Instant Pot Chicken Rice Soup
This recipe for Instant Pot Chicken Rice Soup is so comforting and nutritious. This one-pot meal is ready in just over 30 minutes and is naturally gluten-free.
There’s just nothing like a warm bowl of chicken rice soup on a cold day. This easy recipe is perfect for a quick lunch or dinner, and will surely warm you up from the inside out.
Why You Need This Recipe
- With lots of vegetables and other anti-inflammatory ingredients, chicken soup is perfect for those times of the year when you are feeling under the weather.
- A generous amount of fresh lemon juice squeezed into in this Instant Pot chicken soup just before serving even provides for a decent amount of vitamin C.
- This Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup recipe is perfect for meal prepping because it’s easily re-heatable and can even be frozen to serve in the future.
- For my friends on a gluten-free and dairy-free diet, this soup hits the spot. The starch from the rice makes the soup thick and creamy with absolutely no gluten or dairy.
Key Ingredients
Chicken tenders or boneless, skinless chicken breasts are key to this recipe. Cut them into bite-sized pieces so they cook in the same time as the rice. You can also use chicken thighs if you like.
Chicken broth makes the base of this Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup and is also nourishing and flavorful. I usually use a low-sodium or reduced-sodium broth to help keep the soup from getting too salty (you can always add more salt if necessary). You can also use chicken stock.
Long-grain white rice gets cooked perfectly and is tender with a nice texture. I used basmati rice. You can also use other types of rice including Jasmine white rice, but don’t use brown rice. See my related recipe for Instant Pot Basmati Rice.
Celery, carrots, and onion are classic ingredients for chicken soup. They are also known as “aromatics” and add flavor, fiber, and nutrition to the soup.
Feel free to add additional ingredients such as a bay leaf, garlic powder, or fresh herbs like rosemary. You’ll also want to add some salt and pepper to taste when the soup is ready to serve.
Please see the recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredients and measurements.
Recipe Steps
Sometimes the simplest ingredients are all you need to have a hearty soup. Let me show you how easy it is to make this delicious chicken soup recipe.
Recipe Steps
Step One
Chop all of your vegetables and rinse your rice. Chop the chicken into small pieces, about 1-inch in length. Add all of your ingredients to a 6-quart or 8-quart Instant Pot.
If you’re new to using the electric pressure cooker, be sure to read my guide on how to use the Instant Pot Duo.
Step Two
Lock on the lid and set the cook time to 7 minutes at high pressure. This will be enough time to cook the chicken through, but not overcook the rice.
Please see the recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredients and measurements.
Step Three
When the cooking time is up, let the pressure come down naturally for about 5 minutes. Then, use the quick release to get rid of any remaining pressure.
Carefully remove the lid and stir in the fresh lemon juice.
I hope your family loves this comforting soup as much as mine does!
Serve hot. Feel free to garnish with some chopped fresh parsley and black pepper.
I think you’re really going to love how hearty, creamy, and flavorful this chicken soup is. The fresh lemon flavor really jumps out and adds so much brightness.
Recipe Tips & Substitutions
- I recommend cutting your boneless skinless chicken breast into small pieces, at the most 1/2-inches in length. That’s because we don’t want to overcook the rice, but we want to make sure the chicken gets cooked through.
- I used white basmati rice for this recipe, I don’t recommend a short-grain variety for this particular recipe as it might get overcooked and too sticky. You’ll also need to rinse the rice before you add it to the pot.
- Store any leftovers in a tightly sealed airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days. Reheat before serving. Or, you can freeze the soup for up to 2 months in a tightly sealed container.
- The total cooking time includes 10 minutes for the pot to come up to pressure and a 5 minute natural release.
- STOVETOP DIRECTIONS: In a large lidded pot over medium heat, combine the raw chicken, onion, carrots, celery, thyme, salt, pepper, rice, chicken broth, and water. Bring the mixture up to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cover the pot. Let it cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the rice is cooked and the chicken is cooked through. Serve hot.
Recipe FAQs
No, because you would have to increase the cooking time so much that the chicken will get overcooked. Don’t use a wild rice blend either for the same reason. It’s best to use a long-grain white rice for this recipe.
Yes, this soup freezes really well for up to 2 months. Defrost and re-heat before serving.
Yes, you can. You might also like my recipe for Instant Pot Pork Chops and Rice.
You can sauté the veggies in olive oil if you like, but I skipped this step in order to save time.
More Instant Pot Soup Recipes You Might Like
- Instant Pot Potato Soup
- Instant Pot Red Lentil Dal
- Instant Pot Turkey & Sweet Potato Chili
- Instant Pot Vegetable Soup
- Instant Pot Egg Drop Soup
- Instant Pot Vegetable Beef Soup
- Instant Pot 15-Bean Soup
- Instant Pot Split Pea Soup
Also, if you’re looking for more easy Instant Pot recipes, then don’t miss my round-ups of the best Instant Pot Healthy Soup recipes, the best Instant Pot side dishes, and the best Instant Pot Chicken Recipes.
Don’t Miss These Instant Pot Resources
Instant Pot Chicken Rice Soup (One-Pot Meal)
This recipe for Instant Pot Chicken Rice Soup is so comforting and nutritious. This one-pot meal is ready in just over 30 minutes and is naturally gluten-free.
- Total Time: 32 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
- 1.25 pounds chicken tenders or boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 6 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried or fresh thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 cup white basmati rice, rinsed well in a fine-mesh sieve
- 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 2 lemons, juiced
Instructions
- In the base of a 6-quart or 8-quart Instant Pot, combine the chicken, onion, carrots, celery, thyme, salt, pepper, rice, chicken broth, and water.
- Lock on the lid and set the time to 7 minutes on high pressure.
- Once the cooking time is complete, let the pressure come down naturally for 5 minutes. Quick release the remaining pressure and carefully remove the lid.
- Stir in the lemon juice and serve immediately.
Equipment
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Notes
- Store any leftovers in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat before serving.
- Or, you can freeze the soup for up to 2 months in a tightly sealed container.
- Use a long-grain white rice for this recipe, as opposed to a short-grain rice.
- The total cooking time includes 10 minutes for the pot to come up to pressure and a 5 minute natural release.
- STOVETOP DIRECTIONS: In a large lidded pot over medium heat, combine the chicken, onion, carrots, celery, thyme, salt, pepper, rice, chicken broth, and water. Bring the mixture up to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, and cover the pot. Let it cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the rice is cooked and the chicken is cooked through. Serve hot.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Pressure cooker
- Cuisine: Healthy
- Diet: Gluten Free
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 203
- Sugar: 6.9 g
- Sodium: 752.8 mg
- Fat: 1.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 24.5 g
- Fiber: 3.3 g
- Protein: 22.7 g
- Cholesterol: 45.8 mg
Keywords: instant pot chicken soup, instant pot chicken and rice, chicken and rice soup
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About the Author: Carrie Forrest is the author of the best-selling Instant Pot-authorized cookbook, The Healthy Meal Prep Instant Pot Cookbook. She has a master’s degree in public health with a specialty in nutrition and receives nearly 10 million annual visitors to her site. Send Carrie a message through her contact form.
Love this soup! It came out perfect! My husband was stunned we had a pot of soup in just over 7 minutes. Everything cooked beautifully! It smells like heaven in here – I made it about an hour ago!
★★★★★
Awesome, so glad it turned out well for you!
I made this and I had the same problem after the 5 mins natural release, did the quick release and liquid just oozed out of it. I have a 6 quart probably too much liquid for it. And the rice was mushy like congee which I don’t mind but I was expecting it to be a rice soup. The next time I make this I will precook the rice separately and add it after the soup is done. Other than that it’s a good recipe and very tasty.
Super tasty and easy! I added extra broth because I wanted it more brothy. I used jasmine rice and it was great. Didn’t add chicken to cook but added some diced rotisserie chicken after pressure release. Oh and I added a bay leaf. The thyme is great in this, as is the lemon! Great comfort food. Thanks for an easy recipe.
★★★★★
You are so welcome, thanks for sharing your experience and changes!
I just made this today and it came out great. I substituted vegetable bouillon for the water, because I wanted to get more vitamins in (it’s hard to get enough vegetables into the husband!!). I overcooked it a little, partly because I need to eat my rice really well-cooked, so the texture was closer to a risotto than a soup, but that’s a good thing around here. I also had some already cooked chicken tenders in the freezer, so cooked the soup without the chicken then added the chicken in when it was done, and that worked out very well. I’ll definitely be making this again, as it’s perfect for a cold winter’s night!
★★★★★
Thank you so much for the review! 🙂
Hi, followed the directions exactly and at the end and when I did the quick release after the 5′ natural release, I got a volcano of liquid goo coming out of the release valve area. This never happened to me before making other similar recipes. It appears it was too much liquid and the long grain rice was too cooked.
★★
That’s too bad! I have not had that experience with this recipe.
I had this same problem the first time I made it! I’m making it again tonight and trying to figure out how to avoid that. Recipe is great otherwise.
If I don’t have chicken stock can I use all water
Yes! You’ll get more flavor using broth, but you can use water, you just might need some extra salt.
Made this tonight at 10 p.m. — then ate dinner at 11 p.m. I used 6 cups of broth, did not do the 2 cups of water added oregano 2 bay leaves. Didn’t have lemons so used about a 1/4 cup of real lemon juice. and only 1/2 cup of long grain rice. high pressure for 8 minutes and full natural release. Oh yes I had purchased a pkg of pulled rotisserie chicken that had been in my freezer from Costco — so I used a part of that. Very flavorful chicken too. Best chicken soup I’ve ever made. Loved the lemon in it. Thanks for sharing.