Instant Pot Green Enchiladas Chicken Soup—an easy soup recipe with tons of flavor and only a handful of ingredients! (Can be low carb too).
The SLOW COOKER instructions are listed in the recipe card below.

Instant Pot Green Enchiladas Chicken Soup
The weather has dipped just below 80 degrees here and I am calling it soup weather. Too soon?!? I love this time of year and am anxious to eat soup and bread as much as I can.
Whenever I go to Cafe Rio I love ordering the chicken burrito with the green salsa on top. I like to lick my plate clean. That green sauce is like manna. When I want the flavors of salsa verde at home I like buying the Herdez brand of salsa verde. That was my inspiration for this super easy soup recipe. I always buy mild since I don’t like a ton of heat and either does my son.
This Instant Pot green enchiladas chicken soup is a basic recipe that can be added to as much as you prefer. The base recipe doesn’t have a ton of carbs in it (for those people trying to eat keto/low carb). But for people like me who love all the carbs all the time I like to add in corn, tortilla strips and then cornstarch to thicken the soup. You could even throw in a can of beans. However you eat the soup it has great flavor and tastes amazing.
More Enchilada Inspired Recipes…
Instant Pot Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup
Instant Pot White Chicken Enchilada Bowls
Slow Cooker White Chicken Enchilada Bowls
Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup
Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup
Cafe Rio Sweet Pork Burrito Copycat Recipe


Instant Pot Green Enchiladas Soup
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
An easy soup recipe with tons of flavor and only a handful of ingredients! (Can be low carb too).
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup diced onions
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (frozen is okay)
- 1 (4 oz) can green chilies
- 1 cup green salsa (I used mild Herdez salsa verde)
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- Optional: 1 can of corn, cornstarch, tortilla chips, grated cheese
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn Instant Pot to the saute setting. Add in the olive oil and swirl around. Add in the onions and saute for 3 minutes. Then add in the garlic and saute for 20 seconds. Add in the chicken broth and scrape the bottom of the pot. Turn off saute setting.
- Add in the chicken, green chilies and salsa.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the soup button to 15 minutes if using frozen chicken and 12 minutes if chicken is fresh. When time is up let the pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove lid.
- Turn to saute setting. Add in the cream cheese and lime juice. Chop or shred the chicken. Add in corn, if desired. If you want to thicken your soup make a cornstarch slurry. In a small bowl stir together 2-3 Tbsp of cornstarch with 3 Tbsp of water, until smooth. Then pour the mixture into the Instant Pot. The cornstarch mixture will thicken up contents of pot quickly.
- Once cream cheese is melted and incorporated turn off the Instant Pot.
- Serve soup with tortilla chips and cheese, if desired.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Add onions, garlic, green chilies, chicken, salsa and broth into slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
- Add in the cream cheese. Chop or shred the chicken. Add in corn, if desired. If you want to thicken your soup make a cornstarch slurry. In a small bowl stir together 2-3 Tbsp of cornstarch with 3 Tbsp of water, until smooth. Then pour the mixture into the slow cooker and turn to high. Cook without the lid for 15 minutes.
- Once cream cheese is melted and incorporated serve soup with tortilla chips and cheese, if desired.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. Make in the 8 or 3 quart pot with no changes.
- Category: Soup
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Can you use Greek yogurt instead of cream cheese?
You could sure try it! I bet it would be tasty.
Can’t wait to make this! I will serve it with a big dollop of sour cream, same as I put on my baked “green” enchiladas.
★★★★★
Sour cream makes everything better!
I made this using a ROTISSERIE chicken plus all your other ingredients. So quick and easy and only put it on pressure for five minutes seeing as how the chicken was already cooked. I served it with sour cream, some crumbled Mexican Cotija cheese and lime flavored chips. So good, thank you for this recipie.
★★★★★
Yum I love that cotija cheese! Good idea!
this looks wonderful! I’m smack in the middle of green chili country so love any recipe that includes them. We’re lactose intolerant; do you have any suggestions for a substitute for the cream cheese?
thank you for ALL of your posts! The time it takes you must be extensive! I appreciate it very much!!
They make diary free cream cheese or you could just skip it. I wonder if you can do refried beans as a way to thicken this soup like with another recipe.
I like both those ideas!!
Make dairy free by omitting dairy and pureeing 1 cup of beans with a bit of chili liquid. add it back and chili will be naturally creamy….i think I used silk yogurt. It’s made with soy or almond
Great idea Stephanie!