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Chicken Tamale Soup with Avocado and Cilantro with limes — *This post contains links that pay me a small commission at no extra cost to you*.

It’s here! It’s here! It’s finally cooling off in Charleston! To celebrate, I’m putting together a twist on the classic Chicken and Dumpling Soup and morphing it into Chicken Tamale Dumpling Soup. Let’s get this party started.

Chicken Tamale Soup with Avocado and Cilantro

Tamales are hands down my favorite Mexican dish and legendary for taking a long time to make. But don’t worry, if you’re a tamale lover like me, you won’t be believe how easy this soup is to make. You can simmer this all day long in a slow cooker, but I prefer the pressure cooker (Instant Pot) method below.

Chicken Tamale Soup with Avocado and Cilantro with a spoon

This is the perfect soup to warm up on a cold night, serve at a game day party, or fill your kiddos bellies with before the sugar rush sets in on Halloween. Ya can’t go wrong with Chicken Tamale Dumpling Soup. Ya just can’t.

Bonus: for all you gluten free foodies out there, here is a gluten free option for dumpling soup! Don’t forget if you’re having trouble with any diet or nutrition issues, I offer nutrition and health coaching! You can schedule a free 15 minute consultation here.

Enjoy, friends!

Chicken Tamale Dumpling Soup

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 6 1x

Ingredients

Scale

4 tbsp. oil, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast
2 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
salt/pepper to taste
2 tbsp. chiles en adobo (chipotle peppers), minced
1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes (15 oz. can)
6 cups chicken broth, divided
1 cup masa harina
1/2 cup shredded cheese
Limes, sour cream, avocado, cilantro, extra cheese, etc. for topping

Instructions

Using saute function on multiple purpose cooker (Instant Pot), saute onion, garlic in 1 tbsp. oil until translucent and aromatic. Add chicken breasts on top. Season with with chili powder, cumin, oregano, and salt/pepper.
Add in chili en adobo, canned tomatoes, and 5 1/2 cups of chicken broth. Put lid on multicooker and set to high pressure for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix together masa harina, shredded cheese, 1/2 cup broth, and 3 tbsp. oil in a mixing bowl until combined.
Once multicooker is completed, release pressure manually for quick release. Remove chicken breast and shred with two forks, add back to soup. Switch to saute function. Once soup is boiling, drop about spoonfuls of (about 1 tablespoon each) of masa mixture into the boiling soup. Once all dumplings are in the soup, turn off saute function and allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes or until a toothpick is inserted into the dumpling comes out clean.
Serve with toppings.