When tortilla soup meets jalapeno popper soup, you get this Easy Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Jalapeno Soup! I know.. sounds different. Trust me!
This soup was suppose to be a jalapeno popper type soup… but then I went off on a recipe development tangent and ended up with something even better, and I give you… Easy Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Jalapeno soup.
Of all the soup recipes on the blog, I don't know why I haven’t been adding a bit of cream cheese to soup before this. But WOW. Life changed.
The jury is still out on the spiciness level of this soup. I thought it was quite spicy, and my husband thought I was on glue and said it wasn’t spicy at all. So… I don’t have a good answer for you on this one.
Also, when cooking anything with Jalapenos, it is always a bit of jalapeno roulette to see how spicy your dish will be.
All jalapenos are born different. Some feel as mild as a regular green pepper, and some end up mega hot – you just never know. So, yes, jalapeno roulette. That is a real thing.
The number one feature I love about Instant Pots is the saute feature. I love to saute my aromatics just a bit before adding all of the ingredients in. Is it a necessary step – nope! But, I think it adds a bit more depth to the flavor when you saute your aromatics (onion & garlic)
To be honest, I have a hard time winning Brad over with my recipes. Basically if it doesn’t come off of a smoker or grill and contain beef or pork, I am headed into an uphill battle. But, this soup got a 10/10 from him – which is rare my friends.
Just one heads up for this recipe. Always add the cream cheese AFTER the pressure cycle! Other than that, it’s a pretty simple, dump and go recipe!
Easy Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Jalapeno Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut in half if large)
- 2 Tbs olive oil
- 2 jalapenos, seeds removed and diced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 Tbs chili powder
- 1.5 cups salsa
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 3 cups chicken stock
- ½ block (125g) cream cheese (room temp is best)
Instructions
- Press the saute function on the Instant Pot, and once hot, add the olive oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, jalapeno, cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir often.
- Press cancel to turn off the saute feature. Add chicken, salsa and chicken stock to the pot.
- Secure the lid, turn to sealing, and set the pot to pressure cook for 5 minutes.
- Carefully quick release the pressure. You can let the pot naturally depressurize too. Really is your choice on this one.
- Shred the chicken with forks. I find it easier to pull the chicken out with tongs and chop it and return it back to the pot.
- Add in the cream cheese and stir until melted and incorporated into the soup. Turn the saute function back on if the cream cheese is not melting well.
- Serve immediately or store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Stove Top Directions
- If making this on the stove top, follow the same sequence as above, changing the simmer time to 30 minutes, versus 5 minute pressure time.
Nutrition
So, there you have it, the first time I put cream cheese into a soup… ended up with the most amazing Easy Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Jalapeno Soup...and wrote about jalapeno roulette!
If you make this I want to see! Don't forget to tag @mealplanaddict on Instagram so I can see!
Jill says
I wonder if a nut cream cheese would do the same thing with the level of creaminess
Steph says
Good thought. I personally haven't tried nut cheese yet.
t says
LOVE THIS RECIPE! very easy on stove top, I think it would be great to substitute one chipotle with sauce.for one of the fresh jalapenos to amp up the smokiness. Next time I will make a double batch and freeze a portion. Then add the cream cheese when reheating. also considering adding roasted whole kernel corn!
Steph says
So glad you liked it! I freeze this all the time with the cream cheese. It reheats totally fine!
Anonymous says
Came out great!
Greg V says
Came out great!
Julie says
This recipe is amazing. I was looking for recipes to use my bounty of jalapenos from my garden. I added leftover corn kernel to the recipe. I froze leftovers and was great. Can't wait to make it again.
Christopher Rose says
Outstanding recipe. Made it exactly as instructed and it is great. So good we made a double batch of it the next day.
Do you know what the volume is on your serving size for the calorie count? We had different people eating different amounts, so I can't say that we got six servings out of it. I took a guess at that being one cup worth, but if you ever measured it out, that would be good to know.
Monica says
If using frozen chicken breast, how long should long in the Instapot?
Robin Romero says
I look forward to making this soup, seems right up my alley! I am a recipe follower versus a recipe crestor, therefore, did you use hatred salsa or more of a pico de gallo (dry, no sauce chopped veggies mixture found in the produce section)?
Steph says
Great question! I used regular jar salsa but now I want to try it with pico!
Kayla Angeles says
Hi what brand name salsa did you use in this recipe? There are so many choices and not all jar salsa taste the same and I would think that can change the taste a lot. Would be nice to know exact name of salsa used in this soup 🙂 thank you
Steph says
I usually use my own. I can a ton in the Fall.
Ashley says
I love this recipe! I made it last week and making it again this week! I cheat and use jalapeños from a jar instead of fresh roulette.
Sarah Sarma says
This soup is so good! I added corn, but other than that I followed the recipe. This is going to be a weekly meal.
Lauren says
Can you use frozen chicken in this recipe?
Steph says
Yes you can!
mh says
Great recipe!
One thing I did.... I tore four corn tortillas into pieces and put them in at the same time as the chicken and stock. The flavor from the tortillas deepens the broth with a roasted corn flavor.
As an added bonus, cut 6 or so more corn tortillas into half inch strips and fry in hot oil for about 3 minutes until crispy. Remove from oil onto a plate with a papertowel. Sprinkle some salt on them while still hot. Put these on top of the soup.
Louise Cameron says
Just to say I LOVE this recipe! An absolute winner and one of the first things I made in my instant pot. THANK YOU!
Robin says
I am just trying out an instant pot for the first time , and this recipe looks delicious. If I double the recipe in my 8 quart cooker, do I use the same cook time or does it need to be increased?
Steph says
Cook time remains the same, it will just take longer for the pot to come to pressure!
Patrick says
Everything i have seen with the instant pot has been 10-15 minutes for chicken but your recipe says 5. Is that accurate?
Steph says
Yes, because with a soup, the volume is so much, that the pot takes up to 20 minutes to come to pressure. That is active cook time. So for sops, the pressure time is less because the come to pressure time is so much more.
Alexandria Reed says
Absolutely Delicious is a understatement ... Now on my 3rd time cooking this awesome recipe now since I discovered a month ago .. Thank you and thank you 😉 !!!!
Claudia Root says
This was a perfect meal for a very cold evening in Minnesota! Quick and delicious!
Lucille says
Delicious!
Made it in my Instant Pot and was a hit with the whole family
Steph says
I am so glad to hear that ! Thank you for trying it!
Jenn says
Love this recipe. Super easy and delicious 😋
Kayla Angeles says
Can you please tell me the name of the salsa used in this dish? To many salsa varieties to know exact of what you used and I am going to be making this dish my 1st time. Thank you
Hilary says
The only creamy ingredient I had was a can of cream of chicken soup. I added it to taste and the soup was good. I also used three, fresh Jalapenos and they gave the perfect amount of spicy flavour that I like. The next time I make it I will not use cumin, as I don't think it did the soup any favours.
Andrea says
This was the very first recipe I tried in my instant pot and WOW it’s SO GOOD. Today I made it a second time, only instead of cooking the peppers with the onions I added them while adding the chicken and broth so they were less mushy when the soup was finished. I love how easy the recipe is to make! Sooooo tasty.