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Instant Pot Sweet Potato Tortilla Soup

53 reviews / 4.8 average

Instant Pot Sweet Potato Tortilla Soup! A smoky, limey, tomato-rich broth with onion, garlic, jalapeño, crispy tortilla strips, and tender chunks of sweet potato.

Hi! Let’s make tortilla soup in the Instant Pot.

Also known as: let’s make an excuse to eat a complete buffet of Mexican toppings. You game?

This version of tortilla soup is two things:

  1. Easy. Like, pop it in the Instant Pot easy (although you can also make it without an Instant Pot if you have a few minutes to stand, stir, and simmer).
  2. DELICIOUS. There’s a classic smoky, limey, tomato-rich broth with onion, garlic, jalapeno, and tender chunks of sweet potato just to keep things interesting. Plus the essential crispy tortilla strips, and a few good hunks of buttery avocado to top it off.

And just like that, wham. You’re in BEST SOUP EVER territory.

Which is saying a lot, because I adore soup, and we have a lot of BEST SOUPS EVER here on the blog. Like this equally delicious chicken tortilla soup, this golden soup, and wild rice soup, and most recently, that lemon chicken soup with the pasta. What can I say? Add it to the list of greats.

Ingredients for Instant Pot Sweet Potato Tortilla Soup.

Okay, I need to have a pep talk with you real quick.

I know you are tempted to just add tortilla chips to this tortilla soup and call it a day, but please. I beg of you.

FACE YOUR FEARS OF FRYING.

It is SO WORTH IT to make your own fried tortilla strips. Better shape – they make those perfect little tangled piles on top of your soup – and better taste, and better texture.

It’s not hard at all. Heavy pan, some hot oil, done.

Tortilla strips frying in oil.

Drain, salt, attempt self control.

Fried tortilla strips in bowl.

Worth mentioning that in addition to being easy and so delicious, this is also clear-your-head-cold tortilla soup. When I was sick last week and feeling like I might never feel joy in my life ever again, I was legitimately lifted with every limey, spicy slurp.

Instant Pot Sweet Potato Tortilla Soup in bowls.

No judgement for drinking straight out of the bowl on this one. Go ahead. Promise. I support you.

Check Out Our Video For How To Make Sweet Potato Tortilla Soup:

Print
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Chicken tortilla soup in a bowl.

Instant Pot Sweet Potato Tortilla Soup


5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

4.8 from 53 reviews

  • Author: Lindsay
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 68 servings 1x

Description

Instant Pot Sweet Potato Tortilla Soup! A smoky, limey, tomato-rich broth with onion, garlic, jalapeño, crispy tortilla strips, and tender chunks of sweet potato.


Ingredients

Units Scale

Tortilla Soup:

  • half an onion, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced
  • 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
  • one 28-ounce can fire roasted crushed tomatoes
  • 6 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 2 chipotle peppers in adobo (canned), minced, or a dash of chipotle powder
  • 12 cups sweet corn (optional)

Tortilla strips and toppings

  • 12 corn tortillas
  • oil for frying
  • avocado
  • cotija or queso fresco
  • cilantro, red onion, lime wedges, etc.

Instructions

  1. Tortilla Soup: Place all soup ingredients in the Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes. Quick release steam.
  2. Tortilla Strips: Cut the tortillas into small strips. Heat the oil in a heavy pan over medium high heat. Working in batches, add tortilla strips and fry in the hot oil for a few minutes until golden and crispy. Remove with tongs, drain on paper towels, and sprinkle with salt.
  3. Serve: Stir about half of your tortilla strips into the soup and reserve the remaining half for topping. Top individual bowls with… well… everything! I highly recommend avocado, and definitely don’t forget the lime.

Notes

Note: Expect about 10-15 mins for the Instant Pot to come to pressure before the cook time starts.

Adding Chicken: This works great with adding chicken as well! Add 1 lb of chicken breasts with everything else and increase the time to 8 minutes. Shred chicken once the steam is released. You can also check out this other recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Stovetop: Saute your onion, garlic, and jalapeno in a little oil. Add sweet potatoes and spices. Add tomatoes, broth, and corn. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Oil: Some of the oil from the fried tortilla strips will end up in the soup – you’ll see a very slight sheen on the top layer. That’s okay – it’s how it’s supposed to be. It gives the soup a little more of a luxurious texture and mouthfeel (I don’t think I’ve ever used the word mouthfeel before, but here we are). I prefer to fry my tortilla strips in olive oil so that olive oil is what ends up in my soup. But if you want something that has a neutral flavor, use vegetable oil.

  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Category: Soup
  • Method: Instant Pot
  • Cuisine: Mexican-Inspired

Keywords: instant pot sweet potato tortilla soup, sweet potato tortilla soup, tortilla soup

Free guide and meal plans for sugar free January.

One More Thing!

This recipe is part of our flavor-packed jalapeño recipes page. Check it out!

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138 Comments

  1. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Any tips for making this in the slow cooker? And/or less spicy for kid approval? 🙂

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      To make mine less spicy for kids I used 1/2 green bell pepper instead of jalapeño, 1 tsp chili powder, and instead of chipotles I used 1 tsp of the adobo sauce from the can of chipotles. Hope that helps!

  2. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Your Instant Pot recipes are helping me get over my fear of actually using my Instant Pot. Can’t wait to make this!! And making your own tortilla strips? Genius.

      1. Pinch of Yum Logo

        I am making this for dinner tonight. Did you use natural or quick release?
        Looks delicious!!!

        1. Pinch of Yum Logo

          I’m sorry I didn’t see this yesterday. I did a manual release. It was so so good.

  3. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I’m really striving this year to cut the calories, get down the pounds, and eat less meat. And I must say that this sweet potato tour till you soup looks really good. Is great for those post workout or post treadmill cardio moments where your body is screaming for some food. I’m drinking more apple cider vinegar, portion sizing my meals, watching what I eat, no longer eating chicken cheesesteaks now one year in, and enormously cut down on hibachi food. I’m no longer eating crab rangoons nor fried chicken wings. and I’m cooking more. Doing more cardio as well. So trust and believe I’ll be on your blog from time to time looking for some creative ideas so I can enhance my nutritional preparation game. 🙂

  4. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This looks so yummy! No instant pot for me though – do you have recommendations for cooking it in a crock pot or on the stove? Thanks!

    1. Pinch of Yum Logo

      The stove-top instructions are at the bottom of the recipe. Thanks for always including alternate cooking methods, Lindsay.

  5. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Hi. I would like to add chicken to this soup. No insta pot just old fashion stove top. Should I just boil it then shred the chicken or do you have any suggestions ? Thank you

  6. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Do you think you could add a raw chicken breast and then shred after for some extra protein in the soup? Would you have to add a few extra minutes to the cooking time in the Instant Pot?

  7. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I made this tonight and it was delicious! I added a couple extra sweet potatoes, a whole onion, a can of black beans and 2 more cups of broth. The tortilla strips totally make the soup amazing. So glad I made it! Thanks!

  8. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I made your sweet potato soup with kale and got raves! I did add about twice the kale and extra peanut butter. Delicious! I look forward to seeing more of your recipes. You haven’t left me out on a limb so far! I will try more of your recipes. Thanks.

  9. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Are there any other veggies you would suggest as a replacement for sweet potatoes? Thanks 🙂

  10. Pinch of Yum Logo

    I’d like to throw these ingredients in the freezer and cook it in my IP at a later date. Has anyone done this? I am looking for recommendations for cooking time in the IP.

  11. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This looks amazing, and i’m looking forward to making this. I just have a question, how well does this keep in the refrigerator, like for meal prep? Do the sweet potatoes get mushy?

  12. Pinch of Yum Logo

    You’ve completely motivated me to fry my own tortilla strips, because I totally would have used tortilla chips LOL! I am loving this recipe – so easy and just packed full of so much yummy flavor!

  13. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Looks delish! If I wanted to add chicken, would I just pop it in with everything else and cook for same amount of time? Just got an Instant Pot for Christmas, and still trying to figure the darn thing out!

  14. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Made this for dinner tonight and it was SO yummy. I sautéed the onions, pepper, garlic, tomatoes, chili powder, and chipotle first but I like knowing I can just throw it all in the pot and turn it on for a quick weeknight dinner.

  15. Pinch of Yum Logo

    One of the best soups I have ever made and I make a lot of soups. A new favorite. The lime, tortilla strips, and cotija really set off the flavors. Thank you!

  16. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This soup is AH-mazing! I skipped the jalapeño and rinsed/seeded my chipotle peppers to ease up the heat (I’m a wimp when it comes to spicey food.) I’d call it a mild+. But it still had all the wonderful chipotle flavor. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow!

  17. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This is the first recipe I made in my NEW Instant Pot! I’ve made it once before on the stovetop and couldn’t wait to make it again. SO yummy! Does it freeze and reheat well after being cooked?

  18. Pinch of Yum Logo

    Made this a couple days ago in preparation for the New England Snowmageddon 2019 (we ended up getting over 2 feet in our little corner of Vermont!) so we could have a healthy dish that was easy to heat on our gas stove in case of a power outage. The power stayed on luckily, and we’ve gobbled down bowls of this since. I’ll admit that I used corn chips instead of frying the tortillas myself (next time when we’re not in danger of an outage!), but it was super tasty nonetheless. I’m always happy to find meatless, veggie heavy meals that fill up my ravenous husband so this will go into regular rotation. Thank you!

  19. Pinch of Yum Logo

    This soup is SO good. I’ve never made vegetarian tortilla soup before, and this was so flavorful (Lime! Chipotle! And SPICY!) that I didn’t miss the meat at all. Frying the tortillas is also completely worth it. I’ll definitely be making this again.