Mexican Chicken Soup is a flavorful soup loaded with chicken, lime, cilantro, onion, and just enough jalapeño to give it a little kick. Serve it with a slice of avocado and a scoop of rice for a hearty, comforting meal. You can find it at your favorite Mexican restaurant or make this authentic recipe at home in your Instant Pot.
"I have been making this soup for a few years now and it's delicious! You can adapt it to your liking. I omit the celery and add double the cumin. Instead of sautéing the garlic, I use a garlic press and add it in while I am adding the canned tomatoes, lime juice, etc. Tastes just as good to me. You can also adjust the jalapeños to your liking for more or less spice. I have passed this recipe to friends and they love it too!"
★★★★★- Jenny
Our family LOVES Mexican food. We eat at our local restaurant, Mi Casita almost once a week. They have great street tacos and enchiladas so it is hard to order anything else.
However, one day I was fighting a nasty cold, and took a chance on thier Mexican Chicken Soup. I couldn't believe how delicious it was. The spicy broth flavors make this perfect for fighting a cold, but it is tasty enough to eat any day of the week. It has become one of my favorite dishes. During the winter months, it stays in heavy rotation in our dinner menu. I hope you love it as much as we do. Enjoy! Xoxo- Katie.
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Ingredient notes and substitutions
You will need the following ingredients to make Mexican lime and chicken soup.
- chicken breast- I typically use chicken breasts, but chicken thighs work also. You can also substitute with shredded rotisserie chicken.
- chicken broth- You can substitute with vegetable broth, chicken stock, or chicken bone broth.
- olive oil
- garlic cloves- You can substitute with 1 teaspoon of garlic powder.
- jalapeno- If you do not want to add any heat, you can omit this.
- celery stalks
- onion- You can substitute with 1 tablespoon of onion powder.
- avocado- Avocado is used as a garnish and adds a nice flavor to the soup, but can be omitted.
- fresh lime juice
- Adobo seasoning- You can find this in the Hispanic section of the grocery store. It is an all-purpose seasoning that is very flavorful. However, you can substitute with salt and pepper.
- Cumin
- tomatoes with green chilies- If you like it on the mild side, choose the mild can. If you like it spicy, choose the original or hot flavored can.
Steps to make
Follow these easy steps to make Instant Pot Mexican Chicken Soup.
- Turn on Instant Pot saute setting. Add diced celery, onions, jalapeño, and garlic, and olive oil. Cook until tender.
- Add chicken, canned tomatoes with chile, chicken broth, Adobo seasoning, and cumin.
- Cover and lock the lid. Cook on manual High pressure for 15 minutes. Natural release when done.
- Remove the chicken breasts from the soup and shred the chicken.
- Return the shredded chicken. Add lime juice and stir. Add in fresh chopped cilantro.
- Serve soup with a slice of avocado and/ or a side of rice.
Watch how to make
Can you freeze it?
This pressure cooker Mexican Chicken Soup freezes well, and is great for meal prep. Just store in an airtight container and freeze. When you are ready to cook, defrost, reheat, and top with your fresh toppings!
Serving Tip
This Mexican-style chicken soup is fantastic on its own, however, it is traditionally served with a side of rice. When ready to eat, simply add a scoop of rice to your bowl and pour the soup over it. If you are watching your carbs or calories, feel free to skip the rice. However, for a more hearty, filling meal, the rice is a wonderful addition.
When you make this Mexican chicken and lime soup, tell me what you think in the comment section! I would love to hear back! My readers will too.
Also post your picture of your soup on Instagram or Facebook, and tag @aforkstale and use #aforkstale hashtags! I will share with my followers! xoxo!
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Mexican Chicken Soup (Restaurant Style)
Equipment
- Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds chicken breast
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 jalapeno, diced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 14 ounces can diced tomatoes with chilies
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 limes, juiced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 avocado sliced
- 1 lime, sliced for garnish
- 1 teaspoon Adobo seasoning
Instructions
- Turn on Instant Pot saute setting. Sauté 2 celery stalks, chopped, 1 onion, chopped, 1 jalapeno, diced, and 4 garlic cloves, crushed in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cook until tender.
- Add 1½ pounds chicken breast, 14 ounces can diced tomatoes with chilies, 6 cups chicken broth, 1 teaspoon Adobo seasoning, and 1 teaspoon cumin.
- Cover and lock the lid. Cook on manual High pressure for 10 minutes. Natural release 15 minutes and quick release after.
- Remove the chicken breasts from the soup and shred the chicken.
- Return the shredded chicken. Add 2 limes, juiced and stir. Add in 1 cup cilantro, chopped.
- Serve soup with a slice of 1 avocado sliced. You can serve as it or serve with a side of rice.
David Hoffman says
The soup is amazing! Though I can't say that I could really taste the lime in it, though I'm sure it makes a difference, I could certainly taste the cilantro and the jalapeño. The combined flavors are amazing. I couldn't stop eating until it was gone.
Erika Delgado says
I love this soup. I could eat it every day. It is a little plain for others but if you add seasoned tortilla strips, avocado, and oaxaca cheese once served, it is perfect to me.
Jenny says
I have been making this soup for a few years now and it’s delicious! You can adapt it to your liking. I omit the celery and add double the cumin. Instead of sautéing the garlic, I use a garlic press and add it in while I am adding the canned tomatoes, lime juice, etc. Tastes just as good to me. You can also adjust the jalapeños to your liking for more or less spice. I have passed this recipe to friends and they love it too!
Kay says
This one is a hard one for me to judge. I followed all the steps and ingredients, but the soup was quite bland. I had the lime, cilantro, avocado, corn chips...but still something was missing. Not sure if it was because of the instant pot or not. Will try to boil it down a bit more.
Katie Crenshaw says
You don't eat corn chips with this soup. I think you are confusing this soup with Tortilla Soup or Taco Soup. This is a very simple soup similar to the American chicken noodle in flavor. The added cumin, cilantro, and lime give it more of a kick than the chicken noodle soup. Typically it is served with rice on the side. You can add the rice to your bowl or leave it out. Sorry you did not care for the soup. This is an authentic soup recipe. However, not everyone's taste buds are the same, I totally understand if this is something you enjoyed.
Aimee Young says
We have a famous local place we go for this soup. Over the years, the containers have gotten smaller and our visits less frequent. I made this in hopes it might be somewhat similar but expected it wouldn’t be nearly as good as our favorite. WOW, both my husband and I thought it was BETTER than our favorite Mexican soup restaurant! I doubled the recipe so we have left overs. I had some for breakfast today - it is THAT good. Thank you!!!
PJ says
This is EXACTLY what I've been looking for. We used to order the soup all the time at our local Mexican restaurant. I've never run across anything that replicates it quite like this, maybe it's the cumin. I don't know but the soup is fantastic and so easy to make
Mommy2b2daniel says
Excellent flavor, loved the recipe. I omitted the tomato (personal preference). I also didn’t sauté the jalapeño and onion first. I cooked the chicken in the broth and seasoning and after done I turned the instant pot to sauté and I added onion and jalapeño with shredded chicken back to broth and let simmer for about 20 minutes and then added cilantro. I like my vegetables with a little bit of texture to them. Thanks so much for a great recipe. Will definitely make this again.
Allison says
Delicious! I added squash and cauliflower like our local Mexican restaurants does. I also used a whole chicken instead of just breasts. This was exactly like the soup I love so much and order all the time. So happy I can now make it at home.
Becca says
I agree with Eileen- this is very reminiscent of Lalo’s! I used chicken thighs because they’re what I had on hand. Also added Mexican oregano - hoo wee! My only suggestion would be to sauté the chicken before the veggies so they can soak up all those brown bits from the pot. Definitely add the lime at the end so it doesn’t get bitter. Your timing recommendations were spot on! Thanks for the recipe!
Shelly says
Had soup just like this in Puerto Vallarta at a resort buffet, I couldn't get enough of it. This recipe is just like that amazing soup...Thank you for creating this recipe!
Esther says
This was very flavorful and easy to make. Next time I would add a can of black beans and a cup of frozen corn as I felt like it could use a little more substance. I didn’t have jalapeño but it was still quite spicy, I think because the tomatoes I used had diced chilis.
Sue says
This was my first Instapot recipe and we were so pleased! We halved it cause there are only two of us and we had to sub some ingredients due to Covid and not wanting to shop. We used 1 chicken breast, cup of chopped yellow pepper, fresh chopped tomatoes (3/4 cup) red pepper flakes (no jalepeños in the house,) and 1/4 cup bottled lime juice. Everything else as stated, but half. It was so tasty. Tried it with rice, without, with tortilla chips, and with sour cream— every combo was yumzola. Thanks so much for the great recipe.
Donna Pena says
I made this over the weekend and have to make another batch today because my family absolutely loves it! I love that it's a quick and super easy soup that does not involve a lot of prep work. AND IT"S DELICIOUS! I serve it with Mexican rice and top it with onions, cilantro, lime and avocado. With a side of corn tortillas. YUMMY!
Starla Grimes says
I just made this and it’s very healthy with good flavors. I do not like celery so I put in a frozen bag of cauliflower rice with the chicken cycle. It’s delicious!
Eileen says
I really loved this recipe! I was inspired by Lalo's soup and came across this! I do not have an instant pot, so I crock-potted the chicken in lime juice, salt. pepper. cumin and garlic for 3 hours. Cooked up the broth and veggies separate then combine the meat. Very tasty, thank you for sharing!
Shasta Andersen says
This was perfect! I can't believe how much I loved it. Super simple, super fantastic.
Tina says
I'm going to boil the chicken first on stove top for 30 to 45 min, and then add everything in. Since I dont have a crockpot.
You think it would still taste good?
Katie says
Yes. It will be just as good. I am not sure on the timing on the stove top, but if you cook it long enough for the chicken to easily fall apart, it will be perfect. The Instant Pot just makes everything quicker and easier.
karrie @ Tasty Ever After says
So happy you posted this because I LOVE Mexican chicken soup and don't have an Instant Pot recipe for one! I'm going to make it Sunday night so we can have lunch leftovers for Monday.
Mike says
Nice and easy and good
Has a nice little kick to it
Will make again?
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
I LOVE Mexican food too! I saw this on FB yesterday and I knew I had to check out! This looks amazingly delicious, Katie! I love lime too so would definitely be adding extra...and top with lots of avocado and cilantro.