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 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 says
Sep 28, 2018 at 5:29 amcan you use rotierie chicken and maybe ad dit at the end
Dara says
Oct 5, 2018 at 11:31 amJudith, that should work. I hope you enjoy the soup!
Don, D says
Oct 2, 2018 at 9:44 amHi 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 says
Oct 5, 2018 at 11:28 amI’m so glad you enjoyed it, Don!
Rachel says
Oct 3, 2018 at 11:36 pmI 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 says
Oct 10, 2018 at 12:57 pmI received an Instant Pot for my birthday and this was the first recipe I tried. Holy cow, it was amazing! Definitely a keeper.
Dara says
Oct 10, 2018 at 12:59 pmYou’re going to love your Instant Pot! So glad the recipe was a winner for you.
Dale says
Nov 4, 2018 at 3:20 pmI 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 says
Nov 14, 2018 at 12:43 pmThat’s great to hear, Dale! I hope you enjoy your new Instant Pot (lucky you!)
Lisa says
Nov 6, 2018 at 7:30 amCan you use instant brown rice or would that overcook?
Dara says
Nov 14, 2018 at 12:40 pmHi Lisa, I would be concerned that the rice would become quite mushy.
Ceci says
Nov 9, 2018 at 12:53 pmMade 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 says
Nov 14, 2018 at 12:39 pmI’m so glad you enjoyed it, Ceci! I’ll have to try the apple trick next time I make it.
Cameron says
Nov 21, 2018 at 3:55 pmThis 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 says
Dec 6, 2018 at 3:07 pmHi 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 says
Dec 27, 2018 at 4:59 pmI 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 says
Dec 29, 2018 at 5:12 pmMy 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 says
Jan 7, 2019 at 10:20 pmDearest 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 says
Jan 21, 2019 at 11:47 amThe 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 says
Jan 30, 2019 at 4:45 pmThis 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 says
Feb 28, 2019 at 2:32 pmThis 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 says
Mar 26, 2019 at 9:14 amI’m sure it says somewhere but I can’t find it. How long do you cook it if the chicken is frozen?
Thanks!
Dara says
Mar 26, 2019 at 5:35 pmHi 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.