Instant Pot Salsa Chicken Soup
INGREDIENTS
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 3 cups
low sodium chicken broth - 1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese
- 1 1/2 cups mild salsa
- 4 tsp
taco seasoning mix (or <3 teaspoons for milder version)
For topping:
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 avocado, thinly sliced or diced
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro or parsley
INSTRUCTIONS
- Cut the cream cheese into 8 cubes. Set aside to soften while you work on the rest of the recipe.
Add chicken broth, salsa, and taco seasoning mix to the pressure cooker pot. Stir together until well-mixed. - Add chicken breasts to the pot, submerging them in the liquid.
- Secure and seal the lid. Cook for 25 minutes at high pressure, followed by a manual pressure release.
- Uncover and transfer only the chicken breasts to a plate.
- In a heatproof bowl or measuring glass, add softened cream cheese and 1 cup of hot liquid from the pressure cooker pot. Whisk for a few minutes until smooth. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the pot and stir it in.
- Turn on the saute mode for medium heat. While waiting for the liquid to come to a boil, use 2 forks to finely shred the chicken and return them to the pot.
- Let the soup boil for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Turn off the saute mode.
- Serve in bowls and top with avocado, cheddar cheese, and cilantro.
NUTRITION
| Makes 7 Servings |
| Amount Per Serving (1 cup): |
| Calories 290 (59% from fat) | |
| Total Fat 19g | 30% |
| Saturated Fat 9g | 45% |
| Cholesterol 83mg | 28% |
| Sodium 810mg | 34% |
| Net Carb 6g | |
| Total Carb 9g | 3% |
| Dietary Fiber 3g | 12% |
| Sugars 3g | |
| Protein 21g |
An Easy Recipe
I usually make my meals from scratch (like this recent Instant Pot Chili Verde), but every once in a while, I enjoy pulling together an effortless meal that uses some pre-made components. For this salsa chicken soup, I use store-bought salsa (instead of making my own) and a pre-made taco seasoning mix. Both add a ton of flavor, with little work required.
This is not quite a dump-and-go pressure cooker recipe, but it comes close. After pressure cooking the chicken, it needs to be shredded. And cream cheese is added to the soup, which gives it a creamy and rich texture. But that’s about it. Overall, it’s a really easy recipe that deserves a spot in your weeknight dinner rotation!
Selecting Ingredients
Chicken breasts. I use skinless and boneless fresh chicken breasts. Frozen is fine, but I recommend thawing overnight in the refrigerator. If you add frozen breasts directly to the pressure cooker pot, the resulting soup might be a bit more watery. You’ll also need to increase the pressure cooking time. I haven’t tested this recipe using chicken thighs, but they should work well.
Chicken broth. I use a low sodium broth, to avoid an overly salty soup. It’s always easy to add salt to taste after the soup is done, but impossible to take it out.
Cream cheese. Any full-fat, regular cream cheese will work. I prefer the Philadelphia brand. Don’t buy cream cheese spreads or light versions of cream cheese. And don’t skip this ingredient — it adds substantial creaminess to the soup.
Salsa. I use fresh salsa that you can find in the refrigerated section of a supermarket near the produce. I don’t use jarred or canned salsa. Note that salsa is not the same as pico de gallo; salsa is thinner and pico de gallo is chunkier. I recommend buying mild salsa if this is your first time making this soup. The taco seasoning will provide the heat and you don’t want to end up with soup that’s too spicy to enjoy.
Taco seasoning mix. You can find this in the spice aisle of your supermarket. I use Trader Joe’s taco seasoning mix, and I find that 4 teaspoons provides an adequate level of spiciness. If you can’t handle spices well, I’d dial it down to 3 teaspoons or less.
Serving and Leftovers
After the soup is cooked and ladled in bowls, add your toppings just before serving. I’ve offered some suggestions in the recipe — avocado, shredded cheese, cilantro — and you can add whatever else strikes your fancy, like sour cream or crumbled Mexican queso fresco. The soup is also fantastic as-is, without any toppings.
You can serve this soup with low carb almond flour biscuits, roasted cauliflower, or a simple green salad. This is a somewhat hearty soup, especially if you double the servings (each serving is 1 cup), so I typically serve it as the main course.
Covered leftovers store well in the refrigerator. Before serving, use the microwave to reheat the soup until warm.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! It’s a wonderful treat in the cold winter months. Made it exactly as described but used Greek yogurt cream cheese.
Omg I just love this soup … I also added at the end after I dished it out sour cream tastes fabulous I’m definitely going to make this again…
I have been struggling to find good recipes for the instant pot, I got so used to the slow cooker. This was beyond amazing!! My fiance and I ate it for dinner and lunch, we couldn’t get enough of it! So much flavor, very easy, and chicken turned out perfect. Thank you!!
I just finished making this, its so easy and the flavor is beyond amazing. I will for sure be making it many times again. Thanks so much for the recipe!
I made the salsa chicken soup last night. Absolutely delicious. I like a lot of heat so I used hot salsa and added a couple jalapenos. My favorite keto recipe so far!
The McCormick’s Taco Seasoning you have a link for contains Dextrose, which is sugar. Any other ideas?
The digestible carbs in store-bought taco seasoning is taken into account in my nutrition estimate provided in the recipe box, and you may find it to be low enough per serving to be acceptable (this recipe yields 7 servings, each serving is 1 cup and has 5.5g net carbs). If not, I suggest making your own taco seasoning (which is composed of chili powder, paprika, cumin, cayenne, oregano, salt, and pepper) since many brands have added sugar.
Hey Amy idk where you’re at or if your store you shop at carries this brand of seasoning “fiesta” but at my store it is in the authentic Mexican section… and I don’t see any sugar listed on the ingredients label…
I made this tonight using frozen chicken breasts and it was amazing! Thank you for such an easy & delicious recipe
I always have a hard time whisking cream cheese in even when it is super soft. This time I added some hot soup liquid to it in a large measuring cup and blended it with my immersion blender. Perfectly blended cream cheese in seconds!
If you don’t have a pressure cooker what do you recommend cooking the chicken?
This recipe can be adapted for the stovetop. Use a large pot and follow the directions, keeping in mind that the pressure cooking and stovetop cooking time estimates are going to be different.
Making tonight, how long should I cook if the chicken is frozen?
Think this recipe would be just as good in a reg pot on the stove? Lol I cannot figure the insta pot out (palm to forehead)!
The Instant Pot is just an electric pressure cooker and any other brands would work as well. I think this recipe would also work in a regular pot on the stovetop, except that you would need more liquid (pressure cookers are very good at retaining liquid compared to stovetop) and you would have to increase the cooking time. Hope that gives you a start!
Does this freeze well?
Cream cheese does not freeze well. It becomes grainy.
So delicious! I made this for dinner and I love the creamy flavor. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
You’re welcome, Danielle!
If I want to make this in a crockpot, do you have a recommended cooking time?
I would probably try 3 hours on high or 6 hours on low. Essentially, the chicken needs to be cooked long enough so it’s easy to shred.
Hello! This recipe looks amazing and I plan on making it this weekend for the work crew! Just wondering if you put in thawed chicken or frozen or if it even matters. Thanks!
I recommend thawing the chicken beforehand. After thawing, pat them dry with paper towels to avoid adding excess liquid to the soup. Hope you guys enjoy it!
What is the cooking time if I double the chicken amount? I’m thinking it’s okay as it is, but still
Learning cooking times with meat.
Keep the pressure cooking time the same. Let me know if you have any other questions.
OMG just made this in my brand new instant pot. It is DELICIOUS!
Thanks Nancy! Reminds me that I need to make this again soon so that I have some healthy lunches prepped.
I do not have an instant pot can I make this in a crock pot?
I haven’t tested this in a slow cooker so I can’t say what the cooking times would be, but I think it could definitely work.
I made this last night and it was delicious! I was meal prepping, so I haven’t tried it with all the fixins’ yet, but just the flavor of the soup is wonderful.
I wanted to stretch it a little further so I added a lot more chicken stock. Didn’t end up super thick but once I add toppings and reheat on the stove I’m sure it will be a-ok.
Thanks for the feedback, Amelia! This soup would be fantastic for meal prepping 🙂
Thank you for this amazing recipe! I added beans and corn along with my own taco blend. We also like to add a tiny bit of liquid smoke. I’ll definitely be making again and again! 😋
Ooh I love the addition of liquid smoke!! This reminds me that I need to make this soup again, maybe when the weather cools down a bit 🙂
This is a good recipe! I use ground chicken sometimes instead of the breasts. I use a deep bowl and an immersion blender to smooth the cream cheese into the 1c. of soup.
I’ve never thought of using ground chicken before! Thanks for your feedback 🙂
Made this last night, but also made my own taco seasoning with just a 1/4 tsp salt to cut down even more on the sodium. It was awesome, topped with avocado.
Fantastic! I’m glad you enjoyed it and even made your own taco seasoning 🙂 Adding avocado chunks really takes it to another level!
Yummy, easy and surprised me how good it was for summer. Give it a try, you won’t be sorry.
Should say non-keto
Great and easy. I added some chopped fresh tomato on top and my non-zero husband sprinkled crushed taco chips on top.