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Instant Pot Salsa Chicken Soup

Updated Apr 19, 2020Published Jul 3, 2018 By Julia 32 CommentsThis post may contain affiliate links.

Summary:
This soup is bursting with flavor, yet incredibly easy to make with simple ingredients like chicken and salsa. Cream cheese adds a creamy richness to the soup, which is then finished with avocado and shredded cheese. For more cozy low carb soups, visit Keto Soup Recipes.
salsa chicken soup in rustic bowl

Salsa Chicken Soup

5 from 20 votes
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Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Yield: 7 servings
Calories: 290
Net Carbs: 6g

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (Note 1)
  • 3 cups low sodium chicken broth (Note 2)
  • 1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese (Note 3)
  • 1.5 cups mild salsa (Note 4)
  • 4 teaspoons taco seasoning mix (Note 5)

Toppings:

  • 1 avocado, thinly sliced or diced
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

  • Soften Cream Cheese: Cut cream cheese into 8 cubes. Set aside to soften while you work on the next step.
  • Pressure Cook: Stir together chicken broth, salsa, and taco seasoning in pressure cooker pot (Note 6) until well-mixed. Submerge chicken breasts in mixture. Secure and seal lid (Note 7). Cook for 25 minutes (Note 8) at high pressure, followed by quick pressure release.
  • Thicken Soup: Uncover and transfer only chicken breasts to plate; set aside. Whisk together 1 cup of hot liquid from pressure cooker with softened cream cheese in heatproof bowl or liquid measuring glass until smooth, a few minutes. Pour cream cheese mixture into pot, stirring it in.
  • Shred Chicken: Turn on saute mode for medium heat. While waiting for liquid to boil, finely shred chicken using two forks and return chicken to pot. Boil soup for a few minutes to combine flavors, stirring frequently, then turn off saute mode.
  • Serve (Note 9): Ladle soup into bowls, and top with avocado, cheddar cheese, and cilantro.

NUTRITION

Makes 7 Servings
Amount Per Serving (1 cup):
Calories 290 (59% from fat) ย 
Total Fat 19g 30%
ย ย ย Saturated Fat 9g 45%
Cholesterol 83mg 28%
Sodium 810mg 34%
Net Carb 6g ย 
Total Carb 9g 3%
ย ย ย Dietary Fiber 3g 12%
ย ย ย Sugars 3g ย 
Protein 21g ย 
Vitamin A 19% ยท Vitamin C 10% ยท Calcium 11% ยท Iron 8%

PHOTOS

salsa chicken soup in rustic bowl
closeup of salsa chicken soup with cheese
spooning shredded chicken from soup bowl

NOTES & TIPS

(1) Chicken Breasts. I use fresh chicken; if yours is frozen, defrost in the refrigerator overnight until thawed. You can also use already cooked shredded chicken. I haven’t tried chicken thighs, but that should also work well for this recipe.
(2) Chicken Broth. I use low sodium broth to avoid an overly salty soup.
(3) Cream Cheese. I use regular, full-fat cream cheese by Philadelphia. This is the key ingredient that lends a thick and smooth consistency to the soup.
(4) Salsa. I use homemade salsa or the fresh kind that you can find in the refrigerated section of a grocery store. Not the shelf-stable 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 donโ€™t want to end up with soup thatโ€™s too spicy to enjoy.
(5) Taco Seasoning Mix. You can find this in the spice aisle of your supermarket. I use Trader Joeโ€™s taco seasoning mix, and I find that 4 teaspoons provides an adequate level of spiciness. If you canโ€™t handle spices well, use 3 teaspoons or less. Homemade mixes also work well.
(6) Pressure Cooker Equipment. I use a 6-quart Instant Pot. Other sizes of electric pressure cookers should also work as long as all ingredients fit within the maximum capacity.
(7) Sealing Pressure Cooker. Before cooking, remember to seal the pressure cooker by turning the pressure knob from โ€œventingโ€ to โ€œsealing,โ€ otherwise the pot will not pressurize.
(8) Pressure Cooking Time. If you scale the ingredients up or down to accommodate a different number of servings, the pressure cooking time remains the same.
(9) Serving. In addition to the serving suggestions mentioned in the recipe โ€” avocado, shredded cheese, cilantro โ€” you can add toppings like sour cream, crumbled Mexican queso fresco, a squeeze of lime juice, chopped fresh tomatoes, or sliced fresh jalapeรฑos. Note that the soup is also fantastic as-is, without any toppings. Serve this for lunch or dinner alongside appetizers like fried jalapeรฑo slices or bacon-wrapped jalapeรฑo poppers. If you have leftovers, cover and refrigerate for up to a few days. Reheat in the microwave until warm.
(10) Nutrition. The estimated nutrition information includes the 3 toppings listed in the ingredients.

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Filed Under: Instant Pot, Per Serving: 5-10g Net Carbs, Soups Tagged With: 31-60min, 6-10ingredients, avocado, cheddar cheese, chicken breasts, cilantro, cream cheese, featured, gluten free, instant pot, salsa, taco seasoning

About Julia

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julia is a recipe developer and the founder of Savory Tooth. She shares simple recipes and guides for keto and low carb diets. Learn more.

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newest oldest most voted
Lisa

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!

Vote Up4Vote Down  Reply
1 year ago
Caroline

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!!

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1 year ago
Cris Richards

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!

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1 year ago
Donna Maas

I have made this twice and both times it was delicious. Both times I added a drained can of black beans, the second time I added some diced smoked sausage. It was soooo good. This would also be good with shrimp. Will be making this on a regular basis.

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2 months ago
johanna d begeman

Thank you for sharing this recipe! Itโ€™s a wonderful treat in the cold winter months. Made it exactly as described but used Greek yogurt cream cheese.

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11 months ago
Kyle

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…

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1 year ago
Kandi

I just finished making this, it’s so easy and the flavor is beyond amazing. I will for sure be making it many times again. Thanks so much for the recipe!

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1 year ago
Melissa

I made this tonight using frozen chicken breasts and it was amazing! Thank you for such an easy & delicious recipe

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1 year ago
Tonya

If you donโ€™t have a pressure cooker what do you recommend cooking the chicken?

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1 year ago
Julia

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.

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1 year ago
Loren

Making tonight, how long should I cook if the chicken is frozen?

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2 years ago
Blue

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)!

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2 years ago
Julia

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!

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2 years ago
Sarah

Does this freeze well?

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2 years ago
Dawn

Cream cheese does not freeze well. It becomes grainy.

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2 years ago
Danielle

So delicious! I made this for dinner and I love the creamy flavor. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

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2 years ago
Fara

If I want to make this in a crockpot, do you have a recommended cooking time?

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2 years ago
Julia

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.

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2 years ago
Nancy

OMG just made this in my brand new instant pot. It is DELICIOUS!

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2 years ago
antashia

I do not have an instant pot can I make this in a crock pot?

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2 years ago
Julia

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.

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2 years ago
Amelia

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.

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2 years ago
Amanda

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. Iโ€™ll definitely be making again and again! ๐Ÿ˜‹

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2 years ago
Norma

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.

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2 years ago
Carol Aguilar

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.

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2 years ago
Tina Spring

Yummy, easy and surprised me how good it was for summer. Give it a try, you won’t be sorry.

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2 years ago
Ginny Berkey

Great and easy. I added some chopped fresh tomato on top and my non-keto husband sprinkled crushed taco chips on top.

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2 years ago
Holly

I made this soup and my whole family loved it (parents and 2 and 4 year olds). We used chicken thighs because that is what we had and also added some corn and 4 beans to it. It was easy and tasted beautiful. Thank you for another beauty Julia.

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2 years ago
Dorinda Kelly

I am not yet an experienced Instant Pot user but I found this recipe very easy to make. It was also delicious; creamy and cheesy and very filling. In addition to the cheese, cilantro, and avocado as garnishes for the soup, my husband used some tortilla chips that he crunched up with his hand. He loved including the tortilla chips. I would recommend this recipe to anyone whether they are at home with the Instant Pot or new at it like me.

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2 years ago
Josette

We made this for friends and it was a huge success! We added some chopped, fresh veggies we had on hand (carrots, celery, onion). It was very spicy, which is why it was devoured by the group.

When you remove the cooked chicken, add the cream cheese cubes to the hot liquid in the pot, blending until melted, then add the chopped vegetables and pressure cook on high 5 minutes with a fast pressure release. While that’s cooking, you can shred the chicken and add it to the soup after releasing the pressure.

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2 years ago

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