Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup (+ stovetop method)

Name: Instant Pot Chicken Rice Soup
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 5
Ingredients: 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 cup sliced celery; 1 cup sliced carrots; 1/2 cup finely diced onion; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1 tablespoon dried parsley; 1 tablespoon dried thyme; 1/2 tsp salt; 1/4 tsp pepper; 2 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into small chunks (for stovetop method use 2 cups of whole cooked rotisserie chicken, pulled from the bone, shredded or cut into small pieces or chunks); 1 1/2 cups wild rice blend (for stovetop method, prepare rice ahead of time); 6 cups organic chicken broth; 1 bay leaf

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This delicious, simple, and healthy instant pot chicken rice and soup recipe is warming, nutritious, and incredibly easy to make in the instant pot. This easy chicken and rice soup is gluten-free, dairy-free, and high in protein with a super fast clean up too!

Easy Chicken and Rice Soup in the Instant Pot!

With cooler weather at our doorstep, it’s the perfect time for a comfort-food recipe. This family loved chicken and rice soup is an older recipe on the blog but I’m bringing in fresh new photos and a new way to make this delicious healthy soup recipe… in the instant pot!

This is actually probably the easiest chicken soup recipe you’ll ever make…it’s seriously foolproof, making it one of our favorite recipes. Not only is it minimal in ingredients, but there are also only 2 steps to follow and you only need one tool, the instant pot.

You can also try the stovetop method (listed in the recipe instructions ) which is also very quick and easy!

Can you cook rice and meat at the same time in an instant pot?

How to cook rice in an instant pot?

Yes! When it comes to making this chicken and rice soup recipe in the instant pot, you throw both raw chicken and uncooked rice in the instant pot at the same time. Both cook to perfection with the right amount of liquid so you do not need to cook the chicken or the rice separately ahead of time.

If you are making another dish with meat and rice, you can cook them together in the instant pot so long as you have enough liquid to cook the rice. You will have to work with the usual rice: liquid ratio, then add an additional amount of liquid to ensure that the rice and meat do not stick to the bottom and burn.

Ingredients

For this IP chicken and rice soup, you will only need a handful of ingredients to make the chicken and rice soup and the whole recipe comes together in less than 30-minutes! That’s pretty amazing for a soup that tastes like grandma made it in her little outdated kitchen with a dash of love and kindness and a simmer on the stove for hours.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Skinless, boneless chicken breasts- skinless chicken thighs can also be used or pre cooked chicken if it’s on hand already.
Wild rice blend
Chicken broth- also interchangeable with chicken stock
Garlic
Celery
Carrots
Onion
Olive oil
Dried parsley and thyme- you can use fresh parsley for garnish if desired.
Bay leaf
Salt and pepper

The chicken and rice soup has a traditional chicken noodle soup flavour, but sans the noodles and with the addition of wild rice, loaded with fibre, vitamins, minerals and healthy complex carbohydrates.

It also has the perfect balance of chicken, veggies, and rice (no skimping on the protein here), giving this recipe a really nice nutritional profile that helps to keep you full and satisfied making you feel like you’ve really had a good meal, not just a little bowl of watery soup.

How do you keep chicken rice soup from getting mushy?

One issue that can occur with an instant pot chicken and rice soup is that the rice ends up getting mushy. Nobody likes mushy rice soup.

My solution is to two parts:

Use a wild rice blend instead of white rice. White rice is not only not as healthy but also cooks much faster and can get overcooked and mushy while the chicken still needs time in the instant pot. The combination of a wild rice blend or brown rice is much better because they both take longer to cook and match more evenly with the chicken so that everything has a good texture and consistency. No mushy mushy.
Release steam immediately after cooking time finishes (vs. waiting for the instant pot to de-pressurize on its own). This way you won’t have the soup sitting in the hot instant pot for additional time past cooking which could make the rice end up mushy.

Keto Chicken Soup Instant Pot

White rice is not Keto and most rice isn’t keto as well. A good way to make this chicken and rice soup more keto-friendly is to use cauliflower rice. You can add it to the soup after it has been cooked, stirring while the soup is still super hot to help thaw and cook the cauliflower rice to perfection and making the soup ready to eat a little faster in the process as it will cool down a bit.

How To Make Chicken Soup in Instant Pot

1. Set the instant pot to “SAUTE”, then press the sauté button again to select the “MORE” setting and adjust the heat to “HIGH”.

a white bowl pouring carrots, celery, onion, and garlic into an instant pot

image of the inside of an instant pot with carrots, celery, and onion

2. ADD in the add onion, add garlic, oil, celery, diced carrots, thyme, parsley, salt, and freshly ground black pepper to the instant pot and SAUTE, stirring often for 5 minutes.

3. ADD in the cut chicken breast and SAUTE for another 5 minutes, until the chicken begins to slightly brown on the outsides (it does not need to be cooked through). Note that you could also just add in some cooked leftover chicken instead.

4. POUR in the chicken broth or chicken stock and add rice (uncooked) then STIR and place the lid on the instant pot and toggle the top valve to “SEALING”

5. Press the “PRESSURE COOK” setting and set to “NORMAL” volume and “HIGH” pressure and set to“20 MINUTES”, then wait for it to start (the instant pot will take about 15 minutes to pressurize).

6. Once the cooking time is complete, with a knife or long spoon carefully toggle the top valve to “VENTING” to release the steam.

7. Remove bay leaf and SERVE hot soup in bowls with a side of crusty bread and enjoy!

Serve your Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup warm with a side of crusty gluten-free bread (or gluten-full, whatever works for you), this chicken soup is sure to please even the pickiest of eaters.

Freezing note – This chicken soup freezes wonderfully in an airtight container and makes it a great ‘batch’ recipe for meal prep for the entire family. You can even add more chicken broth to stretch it out a little further. Your whole family is going to love this chicken and rice soup recipe!

FAQs

What Does an Instant Pot Do?

An Instant Pot is a great appliance used for pressurized cooking. By sealing foods and liquids in a pot you can cook foods under high pressure for less time than cooking them in the oven. This is great for a faster cooking method and the results are almost always super yummy.

How Long to Cook Chicken Soup in Instant Pot

Cooking the chicken and rice soup will take about an hour in total. This includes the cook time plus the time used to have the pot go up to pressure and come down from pressure. The pot takes about 15 minutes to reach pressure before the actual cooking time starts and then once the cook time has elapsed it will depressurize. You want the pot to release a lot of the pressure on its own simply because the liquid will splatter out of the vent if you do not. this means added time where the soup sits undisturbed.

How to Reheat Soup in Instant Pot

To reheat this chicken and rice soup in your instant pot I would recommend turning the instant pot to saute mode and adding your soup to the pot. Let it cook for several minutes while stirring the soup around until fully heated. then serve as desired.

How to Clean Instant Pot

Cleaning your instant pot is pretty simple. The inside metal liner comes out and can be scrubbed and washed just like any bowl or pot. The liner is also dish washer safe.

How to Clean Instant Pot Lid

Handwash the lid in hot soapy water with a soft sponge. If you allow your meals and dishes to naturally depressurize then the mess at the top of the lid is more than likely just water condensation. When you’ve finished washing it well, rinse and then dry with a clean towel.

If you are looking for another delicious comfort food chicken recipe you need to check out this Coq au Vin from The Endless Meal… or try swap the chicken for Turkey and make this incredible Homemade Turkey Soup!

Instant Pot Chicken Rice Soup

Yield: 5-6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

This delicious instant pot chicken rice soup is full of protein, fibre, vitamins, and minerals. It takes only 40 minutes to make and is so comforting!

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into small chunks (for stovetop method use 2 cups of whole cooked rotisserie chicken, pulled from the bone, shredded or cut into small pieces or chunks)
1 1/2 cups wild rice blend (for stovetop method, prepare rice ahead of time)
6 cups organic chicken broth
1 bay leaf

Instructions

Instant Pot Method:

1. Set the instant pot to "SAUTE", then press the sauté button again to select the "MORE" setting and adjust the heat to "HIGH".
ADD in the oil, celery, carrots, onion, garlic, thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper to the instant pot and SAUTE, stirring often for 5 minutes.
ADD in the chicken breast and SAUTE for another 5 minutes, until the chicken begins to slightly brown on the outsides (it does not need to be cooked through).
POUR in the broth and uncooked rice then STIR and place the lid on the instant pot and toggle the top valve to "SEALING"
Press the "PRESSURE COOK" setting and set to "NORMAL" volume and "HIGH" pressure and set to "20 MINUTES", then wait for it to start (the instant pot will take about 15 minutes to pressurize).
Once the cooking time is complete, with a knife or long spoon carefully toggle the top valve to "VENTING" to release the steam.
Remove bay leaf and SERVE hot soup in bowls with a side of crusty bread and enjoy!

Stovetop Method:

Prepare the wild rice ahead of time so it is already cooked.
Heat a large pot over medium heat and add in the olive oil.
Add the garlic, celery, carrots, onion, parsley, thyme, and salt/pepper, and cook until the onions are translucent or softened.
Add in the chicken broth and bay leaf and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and add in the cooked chopped/shredded chicken and cooked wild rice.
Simmer on low for 10-15 minutes.
Remove bay leaf and serve.

Notes

*For the stovetop method: use whole rotisserie chicken, I recommend organic, and lightly seasoned. You can typically find these chickens in the hot meal or deli section at your local grocery store. If you are not able to find a whole cooked chicken, simply bake chicken breasts or thighs (or both) and shred or chop for the soup.

*Soup can be stored in the fridge for up to 5-days or frozen for up to 4 weeks.