Instant pot Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup

    With the cold weather coming this week I started thinking about soups.  I first had this soup years ago while working on the campus of The University of Mississippi. I worked in a dining hall inside a large housing facility that provided food for the residents from breakfast to dinner. Two options of soup were usually available daily. This gave me the opportunity to try different soups. This one was one they made often. Which allowed me to enjoy it regularly. But I have since moved away and will randomly get a craving for this soup. While you can make this easily on a stove top, I find it super quick and convenient to throw everything in the Pressure cooker and walk away. I don’t have to sauté onions or cook the meat first; I can simply pour everything in at once without standing and watching to see if anything is beginning to burn.  If you don’t have an Instapot or another electric pressure cooker you can make this in a slow cooker or on the stove but trust me, get the pressure cooker!

This soup is a slightly spicy soup, but that can be controlled by your amount of chipotle peppers. If you can’t handle any heat, reduce the chipotle amount. If you want more heat, add more peppers in. I use my own chicken bone broth that I can for using year-round. Because of this I set the salt amount lower and add more after the soup is cooked and I have tasted it. I always recommend doing that since every broth will vary on the salt amount.  I also really love to serve this with crisp tortillas cut into strips that have either been toasted or fried. Fresh cilantro and lime give it a nice zing to balance out the bitter from the chili pepper. You could also slice avocados or have some sour cream on the side to top with. However, you choose to top your bowl it will be a nice lighter soup to keep you warm during the cold months. Enjoy!