And when I can make a meal of these flavors in something as simple and delicious as my Chicken Tortilla Soup for Crock Pot or Instant Pot, well, sign me up!

Mexican Roots

I think one of the most beautiful things about the Tex Mex food is really that it’s a blend of cultures. You get hints of American Southwest influence with the vegetables and flavors that are staples in Mexican culture. If you’ve visited Mexico, then you know that Chicken Tortilla Soup is a popular dish in Mexico – especially in Mexico City. However, there are some slight differences between their version of Chicken Tortilla Soup and the more Americanized Tex Mex version of this dish. If you want to get really granular, the biggest difference being that Tex Mex often uses sweet corn in tortilla soup recipes like I do in this soup or yellow cheese. Additionally, the black beans are generally not used in the soup that became popular in Mexico City. But Chicken Tortilla Soup for Crock Pot or Instant Pot is so big on flavor that I hope it honors its roots while become am easy staple dinner in your home.

The spice flavor blends

So, this soup uses some of the usual suspects when creating a Tex Mex dish, such as the black beans, the tomatoes, the corn and the dark meat chicken as a protein. But a huge component to the flavor in my Chicken Tortilla Soup for Crock Pot or Instant Pot includes the spices. It uses chili powder, cumin and oregano to really deliver a beautiful blend that creates a flavor dance for your taste buds. When those spices are combined with a little garlic salt, fresh cracked pepper and sea salt you have a well-seasoned soup that’s going to make all lovers of Tex Mex food happy.

However, I will note that I sue Italian Oregano in my recipe because it’s generally the kind I have on-hand and grow. Italian Oregano is generally the kind you’re getting if the bottle just says “Oregano”. It tends to have minty undertones and is traditionally used in the Mediterranean. Mexican Oregano will usually say just that on the bottle. It also tends to have more citrusy undertones. You can use either kind you prefer in this recipe.

Using dark meat chicken

My recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup for Crock Pot and Instant Pot uses boneless, skinless chicken thighs as the main protein. You can use regular, boneless, skinless chicken breasts if you prefer. However, the dark meat thighs will add additional flavor to the soup and they are what I recommend using. They are juicier and tend to have more flavor that really lends itself to any dish.

Cooking the Chicken Tortilla Soup for Crock Pot and Instant Pot

I love my Crock Pot and I love my Instant Pot. I’ve made this soup in both and it truly makes it an easy, weeknight meal that is delicious and filling. I will tell you, I prefer to make it in my Instant Pot because it is faster and I think the Instant Pot always helps meat retain more flavor. If you don’t have on, you can see the one I have {HERE}. I use it at least once a week if not more. However, the steps for cooking this in the Crock Pot and the Instant Pot are basically the same. So if you only have one or the other, no worries. I detail below how to use either for the Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Tips for making Chicken Tortilla Soup for Crock Pot or Instant Pot

• If you’re making this in the Crock Pot, the key to getting the chicken to shred correctly is a low and slow cooking time. Therefore, you need to set it on low for 8-10 hours. Ideally 10, but sometimes I know time is not on our side in the morning.
• When cooking this in the Instant Pot, remember you will need to add some time to the overall cook time for it to come to pressure. Make sure to get the garlic pieces small when dicing so no one take a big bite of garlic in the soup.
• The recipe calls for a range on the chili powder, if you’re unsure of how much to use, go with the lesser amount. You can always add a little more when the soup is done.
• I used flour tortillas in my soup here for the frying portion of the recipe. You can use corn or you can use pre-made tortilla chips if you want to save time. I do recommend making them if you can though because they are good and so much better than chips!

Looking for other ideas to serve with this?

If you want some additional ideas to serve with the Chicken Tortilla Soup, try these!

• Grilled Elote Mexicano {HERE}
• Roasted Cherry Tomato Salsa {HERE}
• Ceviche with Tilapia {HERE}
• Tequila Lime Flank Steak {HERE}
• Spicy Watermelon Margaritas {HERE}

And here’s a few other soups inspired by the flavors of Mexico!

• Roasted Corn and Poblano Soup {HERE}
• Pumpkin Chorizo Soup {HERE}

Thank you so much for stopping by today, friends! I hope that you love this recipe. You can find the printable version below for making my Chicken Tortilla Soup for Crock Pot and Instant Pot.

Chicken Tortilla Soup for Crock Pot and Instant Pot

Make this delicious Chicken Tortilla Soup for Crock Pot or an Instant Pot! It is easy and an amazing family dinner! Click to save the recipe!

5 from 7 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: dinner

Cuisine: American, South Western

Keyword: chicken tortilla soup, chicken tortilla soup for crock pot, chicken tortilla soup for instant pot, instant pot recipes, tortilla soup recipe

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Servings: 5 bowls

Author: Rachel

Equipment

• Pressure Cooker One or the other
• Crock Pot

Ingredients

• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 can diced tomatoes If you want to use fresh, use 1 1/2 cups of fresh diced tomatoes but make sure to get all the juices from cutting into the soup.
• 1 15 oz can of Black Beans, lightly drained
• 3 4 oz. cans of diced green chilis, mild
• 1 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
• 1 - 2 tsp. chili powder Use the second tsp if you like more spice.
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 1/4 cups frozen corn
• 1-2 tsp. sea salt to taste (Keep this set aside until the end.)
• 1-3 Tbsp. flour or corn starch Start with 1 and add subsequent amounts to thicken.
• Juice from 1 lime, divided
• Toppings: Avocado, sour cream, cilantro, additional salt and pepper to taste

Fried Tortilla Ingredients

• 3 white flour or corn tortillas
• 2 cups frying oil like vegetable oil
• Sea salt

Instructions

Chicken Tortilla Soup for Crock Pot or Instant Pot

• Add the onion and minced garlic to the Crock Pot or Instant pot and then add in the chicken.
• Next, add the broth, tomatoes, black beans, chilies and corn.
• Sprinkle the garlic powder, black pepper, chili powder, oregano, and cumin on top of the chicken and the vegetables.
• For the Crock Pot, cover and cook for 10 hours on low. For the Instant Pot, seal the pressure cooker and cook for 25 minutes.
• When done, remove the lids (If using the pressure cooker release the pressure first), and taste. Add in 1/2 or all of the lime juice as desired and season with the sea salt, using 1 tsp. at a time.
• Add in the flour or the corn starch to thicken if you like. Add 1 Tbsp. at a time so you can get a consistency you enjoy.
• Season with additional salt and pepper as desired and serve with tortillas, cilantro, avocado and sour cream if you like.

Instructions for frying the tortilla

• Cut the tortillas in strips.
• Add the oil to a pan on the stove and heat through on high. Then turn the heat down to medium to work with it.
• Add the tortilla strips - about 5 at a time - to the pan of hot oil. Be careful not to splash it because it will burn you. Use tongs to flip the tortilla strips after about 20 seconds.
• Give each strip 20-30 seconds on each side and then remove with the tongs. If your oil is too hot and they are burning, use less time.
• Add sea salt to the strips before they dry and then serve with the soup.