Chicken Fajita Soup Instant Pot Stovetop

Let me start by saying that if you like fajitas, you will love this soup and my fajita pasta recipe. This chicken soup contains bell peppers, onions, jalapeño, diced tomatoes, lemon, and spices. This Fajita Soup is easy to make and is a great way to use leftovers. Whether you have leftover fajitas, rotisserie chicken, or leftover Thanksgiving turkey, add them to this soup and make it a brand-new meal for the family.

Watch How to Make Chicken Fajita Soup (Instant Pot & Stovetop)

Healthy Low-Carb Chicken Fajita Soup

This soup is gluten-free and keto-friendly. I have kept this soup low-carb by not adding any beans or rice. But you can easily add them to the recipe if you like. This soup is easy to make on the stovetop, instant pot, or slow cooker. So choose the method you prefer. I love to make a large pot of this Mexican fajita soup and have it multiple times. It tastes great the next day and freezes well, which makes it perfect for meal prep!

Fajita Soup Ingredients

How to Make Chicken Fajita Soup?

Heat a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic, jalapeño, and bell peppers, and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients. Then, bring to a boil. Cover with a lid and simmer the soup for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Take the chicken out and shred it using forks. Then, add the chicken back to the pot. Add the canned black beans and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and stir it in. Garnish with cilantro leaves, and serve. Add toppings of choice.

Instant Pot Method

This fajita soup is easy to make in an electric pressure cooker. The same method and cooking time will also work in a Ninja Foodi. Onion: Use yellow onions Garlic: Adds a lot of flavor to the soup. You can also use garlic powder if you don’t have fresh garlic. Jalapeno: I love to add some jalapeno for a spice kick to this soup.
Bell Pepper: Use a combination of red, yellow, and green bell peppers for color and flavor.
Tomato: Use a can of crushed or diced tomatoes. You can also replace it with salsa if you prefer. Broth: Use chicken or vegetable broth, whatever you have on hand. Seasoning: Use basic spices such as cumin, paprika, chili powder, and oregano. Or replace it with taco or fajita seasoning.
Black Beans: I use canned black beans. Skip for low-carb variation. Lemon juice: Don’t miss adding some lemon juice at the end to amp up the fresh flavors in the soup. Toppings: Use sour cream, sliced avocado, jalapeno, cilantro, scallions, or tortilla chips. Soften the veggies: Start with sauteing onions, garlic, jalapeño, and bell peppers for this soup. You can skip the saute step. However, I feel it is a good kickstart and heats the pot and ingredients, which also helps to get the instant pot to pressure sooner. Add remaining ingredients: Then add the tomatoes, broth, and spices. Place the chicken thighs in a single layer and press them gently to cover them in liquid. Pressure cook: Set to pressure cook. I prefer chicken thighs as they are much juicier (yes, fattier too). But chicken breasts work just as well in this recipe. If you use smaller chicken pieces, reduce the cooking time to 8 minutes. Once pressure cooking is done, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. Then, release any remaining pressure by turning the valve to venting. Open the lid.
Shred the chicken: The only main work in this recipe is chopping and shredding. So, the next step is shredding the chicken after it is cooked. It took me hardly 3 minutes to shred the chicken. Then, add it back to the soup. Add the black beans and simmer the soup for 5 minutes. Garnish & Serve: Add the lemon juice and stir it. Add the garnishes, and the soup is ready to be served!

Crockpot Method

Add all the ingredients except garnishes to the slow cooker. Cover with lid, and cook for 4 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low. Take out and shred the chicken with forks. Then transfer it back to the slow cooker. Stir in the lemon juice. Garnish and serve the soup.

Variations

Add black beans: I kept this soup low-carb and did not add any beans. But a can of black beans could be a great addition to the soup if you like. Add them along with the shredded chicken. Vegetarian Fajita Soup: You can keep this soup vegetarian by skipping the chicken and just adding a can of black beans. This would be just as delicious, similar to my taco soup recipe. This soup is vegan if you use oil and don’t add any sour cream to it. Add rice or quinoa: Add some carbs to make this soup a complete meal. Add 1/2 cup raw rinsed rice or quinoa before pressure cooking the soup. Also, add 1 cup of extra broth. Make it creamy: Add cream cheese at the end while stirring continuously to make the soup creamy.

What to Serve with Fajita Soup?

We love to add a variety of toppings to this soup, just like my vegetarian taco soup. Enjoy the soup topped with some scallions. Other great toppings could be shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado, or tortilla strips. You can also top it with guacamole or avocado cilantro sauce. Serve with a quesadilla, cilantro lime rice, or Spanish rice. You will love this homemade Chicken Fajita Soup. It is so cozy and comforting to enjoy on a cold winter evening!

How to Store?

This soup will store well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Let the soup cool completely, then store it in airtight containers in the refrigerator. You can also freeze this soup for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Then reheat in the microwave or a pot on the stovetop. Add your favorite toppings and enjoy!