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}
Printable Recipe
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
- ½ 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.
David Michael Lepine
Will this also work with drumsticks? i have liek 6 of them marinated in chicken stock and i'd love to use them.. reminds me of my mother
Dara
Hi David, I haven't tested this recipe using chicken drumsticks, or any chicken on the bone. I'd imagine it would be fine, but I recommend removing the skin from the drumsticks first.
Johnna
I am planning on putting the chicken breast and chopped veggies in a freezer bag and storing in the freezer, and then dumping into instant pot and adding the rice, broth, seasonings. If I do this, do I need to increase cooking time? The recipe mentions we can use frozen chicken, but do I need increase the instant pot pressure time from 13 minutes?
Dara
Hi Johnna, when using frozen chicken breasts, you don't need to increase the cook time. However, it will take longer for the Instant Pot to come to pressure. I haven't tried skipping the sauté step for the veggies, but I'd imagine it will still turn out okay. Hope you enjoy the soup!
Mary
Excellent, easy, and a hit with everyone!
Sylvana Marcello
Hi, looks delicious! I thought I had an Instapot but it's an Aroma rice cooker/steamer. Can I use this?
Dara
Hi Sylvana, from what I can see when I google that appliance, the Aroma rice cooker is solely a rice cooker, not a pressure cooker. This recipe uses the pressure cooker function of the Instant Pot.
Carin
Can wild rice be used instead of brown rice? Would it change the cooking time?
Dara
Hi Carin, wild rice takes longer to cook than brown rice - about 30 minutes in an Instant Pot. Two options: 1) You could cook the wild rice ahead of time, set it aside, then stir it into the finished soup. 2) You could pressure cook the vegetables, broth and wild rice for about 18 minutes, manually release the pressure, then add the chicken and cook for the remaining 12 minutes. Please note I have not tested the second option, so the times are estimates. In that method, you would need to add extra broth because of the longer cooking time. Probably 1 cup or so. I hope that helps!
Amanda Bell
Oh my word! This soup was phenomenal! I was worried about the brown rice but it cooks perfectly. Used boneless-skinless thighs and added a 1.5 cup extra bone broth at the end when I saw how thick it was. Which is a good thing! I will double next time so I have some to freeze. My recommendation… squeeze a little lemon in when serving!
Maryam
Can I use white rice?
Dara
White rice takes significantly less time to cook in comparison to brown rice. So yes, you could use white rice, but it would be quite mushy by the end of the 12-minute cooking time (necessary for the chicken). If you prefer to use white rice, I suggest cooking it separately on the stovetop, then stirring it into the finished soup. I hope that helps!
Christina
Hi, I’m new to instant pot! I was wondering do you add raw chicken and uncooked rice? Thanks!
Dara
That's correct. I hope you enjoy it.
Natalie
If I double the recipe, so I need to adjust cook time?
Dara
The cook time would be the same, but it will take longer for the Instant Pot to come to pressure. Be sure not to overfill the Instant Pot. When cooking something with so much liquid, I typically fill it to a bit less than the "Fill" line.
Anne
My family absolutely loves this soup! I make it often! I make the recipe just as it's written unless I don't have fresh garlic, then I use minced garlic in a jar. If I'm pressed for time, I use bagged shredded carrots. Still comes out great! This is a very easy and delicious recipe!
Alanna Hart
Could you double this in an 8 qt? Triple it? I want to make as much as I possibly can
Dara
Hi Alanna, I have double this recipe without any issue, but have never tripled. You want to make sure to follow the MAX line in the liner of the Instant Pot. Because the soup contains rice, which expands when cooked, I suggest staying below the MAX line.
Lynda
This is my go to recipe for chicken soup on the internet. I've made it for sick relatives and they were always impressed. It's so easy compared to other recipes and the flavor turns out great.
I've probably made this recipe about 20 times now and I'm starting to deviate with proportions of vegetables, adding ingredients such as mushrooms and ginger root, and other minor mods to taste to change it up for myself. Still a GREAT recipe!
Dara
That's great, Linda! There's nothing better a good soup recipe that can hold up to variations. If my family like mushrooms, I'd definitely be adding those too. 🙂