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.
Colleen
Delicious and so easy!!
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.
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?
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!
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.
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.
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!
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!!!
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!
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!