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
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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.
Tonya
My family loves this soup! It's a big hit and doesn't last very long! Very hearty.
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!
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!
Annie
Delicious and easy to make! Thank you so much.
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.
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!
Jessica
My rice was mush
Dara
Hmm, I've never had that issue. Did you use brown rice (regular, not instant/quick cooking)?
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?
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!
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.