Only 10 minutes of active prep time for this comforting Chicken and Rice Soup! It’s a breeze to make in the Instant Pot. 241 calories and 5 Weight Watchers Freestyle SP
Chicken and Rice Soup Recipe {Instant Pot}
Chicken and rice soup is one of those meals that I crave when the temperatures drop or when one of the season’s pesky colds or coughs takes hold. No matter how much hand washing and Vitamin C popping we do, at least one virus manages to sweep through the family each year. Homemade soup recipes are the best tonic as soon as the sneezing and sniffling starts.
Out comes the Instant Pot for some chicken rice soup love! And why do I like making this soup in the Instant Pot as opposed to using the stovetop?
Two words…chopping chicken. We all have those tasks in the kitchen that we despise, right? One of mine is cutting up chicken to be sautéed. It’s a completely irrational pet peeve and usually I just suck it up and do it anyways, but if I have an option to avoid it, I’m definitely taking the easy route!
Putting the chicken breasts in whole (then shredding) and having the option to use frozen chicken breasts (more on that in a moment) makes my life a whole lot easier. Plus, it means I can make this soup for dinner, even if I haven’t remembered to defrost some chicken breasts earlier in the day.
How to make chicken and rice soup in the Instant Pot:
- Either frozen or defrosted chicken breasts can be used in this creamy chicken and rice soup. If using frozen chicken, it will take slightly longer for the Instant Pot to come to pressure.
- Start by using the Saute mode on your Instant Pot to soften the onions, carrots and celery. Next, add the garlic and herbs.
- Pour in the chicken broth, and add the chicken breasts and rice before sealing your pressure cooker and setting it to HIGH pressure.
- Once the cooking time is complete, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then use the quick release.
- Shred the chicken, stir in the parsley, season well with salt and pepper, and serve it up!
Do you cook rice before adding to soup?
- Nope! The uncooked rice is added at the same time as the broth and raw chicken breasts.
- This is a huge timesaver, especially since this recipe calls for brown rice. If you had to cook the brown rice ahead of time, that would require an additional 40 minutes or so. Another win for pressure cookers!
- Brown rice and chicken breasts have very similar cooking times when prepared in the Instant Pot, so the timing works out perfectly. I suggest sticking to brown rice in this recipe because white rice would become very overcooked.
- As the brown rice cooks and releases its starches, it produces a wonderfully creamy texture in this soup. Creamy without the cream!
Other healthy Instant Pot soups:
Instant Pot Lentil Soup with Sweet Potatoes {Cookin’ Canuck}
Vegan Instant Pot Mushroom Soup {Cookin’ Canuck}
Instant Pot Lebanese Chicken Soup {The Lemon Bowl}
Chicken Tortilla Soup {Add a Pinch}
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- ½ yellow onion chopped
- 1 large carrot cut into thin half-circles
- 1 large stalk celery diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ¾ teaspoon crushed dried rosemary
- 5 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- ¾ cup brown rice uncooked
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- ¼ cup minced flat-leaf parsley
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to Saute mode. Heat the olive oil, then add the onion, carrot and celery. Saute the vegetables, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the garlic, thyme and rosemary. Cook, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds.
- Pour in the chicken broth and stir to combine.
- Add the chicken breasts, brown rice, salt and pepper to the Instant Pot.
- Put the lid on the Instant Pot, close the steam vent and set to HIGH pressure using the manual setting. Set the time to 13 minutes. It will take the Instant Pot about 15 minutes to reach pressure.
- Once the time is expired, use natural release for 10 minutes, then quick release.
- Transfer the chicken breasts to a cutting board, shred with 2 forks, then transfer back to the Instant Pot. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
judith judge
can you use rotierie chicken and maybe ad dit at the end
Dara
Judith, that should work. I hope you enjoy the soup!
Leah
Delicious and fragrant soup!! I made it with 1 1/2 times most of the ingredients. I added a handful of spinach at the end with the parsley. I cooked mine on high 20 minutes to allow for the extra food. I will definitely make this again maybe as soon as this pot is done! Thank you for making this easy. Love it.
Don, D
Hi Dara. Used Instant Pot for the first time Sunday 30, 2018. Selected Chicken Rice soup . Made few changes, use natural herbs from garden , two carrots two celery . One word to describe recipe ( Awesome) Looking for another great recipe. Thank You
Dara
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Don!
Cruz
I’m new to the instapot. I have a crockpot version. After you add all the ingredients, do you leave it on the sauté setting or switch to the soup setting?
Dara
You switch to the Manual/Pressure (it’s different depending which Instant Pot you have) setting and cook on high pressure.
Barbara
Has anyone tried quinoa instead of rice?
Rachel
I must admit, I didn’t think this would be that great, but it was actually REALLY good. My husband and I both had 2 helpings!
Cynthia R
I received an Instant Pot for my birthday and this was the first recipe I tried. Holy cow, it was amazing! Definitely a keeper.
Dara
You’re going to love your Instant Pot! So glad the recipe was a winner for you.
Zach
I used extra carrots and celery, and added three small yukon gold potatoes. Delicious recipe.
Dara
Thank you, Zach!
Dale
I was just given an insta pot because, for some reason (which I CAN’T BELIEVE WHY) my friend said that it’s collecting dust! Any way her loss is my gain! I just made this soup from frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs. My family is going crazy over it. Thank you so much for sharing.
Dara
That’s great to hear, Dale! I hope you enjoy your new Instant Pot (lucky you!)
Susan Lee
I made the recipe one and a half times the amount, so I could give half to a friend who is feeling under the weather. Just waiting on the 10 minutes natural release now. I’ll post on Instagram, so you can see the end result. (#COOKINCANUCK)
Lisa
Can you use instant brown rice or would that overcook?
Dara
Hi Lisa, I would be concerned that the rice would become quite mushy.
Jennifer W
I’d just cook it up and add to each bowl.
Ceci
Made this today and it is awesome. I did add a chopped, peeled apple (something I learned from Pioneer Woman) and a peeled, chopped jersey sweet potato because I had one. I added a little more broth. Will add this recipe to my favorites.
Dara
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Ceci! I’ll have to try the apple trick next time I make it.
Cameron
This is the best recipe to show off the power of the Instant Pot that I’ve found to date. Frozen chicken and uncooked rice, it just seems to easy to be true. I also made some minor modifications, added some frozen peas and corn, and used a basmati rice and lentil mix that I had handy. Even with my changes, the recipe proved foolproof.
I’ll be making this one again soon.
Stephen Surfaro
Hi Dara, this looks like a great recipe, and I’ve been looking for a way to use brown rice. BTW for some of your readers, I’d recommend using Nishiki Premium Brown rice available on Amazon, but I’m not sure of the cooking time with the stock. If you want to cook the brown rice separately, it is 23 min on high pressure. Nishiki White Rice is also available, but I would recommend cooking it separately (8 min on high). I have found I can’t go back to any other rice – I’ve even stopped ordering Chinese take out as the rice is always of poor quality. I’ll let you know how I do with the Nishiki brown rice and your recipe!
monica
I omitted rosemary and used frozen chicken breast and wild rice as well as brown rice. doubled the recipe and set my instant pot for 18 min. this turned out delicious!! will make again for sure.
Susan Foust
My husband and I enjoyed this soup! The only modification I made was a little more salt. I think adding a Parmesan rind during cooking or heavy cream at the end would be tasty. As is though, we loved it!
MissAinCA
Dearest Dara! Another amazing recipe! Loved the brown rice instead of pasta! Now my go to for a while! I added some dried/reconstituted wild mushrooms and did chicken thighs (my fav). Also some extra veggies. THANK YOU WONDERFUL YOU! This is such a fun keeper!
Rhonda Whittaker
The flavor of this was great! Used frozen chicken breast, and it cooked beautifully. Just not near as much rice as I was expecting. Or what I am used to from my mom’s. I will try again with more broth and more rice. This was my third use of my IP and I’m loving it!!!
Lavinai
This soup was delicious! I made it as written except for leaving out the onion. So good! Do you think I can safely double the recipe? I have a large pressure cooker.
Thank you!
Melissa
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it tonight. I am on a low FODMAP elimination eating plan right now, and this looks as though I can modify it to fit my diet restrictions. (I’ll have to use green onion tops and garlic infused olive oil). Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Kristi
I’m sure it says somewhere but I can’t find it. How long do you cook it if the chicken is frozen?
Thanks!
Dara
Hi Kristi, the cook time that you set the Instant Pot is typically the same, but it will take longer for the Instant Pot to come to pressure. So, the frozen chicken breasts will actually get extra cooking time during that additional pressurization time. Make sure that your chicken breasts are separated, not in a frozen mass, when you put them into the Instant Pot.
Pamela Komons
Delicious! I especially appreciated the fact that you could use frozen chicken breasts. It was quick, easy and extremely tasty! I added a few pinches of dill (just personal preference.) Awesome soup!
Karen
Perfect for this cold night. Recipe is very forgiving! I used precooked, shredded chicken which I tossed in with everything else. I also increased broth and rice by a half cup. Purely personal taste, but next time I think I would cut back a bit on the seasonings…but just because the chicken and vegetables made such a delicious broth. Would also add more carrots and celery. That being said, this was so easy and delicious. Thanks for the recipe?
sean
How much broth would you use for 2 cups of rice? and would it be okay if some of it were water? thanks!
Dara
Hi Sean, I haven’t tested this recipe with 2 cups of rice, so am not certain. That is A LOT of dried rice, so you would most definitely have to increase the broth to maintain the consistency of a soup.
Colleen
Delicious and so easy!!
Toni Gromacki
This is the second Instapot meal I’ve made. This soup was really good tasting and healthy. I added a squeeze of lemon with the fresh parsley at the end! This is a keeper.
Denise
Excellent soup! I like to double the recipe and add a little more water for extra broth. This is my absolute favorite!
Suze
This was excellent! The only thing I changed was I used a store-bought rotisserie chicken.
Stephanie
I made it as written except I used a flavored chicken broth for half of the broth (roasted vegetable and herb)and doubled the recipe. Fit perfectly in my 8 quart and was OUTSTANDING! My husband loves rice soup and he devoured it! He’s super excited to have lots of leftover soup for his lunches the rest of the week. Couldn’t be easier to make and I’m already planning on making this at a cold weather tailgate next fall. I don’t usually leave comments, but I had to commend you on this fantastic recipe!
lynda
I’ve made this soup several times since I first found it a month ago when I was sick. I love it and now that I’m over my cold I still make it and it’s helped me lose weight! I double the carrots and celery , use 2/3 cup brown rice ,and 2 cartons of organic chicken bone broth with the 1 lb organic chicken breast and one onion. I find it’s just the ratio I like. I have it throughout the week for lunch and the rice bulks up a bit so there’s plenty in there. It tastes so savory and flavorful and healthful, I love it. Thank you so much for the recipe!
Jennifer F
Love it and so easy to make !!! Definitely will be making it again !!
Diana
Can I use white rice instead?
Thanks!
Dara
Hi Diana, I haven’t actually tried the recipe with white rice. I would be concerned that the rice would be overcooked because white rice takes less time than brown rice. An alternative would be to cut the chicken into pieces before cooking so that you can reduce the overall cooking time.
Kerri
I used my harvested carrots. Added mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, and more broth.
It was delicious!!!
I wish I added a little more rice.
Evelyn Gold Foster
Easy to make and delicious!
sara
This is an amazing recipe. Super easy and quick. I made it for lunch. Everyone loved it. I used chicken thighs b/c that is what I had and it turned our perfect. Thank you so much for this recipe. I will make it again for sure.
Angela Gaskins
If making soup on stovetop with regular pot instead of insta-pot should ingredients be adjusted?
Dara
Hi Angela, the ingredients should stay the same, with the exception of the broth. Because the soup would be simmering longer on the stovetop in order to cook the rice, you will likely need additional broth.
Angela Gaskins
Thank you Dara for responding !
Jennifer
Wow- I was hoping this would taste amazing but it seemed too easy! Toss frozen chicken and uncooked rice into the insta pot…added lemon juice as I love lemon. It was so delicious.
Tracie
THIS.WAS.AWESOME!!! I was starving after work and almost left to get a burger, but pushed through to eat a healthier meal. In the time it took me to wash the dishes and clean up from the prep my meal was finished. I thought I thawed out chicken breasts but they were boneless skinless thighs, even so they were perfect and easily fell apart on their own. The only change I would add next time is to include more rice for my liking. This soup is my new winter staple!
Joanne
The soup was delicious! I do have a question though. I used regular white rice and cut up the chicken breast and pressure cooked for less time (I did it for only 9 minutes ) like you said to do. Everything was fine, but after the natural and fast release when I turned over the lid of my instant pot all the seasonings seemed to have blown up and gathered around the steam vent and anti-block shield!! Does anyone have a clue why that happened?? I’m new to the instant pot world, obviously but I was a little afraid that it could’ve caused a venting problem. Thank you in advance for advice:)
Dara
Hmm, I’ve never had that happen. Perhaps check that the sealing ring is firmly in place?
Jessica
My rice was mush
Dara
Hmm, I’ve never had that issue. Did you use brown rice (regular, not instant/quick cooking)?
Laura
This is SO GOOD! It’s really easy too. I added a bit more celery, carrot and broth like other people commented. Will definitely make this again. Thank you for sharing!
Rosemary Santero
How well dies the soup freeze for leftovers
Dara
I’ve had great success with freezing this. But I recommend sticking with the brown rice (i.e., don’t substitute with white rice) as it holds up better when frozen.
Annie
Delicious and easy to make! Thank you so much.
Diane Gagnon
My husband helps me make this at least once a week. We are both big fans of this delicious soup. Our only modification is to cube boneless chicken breasts rather than shred chicken as the recipe suggests. Thank you for sharing this easy comfort food.
Dara
I’m so glad to hear that, Diane!
Jenn
Very good! I did end up adding double the amount of stock because the rice soaked so much of it up. Whole family loved it!
Tonya
My family loves this soup! It’s a big hit and doesn’t last very long! Very hearty.
Amanda
Hi, I am wondering how I can alternate this recipe using chicken thighs instead of chicken breast. Is this possible?? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Dara
Hi Amanda, chicken thighs should work well. Be sure to use skinless thighs. You’ll get slightly more tender meat if you use bone-in thighs (because of the cooking time needed for the rice), but you should still be able to get away with boneless (I haven’t tried it myself, so just guessing). If using bone-in thighs, use more than 1 pound to account for the weight of the bones so that you end up with enough meat. I hope that helps.
Natasha
Would it be ok to use already diced chicken breast(uncooked) instead of whole breast? Wasn’t sure if the cooking time because of the rice would make the chicken cube overcooked. Would there be any adjustments to time if that’s ok? Thank you!
Dara
Hi Natasha, I have never tried it that way, but would be worried that the chicken would dry out. However, if you reduced the cooking time, the rice wouldn’t be cooked through properly.
Colleen Thompson
Wonderful, flavorful, healthy recipe. I used a 1.5 lb. fresh bone-in chicken breast (after removing the skin), so I increased the cooking time to 15 minutes, and it was perfect. Will definitely make again, and I believe I’ll stick with a skinless bone-in breast or possibly thighs for this.