Healthy Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup - The Recipe Well (2024)

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read our full disclosure statement.

If you need a healthy pantry meal, look no further! This Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada soup is made with two chicken breasts along with common pantry ingredients and spices. Eat it plain or dress it up with your favourite garnishes!

If you’re looking for more easy chicken recipes for the Instant Pot, check out my Instant Pot Chicken Fried Rice!

Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup is quickly becoming a favourite at our house. Aside from the chicken breast, it’s made mostly with canned or frozen pantry ingredients, which means I usually have everything on hand to make it. Pressure cooking makes the soup taste like it’s been simmering for hours and the chicken is so easy to shred.

This recipe doesn’t call for a pre-made enchilada sauce. It’s hard to find at stores here in Canada and I’m all about saving time, so I didn’t want to make a sauce separately. Instead, we’re using spices and tomato paste to get the enchilada sauce flavour. Definitely not authentic, but it’s easy and tastes great!

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make the soup. See the recipe card below for exact quantities and detailed instructions.

For the spice mix

• Chili powder
• Cumin
• Smoked paprika
• Oregano
• Salt
• Sugar – added to offset the acidity of the tomato. Feel free to omit, if you’d rather not use it.

For the soup

• Olive oil
• Yellow onion
• Jalapeño – added for extra heat and colour. You could leave it out or use a green pepper to still get the colour without the spice.
• Garlic
• Chicken broth
• Chicken breast – 2 large, about one pound
• Diced tomatoes
• Black beans – a 15oz can or 1.5 cups cooked black beans; don’t use dried in this recipe
• Canned diced green chilies – these add great flavour, if you can find them (here in Canada they can be hard to find). The soup is still great if you skip this ingredient.
• Tomato paste
• Frozen corn
• Freshly squeezed lime juice – optional, but brightens the flavour

Garnish ideas

• Grated cheese
• Corn chips
• Lime wedges
• Sour cream, or my favourite healthier swap: full-fat plain Greek yogurt
• Avocado
• Guacamole

How to make it

First, make the spice mix. In a small bowl combine the chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, salt and sugar. Set aside.

Next, start the soup. Turn on the Sauté function on the Instant Pot. Heat the olive oil, then add the diced onion. Sauté until the onion starts to soften, about 3 minutes, then add the jalapeño (if you want the extra heat) and cook another minute or two. Add the minced garlic and sauté another 30 seconds or so, until fragrant. Turn off the Sauté function.

If there’s any food sticking to the bottom of the insert, add a bit of broth and scrape up any bits that are stuck (this is called deglazing and will help prevent a burn warning). Then add the rest of the broth, the chicken breasts, diced tomato, black beans, diced green chilies, the spice mix and tomato paste. Do not stir. Put the lid on the Instant Pot, set the vent to sealing and pressure cook on Manual High Pressure for 20 minutes. It will take around 20 minutes to come to pressure.

At the end of cooking time, let the pressure release naturally for about 5 minutes, then quick release the remaining pressure. Carefully open the lid and remove the chicken breasts to a large plate, then stir in the corn.

Shred the chicken using two forks, then add the chicken back to the soup. Season the soup with salt, pepper and lime juice, to taste. Serve immediately with your chosen garnishes.

Tips for success

1. Add ingredients to the Instant Pot in the order given. You want to make sure you add the tomato paste last, because it can cause a burn warning if it’s at the bottom.
2. Use cooked black beans. Dried black beans will not work with this recipe. They will stay too hard with the cook time. If you have dried beans, I suggest cooking them first separately and add about 1.5 cups in place of the canned beans.
3. Adjust the heat by swapping out the jalapeño. If you want less spice, swap out the jalapeño for green pepper!

Other Instant Pot soup recipes

• Lasagna Soup
• Stuffed Pepper Soup
• Dairy-free Zuppa Toscana
• Golden Cauliflower Soup
• Pesto Vegetable Soup

If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a review below!
I’d love to hear from you!

Hey, I’m Laura!

Creator of The Recipe Well

If you’re looking for easy meals and Instant Pot recipes, you’re in the right place! I use my nutrition degree to create simple, approachable recipes that will help you find your happy place in the kitchen.

More about me

• TikTok
• Instagram Profile
• Facebook Page
• Pinterest Profile
• Youtube Channel Page