Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Tortilla Soup. Turn a rotisserie chicken into Tortilla Soup using my secret weapon: Instant Pot chicken broth, made from the rotisserie chicken carcass.
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I have rotisserie chicken left over from a party. (When you write a rotisserie cookbook, people expect rotisserie chicken. And I'm happy to oblige!) It's time to bring out my secret weapon - homemade pressure cooker chicken broth - and use that leftover chicken to make Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Tortilla Soup.
Now, I am a fanatic, rotisserie grilling my own chickens. But a store-bought rotisserie bird works great in this recipe. (I use store-bought rotisserie chickens all the time.) Or, use leftovers from a roast chicken, no rotisserie necessary. If you have a chicken's worth of roasted bones and a few cups of leftover meat, you're good to go.
My Mexican broth is a lot like my regular rotisserie chicken broth, with a hint of allspice and a dried chile to add flavor. The big change is in the soup itself. I pressure cook the basic broth with sautéed onions and crushed tomatoes. Then I let everyone build their bowls with shredded chicken, hot peppers, cubes of cheese and avocado, and a sprinkling of crunchy tortilla strips and minced cilantro. Pour the red broth on top, and you have an amazing soup from the borderlands between Mexico and the US.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Rotisserie chicken: All you need is the carcass from a roast chicken, and a few cups of shredded meat. Store-bought rotisserie chicken, leftover roast chicken, whatever you have will work fine.
Uncooked whole chicken: If you have a whole chicken, use it to make my Pressure Cooker Chicken Broth and Shredded Chicken instead of the rotisserie chicken broth below. Then, use the shredded chicken in the soup to replace the shredded rotisserie chicken breast.
Broth: Homemade broth is by far the best choice - and as you can see below, very easy - but if you can use store-bought broth if you have to. (Just get low-sodium chicken broth.) Or, use up some broth from another meal - I make homemade chicken broth for the freezer, and then all I need is a little leftover chicken to make this recipe.
Broth flavorings: The broth is a variation on my Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Broth, with a few extra ingredients added in to give it a Southwestern taste. But, regular chicken broth is fine - if you don't have the allspice or chile de arbol, just skip them.
Chicken breast: If you're not using the breasts from a rotisserie chicken, any leftover chicken will do - as will pre-cooked chicken breast bought from the grocery store. If you have to use raw chicken, cut it into ½-inch strips by 2-inch strips (aka "stir fry cut" chicken breast) and add it to the pot when you pressure cook the soup.
Tortilla strips: Finding tortilla strips was trickier than I expected. (My grocery store keeps them in the salad dressing aisle, next to the croutons, not in the chips aisle with the tortilla chips.) The easy substitute for tortilla strips is to hand-crumble regular tortilla chips. If you have a bag that's mostly empty, all the broken pieces on the bottom are a perfect substitute for the strips.
Avocado, Queso Fresco, and sliced Jalapeños for the soup: These are my favorite add-ins for the soup, but add your favorite tortilla soup ingredients. Rice is a good add-in, or replacement for the tortilla strips. Minced green onions are another good topping. If you think it will go well in the soup, try it!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why the additional "pressure cook the soup" step?
Why do I add the "pressure cook the soup" step? It's to simmer the onion, garlic, and tomatoes with the broth and bring them all together. (On a stovetop I'd simmer for 30 minutes to an hour for the same result.)
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Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 cups of soup 1x
Description
Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Tortilla Soup. Tortilla soup made with homemade pressure cooker broth from a store-bought rotisserie chicken.
Ingredients
Mexican Rotisserie Chicken Broth
- 1 (2- to 4-pound) rotisserie chicken, breast meat removed and saved for later
- Juices from the rotisserie chicken container
- 1 onion, peeled and halved
- 1 carrot, scrubbed and broken in half (or 4oz baby carrots)
- 1 stalk celery, broken in half
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig fresh thyme (or ½ teaspoon dried)
- 5 whole black peppercorns
- 1 whole dried allspice berry (or a pinch of ground)
- 1 whole dried chile de arbol (or a pinch of red pepper flakes)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 8 cups water
Rotisserie Chicken Tortilla Soup
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 14.5-ounce can crushed tomatoes (preferably fire roasted crushed)
- 8 cups Mexican Rotisserie Chicken Broth (from above)
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Breast meat from the rotisserie chicken, shredded
- 4 ounces queso fresco (or farmers cheese), cut into ½ inch cubes
- 2 avocados, cut into ½ inch cubes
- 2 jalapeño peppers, sliced into rings
- Tortilla strips(or crushed tortilla chips)
- ½ cup minced fresh cilantro
- Limes, cut into wedges
Instructions
- Pressure cook the broth for 60 minutes with a Natural Release: Cut the chicken breast meat off of the rotisserie chicken and set aside for later. Add the rotisserie chicken carcass, onion, carrot, celery, bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns, allspice berry, chile de arbol, and salt to an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker, then pour in the the 8 cups of water. (It should just cover the rotisserie chicken - it's OK if the knobs of the drumsticks are poking up.) Lock the lid and pressure cook on high pressure for 60 minutes in an Instant Pot or other electric PC, or for 50 minutes in a stovetop PC. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook-Custom mode in an Instant Pot). Let the pressure come down naturally after cooking - the natural pressure release will take 30 to 40 minutes. (It takes a long time for all that boiling water to cool off. If you're in a hurry, let the pressure come down for at least 20 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure.) Scoop the chicken carcass and vegetables out of the pot with a slotted spoon and discard; they've given their all to the broth. Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer, and set the broth aside for later.
- Sauté the aromatics: Wipe out the pot liner, then put it back in the pressure cooker base. Set the pot to sauté mode (medium heat for a stovetop PC), add the tablespoon of oil, and heat until the oil is shimmering, about 3 minutes. Add the diced onions and crushed garlic to the pot and sauté until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot with a flat-edged wooden spoon, until the tomatoes start to thicken, about 5 minutes.
- Pressure cook the soup for 5 minutes with a Quick Release: Stir in the chicken broth and a teaspoon of salt. Scrape the bottom of the pot one last time to make sure no tomatoes are sticking. Lock the lid and cook at high pressure for 5 minutes with a quick pressure release. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook, or Pressure Cook - Custom mode in an Instant Pot.) Quick release the pressure, then unlock the pot, opening the lid away from you to avoid the hot steam.
- Heat the chicken breast: Leave the Instant Pot on warm (very low heat with a stovetop PC), and add the shredded chicken breast to the pot. Let it heat through, about 5 minutes.
- Build the soup bowls and serve: In the bottom of each bowl put a few cubes of cheese, a few cubes of avocado, and a few jalapeño pepper slices. Ladle the broth and chicken into the bowl, sprinkle cilantro and tortilla strips on top, and serve, passing the lime wedges at the table.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: Sunday Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Mexican
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 234
- Sugar: 3.9 g
- Sodium: 1165.3 mg
- Fat: 11.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 12.3 g
- Protein: 21.1 g
- Cholesterol: 59.4 mg
Make ahead
Do step 1 (pressure cook the broth) ahead of time, and you can refrigerate the broth for a few days, or freeze it for a few months. The rest of the recipe is quick enough to be a weeknight dinner.
Leftovers
This soup makes great leftovers - I freeze it in 2-cup containers for future microwave-and-serve lunches.
Related Posts
I make lots of chicken soups that start with Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Broth, like my Instant Pot Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup, Instant Pot Chicken and Wild Rice Soup, or Instant Pot Chicken Pot Pie Soup (with Rotisserie Chicken Broth).
For other Mexican-inspired chicken preparations, try my Pressure Cooker Mexican Chicken Soup in Red Chile Broth (Caldo de Pollo Rojo), Pressure Cooker Chicken Tacos, or Instant Pot Chicken Legs and Rice (Arroz con Pollo).
If you're looking for more ideas, check out my Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Recipes index.
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Diane D says
I love this soup!! My kids loved it too. Thank you!
Mike Vrobel says
Thank you - I'm glad you enjoyed it!