Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup is a hearty, spicy tomato based chicken soup. A delicious quick easy dinner that you can throw together in a jiff, this is one of our favorite Hatch green chili recipes!

Bowls of creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup made in an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker

I Think I’m the Last Person to Buy an Instant Pot.

Talk about being the last to cross the finish line. After two years of being an Instant Pot lurker and watching the sweeping mania unfold, I finally added this electric pressure cooker to my culinary tool box.

My curiosity finally got the best of me. I think the last straw was reading a New York Times Article written by Melissa Clark, and my intrigue led to the purchase. She’s also written a informative article How to Use an Instant Pot.

And I even went out on a limb and bought one for my friend for Christmas. It’s been fabulous fun having someone to learn with, to share nervous jitters with and to share success with. We’ve become Instant Pot accountability partners.

My Concerns with the Instant Pot

So what took me so long? Here were my concerns:

Why do I need an Instant pot? I’m retired and have all the time in the world to cook.
I’m afraid. As in “kaboom” afraid.
It will end up in the back of the closet, rarely used.
It’s unnecessary.
It’s a silly fad.

Wins and Losses

Now, and just two weeks in, I’m starting to realize the Instant Pot as a true resource in my kitchen. We’re starting to develop a friendship.

The one thing I know for sure is that there’s a learning curve. I just need to learn how to think like an Instant Pot.

After thoroughly reading the user’s manual…after thoroughly reading a jillion articles…after thoroughly reading the instruction manual, I felt comfortable to complete the water test. I then advanced and made a batch of hard boiled eggs. Great result and easy peeling from super fresh eggs. Unheard of in my books. 1 point for the Instant Pot.

Then graduated to real food. My first experiment was with a pork roast with adovada sauce. It worked fine, but not as rich and earthy as my oven/stove top method. Back to the drawing board on that one. 1 point for my Dutch oven.

I tried to convert my Butternut Marsala Crock-pot Beef Stew recipe to an Instant Pot recipe and it just didn’t work. Too much liquid, too strong an alcohol taste and the butternut squash was mushy. Back to the drawing board on that one. 2 points for my Dutch Oven.

bowls of Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup made in a pressure cooker (Instant Pot)

Next up was my trusty Ranch Style Chicken Tortilla Soup. I’m so pleased to report it worked beautifully.

I simply studied some recipes with similar ingredients, studied the methods from reliable sources and took the plunge. Cooking this creamy chicken tortilla soup in the Instant Pot delivers more flavor than my stove top version.

And it’s so incredibly easy. With the added depth of flavor I’m giving the Instant Pot an extra point. It’s 3-2 with the Instant Pot winning.

So Why Do I Like My Instant Pot?

Actually I’m pretty sure I love it.
And it may sound silly, but so far, my big win is that it’s saving me clean up time. I’m cooking every single day. My kitchen really gets a workout and it’s always a fight to keep my stainless steel cook top and black granite counters clean and shiny. The Instant Pot with its saute feature and one pot advantage really makes clean up a breeze. No elbow grease needed. Another point for the Instant Pot.
The key for me is to find about a dozen recipes that work like a charm in the Instant Pot. Recipes that will be my Instant Pot go-to’s. I can’t wait to try BBQ ribs. Could the absence of an all afternoon slow roast in the oven be possible?
I made this Instant Pot Ground Pork and Pasta recipe. My first stab at pasta in the pot. The texture of the pasta was beautiful, not to mention this recipe is fabulous in flavor. I’m impressed with pasta in the Instant Pot. Thanks Pam, great recipe.
I’m making ham and bean soup tonight – without a 3 – 4 hour slow cook.
What I’m not going to make is any recipe that takes the same amount of time or less without the Instant Pot. Like Sloppy Joes? I’d love to hear your thoughts about that one.
Actually I’d love for you to comment with your favorite Instant Pot Recipes and a link. I’m dying to to try proven successful recipes.

So enough about the Instant Pot, let’s talk about this Mexican chicken pressure cooker soup.

There are a million Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipes – Why This One?

Adding a can of creamed corn gives this chicken tortilla soup a slightly creamy consistency. A can of Original Rotel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chile adds a nice depth of spice. And with just the right combination of Southwestern seasoning, this dish gets rave reviews from friends and family. It just seems like the perfect storm.

This creamy chicken tortilla soup recipe calls for both chile powder and chili seasoning. I have a stash of New Mexico Red Chile Powder that I use for about anything. If you don’t have New Mexico Red, use a good quality medium heat red chile powder for this and a good quality Chili Seasoning.

Each year, I buy both Hatch Chile and Poblano Peppers from our local chile roaster and pop them in the freezer to use all Winter long. If you don’t have such a luxury, as a local chile roaster, just buy three large poblano peppers for this recipe. Cut off the tops, remove the seeds and veins and chop them. Saute them along with the onions in the Instant Pot.

I used two large chicken breasts for this easy chicken tortilla soup recipe. Around one pound each. If you’re using small chicken breasts you may need to lower time.