I haven’t been a proud Instant Pot user for long – in fact, just since Black Friday to be exact – but over the ensuing months it’s become one of my best and most-used kitchen tools. In fact, I dare say I use the Instant Pot at least three to four times per week! For an entrée, a side, even a breakfast – it gets the job done every single time.
The beauty of the Instant Pot is that it’s set-and-forget – but not for long, because the truth of the matter is the cooking process doesn’t take very long. Now, in a lot of the Instant Pot materials – let’s lovingly call them propaganda – it SOUNDS like one can have one’s dinner made in five minutes. And that’s true … sort of. While the Instant Pot and other pressure cooker of its ilk do sport incredibly fast cooking times, there’s also the little matter of coming to pressure. Depending on what’s being cooked, that takes time – sometimes five minutes, sometimes 15 or so.
But where the Instant Pot really shines is its ability to cook with zero supervision. In fact, it would be considerably detrimental to one’s health TO engage in hands-on supervision with a highly pressured appliance! Once you lock the lid and turn it on, it requires nothing else from you until it beeps its little finishing beep, freeing you to do other tasks (or just veg out in front of the TV, I won’t judge).
But put all my proselytizing on the shelf for a moment or two. We’re here to talk about taco soup.
Now, my recipe for taco soup is not new on these pages, so let me just get that out of the way quick and fast. But as I look back, I realize I’ve never been all that clear in terms of how it’s produced. And instead of cooking this on the stovetop, stirring and stirring and carrying on, OR waiting for it to slow-cook all day in the Crock-Pot (which I still adore, mind you, and use often), the Instant Pot hurries everything up while sacrificing none of the flavor. A win-win, any day of the week.
What you’ll need:
1 tsp. onion powder
1 bag of vegetarian chik’n strips
1 14.5-ounce can black beans
1 14.5-ounce can chili beans
1 14.5-ounce can corn
4 cups vegetable broth
1 packet taco seasoning
1 10-ounce can tomatoes and green chilies (Rotel or similar)
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
Here’s where it gets good, y’all.
Put all of the aforementioned ingredients into your pressure cooker, lock the lid, and set the valve to Sealed. Set the cooker to High pressure for 8 minutes and hit Start.
Once the cooking time has elapsed, allow the pressure to release naturally, or quick-release after another 10 minutes.
Ladle the soup into your favorite bowls, grab some tortilla chips for dipping, and chow down!
:)