TheWildWaynes
a family of four cooking & creating our way through tiny living
Chicken Enchilada Soup in the Instant Pot – Rich and Creamy
Chicken enchilada soup contains the unmistakable flavor of delicious cheesy chicken enchiladas in a creamy irresistible soup. We pressure cook our soup in the Instant Pot to produce a euphoric taste bud experience with every spoonful. Three chicken breasts make this soup hearty enough to fill even the biggest apatite.
Chicken Enchiladas
A fork full of chicken enchiladas is likely to have shredded chicken, corn tortilla, and cheese all covered in a rich enchilada sauce. Many people like to top their chicken enchiladas with green onion, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, and even crispy corn tortilla chips. In other words, an explosion of terrific flavors with every bite.
Chicken Enchilada Soup
We use plenty of chicken breasts pressure cooked in 28 ounces my favorite enchilada sauce (El Pato), one chopped yellow onion, plenty of fresh sliced or diced garlic, a bunch of cilantro, and just the right amount of seasoning.
Two cups of cheddar and a pound of Velveeta cheese is used to give the soup a smooth and creamy feel. The warm corn tortilla flavor comes from a healthy helping of masa harina cooked into the chicken enchilada soup.
Brown the Chicken Breasts for the Chicken Enchilada Soup
We start the whole thing out by browning medium large chicken breasts for 3 per side.
We do this by pressing the sauté button on the instant pot and after it displays HOT, add 2 Tbsp of olive oil.
Swirl the pot around to get the bottom covered in olive oil. Use long kitchen tongs to place the chicken breasts into the instant pot.
The chicken breasts will stick to the hot pot where they touch. Make sure you place them near the edge to leave room for the others. Brown for 3 minutes on sauté.
Use a wooden spatula to scrape the chicken breast free from the instant pot before flipping or moving the chicken breasts. Flip the chicken breasts and brown on sauté for another 3 minutes. Use the flat wooden spatula to free the chicken breasts and use long kitchen tongs to move them to a plate.
Cancel Sauté on the Instant Pot. We want the pot to slowly cool as we sweat our chopped onions.
Vegetables to Spike the Enchilada Soup
A whole yellow onion is a must ingredient in any chicken enchilada soup. We are cooking our onion with the other ingredients meaning we want an onion that does well being cooked. The yellow onion flavor transforms from a pungent onion flavor to a sweet addition to our sauce.
Add the chopped onion to the instant pot as soon as the chicken has finished browning and moved to a plate. The sauté function has been canceled so the onions will warm up and turn translucent without burning while you slice the garlic and chop the cilantro.
Garlic is such a versatile ingredient that adds a significant amount of flavor to any dish. Six to ten large garlic cloves contribute a warm nutty flavor to the chicken enchilada soup. Adding more will intensify this magnificent flavor and is always welcome. Use a sharp knife to slice or dice the garlic cloves and add the sliced garlic to the onions. The onions should have edges that are translucent.
Cilantro is one of my favorite ingredients to add to my Mexican recipes. Cilantro provides our soup with a distinctive robust tangy flavor. This changes the whole direction of our chicken enchilada soup.
Chop a whole bunch of cilantro chopping down to the large group of stems at the center. This is much easier with a large cutting board to hold all of the chopped ingredients. Add the chopped cilantro to the onions and garlic in the instant pot.
Seasoning
Of course we will be adding extra seasoning to our soup. Chili powder and cumin are common flavors added to Mexican dishes and this recipe is no exception. We add chicken bouillon as well to make sure the three cups of water we add do not wash out any flavor.
Do not forget the salt. Salt is a very important part of recipes. Salt spikes all of the other ingredients waking them up so you do not miss out on what they have to offer.
We add a little fresh ground black pepper. I now use rainbow peppercorns in my grinder that I recommend, and is a must add ingredient in our chicken enchilada soup. Use a nice grinder for an even grind.
Cleaning the Brown Off the Instant Pot Bottom
Add 1/4 cup of water to the instant pot and browned onions, garlic, cilantro and seasoning.
Use a flat wooden spatula to easily scrape the bottom clean. The flat spatula has a large surface area to easily scrape the pot bottom clean much faster than a wooden spoon.
Enchilada Sauce
Add the rest of the 3 cups of water to the instant pot.
One of the key ingredients is chicken enchilada soup is enchilada sauce. I used to mix red and green enchilada sauces together to produce a different enchilada sauce flavor. Over the years, I’ve grown to appreciate the sauces on their own and prefer red enchilada sauce for this recipe.
El Pato makes my favorite store bought red enchilada sauce for this recipe. It melds so well with the other ingredients in this soup producing a rich flavor.
The Chicken
For this recipe, I like to use chicken breast because they absorb the flavors in the instant pot so well. I do not cook the chicken breasts to the point of shredding because at that point, they are overcooked. That means tough meat.
Pressure cook medium large chicken breasts in the enchilada soup for 8 minutes releasing the pressure immediately will produce perfectly cooked chicken breasts. If you have some impressively large chicken breast, pressure cook for 9 minutes releasing the pressure immediately after.
Use long kitchen tongs to move the chicken breasts to a plate letting the enchilada soup run back into the instant pot for a few seconds first. Use a large piece of aluminum foil to cover the chicken breasts on the plate. Leave the chicken breasts under an aluminum foil tent for 8 minutes to rest.
This step allows the temperature to come down and will give the chicken time to absorb the juices into the muscle tissue. The chicken will be moist, flavorful and tender. Juices will flow out of the chicken breasts if cut into right away.
Cheese
Adding a lot of cheddar and Velveeta cheese adds a ton of sharp flavor often found in enchiladas. We not only use it to fill that specific flavor element, but we use it to give the soup a velvety texture.
Shred 1.5 cups of cheddar cheese.
Do not be afraid of using Velveeta cheese. When melted into our chicken enchilada soup, it brings a level of magical flavor that is salty and delicious. Chop 1 pound of Velveeta to help a quick melt in the enchilada soup.
Add the shredded cheddar and chopped Velveeta cheese to the enchilada sauce to melt. Put the instant pot lid on just to keep everything warm while we make the masa harina.
Masa Harina
Chicken enchiladas use corn tortillas contributing quite a bit of flavor that would be missed if left out. To get that corn tortilla flavor, we use a half a cup of masa mixed very well with 1 cup of water to make masa harina. Corn tortillas are made from masa harina so why not add it to our chicken enchilada soup? It also acts as a thickener so we get a two for one!
If you have never used masa before, you probably haven’t seen it at the grocery store. I have only bought one bag and still have the same bag. I bought a brand called Maseca instant yellow corn masa flour and I have zero complaints.
Stir the masa harina slowly into the enchilada soup in the instant pot.
If you missed a clump of masa when stirring and it gets in your enchilada soup, use a whisk to break it down so it is all mixed evenly.
Let the Enchilada Soup Rest
Put the Instant Pot lid on with the Keep Warm function still on. The keep warm function comes on automatically after the pressure cook time has finished. Let all of the ingredients meld into one another for 20 minutes. I use a kitchen timer so I don’t forget.
Slice the Chicken Breasts
When there are about 5 minutes left on the enchilada soup, use a sharp knife to slice the chicken breasts thin and chop into 1 – 1.5 inch bite size strips. This gives the soup an incredible texture that’s fun to eat. I recommend cutting on a nice end grain wood cutting board when using a sharp knife.
Add the chicken breast slices to the enchilada soup. Stir the chicken slices into the enchilada soup using a flat wooden spatula scraping the bottom of the instant pot clean.
Chicken Enchilada Soup Toppings
This is your chance to put your favorite additions to the chicken enchilada soup to not only add fun flavors but also fun textures. A handful of grape tomatoes cut into quarters add a sweet tomato flavor and a sharp snap of texture with each bite.
Diced sweet onion scattered across the top adds crunch and sweet onion flavor enchiladas love so much. A sprinkle of chopped cilantro is a must when adding onion to any Mexican dish.
If you want to brighten the bowl of chicken enchilada soup even more, top with thin slices of jalapeno. Don’t forget the tortilla chips! They go great with this chicken enchilada soup.
Tools and Appliances we use in Our 32 Foot 5th Wheel Trailer Kitchen
Slow cooker lid for 8qt Instant Pot
Steamer Basket for the Instant Pot
Cookie Spatula that works the Best in the Air Fryer
Wooden Spatula I use for Scraping and Stirring
Boo’s Mystery Oil for the Wood Cutting Board
Boo’s Board Cream for Wood Cutting Boards
Hard Boiled Egg Holder for the Instant Pot
Egg Bite Mold for the Instant Pot
Basket Replacement for Cosori 5.7 quart Air Fryer
Cast Iron Reversible Grill/Griddle
More of TheWildWaynes Instant Pot Recipes
SOUTHWEST PORK CHOPS AND GRAVY
PHILLY CHEESESTEAK AND CAULIFLOWER STUFFED BELL PEPPERS IN THE INSTANT POT MADE THE HEALTHY WAY
FULLY LOADED MASHED POTATOES IN THE INSTANT POT
CORN SALSA MADE WITH INSTANT POT CORN OFF THE COB
YUMMY SALT & PEPPER CHICKEN WINGS
Chicken Enchilada Soup Recipe
Mouth Watering Chicken Enchilada Soup in the Instant Pot
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot)
- Sharp Knife
- Cutting Board
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbs Chicken Breast
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Yellow Onion chopped small
- 6-10 Large Cloves Garlic sliced or diced
- 1 Bunches Cilantro Chopped
- 4 tsp Chicken Bouillon
- 1 Tbsp Chili Powder
- 1 Tbsp Cumin
- 2.5 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper ground
- 3 cups Water
- 28 oz Red Enchilada Sauce El Pato Red Enchilada Sauce
- 1 lb Velveeta
- 2 cups Cheddar Cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup Masa Maseca Instant Corn Masa Flour
Toppings
- 1 cup Grape Tomatoes chopped in 1/4ths
- 1 Large Jalapeno sliced thin seeds left in
- 1/4 cup Cheddar Cheese fine shredded
- 1/2 bunch Cilantro chopped
- 1/4 Sweet Onion diced
Instructions
- Chop onion, garlic, and cilantro
Brown Chicken Breasts
- Press Sauté on the Instant Pot and when the pot is HOT, add 2 Tbsp olive oil
- Use long kitchen tongs to drop chicken breasts into the instant pot and brown for 3 minutes
- Use a flat wooden spatula to scrape the chicken breast free from the instant pot
- Use long kitchen tongs and flip the chicken breasts over to brown for another 3 minutes
- Cancel Sauté, use a flat wooden spatula to free the chicken breasts from the instant pot and use long kitchen tongs to transfer chicken to a plate
Pressure Cooking
- Add chopped onions to the instant pot which is still HOT
- Stir onions occasionally for 3 minutes just until onions are translucent
- Add chopped garlic, chicken bouillon, chili powder, cumin, salt, black pepper, and chopped cilantro last
- Add 1/4 of the water and use a flat wooden spatula to scrape the instant pot clean of chicken browning
- Stir in 3 cups of water, 28 oz of red enchilada sauce and stir well
- submerge browned chicken breasts into the sauce, put the instant pot lid on, seal the pressure release valve, and pressure cook for 8 minutes
- *9 minutes for LARGE chicken breasts
- *The Instant Pot will take about 12 minutes to build pressure
- As soon as the 8 minutes of pressure cooking are finished, the instant pot will beep at you, open the pressure release valve
- Remove the lid, use long kitchen tongs to move the chicken breasts to a plate, and tent with aluminum foil
Cheese and Masa Harina
- Shred 2 cups of cheddar cheese
- Chop 1 lb (16 oz) of Velveeta into chunks
- Add the shredded cheddar cheese and Velveeta to the enchilada sauce in the instant pot to melt
- In a medium bowl, stir 1 cup of water and 1/2 cup of masa until well mixed to make masa harina
- Stir the masa harina into the enchilada sauce and cheese, stir very well
- Put the Instant Pot lid on and let sit for 20 minutes
- *The Keep Warm function will be on to melt the cheese and warm the masa
The Chicken
- Five minutes before the 20 minutes are finished, slice the chicken breasts into thin strips and chop into 1 – 1.5 inch bite size strips
- When 20 minutes are finished, stir the chicken into the soup
- Use a ladle to fill soup bowls full of delicious chicken enchilada soup
- Top with chopped grape tomatoes, sweet onions, sliced jalapenos, chopped fresh cilantro, more cheddar cheese and broken tortilla chips
- Enjoy your Chicken Enchilada Soup!