Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

5 from 9 votes
42 Comments

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Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup can be thrown together in a pinch and is ready to eat in about 30 minutes. Spicy and hearty, a big hit for your family!

Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup in a white bowl topped with sour cream and cilantro.
Featured with this recipe
  1. Ingredients in Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup
  2. Adding Cream Cheese in the Instant Pot
  3. No Instant Pot? No Problem!
  4. Additional Toppings
  5. Make it Gluten Free
  6. Frequently Asked Questions about Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup
  7. More Yummy Instant Pot Recipes
  8. How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup
  9. Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup Recipe

The more I use my Instant Pot, the more I love it. It is perfect for those nights when you are in a rush to get something on the table. For this Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup, I literally dumped everything in the Instant Pot, set the timer, and let the machine do its thing. I served it with some shredded cheese and tortilla chips and It turned out perfectly! This enchilada soup is creamy, cheesy, a little spicy, and absolutely scrumptious.

Ingredients in Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

This creamy chicken enchilada soup recipe has a lot of little spices and ingredients, so many flavors that simmer and pressure cook together in the instant pot. The end taste is spicy, creamy, delicious! Here’s what you need:

  • Olive oil – two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or whatever you have on hand.
  • Onion – one whole yellow or white onion, diced.
  • Red bell pepper – diced. You can use red, green orange, yellow, any bell pepper you like.
  • Red enchilada sauce – use your favorite brand of canned sauce, or make your own! This soup is especially good with our Homemade Enchilada Sauce.
  • Green enchilada sauce – one can
  • Chicken broth – feel free to use low-sodium chicken broth if you like.
  • Diced tomatoes – one can, including the juice.
  • Black beans – one can of low sodium beans, drained. You can really use any kind of beans that you like for this recipe: pinto beans, red beans, Northern beans, or kidney beans.
  • Chili beans – one 15 ounce can, NOT drained
  • Corn – one can, drained. You can also use a cup of frozen corn or fire roasted corn kernels.
  • Diced green chiles – one can, four ounces.
  • Cream cheese – one package
  • Chicken breasts – three boneless skinless chicken breasts, shredded. You can use chicken thighs or rotisserie chicken.
  • Taco seasoning – this seasoning has it all: cumin, chili powder, garlic, etc. all in one spice.
  • Cheese – cheddar cheese, Colby jack, Pepper jack, any kind of cheese you like!
  • Tortilla chips – for serving
  • Cilantro – for garnish
  • Fresh lime juice – optional
A ladle filled with Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup being lifted from an Instant Pot filled with the soup


Adding Cream Cheese in the Instant Pot

If you were reading over the recipe and wondering if it was okay to add the cream cheese to the Instant Pot, let me assure you, it is totally fine! The cream cheese won’t separate. It may need to be stirred in at the end but that’s it. Sour cream is a different story. Try not to add sour cream to the Instant Pot before cooking or it may separate and get a weird texture. If you want to add sour cream, it would probably be best to add it at the end in the individual bowls.

No Instant Pot? No Problem!

If you don’t have an actual “Instant Pot”, don’t fret. This simple recipe can be made EXACTLY the same in a pressure cooker. If your pressure cooker doesn’t have a “sauté” function you can just sauté the vegetables in a pan on the stove before adding everything to the pressure cooker.

You can also make this soup in the crock pot! Cook the chicken breasts in the enchilada sauce in the slow cooker, then use a couple of forks to shred the meat, then add the rest of the ingredients. Let it cook about six hours on medium heat and serve.

Additional Toppings

There’s literally no end to the toppings you can use for this yummy soup. Pile the soup high with avocado or guacamole, fresh diced tomatoes, tortilla crisps, cilantro or salsa. Be creative and make it however your family will like it best!

Make it Gluten Free

To make this chicken enchilada soup recipe gluten-free, you need to keep your eye on a couple things.

  • First, the taco seasoning. Most taco seasonings contain gluten so make SURE that you are using GF taco seasoning.
  • Also, you need to check your enchilada sauces. Many enchilada sauces have gluten in them so check your labels. Keep an eye on those two things and you are good to go!

Frequently Asked Questions about Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

How do I thicken enchilada soup?

This soup thickens nicely with the cream cheese, but if it’s still too thin, mix a tablespoon of flour with cold water and add it to the soup and let it cook a few minutes.

What is good to eat with enchilada soup?

Serve this soup over tortilla chips or alongside a crispy green salad and cornbread.

How long does Instant Pot Enchilada Soup last?

Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days. Remove from the fridge and heat on medium heat on the stovetop until it’s not and ready.

Read Next:27 BEST Instant Pot Recipes

More Yummy Instant Pot Recipes

Try a few of our very favorite Instant Pot classics. Your family will LOVE them!

How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

A bowl of Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada soup garnished with sour cream, shredded cheese, and cilantro

Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup

5 from 9 votes
Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup can be thrown together in a pinch and is ready to eat in about 30 minutes. Spicy and hearty, a big hit for your family!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine Mexican/Spanish
Servings 12 servings

Equipment

  • Instant Pot Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Press the “sauté” function on the Instant Pot. Add oil, onions, and peppers. 
  • Saute until onions become soft and transparent.
  • Add enchilada sauces, chicken broth, diced tomatoes, beans, corn, and chiles to the Instant Pot and stir until well mixed. 
  • Add cream cheese in spoonfuls into the Instant Pot.  Add chicken breasts and sprinkle taco seasoning over top.
  • Place lid on the Instant Pot and move tab to “sealing”.  Set Instant Pot to “manual” and cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.
  • Allow to natural release for 10 minutes before doing a quick release.
  • Remove lid from Instant Pot, shred chicken, and serve.
  • Top individual servings with cheese, tortilla chips and cilantro. 

Notes

  • Instant Pot Note: We use a 6-quart Instant Pot brand pressure cooker that we bought in 2016. Different or newer versions may be more sensitive to the “BURN” notice. If you are concerned about the burn notice, please refer to the Instant Pot webpage about Overheat Protection, found HERE.
  • If you don’t have an actual “Instant Pot”, don’t fret. This simple recipe can be made EXACTLY the same in a pressure cooker. If your pressure cooker doesn’t have a “sauté” function you can just sauté the vegetables in a pan on the stove before adding everything to the pressure cooker.
  • You can also make this soup in the crock pot! Cook the chicken breasts in the enchilada sauce in the slow cooker, then use a couple of forks to shred the meat, then add the rest of the ingredients. Let it cook about six hours on medium heat and serve.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 301kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 21gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 971mgPotassium: 747mgFiber: 7gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 1085IUVitamin C: 25mgCalcium: 61mgIron: 3mg

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About the author

Erica Walker

Erica lives in Boise, Idaho with her husband, Jared, an attorney, and her three beautiful girls. Beyond the world of recipes, she loves adventuring with everything from kayaking, to cruising, to snowboarding and taking the family along for the thrill ride.

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Comments

    1. We haven’t tried this particular substitution, so I can’t say if it will work. The soup will definitely be thinner with the milk instead of cream cheese.

  1. I made this for a church soup supper for a vespers service. This is a really tasty and easy recipe. I did bring the cream cheese to room temperature while I was cooking the other ingredients and it turned out just perfect. Vespers is tomorrow evening and I predict that everyone is going to love it. Thanks for sharing it.

  2. 5 stars
    I make this enchilada soup about once a month and it always turns out great!! It is so yummy!! It makes so much soup that we have it for at least 3 meals!!

  3. My family loves this recipe! One issue I have however is that my cream cheese clumps. I put it in spoonfuls but it just stays like that in the soup. Any suggestions?

    1. I am glad you guys like it! One thing you can try is leaving the cream cheese on the counter for an hour to let it soften before adding it. That should help it incorporate better. Plus adding it by the spoonful should help as well after it is soft.

  4. 5 stars
    Fabulous! I find the Las Palmas canned enchilada sauces are better than the El Paso sauces in this recipe. I also used one bag of frozen white corn instead of canned. I make a batch and then freeze it so I can have homemade soup at lunch! Thank you for this awesome recipe!

  5. Recipe looks delicious. It’s late and I’m being super lazy. Can I use a rotisserie chicken and pull meat off instead of chicken breasts?

  6. I have made this several times and everyone loves it. It’s easy to make, hearty and delicious. It’s also great to freeze and eat another day.

  7. 5 stars
    This is my new favorite soup to make! I love the chicken enchilada soup from chili’s and this tastes exactly like it! So delicious and so easy to make. Thank you!!!!

    1. Hello there! I’m tried making this dish and kept getting the “burn notice.” I scraped the bottom of the pot each time and the third time added another cup of stock in case that was the problem- but still got the notice. Any advice?

      Thanks!

      1. I’ve noticed that some of the newer instant pots are more prone to the burn notice. I would try taking out the cream cheese and adding it in at the end. Or make sure that the sauce is totally covering the bottom under your chicken. Hope this helps!

    1. Thank you, Bee! Such a HUGE compliment coming from you! We love Rasa Malaysia– you have so many wonderful recipes, and gorgeous pictures!

      1. Thank you for asking! We had the serving count wrong on this recipe. The recipe provides about 12 servings of soup at 301 calories per serving. This calorie count does not include optional toppings of cheese, tortilla strips, sour cream, etc.

    1. It is the very last line in the recipe. You will actually add the shredded cheese to the individual bowls when serving. Hope this helps!

        1. We don’t usually put it on the rack, but if you are getting the burn message you can definitely try it that way!

          1. 5 stars
            Love this recipe! I always put the tomatoes on top of the chicken breasts and don’t stir. I never get a burn notice.

      1. My favorite way to add rice to soup is to just have some cooked rice in each individual bowl and then pour the soup over the rice to cover. That way you know the rice is perfectly cooked. Hope this helps!