clean chicken tortilla soup [instant pot]
January 1 begins the Wave of Good Intentions, and one of them is always: “eat cleaner.” To me, this cues hallucinations of flavorless water-broth detox soups featuring bland mushy zucchini and canned tomatoes in thin juice and too many carrots and not enough protein and no salt, a callback to weak “garden vegetable” cafeteria soup nightmares. I resent detox soups. They are a juice diet but solid.
As a soup crusader, my first original recipe of 2021 is a “clean” soup that doesn’t taste like a clean soup and is definitely not typically a clean soup. That soup would be chicken tortilla, which struggles to “be clean” given the amount of corn, corn flour, and corn chips typically used to make it thick enough. The secret is a full pound of pre-riced cauliflower in it, which softens under Instant Pot pressure and helps the soup naturally and lightly thicken (cauliflower has pectin, which turns creamy when it breaks down) without any cornstarch. It’s like chili, only lighter, brighter, and brothier. It’s filling, but not heavy. It’s also low carb to the point of being keto, unless you do what I did and filth it up with some crushed tortilla chips from the bottom of the bag, which I highly recommend.
Also highly recommend: not skipping the cilantro. It’s 2021, and we’re using fresh herbs in this house now.
RECIPE
Clean and light with surprisingly powerful flavor, this Instant Pot chicken tortilla soup full of tender shredded chicken, chiles, and fire-roasted tomatoes gets its natural thickness from riced cauliflower, which is partially blended at the end to give the finished broth a rich and silky texture.
Effortful time: 5 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
Servings: 4-6
YOU NEED
In the pot
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
28 oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes
7 oz can salsa verde
5 oz can chopped chiles (can be doubled if you like the heat)
1 lb riced cauliflower, exact quantity not required (I’ve used between 12-18 oz)
1/2 tbsp cumin
1/2 tbsp Mexican oregano (regular is fine, but Mexican is stronger and more savory and worth having around!)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ancho or other chili powder
A bay leaf
Salt and pepper
4 cups chicken broth
For serving
Juice of 1/2 a lime
Avocado
Greek yogurt
Chopped fresh cilantro
Sliced jalapeños
Tortilla chips…. you know, if you need them
MAKE IT
Prep the soup. Dump all the ingredients from the “in the pot” list into the instant pot. Stir to combine.
Cook the soup. Seal the pot and set to 12 minutes at high pressure. After it’s done cooking, let it naturally depressurize for 10 minutes before hitting manual release.
Shred the chicken. Open the pot and remove the chicken to a board. Shred it using two forks. Flip the Instant Pot to sauté-low to start reducing the broth.
Optional: blend some soup. Ladle about 1 cup of the remaining soup into another measuring cup (if using an immersion blender) or blender, trying to get as much cauliflower as possible. Puree this until thick. Stir it back into the soup.
Finish, top, and serve. Add the chicken back in, as well as the lime juice. Ladle into bowls and serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt, chopped fresh cilantro, avocado cubes, crushed up tortilla chips from the bottom of the bag, hot sauce, whatever.
Other cooking methods:
Stovetop: use +2 cups of chicken broth (so 6 total). Add all liquids and seasoning to a dutch oven on the stove and bring to a mild simmer over medium heat. Add the chicken thighs and gently simmer for 45 min - 1 hour, partially covered, or until chicken thighs are fork-tender and can be easily shredded. Reduce this to 25 minutes if using chicken breasts, and leave on a board until the last 5 min of cooking time. Follow steps 3-5 as written.
Slow Cooker: I’ve never tried it because I don’t have one, but based on other recipes, you should be fine to follow this as written but use a slow cooker set on Low for 8 hours for steps 1-2. Follow steps 3-5 as written.