Instant Pot Southwest Chicken Soup

By: Olivia Updated: 1/29/23

4.2

Cozy up to a large bowl of this Instant Pot Southwest Chicken Soup tonight for dinner! Made with delicious Mexican flavours, this soup is an easy family friendly weeknight dinner.

Want more Instant Pot Soup recipes? Try my Easy Instant Pot Chicken Soup, Instant Pot Taco Soup Recipe, Instant Pot Sweet Potato Kale Beef Soup and Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup.

Get dinner on the table quickly thanks to the Instant Pot! This Instant Pot Southwest Chicken Soup is quickly made in the pressure cooker and with all the things we are juggling right now, an easy meal like this is just what we need.

This is one of those meals that has everything you want in a dinner — it’s packed with protein and vegetables so you can skip the side dish if you’re in a rush! Plus, it’s naturally gluten-free without any extra work or substitutions.

In addition, since this is all made in the Instant Pot, like my Instant Pot Meat Sauce Recipe, clean up is super easy! We sauté our onions, garlic, and peppers in the pressure cooker then the rest of the ingredients goes into the pot. And because we cooked everything in one pot, the flavours are phenomenal, despite the short cooking time. There really isn’t anything better than that!

Don’t have an Instant Pot? No problem, you can make this southwest chicken soup in the slow cooker or the stove top as well. It’ll take a little longer but with the slow cooker, the work is hands off once you’ve put everything inside it and on the stove top, you’ve just got to simmer it for a while. Either way, your kitchen is will amazing with the aromas from this soup.

Want even more soup recipes? Try my Ground Beef Vegetable Soup Recipe or any of these 30 Healthy Soup Recipes! They’re so quick and easy to make.

How to Make this Instant Pot Southwest Chicken Soup

Ingredients

Olive oil
White onion — chopped
Garlic — minced
Green bell pepper — if you don’t have green bell peppers, you can always use red, yellow, or orange bell peppers. They’ll be sweeter than green bell peppers.
Boneless skinless chicken breast
Frozen corn
Tomato sauce
Fire roasted diced tomatoes — this is what gives the soup that smokey flavour.
Black beans — rinsed and drained.
Tomato paste
Chicken broth
Spices and seasoning: chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt, and black pepper.
Juice of 1 lime
Fresh green onions and parsley for garnish

Instructions

Sauté the Aromatics

Preheat your Instant Pot on SAUTE mode and add olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add onions, garlic, and bell pepper. Sauté for 5-7 minutes. Stir every couple of minutes until the onions become translucent.

Add the Ingredients into the Instant Pot

Add all the remaining ingredients (except the lime juice, green onions, and parsley for garnish), in your Instant Pot. Mix all well and place the lid on the pot and make sure the pressure valve is in the sealing position.

Pressure Cook the Soup

Switch your Instant Pot to the MANUAL/PRESSURE mode and set it for 8 minutes.
When time is up, naturally release pressure for 5 minutes before switching the pressure valve to the venting position. Once opened, shred the chicken with two forks and stir in lime juice.
Garnish with fresh chopped green onions and parsley. Enjoy!

How to Make This Soup in the Slow Cooker

Add all the ingredients into a slow cooker and cook on high for 4-6 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
Once done, shred the chicken with two forks and stir in lime juice.
Garnish with fresh chopped green onions and parsley.

How to Make This on the Stove Top

In a heavy bottomed pot, add oil and once the oil is hot, add onions, garlic, and bell pepper. Sauté for 5-7 minutes.
Add all the remaining ingredients (except the lime juice, green onions, and parsley for garnish), to your pot.
Bring it to a boil and then simmer for 45 minutes.
Once done, shred the chicken with two forks and stir in lime juice.
Garnish with fresh chopped green onions and parsley.

Instant Pot Southwest Chicken Soup Recipe Notes and Substitutions

You can garnish your soup with crushed tortillas, shredded cheese and avocado as well.
It’ll take a couple minutes for the Instant Pot to come up to pressure so don’t be concerned if it doesn’t cook immediately.
If you don’t have chicken breasts, you can swap with chicken thighs!
If you’ve got extra time on your hands, charred fresh corn adds additional smokey flavour to this Instant Pot southwest chicken soup as well.
Don’t have black beans? White beans can be substituted as well.

Make Ahead Tips for the Instant Pot Southwest Chicken Soup

Meal prep: If you want to meal prep this, simply portion it out into four to five containers to enjoy throughout the week. Reheat on the stove or microwave.
Freeze: If you want to freeze this, transfer the cooked Instant Pot southwest chicken soup into a freezer friendly container once it’s cooled. Then freeze for up to 3 to 4 months. When ready to eat, thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat on the stove or microwave.