A quick and easy Weight Watchers Chicken Tortilla Soup in the Instant Pot that is full of flavor yet guilt-free. It comes with directions for the crock pot and stovetop as well, and will help you to shed a few pounds and keep you warm. It’s keto, gluten-free, and has 6 WW smart points.
Have you made a decision to shed at least a few pounds and get healthier this year? Well, you are not alone! It is one of my New Year resolutions, too, especially after the holiday splurge.
Well, there’s nothing better than this comforting and lean Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup. The recipe has been adapted from Weight Watchers and is similar to their zero point taco soup recipe, except for a few ingredients.
It will keep your body warm while providing nutrients, all without the extra calories of a regular Mexican chicken tortilla soup recipe.
Another plus is that you can make this cozy soup in the IP or pressure cooker, slow cooker, or on the stovetop. Of course, the Instant Pot will make the task faster and easier.
This is one of those pantry recipes that are handy and budget-friendly.
Tortilla Soup
Tortilla soup, also known as sopa de tortilla in Spanish, is a traditional Mexican soup made with a rich broth of blended roasted tomatoes, garlic, and onion that are then simmered with chicken broth, pasilla pepper and epazote (herb). The soup is served with with fried corn tortilla strips, avocado, cheese, Mexican cream,(sour cream), and lime wedges.
It comes from Mexico City, Mexico. There are some variations where chicharrón (fried pork skin, rind or cracklings) is added to the soup.
In the United States, the soup became quite popular by the name ‘chicken tortilla soup’ due to having shredded chicken breast as one of its ingredients.
How to Make Chicken Tortilla Soup
In the Instant Pot:
- Press the sauté button and let the pot heat for about 3-5 minutes. Add the oil and cook the onion, bell pepper (optional), and jalapeno until onion has softened, about 4-5 minutes. Stir every once in a while! SEE PIC. 1
- Add the garlic, chili powder, and cumin and cook for about 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
- Add the broth, tomatoes, and chicken and stir to combine. SEE PIC. 2
- Cancel the sauté function! Lock the lid, seal the valve, and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. If using a pressure cooker, press the soup button and set manually for 8-10 minutes. Once cook time comes to an end, do a quick release.
- Next, remove the lid and shred the chicken breasts on a cutting board or plate using 2 forks. Transfer the shredded chicken to the pot and stir in salt to taste and lime juice. SEE PIC. 3
- Serve topped with tortilla chips, avocado slices, and shredded cheddar. SEE PIC. 4
In the Crock Pot:
Stir all the ingredients into the crockpot, except the lime juice, cilantro, and garnishes. Secure the lid and cook on on low for 4-8 hours, or until chicken is cooked. The longer it cooks, the deeper the flavor will be. Then follow steps 5 and 6 for the Instant Pot.
Stovetop:
Heat a medium pot over medium heat and follow the steps 1-3 for the Instant Pot. It takes about 20 minutes to simmer this chicken tortilla soup, covered, over medium-low heat. Then follow steps 5 and 6 for the Instant Pot.
Of course, you can substitute any of the ingredients according to what you have at home and your dietary needs. If you live outside the United States, you may need to take a look at our cooking conversions, volume conversions, and US cups to ounces to grams for common ingredients.
Can I Use Pre-Cooked Chicken?
Yes! It will speed up the cooking process by half. Make sure to mix the pre-cooked shredded chicken breast at the end to just heat or warm. If you add it to the pot to cook along with the other ingredients, it will become sort of dry.
You may cook a batch of chicken and then divide it up into servings and freeze. Then for meals like this soup, use it to replace raw chicken.
Can I adapt this Chicken Tortilla Soup in the Instant Pot to be Vegetarian or Vegan?
Sure! Just make sure to leave the chicken out of the recipe and use a vegetable broth. You may add a plant-based protein such as stir-fried tofu or drained, canned black beans if you prefer.
Is Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup Zero Weight Watchers Points?
This recipe is similar to the WW Zero Point Taco Soup Recipe. Take a look at the complete list of Zero Point Foods on their website.
Ours is not zero point. If you omit the bell pepper, tortilla chips, and avocado, use only a touch of olive oil and a fat-free broth, and of course replace the sour cream with fat-free Greek yogurt you will have a zero-point soup!
Tips for making Weight Watchers Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe:
- You may take a shortcut with this easy chicken tortilla soup and use pre-cooked shredded chicken breast, which you can add at the very end to heat up just enough to serve.
- If you don’t have either onion or garlic at home, use about 1 tsp of garlic powder and 1 tbsp of onion powder instead to mix with the broth.
- You can use your stand mixer to shred the cooked chicken for this recipe. Just put the cooked chicken in the bowl of your mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment until the chicken is shredded. This usually takes less than a minute!
- To make this soup vegetarian or vegan, leave the chicken out of the recipe and use a vegetable broth. If you want, add a plant-based protein such as stir-fried tofu or drained, canned black beans to the soup.
- To make a weight watchers zero-point chicken tortilla soup, omit the bell pepper, tortilla chips, and avocado, use only a touch of olive oil and a fat-free broth, and also replace the sour cream with fat-free Greek yogurt.
Ways to Customize this Chicken Tortilla Soup in the Instant Pot
- Protein: You can use chicken breast, ground chicken breast, or 99% lean ground turkey for a zero point soup. If you are not worried about a few points, use skinless chicken thighs, lean ground beef, turkey sausage, or vegetarian ground meat.
- Vegetarian option: Leave out the meat and just add a can of beans or pan-fried tofu.
- Seasonings: you may use taco seasoning instead of chili powder and cumin.
- Veggies: You can add lots of extra veggies to this recipe. Bell peppers are optional yet a good option if you don’t worry about adding a few points. But all the veggies used in this soup are low carb!
- Freezer friendly: This soup freezes really well for up to 3 months. Just freeze it in individual servings for quick and easy lunches.
- For a creamy chicken tortilla soup, stir in a fat-free Greek yogurt (WW) or full-fat sour cream (keto) at the end until homogeneous.
- Low carb tortilla chips: If you are on a keto diet, just cut a low carb tortilla into strips, toss with a little bit of olive oil, and bake at 350 F (180 C) for about 10-15 minutes or until crispy.
How long Weight Watchers Chicken Tortilla Soup last?
Store this soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Freeze for up to 3 months.
As you can see, it’s one of those easy freezer meals that makes a great meal prep.
Other Soup Recipes to Try:
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Weight Watchers Chicken Tortilla Soup in the Instant Pot
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot, or Crock Pot, or a regular Pot
- cutting board
- knife
- wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small onion chopped (either white or yellow)
- 1 bell pepper seeded and chopped (optional)
- 1 jalapeno seeded and sliced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 ½ tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 3 cups chicken broth preferably reduced-sodium
- 15 oz can diced fire-roasted tomatoes drained
- 12 oz raw boneless skinless chicken breast about 2 medium breasts
- Salt to taste (the amount will vary depending on the broth. If low-sodium, use more salt but if it is a regular broth, use less salt).
- 2 limes juiced
- Chopped cilantro or parsley
- Garnishes such as sliced avocado, shredded cheddar, and tortilla chips (for a keto version, use low carb tortilla, cut into strips, tossed with olive oil, and baked at 350 F for about 10-15 minutes or until crispy).
Instructions
In the Instant Pot:
- Press the sauté button and let the pot heat for about 3-5 minutes. Add the oil and cook the onion, bell pepper (optional), and jalapeno until onion has softened, about 4-5 minutes. Stir once and a while!
- Add the garlic, chili powder, and cumin and cook for about 1 minute, stirring occasionally.
- Add the broth, tomatoes, and chicken and stir to combine.
- Cancel the sauté function! Lock the lid, seal the valve, and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. If using a pressure cooker, press the soup button and set manually for 8-10 minutes. Once cook time comes to an end, do a quick release.
- Next, remove the lid and shred the chicken breasts on a cutting board or plate using 2 forks. Transfer the shredded chicken to the pot and stir in salt to taste and lime juice.
- Serve topped with tortilla chips, avocado slices, and shredded cheddar.
In the Crock Pot:
- Stir all the ingredients into the crockpot, except the lime juice, cilantro, and garnishes. Secure the lid and cook on on low for 4-8 hours, or until chicken is cooked. The longer it cooks, the deeper the flavor will be. Then follow steps 5 and 6 for the Instant Pot.
Stovetop:
- Heat a medium pot over medium heat and follow steps 1-3 for the Instant Pot. It takes about 20 minutes to simmer this chicken tortilla soup, covered, over medium-low heat. Then follow steps 5 and 6 for the Instant Pot.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Raymund says
For a 6 WW smart points that looks delish! I can have that anytime of the day
Katerina says
This chicken tortilla soup looks and sounds absolutely delightful, Denise! And what a great idea too – I am bookmarking this to make when it’s a little cooler here. Thanks for sharing!
Denise Browning says
I hope you enjoy this adapted recipe. It is skinny and super delish!
John / Kitchen Riffs says
This looks great — tons and tons of flavor. Perfect. 🙂 Thanks!
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
I often make chicken tortilla soup when I buy and rotisserie chicken and am making homemade stock with it. Your version looks good.
Denise Browning says
Thank yoU! Yes, you can definitely make this Instant Pot chicken tortilla soup using rotisserie chicken although I recommend to add it to the soup at the very end — to just warm it up since it is already pre-cooked.