A thick, hearty soup filled with chicken and vegetables, with a southwest flavor kick. This Instant Pot Southwest Chicken Soup is the perfect dinner for a cool night!
Instant Pot Soups
There are a few areas where pressure cookers blow my mind with their ability to make delicious food in no time. One of the top areas: soup. If you’ve never made soup in your Instant Pot, you need to. After about 10 minutes of pressure cooking, the soup tastes as if it has been simmering for hours.
No, this is not a sponsored post. No, I don’t have any affiliation with Instant Pot. I wish I did though. I must be one of their top fans.
Instant Pot Soup Recipes
If you’re looking for more Instant Pot soup recipes, try these:
Instant Pot Bacon Corn Soup
Instant Pot Lemon Egg Chicken Soup
Instant Pot Unstuffed Cabbage Soup
Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
Soup for the Soul
Every fall and winter I go through kicks where I want all the soup I can get. I want it for lunch and dinner daily. I’m constantly changing and modifying to make something fun, new, and different. Last winter I tried making a southwest chicken soup.
I made the soup multiple times until I had it just right. At the end of winter, it was one of my favorites. By the time I got around to typing it up, it was mid summer and it didn’t make sense to post it at that time. Plus, I didn’t care for the photos that I took.
So, I remade it last week to take new photos, to make sure I remembered all of the tips, and because I just really like it.
Instant Pot Southwest Chicken Soup
Here are a few tips to help ensure delicious success when you make this Instant Pot Southwest Chicken Soup:
Chicken
In the many times I have made this, I have used chicken breasts and chicken thighs, both work well. I often use frozen chicken as well. If you choose to use frozen chicken, you need to cook the soup for 13 minutes, and keep in mind that it takes a bit longer for the pressure cooker to reach pressure.
Frozen versus Fresh Vegetables
I have made made this soup using fresh, frozen, and canned corn as well as fresh and frozen potatoes. Bottom line: I can’t tell any difference. Go with whatever is easiest for you.
Thickening Soup with Eggs
I love a thick, creamy soup. But, I don’t like heavy cream. So, I often use eggs to thicken soups, like I did in this recipe.
Using eggs is great, but you have to be careful. Very slowly start by whisking in about 1 cup of soup into the eggs. If you do it too quickly, you’ll end up with scrambled eggs. Then, very slowly whisk that back into the pot with the remainder of the soup. Patience is key here.
Another note, don’t whisk eggs into soup that is simmering, that will also cook the eggs. The soup should be warm, but not bubbly.
Instant Pot Southwest Chicken Soup
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium sweet onion diced
- 1 green pepper diced
- 1 jalapeño seeds removed
- 4 cloves fresh minced garlic
- 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 3 cups cubed potatoes about 2 large russet potatoes cut into 1/2” cubes
- 14 ounce can fire roasted tomatoes
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro chopped and loosely packed
- 1 cup corn kernels frozen, fresh, or canned
- 3 tbsp lime juice
- 1/2-1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 3 large eggs
- Shredded cheddar cheese or sour cream for serving
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in Instant Pot on sauté mode. Add diced onion, pepper, and jalapeño. Sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds. Turn off pot.
- Add chicken, potatoes, cilantro, corn, lime juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper, and chicken broth. Stir well.
- Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Let natural release for 10 minutes.
- Remove chicken from pot and shred. Do NOT yet return shredded chicken to pot.
- In a small bowl, whisk the eggs together.
- Remove about 1 cup of soup from the Instant Pot and very slowly pour it into the eggs while constantly whisking. Then, very slowly, pour the egg mixture back into the pot, again while constantly whisking.
- Stir in shredded chicken.
- Serve with cheddar cheese and sour cream if desired.
Nutrition
If you enjoyed this Instant Pot Southwest Chicken Soup, you might enjoy these other SugarSpicesLife recipes:
Instant Pot Bacon Corn Soup
Spoon Cornbread with Skillet Roasted Corn
North Carolina Sourdough Bread
Slow Cooker Mesquite Chicken Chili
Shredded BBQ Chicken Sliders
Links to items used to make this recipe:
Instant Pot 6 Quart Duo
Instant Pot 6 Quart Pot: I love having an extra pot so I can saute in one and cook in the other. Doing this helps prevent the ‘burn’ error.
