Instant Pot Fajita Soup (low carb)

This low carb Instant Pot fajita soup is full of chicken, steak and veggies all in a savory and spicy broth. It’s easy to make in the Instant pot but you can make it on the stove or slow cooker as well. Best of all, each serving has 4.6 grams net carbs and 33.4 grams of protein so it’s great for those on a keto diet!

You might also like my go to low carb taco soup!

I love soup! I have over 50 soup recipes on this blog and many are low carb. My husband says that I am the best soup maker he knows. Of course he doesn’t know many soup makers so…. 🙂 Anyway this easy Instant Pot fajita soup was a very filling and deliciously spicy low carb soup and you can make it on the stove as well.

I recently made this again because the post is one of my older recipes and it was so delicious! The broth is very savory and it’s loaded with chicken, beef, onions and bell peppers. You can top it with all kinds of things like cheddar cheese, sour cream, jalapeños, cilantro etc. However it tastes great plain as well. And what I love is that it’s not only low carb but it’s a high protein soup as well with 30 grams per serving!

Recipe ingredients and substitutions.

The simple ingredients for this steak and chicken fajita soup are boneless, skinless chicken breast, beef strips, onions, bell peppers, Better than Bouillon, tomato paste, olive oil, salt, chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, paprika and fresh garlic.

• chicken breast & sirloin steak – I used both chicken and beef because that is how I like my fajitas. However you can use just one of the other if you want. You can also add shrimp if you want. I would add it after you take off the lid at the end and since the soup will be boiling you can just cook it for a few minutes in the soup and it should be done. I used boneless chicken breast and a sirloin steak but you can use chicken thighs or any kind of beef you want just make sure to cut it into thin strips.
• Better than Bouillon – I love this product and I used the chicken base today. It adds SO much flavor to soups. However you can substitute the Better than Bouillon and water with just chicken broth or chicken stock. You could also use beef broth or stock. You can also use regular bouillon cubes if you have them on hand.
• tomato paste – I used this to add a bit of sweetness to balance all the spices and to add more tomato flavor. I would not substitute this if you can but you could add a can of diced tomatoes instead but account for the liquid in the can toward the water amount.
• onions and peppers – These are the main vegetables in most fajitas I eat. You can use any kind of peppers you want – even poblano peppers, banana peppers, etc. If you want to use other veggies like mushrooms you can but you might want to account for the carbs if you are on a low carb diet.
• fresh garlic and spices – I like fresh garlic in soup but if you don’t have any you can add a bit more garlic powder. I would keep the other spices though as that accounts for the Mexican flavors. You could also try taco seasoning or fajitas seasoning packs if you want though I have not tried it. You can eliminate the cayenne if you don’t like heat or too much spiciness. You could also substitute with hot pepper flakes if you want.

Because we are keeping the carbs down ther is no corn nor black beans or any beans really. If you don’t care about carbs you can use those too if you want.

How to make fajita soup in the Instant Pot.

Step 1: First thing you want to do is mix your spice blend in a small bowl. You are going to use half when you brown the meat and the other half in the soup.

Step 2: So press the saute button and adjust the temperature on high. Add the olive oil and when it’s hot, add the chicken and beef strips. Sprinkle half of the spices on top mix well and when the meat has browned a bit hit the cancel button.

Step 3: Add in the chopped vegetables. Then mix together the broth, Better than Bouillon, tomato paste, crushed garlic and the rest of the spice mix.

Pour over the vegetables and secure the lid. Manually cook for 10 minutes and do a quick release of the pressure valve. Take off the lid and let cool a few minutes before serving.

Store leftovers in an air tight container. I like to keep portions in the freezer for whenever I want a quick low carb lunch. Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.

How to serve this soup.

You can eat this a number of ways. Some things to try are shredded cheddar cheese or a Mexican cheese blend, keto tortilla strips (use keto tortillas and check out this post), chopped green onions, chopped red onions, pickled jalapenos or fresh jalapenos, sour cream, chopped avocados, a squeeze of lime, fresh cilantro, etc. However you can eat it without toppings too.

Below you can see how I like it. Put sour cream, fresh jalapeno slices and a sprinkle fresh cilantro on top. If you don’t care about carbs you can add some cooked white rice or brown rice. Or crush some tortilla chips on top.

How to make this fajita soup on the stove.

You don’t need an Instant Pot or pressure cooker to make this soup. To make it on the stove, first add your oil to a large soup pot. When it’s hot, add the sliced meats, onions, peppers and spices.

Saute until the meat starts to brown. Then mix the water, tomato paste, Better than bouillon together and pour into the pot. Bring to a boil and the simmer for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and the meats are cooked through.

If you want to make this in the slow cooker, you can just add everything to the slow cooker and cook on high for 4-6 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. Just cook until the meats are cooked through and the veggies are tender.

Other low carb soup recipe to try.

I love soup especially for lunch so I usually make a big batch and freeze to have on hand. Here are a few of my favorites of my low carb soup recipes that I think you will love.

• low calorie, low carb vegetable
• keto lasagna soup
• low carb chicken pot pie
• keto pumpkin sausage and kale
• keto broccoli and cheese
• low carb jambalaya

I hope you and your family love this low carb high protein fajita soup as much as we did. I freeze a few portions for next week’s lunch. And since it’s cold here we will definitely be eating them soon. Enjoy.

The nutrition facts for serving without toppings is 295 calories / 14.9g fat / 6.2g carbs / 1.6g fiber / 33.4g protein = 4.6g net carbs

You might also like this keto taco soup from my friend Mira so go check it out!