Low carb taco soup made in the Instant Pot! This quick keto soup recipe is ready in less than 30 minutes and it’s bursting with spicy Mexican flavors! I’ve included slow cooker instructions too!
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When I say that this low carb taco soup is actually exploding with flavor, oh man. I mean it.
This soup recipe has everything we love going on – tender chicken, spicy chipotle peppers, cream cheese for richness and body, and lemon and lime juice that work to make the flavors pop!
Mexican is my favorite food in the world, so we make this one an awful lot.
No one complains though, because keto taco soup is a serious family favorite. Bet it will become one of your favorites too!
Ingredients:
Chicken Breasts – thighs would work as well.
Onion
Garlic
Chipotle Peppers – these come canned in adobo sauce. They pack LOADS of flavor.
Spices – Cumin, Chili Powder, Paprika, and Salt
Citrus – We use both lemon and lime to brighten this soup up and make the flavors sing.
Chicken Broth – Bone broth or stock also work.
Cream Cheese – makes the soup creamy and thickens it up slightly.
Cilantro – A must for all Mexican dishes. If you’re allergic and think it tastes like soap, sub in parsley.
How to make keto taco soup:
I’m going to include instructions for both a slow cooker version and an Instant Pot soup version below. I prefer this in the Instant Pot because it’s SO fast and easy, but I know we don’t all have pressure cookers laying around. 😉
The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of chipotle peppers. This is a mild spice level, in our opinion. Add more or less to suit your tastes, but we don’t recommend skipping entirely. The peppers and adobo add so much flavor!
Instant Pot Low Carb Soup:
Add everything but the cream cheese and cilantro to your Instant Pot, put the lid on, set it to sealing, and cook on high pressure for 18 minutes.
Allow the pressure to release naturally and remove the lid.
Remove the chicken from the pot and shred it with a couple of forks.
Drop a block of cream cheese into the broth, set the pot to saute, and whisk well to combine the cream cheese into the broth.
Once everything is smooth and creamy, add the chicken back into the soup and stir in some cilantro.
Boom. Done.
Slow Cooker Low Carb Soup:
To make this in a slow cooker, add everything but the cream cheese and cilantro to the slow cooker and cover. Cook on low for 4 hours.
Remove the chicken and shred with two forks.
Add the cream cheese to the soup mixture and whisk well to combine – you want the cream cheese completely melted and incorporated into the broth. It helps to warm the cream cheese in the microwave first.
Stir the chicken and some cilantro back into the soup and serve!
Special Tools Needed:
Instant Pot: I use the Instant Pot 6 Quart Duo and I love it! It makes the most amazing hard boiled eggs and I toss chicken breasts in there for shredding allllll. the. time. Shredded chicken is perfect to have on hand for recipes like cauliflower chicken fried rice and healthy stuffed peppers. I use the boiled eggs to make my avocado egg salad often.
Slow Cooker: This Instant Pot slow cooker works great! You can sear and sauté right in the pot. I also use it for making my keto chicken wings.
I’m pretty in love with this keto soup recipe and I bet you will be too! I’m curious though – do you want to see more Instant Pot soup recipes? Or just more keto Instant Pot recipes in general?
Give this low carb chicken soup recipe a try and report back. I can’t wait to hear what you think!
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Low Carb Chicken Taco Soup
This low carb chicken taco soup recipe can be made in a pressure cooker or slow cooker. The broth is bursting with flavor and makes such a tasty soup.
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chipotles in adobo sauce, minced
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
Instant Pot Method
- Add the chicken, onion, garlic, chipotles, cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt, lemon juice, lime juice, and chicken broth to an Instant Pot.
- Cover, turn vent to sealing, and cook on high pressure for 18 minutes.
- Allow pressure to release naturally, about 10 minutes, before removing the lid.
- Remove chicken from pot and shred with two forks.
- Turn the Instant Pot to saute and add the cream cheese. Whisk constantly until the cream cheese is fully melted and incorporated.
- Turn Instant Pot off and return chicken to the pot. Add the cilantro and stir well to combine.
- Serve immediately
Slow Cooker Method
- Add the chicken, onion, garlic, chipotles, cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt, lemon juice, lime juice, and chicken broth to a low cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
- Remove chicken from pot and shred with two forks.
- Add the cream cheese to the slow cooker and whisk constantly until the cream cheese is fully melted and incorporated.
- Return chicken to the slow cooker and add the cilantro. Stir well to combine.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
This soup is great topped with grated cheddar, cilantro, sour cream, and diced tomatoes, however the nutrition information does not include any toppings.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 bowls Serving Size: 1 bowlAmount Per Serving: Calories: 424Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 156mgSodium: 1023mgCarbohydrates: 7gNet Carbohydrates: 6gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 41g
All information and tools presented and written within this site are intended for informational purposes only. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information is accurate.
I made this tonight for dinner using an instapot. I doubled the recipe for leftovers.
I like spice, so I doubled the chili powder and added an additional tbsp of the chipotle. Otherwise followed the recipe to the letter.
Treated it like a pazole soup (spelling?) and added side garnishes of thinly sliced radish, shredded raw cabbage, cubed avocado, shredded cheddar, sour cream and some crushed corn chips.
This was so good. Going to be a regular dish from now on! Thanks!
Oh, it sounds amazing with all of those toppings! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I made this soup tonight on the stove. I topped mine with low carb tortilla strips in the air fryer. My husband absolutely loves this soup
Love to hear that! Thanks, Kelly!
This was delicious!! Fantastic recipe! Thank you!
Made this today, absolutely incredible!!!
Thanks, Tanya!
My family and I love this recipe!
I don’t care for chipotle so I added in taco seasoning after I read someone else doing the same.
I added a small amount of corn and black beans.
So delicious!!
Thank you for sharing!
I added some chopped colored bell peppers during the saute and added chopped green olives at the end. This is perfect for a chilly day. I ate it with some fresh orange slices for a cooling effect and the combination was delicious.
I’m not a soup person (this is the second soup I will eat), but this I LOVE. I left the salt out & still love it.
Thank you so much for this recipe!
Yay! Love to hear that!
I had never had the chipotle in Adobe sauce before & for me it absolutely ruined what awls have been a very good soup. If people are not familiar with rhat ingredient, I think they should be warned it has a very distinct flavor. If I ever make this recipe again I would substitute regular jalapeño instead.
I have made this as a soup. As a dip. Also as a filling for chicken enchilada stuffed shells. It’s a great recipe that’s loved any way I make it! Thank you.
Thanks, Mallory! So glad you enjoy the recipe!
My cream cheese curdled. I take it none of the other cooks had this happen? What could I have done differently?
Hi Dani! Did you add the cream cheese during the cooking process or after you’d released all the pressure? You wouldn’t want to pressure cook it. Otherwise, it’s normal for it to have little chunks after you add it to the soup as it melts. It doesn’t always melt completely smooth – it’s not curdled, just not fully melted. You can keep stirring or, to help prevent that, microwave the cream cheese until nearly melted before adding it to the soup.
Same thing happened to me you really have to use a whisk
I made this last night and it was a hit! Thanks for the great recipe!
For comment readers like me, I doubled it and there were no leftovers for 5 adults and 3 kids, one bowl each (kids bowls were smaller).
Also I didn’t have the chipotle so I googled a sub. I used a Tbsp of tomato paste, some smoked paprika (in addition to the regular paprika called for), and a little chipotle seasoning.
Will try ASAP
Sounds DELISH
Can I make this on the stovetop?
I’m sure you can, but I’ve only made it as directed so I’m not sure how long it will take.
SOUP-er good. Easy to make. Family loved it. Just make sure not too add too much lime, I did! Didn’t measure it out. Still was good though.
Wow- this was a slam Dunk. My wife and kid, ( who hate everything ) loved it! Glad I made double portions. Thanks for the recipe. For the record – I made a few adjustments- after it was done in the Insta Pot- I removed the chicken and added the soup to my blender with the Cream cheese and blended it together. Also I pan fried Mushrooms and Zucchini and added that to the soup.
This soup is fantastic!! It is now one of my favorites! I’m vegetarian and my husband is not. I used vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and kept the chicken separate in his bowl. Also added cubed avocado chunks at the end. So good!
So glad you guys enjoy the soup!
What if you dont have the chipotle peper what can you substitute with?
Jalapeno would work well.
I made this today, with a few alterations, I used a fajita seasoning packet, chopped cabbage, chopped zuchini and some celery and red pepper, I also reduced cream cheese to 4 oz…… it was awesome!!
Sounds great!