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!
When I say that this low carb 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 cuisine in the world, so we make this one an awful lot. Maybe not super authentic, but it’s got all those flavors that I love.
If you also love Mexican flavors, try out our Keto Taco Soup! And be sure to keep a batch of our keto taco seasoning on hand. It’s so much better than the packets.
We like to make this low carb soup in the Instant Pot – it’s so quick that way! – but it can easily be made in the slow cooker as well. We’ve included instructions for both in the recipe card.
Ingredient Notes:
Chicken Breasts – You’ll want some skinless, boneless chicken breasts for this keto taco soup. They’ll get perfectly so tender and juicy in the Instant Pot or the slow cooker! Boneless chicken thighs would work as well.
Onion & Garlic – These make good additions to just about any soup recipe!
Chipotle Peppers – These come canned in adobo sauce. They pack LOADS of flavor, however they are fairly spicy. We kept the spice at a level 3 out of 10 on this (in my opinion), so feel free to add more or less of the peppers and sauce to suit your tastes.
Spices – Cumin, Chili Powder, Paprika, and Salt
Citrus – We use both lemon and lime to brighten this soup up and make the flavors sing. Fresh squeezed juice is best but the bottled kind works too.
Chicken Broth – Bone broth or stock also work.
Cream Cheese – This 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.
Chicken Taco Soup
We love this Chicken Taco Soup made with shredded chicken, but you’ve got options depending on what protein you have in the house!
Make this with ground chicken – just brown it first!
Make this with ground beef! Just brown and drain off any fat. You can brown it right in the Instant Pot using saute mode.
Chicken thighs will work in place of chicken breasts as well.
You can prepare this low carb taco soup in the Instant Pot or slow cooker, depending on how much time you’ve got! Both ways taste pretty amazing.
The chicken gets perfectly juicy and fork tender and is so savory in the creamy, cheesy chicken broth with the spicy peppers and seasoning.
Everyone loves Mexican flavors and this soup delivers!
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. 😉
Instant Pot Low Carb Soup:
Pressure Cook – 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.
Shred – Remove the chicken from the pot and shred it with a couple of forks. The chicken should be perfectly tender and juicy and easy to shred with a fork.
Cream Cheese – Drop a block of cream cheese into the broth, set the pot to sauté, and whisk well to combine the cream cheese into the broth. Once everything is smooth and creamy, add the chicken back into the low carb soup and stir in some cilantro. Boom. Done.
Slow Cooker Low Carb Soup:
Slow Cook – To make this taco soup in a slow cooker, add everything but the cream cheese and cilantro to the slow cooker and cover. Cook on low for 4 hours.
Shred – Remove the chicken and shred with two forks. It takes a little longer in the slow cooker, but the chicken will be just as juicy and fork tender as the pressure cooked version of this recipe.
Cream Cheese – Add the cream cheese to the taco 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:
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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 slow cooker works great! I also use it for making my keto chicken wings.
Citrus Squeezer: If you’re going to be using freshly squeezed lemon and lime juice you’ll need a citrus squeezer! This handy tools makes squeezing citrus super easy and mess free.
FAQs:
You can keep this low carb taco soup covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. It should reheat well on the stove or even in the microwave in smaller servings. You can also freeze this soup for up to a few months in a freezer safe bag. Make sure you let it cool completely before freezing.
I’ve never tried it myself but some readers have mentioned having success with making this recipe on the stove top. You’d need to adjust the cooking time of course. It’ll take longer than pressure cooking but should be done faster than slow cooking.
Sure! If you want a beef taco soup you could use ground beef instead, along with beef broth instead of chicken broth. You’ll want to brown the beef first before pressure cooking or slow cooking.
More Instant Pot & Slow Cooker Recipes:
- Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast
- Crockpot Chicken Fajitas
- Crockpot Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Instant Pot Cauliflower Soup
- Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Dip
Low Carb Chicken Taco 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.
sippy says
I made this tonight and it turned out great! I think next time I’ll use boneless, skinless thighs as the flavor is so much better to me. My family all prefer dark meat. The broth has wonderful flavor and I’ll definitely make again! Thanks!
Jayma Vaughn says
This soup tastes delicious, but I really wish it had a measured portion. The flavors are fantastic, and I will definitely make it again
Karly Campbell says
You could always divide into 1/4 and measure. 🙂
Victoria A Vaughan says
Is it true that you cook the chicken for 4 hrs on low and not high in a crockpot?
Amy Van Winkle says
I was thinking the same thing. Making mine. Ow on low heat.
Amy Van Winkle says
I was thinking the same thing. Making mine now on low heat.
Victoria Vaughan says
You’ll have to let me know!! I’m cooking mine on high lol!!
Kelly says
Delicious! Next time I will double the recipe. Everyone loved it, even the 1 yr old.
Nicole says
Could you use coconut milk instead of cream cheese?
Karly Campbell says
I haven’t tried this, but it would likely work fine.
Carolyn says
This sounds great, but I’m not sure how 2 cups of broth will equate to 4 servings. Even with the other ingredients, it seems too little. What is the serving size?
Karly Campbell says
The nutrition info was calculated based on this serving 4, but you can adjust to fit your own needs.
Chantal says
Yum! I used chicken thighs because that’s what I had – delicious!
Cheyenne says
This is AMAZING! I will be making it again and again! I don’t have an instant pot, and I didn’t have the patience to use a slow cooker. I just sautéed the onions/peppers/seasonings/etc in a skillet and added it to the chicken broth in a pot. I melted down the cream cheese in the empty skillet I had just used, and then added it to the broth. Then I added rotisserie chicken at the end with the fresh cilantro. I also added little yellow tomatoes when I was sautéing everything. I couldn’t stop saying “Oh my gosh this is SO GOOD!” when I was eating it!
Karly Campbell says
Glad to hear it worked out on the stove! 🙂
Heather Smylie says
Rated delicious Doubled this recipe last night. Diced up raw chicken and added to the crock pot. Heated corn and rinsed seasoned black beans in a bowl and added 1/2 cup to each bowl (except mine) and then topped with the low carb soup and a couple of crunched tortilla chips. Perfect family dinner on a cold night.
Carolyn says
I used the instant pot to make this and I loved it! The next time I make it, I will omit the cilantro. My husband said the soup tasted “soapy” and a lot of people think cilantro tastes like soap. (He’s weird ) I topped mine with shredded queso. I also added a few minutes to the time because I used frozen chicken. I set mine on 25 minutes and it was perfect. Thank you for sharing!
Karly Campbell says
The soapy taste is actually due to a cilantro allergy. You can definitely leave it out or sub in some parsley if you wanted.
Lindsay says
Could I use a can of full fat coconut cream in place of the cream cheese for adding fat (keto) and to create creaminess?
Karly Campbell says
I think that would work, though I haven’t tried it.
Shannon says
I keep cooked rotiserie shredded chicken in my freezer for recipes – do you think I could use that? How many cups would that be to add you think if it works?
Karly Campbell says
I’m sure you could do this, but you’ll want to adjust the cook time quite a bit as the chicken is already cooked. I’d probably do about 2 cups of cooked chicken.
Anna M. says
I am making it in my crock pot right now! I am thinking of adding rotel to mine. Will let you know how it turns out
Skylar says
Where do the 7 carbs come from? The broth and cream cheese and chicken I used had <1 carb. I’m new to this:)
Karly Campbell says
The cream cheese will generally have around 1 carb per ounce, so your package may have said zero if the serving size was small enough to be less than .5 grams. The rest of the carbs would come from pretty much everything else besides the chicken and broth. Spices, peppers, garlic all have carbs…they’re minimal but they do add up. 🙂
Lisa says
Made this soup in my Ninja Foodi and it came out super-thick…not sure what I did, but I’m new to pressure cooking. The chicken cooked ok. Maybe add more liquid next time?
Karly Campbell says
Hmm, I’m not sure what could have happened either. Did the pressure cooker actually come to pressure? If not, I could see the liquid evaporating a bit. Either way, adding more chicken stock to thin it out should work fine. Hope you enjoyed!
Nicole Garcia says
This was the first recipe I tried in my instant pot a couple months ago and it’s my favorite! I have made it 4 times since. I could eat it every day.
Marcy says
Amazing! I used frozen chicken tenders and added 1 min cook time and used natural release. The flavor and consistency was spot on. The peppers in Adobe sauce is key to the right heat! I used 1/2 a small can and it was pretty spicy. I used low-fat cream cheese and it worked great.
Amanda Fisher says
How is it if you eliminate the cream cheese? Trying to reduce the fat in the recipe and be dairy free. Anyone try leaving the cheese out?
Karly Campbell says
You could leave out the cream cheese, but the soup will be thinner and less rich.
DEBB says
I’m allergic to whey, so obviously I try to limit dairy (even though it slips into recipes at restaurants). They do make several types of vegan cream cheese (which is dairy free)- one is cashew based. I don’t know if that would help you – but an option.
Teresa says
This soup was amazing! Just started Keto and this was the first recipe I tried. Fantastic!
Robin says
This soup was fantastic. I also added some red pepper, just because I needed to use it up. The only issue is that it wasnt super easy to blend the cream cheese, but regardless it tasted wonderful, so I didn’t really care. Thank you!!
Annie says
I made this last night and it was delicious. The only thing I changed is that I threw in a bag of frozen riced cauliflower for a bit more veggie content. Great spice level too!! This recipe will be put into my regular rotation for sure!! Thank you!