How to Make the Best Low Carb Chicken Tortilla Soup (Instant Pot)

Introduction:

Serve this traditional Mexican soup with tortilla chips and use my Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup to reduce your intake of carbohydrates. I use toasted low-carb tortilla strips to keep the carbs low, but you could always serve traditional tortilla chips to family or friends that don't mind!

Why We Love This Recipe:

Our goal in creating this recipe was to create a tasty tortilla soup without using the high-carb components that are usually found in this type of soup, such as beans, maize, or rice. I'm happy to report that we thought the outcomes were fantastic! My version of Chicken Tortilla Soup is a family favorite because it's mild enough for most children, especially if you use the Green Tabasco Sauce sparingly! Our family likes to serve our soup with grated Mexican Blend Cheese, sour cream, and lime juice squeezed on top.

When testing the recipe, we had the idea of using low-carb tortillas to make the tortilla strips for this delicious Mexican soup. For the children or those who don't mind a few more grams of carbs, feel free to use any kind of tortilla chips.
If you have any leftover turkey or even rotisserie chicken, this is a great soup to make with that. Check out my suggestions below for making this tortilla soup with leftover poultry. We really hope you like the recipe!

Ingredients:

Soup Ingredients:

•  1 medium onion, chopped small
•  1 large Poblano Chile Pepper, chopped small (see notes)
•  1 T olive oil
•  2 tsp. minced garlic
•  1 tsp. ground cumin
•  1/2 tsp. kosher salt
•  1/4 cup + 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (see notes)
•  4 cups chicken broth (see notes)
•  4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts
•  2 tsp. Green Tabasco sauce, plus more to add when you taste the soup if desired
•  1 14.5 oz can petite dice tomatoes, drained in a colander in the sink
•  2 T lime juice, or more (see note)

Tortilla Strips:

•  4 low-carb tortillas of your choice
•  olive oil for misting or brushing on tortillas
•  salt to taste

Other Optional Condiments To Use When Serving:

•  grated Mexican blend cheese
•  sour cream
•  lime wedges to squeeze into the soup
•  more Green Tabasco Sauce to add at the table

Instructions:

• Finely chop the onion and Poblano (Pasilla) chili pepper.
• In the Instant Pot, heat the olive oil on SAUTE, MEDIUM HEAT, and sauté the onion and chile for about 4–5 minutes, or until they are beginning to soften and start to develop some color.
• Prepare the minced garlic (or measure out the chopped garlic from a jar) and chop the cilantro while those are cooking. After trimming off any excess flesh, cut each chicken breast into three or four pieces. Fill a colander with drained tomatoes and set it in the sink.
• Add the minced garlic, ground cumin, salt, and half of the chopped cilantro after the onions and peppers are done and continue cooking for a few minutes.
• Add the chicken breasts, chicken stock, drained petite dice tomatoes, and 2 tsp. Green Tabasco Sauce to the Instant Pot when the vegetables and seasonings are finished.
• (If you're making the soup with leftover turkey or chicken, just add the other ingredients at this point. Chop up 3 cups cooked turkey or chicken while the other ingredients cook in the Instant Pot.)
• Lock the lid and set the Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH PRESSURE, 10 MINUTES. When the time is up, allow the pressure to release naturally.
• When pressure has released, use a slotted spoon to scoop out the chicken strips and pull chicken apart into chunks with a fork. Add chicken back to the Instant Pot. (Add the leftover chicken or turkey now if you're using that.)
• Taste the soup to see if you want to add a little more salt and/or more Green Tabasco Sauce. Add the fresh-squeezed lime juice and the rest of the chopped cilantro to the soup and let it keep warm in the Instant Pot.
• While the soup cooks, cut Whole Wheat Fajita size Mission Carb Balance Tortillas (or low-carb tortillas of your choice) into short strips. Set Air Fryer to 350F.
• Arrange the tortilla strips in a single layer in the Air Fryer basket, mist with olive oil, and season with a little salt. Cook tortilla strips 2 minutes, then shake the basket and cook a bit longer until they're nicely browned. We cooked ours a total of four minutes, but I'd start to watch them after about 3 minutes.
• Serve soup hot with tortilla strips, grated Mexican Blend Cheese, sour cream, lime wedges, and more Green Tabasco Sauce to add at the table as desired.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATIONAL FOR SOUP PER SERVING (yields 6 servings):

• Calories: 294
• Total Fat: 8.54g
• Saturated Fat: 1.52g
• Cholesterol: 149mg
• Sodium: 1626mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 6g
• Dietary Fiber: 1.8g
• Sugars: 3.57g
• Protein: 47.15g

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATIONAL FOR TORTILLA STRIPS PER SERVING (yields 6 servings):

• Calories: 117
• Total Fat: 4.73g
• Saturated Fat: 0.71g
• Cholesterol: 0mg
• Sodium: 630mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 16.09g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.8g
• Sugars: 0.87g
• Protein: 2.62g

* The presented values are approximate and shouldn't be considered as accurate. Please calculate your OWN nutrition information in a database using the brand names you have at hand. Each brand is different and nutrition information can vary.

SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE:

We'd love to hear about your experience with this recipe! Share your thoughts and photos in the comments below or tag us on social media @cherryandcoenterprise. Happy cooking!

Author: Nicola Ware  Course: Lunch Dinner  Cuisine: Mexican  Keywords: Main dish Chicken