Home / Recipes / Chicken

Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup is a fun twist on chicken enchilada soup and is a breeze to make in your Instant Pot! This easy weeknight soup is so full of flavor and will quickly become a go-to dinner recipe that your whole family loves!

Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

Raise your hand if you received an Instant Pot for Christmas!  I thought that might be the case.  The pressure cooker has become one of my favorite kitchen appliances over the past couple of years, and I love that it is gaining popularity.

I have a habit of giving simple, straight-forward recipes some sort of twist, and this Instant Pot Enchilada Soup is no different.  My original plan was an Instant Pot White Chicken Chili, but when I eyed a jar of enchilada sauce and a jar of salsa verde in our cupboard, the wheels started spinning.

Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Chili

I couldn't decide between a salsa verde chicken chili or a chicken enchilada soup, but after a quick text to my recipe development team (aka my mom and aunt), we settled on Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup.

How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

This instant pot enchilada soup recipe is so easy to make. It is a dump and cook recipe.  Meaning, you dump all (but two) ingredients into the Instant Pot, and cook it.

Add ingredients to the Instant Pot. Add the chicken, onion, bell pepper, spices, Green Chiles, enchilada sauce, beans, and broth to the pressure cooker.

Cook. Secure the lid and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Do a natural release of pressure for 10 minutes and then release the remaining pressure.

Shred the chicken. Remove the chicken from the pot and shred it with some forks or with your electric mixer. Return the shredded chicken to the Instant Pot.

Add the cream cheese. Ladle 1 cup of broth into a medium bowl and add the cream cheese. Use a fork to mix the cream cheese with the broth and then add it to the Instant Pot. This reduces the chances of the cream cheese curdling.

Stir in the cheese. Add the cheese to the instant pot and stir until melted.

Serve with suggested toppings and enjoy!

Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Chili

Ingredients In Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

So what exactly is in this chicken enchilada soup recipe?  There's a lot of your typical enchilada ingredients but in the soup form.

Vegetables - the fresh vegetables in this recipe are onion and bell peppers. I use white onion and red bell pepper, but you could use red onion or yellow onion and yellow, orange, and green bell peppers, too. It's up to you! There are also canned Green Chiles for more delicious flavor.

Spices- chili powder and cumin give this enchilada soup recipe a ton of flavor.

Enchilada sauce - red enchilada sauce gives this soup even more flavor and it is totally reminiscent of enchiladas.

Beans - I use pinto beans, Northern beans, and cannellini beans in this soup. Black beans and kidney beans would also work well.

Chicken - Raw boneless skinless chicken breast is added to this soup and it is quickly cooked in the Instant Pot.

Chicken Broth - 1 can of chicken broth is used for the base of the soup. Chicken stock also works well.

Cream Cheese and Shredded Cheese - this soup gets its creaminess from the addition of cream cheese and also some shredded cheddar cheese.

Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Chili

It's All About the Toppings!

Of course, like many soup recipes, one of the best parts of this Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup is the stuff you top it with.  I know in the photo I only have some cheese and fresh cilantro on top, but after my photoshoot I went a little crazy with other toppings.  I added some diced avocado, plain Greek yogurt, and a bunch of crushed tortilla chips or tortilla strips.  SO good you guys. Other ideas are hot sauce, a dollop of sour cream, corn chips, green salsa, and chopped green onions.

Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup Variations and Tips

Storage. Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

Freezer Meal. I have made this chicken enchilada soup into a freezer meal many times. Simply add all of the ingredients of the soup except for the broth, cream cheese, and cheese, to a large freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. To cook, thaw overnight in the fridge (I also like to set it on the counter for an hour or two to completely thaw) and then cook according to recipe instructions, adding the broth, cream cheese, and cheese as instructed. It is one of my favorite freezer meals.

Spice it up. With kids, we don't cook spicy food, but if you love things spicy, add some cayenne pepper.

Use Rotisserie Chicken. This soup would be a great use for leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken. Simply add as the recipe instructs and decrease cook time to 5 minutes, as the chicken does not need to be cooked.

Slow Cooker. This soup can also be made in the slow cooker. Simply cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours and add the cream cheese and cheese as directed in the recipe card.

Use Chicken Thighs. I love cooking with boneless skinless chicken thighs and this would be a great use for them in place of the chicken breasts.

Swap cream cheese for heavy cream. Heavy cream can also be used to make this soup creamy. Simply stir in ½-1/3 cup of heavy cream instead of adding the cream cheese.

If you're new to the Instant Pot - this is a great recipe to start with!  It's easily one of our favorite Instant Pot recipes - it's delicious and you really can't mess it up!

Instant Pot Enchilada Soup

Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

A delicious recipe for chicken enchilada soup made in the Instant Pot!
Print Pin Rate
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American, Mexican
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Pressure Release: 10 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 491kcal

Equipment

  • Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
  • 1 white onion diced
  • 1 red bell pepper de-seeded, stem removed, and diced
  • 1 15 ounce jar red enchilada sauce
  • 1 15 ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 15 ounce can Northern beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 15 ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 15 ounce can chicken broth
  • 1 4 ounce can green chiles
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 ounces cream cheese
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • Toppings: shredded cheese avocado, green onion, cilantro, sour cream, plain yogurt, tortilla chips

Instructions

  • Place chicken, onion, bell pepper, enchilada sauce, pinto beans, Northern beans, cannellini beans, green chiles, chicken broth, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper to Instant Pot.
  • Seal lid. Cook on high for 10 minutes.
  • Let pressure naturally release for 10 minutes.
  • Remove chicken breasts from Instant Pot and shred the meat. Return shredded chicken to the Instant Pot.
  • Place cream cheese in a small bowl and add 1-2 ladles of soup to it. Whisk together until cream cheese is melted into the soup.
  • Add mixture and shredded cheese to the rest of the soup and stir well to combine.
  • Serve topped with your choice of toppings - shredded cheese, avocado, green onion, cilantro, sour cream, plain yogurt, and tortilla chips are all great options.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

Slow Cooker. This soup can also be made in the slow cooker. Simply cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours and add the cream cheese and cheese as directed in the recipe card.

Nutrition

Calories: 491kcal | Carbohydrates: 50g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 88mg | Sodium: 1954mg | Potassium: 1290mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 1993IU | Vitamin C: 37mg | Calcium: 285mg | Iron: 6mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @greensnchocolate to let me know!
Need more ideas?Find all of my recipe pins @greenschocolate
Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Chili

5 Comments
Join The Conversation
Want More?

Get fast, fresh, and easy recipes delivered right to your inbox.

More


Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




  1. 5 stars
    Two thumbs up all around the table tonight! Love how quick this was to pull together (yeah Instant Pot!) and how hearty it was.

  2. Do you have to use those beans would like to use just black beans? Don't know how they would t
    Hold up in the instant pot