Serve a bowl of chicken taco soup made in the Instant Pot for a delicious and easy low-carb dinner made in 30 minutes!
The beauty of this easy taco soup recipe is that your choice of vegetables can make this a low carb/keto soup. If you can't find a frozen soup mix near you, then just use whatever combination of veggies you want. A bag of frozen vegetables are perfect and you probably have them in your freezer.
Not every day is a fancy cooking day, and on the days when you just can't even, I find this 4 ingredient chicken taco soup recipe to be very handy.
Best of all, this is an easy pantry/freezer supper that requires very little pre-planning. This easy taco soup recipe is ready in 30 minutes. It makes the perfect busy weeknight meal. It is perfect for when the weather cools down, or even if you want to switch up your taco night. Serve a soup instead!
What is in Instant Pot Chicken Taco Soup
The wonderful thing is that you can use whatever frozen vegetables you have in the house, and best of all, you don't even need to defrost them. Throw them in the pressure cooker as is, add in chicken, water, and taco seasoning and you're good to go. Finish up with a little evaporated milk, and you have a savory, well-spiced, creamy soup ready in minutes.
If you want to use fresh vegetables, you will need to cut the chicken very small, and layer with the chicken at the bottom, the fresh veggies on top. Then, only cook for 3-4 minutes.
Watch the Video on How To Make Instant Pot Chicken Taco Soup
How To Make Chicken Taco Soup
I've provided step by step instructions so you can also enjoy my chicken taco soup recipe.
Step 1: Chop the skinless boneless chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces.
Step 2: Place the chicken into the inner liner of your Instant Pot.
Step 3: Add the frozen vegetable mix and 3 cups of water to the chicken.
Step 4: Add 2 tablespoons of Taco Seasoning.
Step 5: Close the lid and turn the knob to Sealing. Set the pressure cooker at HP for 10 minutes. Once it is done, allow the IP to rest undisturbed for 10 minutes. Then, release all remaining pressure.
Step 6: Stir in the evaporated milk or substitute.
Step 7: Add cheese if using and stir.
Step 8: Taste and add salt if needed before serving.
What To Serve With Chicken Taco Soup
Add some keto cheese biscuits or some ready-made rolls, and you're ready to go for some dipping action. Toppings for Mexican Soup can be anything. You can go crazy here. Anything you have laying around and need to use up.
Cilantro, sour cream, fresh salsa, and taco sauce are some of my favorites.
Stovetop and Slow Cooker Instructions
You can make it on the stovetop, or the slow cooker. If you are making it on the stovetop, I would make it in one pot.
Combine all the ingredients in a large soup pot, bring it to a low simmer, and let it bubble away for 20 minutes. Then add the evaporated milk and cheese. Turn the heat down to low, and cook a few minutes longer until creamy.
If you make it on the stovetop, you want to allow the flavors to develop, so once it's fully cooked, turn the heat down to low, and let it lightly bubble so the flavors can blend together. You can, of course, eat it when the chicken is fully cooked. The leftovers will be even tastier.
If you have a slow cooker, the technique is the same. Layer the chicken, water, and Mexican spices in the bottom, cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or low 8 hours. Add the evaporated milk and cheese the last half hour of the cooking time to get a creamy spicy soup.
Tips and Tricks
- For lower carb veggies that will do well in here, I'd recommend kabocha squash, cauliflower, and hardy greens such as kale or collard greens.
- Switch out the evaporated milk with heavy cream or half and half.
- Do not add the evaporated milk to the initial cooking. Milk separates under pressure and you will have a curdled mess. Add it after cooking as I have shown.
- If you keep kosher or are dairy free, you can use coconut milk instead.
- Note that I have not asked for salt in the main recipe. This is because Taco seasonings vary is how much salt they contain.
- Taste the soup after you've added everything including the milk, and then you can add salt if needed.
- If you're looking for more flavor to take your soup to the next level, check out my list of the best toppings for tacos and add them right before serving.
More Of Our Best Taco Recipes
- Tacos de Alambre
- Low Carb Taco Stuffed Peppers
- Low Carb Taco Chile Relleno Casserole
- Keto Easy Taco Dip
- Baked Chicken Tacos
- Buffalo Chicken Tacos
Another fantastic Mexican soup recipe is my Caldo de Pollo! It's a one of our best chicken soup recipes and it's bursting with Mexican flavors!
If you love this Chicken Taco Soup as much as we do, make sure you share the recipe with your friends on Facebook so they can try it too. Don't forget to Pin it so you can make it again soon!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 10 oz Frozen Soup Mix
- 3 cups Water
- 2 TBS Taco Seasoning
- 4-6 oz Evaporated Milk
- Kosher Salt, to taste
- ½ cup shredded Mexican cheese blend, optional
Instructions
- Place the cut boneless chicken thighs into the inner liner of your Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker.
- Add frozen soup blend (frozen veggies), water, and taco seasoning.
- Close the lid and turn the knob to Sealing. Set at high pressure for 10 minutes.
- At the end of the cooking cycle, allow the pot to rest undisturbed for 10 minutes. Then release all remaining pressure.
- Stir in the evaporated milk (or milk substitute). Add cheese if using and stir.
- Taste and add salt if needed before serving.
Watch The Video
- For lower-carb veggies that will do well in here, I'd recommend kabocha squash, cauliflower, and hardy greens such as kale or collard greens.
- Switch out the evaporated milk with heavy cream or half and half.
- Do not add the evaporated milk to the initial cooking. Milk separates under pressure and you will have a curdled mess. Add it after cooking as I have shown.
- If you keep kosher or are dairy-free, you can use coconut milk instead.
- Note that I have not asked for salt in the main recipe. This is because Taco seasonings vary is how much salt they contain.
- Taste the soup after you've added everything including the milk, and then you can add salt if needed.
Made this for dinner last night and it is so good! We used the lower carb veggies suggested (kabocha squash and kale) and I tossed in a few turnips and we used half and half instead of evaporated milk.
Yay! So glad you liked it
The recipe here says "1 10oz frozen soup mix" Am I correct to assume that is a 10 oz package of frozen veggies??
Yes you can use frozen veggies. Some stores sell a frozen soup mix veggie blend but the regular one will also do just great