Instant Pot Taco Soup - Instant Pot 3 quart mini recipes (2024)

Instant Pot Taco Soup, made in the Instant Pot mini with ground turkey, spices, and veggies! Such a quick instant pot mini recipe.

Instant Pot Taco Soup - Instant Pot 3 quart mini recipes (1)

This is the recipe that I almost forgot to share with you. I make it so frequently that I have it completely memorized, and I didn't really think much of it being a recipe until house guests repeatedly asked for it.

Taco soup is something that I make when I just can't seem to get my life together and sit down to eat a proper lunch. When I've had one too many crazy weeks in a row, I vow to be better the following week. I make a big batch of this Instant Pot Taco Soup, and enjoy it for lunch all week long. If I can remember to serve it over brown rice, even better!

I make everything in one pot, and I always seem to have all of the ingredients on hand.

For Instant Pot Taco Soup recipe:

Gather up ground turkey (or beef), black beans, corn, tomato paste, one can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, one small can of green chiles, half of an onion, garlic, chicken broth, and all of your taco spices!

If you've made my ground beef for tacos, you'll recognize these same taco spices. If you're not up for making your own taco seasoning mix, you can use half a packet of the store-bought stuff. Just make sure to read the ingredient list, because some taco seasoning mixes have preservatives and other strange chemicals.

Instant Pot Taco Soup - Instant Pot 3 quart mini recipes (2)

If you're new here, I cook for two, so that means that I use the Instant Pot Mini. It's the 3-quart model, and it makes a small batch of soup. If you're cooking for two or have a small household that doesn't like a lot of leftovers, the Instant Pot Mini is the size for you.

If you'll allow me to go on a little tangent for a minute, I have to confess that although I love soup, I don't know why most recipes make so much of it. While soup is excellent leftover, do we really need a full gallon of it every single time we make it? I adore that this Instant Pot Taco Soup recipe makes a batch large enough for my family to enjoy for a few days, but is gone after that.

Instant Pot Taco Soup - Instant Pot 3 quart mini recipes (3)

Instant Pot Mini recipes:

This recipe was the first time I used my instant pot mini to make soup. While it has a 'Soup' function, I did a little research and discovered that using the 'Soup' function is essentially like using HIGH pressure for 20 minutes. I made the soup both ways, and can confirm--it tastes identical.

Why use the pressure cook function to make soup? It's well understood that soup tastes best when it simmers for a long time on the stove while being stirred lovingly occasionally. Well, um, I'm afraid I don't have time to stir anything lovingly or let anything linger on my stove all day. The pressure cooker speeds up the cooking process and intensifies the flavors, and makes it taste as if it's been cooking all day. Essentially, the instant pot is magic.

I know you're going to ask: can you make this without an instant pot? Yes, you can; it just needs to simmer for a long time on the stove and be stirred lovingly occasionally. I love you, too.

Ways to use leftover ground meat:

Since I cook for two, my soup recipes with ground turkey or ground beef use a ½ pound of meat. Since we typically buy ground meat in 1-pound packages, I freeze the remaining portion. It's always ready for a quick one-day defrost to be used in another meal later that week.

For leftover ground turkey, can I suggest: Egg Roll Bowls, Whole30 meatballs, Tamale Pie, or Spicy Turkey Burgers.

For leftover ground beef, can I suggest: Ground Beef for Tacos, Small Batch Chili, Instant Pot Spaghetti, or Swedish Meatballs. If you have a baby in your house, I have a baby beef recipe for Bolognese over Spaghetti Squash.

Instant Pot Taco Soup - Instant Pot 3 quart mini recipes (4)

Yield: 4 bowls of soup

Instant Pot Taco Soup

Instant Pot Taco Soup - Instant Pot 3 quart mini recipes (5)

A small batch of instant pot taco soup made in the instant pot mini.

Prep Time15 minutes

Cook Time20 minutes

Total Time35 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ pound lean ground turkey
  • ½ cup cooked black beans
  • ½ cup frozen corn
  • 1 14-oz. can fire-roasted tomatoes
  • 1 14-oz. can low-sodium chicken broth
  • 1 4-ounce can roasted green chiles
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • ½ medium yellow onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

For the taco seasoning:

  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • Soup toppings: tortilla chips, cheddar cheese, cilantro, etc.

Instructions

1. Press 'SAUTE' on an Instant Pot mini, and add 15 minutes to the timer.

2. Drizzle the olive oil in the bottom of the Instant Pot, and then add the ground turkey. Cook, while breaking up with a wooden spoon, until the meat is no longer pink.

3. Next, hit 'OFF.' Add all remaining ingredients to the Instant pot. Give it a good stir.

4. Press 'PRESSURE COOKER' on the Instant Pot, and make sure it's set to 'HIGH.' Add 20 minutes to the timer. Ensure the valve is turned to 'SEALING.' (Alternatively, you could use the 'SOUP' function instead, which essentially pressure cooks for 20 minutes also).

5. When the pot reaches full pressure, it will beep, and the timer will start counting down 20 minutes.

6. When the timer goes off, allow the pot to naturally release pressure for 10 minutes. Your pressure valve may or may not release also. If not, at the end of 10 minutes, use a wooden spoon to carefully open the pressure valve and allow the pot to fully de-pressurize.

7. Remove the lid from the Instant Pot, and give everything a good stir.

8. Ladle the soup into bowls, and top with crushed tortilla chips, grated cheese, and cilantro, or any other topping you desire.

Notes

I use the Instant Pot Mini 3-quart machine; you may double this recipe for a larger machine. You may also make it on the stove top--just allow to cook for 30-60 minutes over low heat.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving:Calories: 304Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 69mgSodium: 732mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 6gSugar: 6gProtein: 24g

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Instant Pot Taco Soup - Instant Pot 3 quart mini recipes (2024)

FAQs

How does the soup setting work on the Instant Pot? ›

Instant Pot SOUP Setting (SOUP/BROTH BUTTON) The default Instant Pot soup setting is pre-programmed to set the pot to cook at HIGH pressure for 30 minutes. The soup program brings the contents of the pot to a slow simmer and results in a clear broth due to lack of boiling motion.

How to use Instant Pot instructions? ›

SMART PROGRAM PRESSURE COOKING
  1. Start the Instant Pot. ...
  2. Add ingredients and liquids to the inner pot. ...
  3. Secure and lock the lid. ...
  4. Select one of the Smart Program buttons. ...
  5. Preheating & pressurizing stage begins followed by cooking under pressure as per program settings.
Nov 27, 2020

How to know when an Instant Pot is done? ›

The Instant Pot will still take several minutes to come to pressure (up to 10 minutes), and then as soon as the cooking cycle beeps to signal that it's complete, you'll quickly release the pressure right away so that the vegetables don't over-cook.

Do you use low or high pressure for soup in Instant Pot? ›

Soup. The soup program is 30 minutes on high pressure. Depending on wether your are using fresh or frozen meats, soup times can range from 20 minutes to an hour.

Why is my Instant Pot not pressurizing soup? ›

SOLUTION: Open the Instant Pot and make sure there's enough liquid. If too much liquid has evaporated, the Instant Pot won't pressurize, so add more liquid if necessary. Close the Instant Pot and resume pressure cooking. If you have trouble closing the lid, move the steam release handle to the VENTING position.

How do you keep soup from burning in Instant Pot? ›

How to Prevent a Burn Notice in the Future
  1. Scrape before you seal: Scrape up all the browned bits left in the pot after sautéing food and before closing the lid.
  2. Double-check your parts before you close up the pot for cooking. ...
  3. Make sure that you're using enough liquid.
Apr 15, 2022

How do you make instant soup better? ›

Ideas to Add Taste to Your Instant Soup –
  1. # Add Herbs – After you have heated up your soup, add herbs. ...
  2. # Prefer Combo Ingredients – If you have just added a few cloves of garlic to your soup then just try pairing it up with ginger and onions. ...
  3. # Throw in Crunch – Whatever that adds crunch to your soup, add that.
Sep 13, 2019

Do you seal the Instant Pot on soup setting? ›

Close the Lid and Check the Seal: Put the lid on your Instant Pot and make sure it's locked. There's a sealing ring inside the lid – check that it's in place. This ring is important to keep the steam inside. Press the Soup Button: Now, press the 'Soup' button.

What is the disadvantage of Instant Pot? ›

Not good for cooking everything: Just like no one method is great for cooking everything, the Instant Pot isn't build to do it all. If you are not a fan of like stews and saucy things then pressure cooking might not be for you.

What are the settings on Instant Pot mini? ›

(Press and hold [-] or [+] for 3 seconds to turn sound OFF or ON.) Adjust to slow cook on low (180–190°F), normal (190–200°F), or high (200–210°F). Use [+] and [-] to increase or decrease the cook time. Switch between High and Low Pressure settings for pressure cooking programs.

Do you close the vent on an Instant Pot when slow cooking? ›

Another tip, taken from an Instant Pot Facebook group, is to open the valve all the way on your Instant Pot lid when slow cooking. This allows some moisture and steam to release and keeps the Instant Pot from overcooking your slow cooker recipes.

Can you overcook in an Instant Pot? ›

Unfortunately, once you overcook a piece of meat in the pressure cooker, there's no going back. You'll be left with a pile of dry, crunchy, tasteless fibers and no amount of additional pressure cooking is going to put that moisture back into the meat. Earlier, I explained how ingredient size affects the cooking time.

What happens if Instant Pot is too full? ›

Overfilling your Instant Pot can affect the pressure that builds up inside, so you might end up with a mushy meal, or one that doesn't cook properly. Also, an overly-full Instant Pot can lead to a clogged pressure release knob, because food and liquid can get sucked up inside.

How long should it take for an Instant Pot to build pressure? ›

While an Instant Pot cooks food faster than the conventional stovetop or oven, its inner pot undergoes a preheating cycle of 10 to 15 minutes, allowing the unit to pressurize properly before food is added.

How long do you pressure homemade Soup? ›

For weighted gauge pressure canners at 0-1000 feet, process at 10 pounds pressure - 60 minutes for pints and 75 minutes for quarts. At higher altitudes, process at 15 pounds pressure. For dial gauge pressure canners at 0-2000 feet, process at 11 pounds pressure – process 60 minutes for pints and 75 minutes for quarts.

Can you pressure can Soup in an Instant Pot? ›

They acknowledge that instant pots are unsafe for pressure canning (as of 2023). While instant pots can be used for water bath canning, which can preserve high-acid foods like jams, jellies, fruit, and pickles, they cannot be used as a pressure canner to preserve low-acid foods like meat, vegetables, and soups.

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