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Shortcut Instant Pot Chicken Chile Verde Soup comes together with simple pantry ingredients, and may be assembled as freezer packs for easy freezer Instant Pot weeknight dinners. No pre-cooking, and packed full of delicious tomatillo, jalapeno, lime and garlic flavors!
It's the fifth recipe in our Instant Pot series, and I hope you're not getting sick of the word 'Instant Pot'.
This will be the last one for a few weeks. Ben keeps trying to put it away in the closet but I keep digging it back out! I am definitely hooked.
Today's Instant Pot chicken chile verde soup is another freezer-pack friendly recipe...since it is a no pre-cook recipe, you just toss your ingredients into the bag, squeeze as much air out as possible, and freeze for up to 3 months.
When you're ready to serve? Thaw, then dump into the pot and you are going to have a delicious, healthy dinner on your table in 30 or so minutes.
Shortcut
When it comes to freezer slow cooker recipes, no cook is the way to go...so I naturally wanted to apply the same strategy to my first freezer Instant Pot recipe.
Our shortcut involves using jarred tomatillo salsa versus roasting our own up. Even with this shortcut, this soup is PACKED with delicious tomatillo, jalapeno and garlic flavors.
In addition, we use canned corn, green chiles, and black beans. I almost always have these items in my pantry, so this soup is a breeze to throw together on the fly!
The Instant Pot makes this chicken chile verde soup so so easy to prepare. Simply dump the ingredients in the pot and set it for 10 minutes high pressure.
Since the Instant Pot will take 20-30 minutes to come to pressure, this soup will be ready in 30-40 minutes, however the best thing about it is how hands off it is!
Once the timer beeps, you will release the pressure, stir in some cornmeal (this brings out some more corn flavors and also thickens the soup slightly), and stir in a squeeze of lime juice.
Serve with a dollop of yogurt, fresh cilantro, and some avocado...although not pictured, it's awesome in this Instant Pot chicken chile verde soup! We also loved tortilla chips (because who doesn't?) and shredded cheese.
Tips for perfect soup
I have the 6 quart Instant Pot, but you could also prep this soup on the stove top (simmer for 20-30 minutes) or slow cooker (low for 4-6 hours)
You can assemble all the ingredients ahead and freeze as a freezer Instant Pot meal, or cook it up and freeze the cooked chicken chile verde soup for up to 3 months
Make sure you get tomatillo salsa and not 'green salsa' that has a jalapeno base (made that mistake for myself!)
Shortcut Instant Pot Chicken Chile Verde Soup comes together with simple pantry ingredients, and may be assembled as freezer packs for easy freezer Instant Pot weeknight dinners. No pre-cooking, and packed full of delicious tomatillo, jalapeno, lime and garlic flavors!
8
Ingredients
3chicken breastsroughly 1.5 lbs
1can of black beans540mL/ 19 oz or cannellini beans drained and rinsed
1can green chiles127 mL/ 4.3 oz
1can of corn kernels340mL/ 11.5 oz , drained
1oniondiced
3clovesgarlicminced
2cupsalsa verde *
2teaspoonsground cumin
1teaspoonground coriander
1teaspoonsalt
4cupschicken stock
After cooking
3tablespoonscornmeal
juice of 1 lime
To serve
yogurt
cilantro
tortilla chips
shredded cheese
Instructions
In the base of a 6 quart Instant Pot, combine all ingredients.
Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Release pressure immediately (10 minutes natural pressure release is fine, too).
Remove the chicken breasts and shred with two forks.
Stir in the cornmeal and lime juice.
Serve with yogurt, cilantro, tortilla chips and/or shredded cheese.
To prepare freezer packs:
Combine all ingredients except for the stock, cornmeal and lime juice in a large gallon-sized freezer-bag.
Remove as much air as possible and freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw completely before cooking using the directions above.
Tips:
* Make sure to use tomatillo salsa and not a jalapeno-based green salsa To cook on the stove-top: simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and shreds easily between two forks. To cook in the slow cooker: cook on low for 4-6 hours, until chicken is cooked through and shreds easily between two forks.
Hi, I'm Annie. With a Bachelor of Science degree, a minor in nutrition and nearly 20 year of both classical training, and self-taught experience, I've spent my career proving that home cooking can be practical, delicious and inspiring. What started in 2013 as one food blog has grown into a full-time business. Today, my husband Clayton and I run five food websites that connect with millions of home cooks every month.
When I'm not in the kitchen or behind the camera, I'm using fueling my love of travel, or chasing down new ideas that keep food fun and fresh.
Hi Carmen, great question! You should be just fine to cook this up in a larger (I'm assuming 8 quart) Instant Pot since there is sufficient liquid for it to come to pressure. The 8 quart model needs a minimum of 1.5 cups liquid to come to pressure. You might find Denise's post on Instant Pot 101 helpful for more tips and Instant Pot basics 🙂
This was amazing! My kids and husband loved it! I skipped the corn meal since I didn’t have any and it was still amazing. We added Mexican cheese, fresh chunks of avocado, cilantro and some cilantro lime sour cream. We will definitely make this again.
Hi Jessica, sorry for the confusion, you can either cook it right away or assemble ahead and freeze as a freezer pack. You can find directions in the recipe card.
Hi. I am a single person and was wondering if you would recommend cutting the recipe in half? I never know how that affects the instant pot instructions.
Hi Lawrence, sorry looks like my recipe card serving size info was deleted. It serves 8! However I don't recommend storing chicken in the fridge for more than 4 days. You could freeze the 5th portion and pull it out the day before? Hope you enjoy!
I am looking for a recipe you recently had on your website but now I can’t find it anywhere!! When I click on the link, it says “the page is no longer available”. It was in a post titled “19 healthy slow cooker soups” or something like that. It was a spicy chicken soup, made in a slow cooker, and it had avocado, green chilies, cilantro, etc. Where can I find this recipe?? I love it, but never got a chance to write it down! Thanks.
It's a cold snowy day in Kansas City. Perfect Soup Day! And my husband made the soup and cooked in the Instant Pot. Delicious! Thanks for letting us know to freeze the meal ahead of time. So helpful for busy schedules.
This soup is delicious! Only change I made is to make a slurry with some of the soup liquid and arrowroot powder to thinken. I tried using the cornmeal and it just clumped together like a dumpling, so I pulled it out and made the slurry. Other than that, it was Amazing!
My husband and I both loved this recipe and will add it to our list of favorites. I thought there was too much broth, but my husband thought it was just right. Either way, we both agreed that the soup was very tasty. Loved the green chili taste and appreciated Denise's note to make sure to use a tomatillo based salsa rather than jalapeno based because it's the tomatillo taste that really came through.
Suzanne says
This recipe is life changing. It is so good and so easy. I double it and leave out corn until the end so it fits in my instant pot.
TOBRETH says
quite good. we have tried several but i think this is the one we'll keep.
carmen says
Can I make this recipe with the larger Instapot or do I need to change the amount of liquid?
Jasmine @ Sweet Peas & Saffron says
Hi Carmen, great question! You should be just fine to cook this up in a larger (I'm assuming 8 quart) Instant Pot since there is sufficient liquid for it to come to pressure. The 8 quart model needs a minimum of 1.5 cups liquid to come to pressure. You might find Denise's post on Instant Pot 101 helpful for more tips and Instant Pot basics 🙂
Amber says
This was amazing! My kids and husband loved it! I skipped the corn meal since I didn’t have any and it was still amazing. We added Mexican cheese, fresh chunks of avocado, cilantro and some cilantro lime sour cream. We will definitely make this again.
Denise says
Woohoo! So happy to hear your family enjoyed, Amber! Thank you for reporting back 🙂
Lisa says
Hi!!! I don't have cornmeal, what can I sub instead? Looks yummy!!!
Denise says
Hi Lisa! You can just leave it out. Although I saw that Ina Garten crumbles tortilla chips into her pozole, so maybe that would work for you?
Jessica says
I guess I'm confused on if you cook it all at once or just the individually prepped bags one at a time.
Denise says
Hi Jessica, sorry for the confusion, you can either cook it right away or assemble ahead and freeze as a freezer pack. You can find directions in the recipe card.
Jessica says
Hi. I am a single person and was wondering if you would recommend cutting the recipe in half? I never know how that affects the instant pot instructions.
Denise says
Hi Jessica! I believe it would be fine to cut this recipe in half, as there is sufficient volume to bring the pot to pressure.
Lawrence says
Hello,
I want to make this recipe for next week's meal prep. Would this make enough for 5 days or should I double the recipe?
Thank you
Denise says
Hi Lawrence, sorry looks like my recipe card serving size info was deleted. It serves 8! However I don't recommend storing chicken in the fridge for more than 4 days. You could freeze the 5th portion and pull it out the day before? Hope you enjoy!
Tracy says
This soup is delicious! Quick and easy with lots of flavor. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Denise says
Hi Tracy! I'm so happy you enjoyed. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
Elise says
I am looking for a recipe you recently had on your website but now I can’t find it anywhere!! When I click on the link, it says “the page is no longer available”. It was in a post titled “19 healthy slow cooker soups” or something like that. It was a spicy chicken soup, made in a slow cooker, and it had avocado, green chilies, cilantro, etc. Where can I find this recipe?? I love it, but never got a chance to write it down! Thanks.
Denise says
Hi Elise! I think you're talking about this round up: https://sweetpeasandsaffron.com/slow-cooker-soups-and-stews/. Are you talking about this soup? https://slowcookergourmet.net/slow-cooker-spicy-chicken-soup/
Elise says
Yes!! Thank you so much! I love it!
KCJules says
It's a cold snowy day in Kansas City. Perfect Soup Day! And my husband made the soup and cooked in the Instant Pot. Delicious! Thanks for letting us know to freeze the meal ahead of time. So helpful for busy schedules.
Denise says
You are very welcome! It is cold here too, so so so ready for spring weather!
Zulakha says
My family loved this! We did it the old fashion way, on the stove!
Denise says
Awesome! So happy your family enjoyed it, Zulakha! Thanks so much for reporting back 🙂
Kim says
This soup is delicious! Only change I made is to make a slurry with some of the soup liquid and arrowroot powder to thinken. I tried using the cornmeal and it just clumped together like a dumpling, so I pulled it out and made the slurry. Other than that, it was Amazing!
Denise says
So glad you liked it Kim!
sera says
I just printed this. It sounds delicious!
Denise says
I hope you enjoy it, Sera!
Grace says
My husband and I both loved this recipe and will add it to our list of favorites. I thought there was too much broth, but my husband thought it was just right. Either way, we both agreed that the soup was very tasty. Loved the green chili taste and appreciated Denise's note to make sure to use a tomatillo based salsa rather than jalapeno based because it's the tomatillo taste that really came through.
Denise says
I'm so happy you enjoyed it, Grace! Thanks so much for your review 🙂
Dee says
Many thanks Denise for still including the slow cooker method. Can’t wait to try this!
Denise says
No problem, Dee! I hope you enjoy it 🙂
Barbara Berry says
Can I use a regular pressure cooker for Instant Pot recipes? Thank you!
Denise says
Hi Barbara, that should be fine! I don't have any experience with other pressure cookers but they should be pretty equivalent for this recipe 🙂