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. I love to serve it with a squeeze of lemon to make the flavors pop.
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.
- 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. Many recipes like this use heavy cream, but you don’t need it.
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 from the grocery store 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 uncooked 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.
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 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. A longer cooking time would 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 delicious soup is. The fresh lemon flavor really jumps out and adds so much brightness.
Recipe Tips
- 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.
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.
This recipe is designed to be made using raw chicken as opposed to cooked chicken. Using rotisserie chicken will dry it out too much.
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
I hope you make this recipe! If you do, please leave a comment and a starred review below.
And, consider following me on social media so we can stay connected. I’m on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and YouTube!
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
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 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.
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: 1/6 of recipe
- 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
Don’t forget to join my newsletter list to get exclusive clean eating recipes and tips. The newsletter is 100% free with no spam; unsubscribe anytime.
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 over 5 million annual visitors to her site. Send Carrie a message through her contact form.
Do you have any recommendations for veganizing this? I was thinking of using some of the faux chicken in place of real chicken but don’t know if it will hold up to the cooking process.
Great question! I would just cook the veggies and rice and then add sautéed fake meat, tofu, or tempeh at the end. Enjoy!
Thanks much. Your mom must be from my era cause this is basically my go to chicken soup with lemon added & converted for the Instant Pot. Been making it for 50 years on the stove & now will try it in my Instant Pot I recently learned about Lemon Orzo chicken soup & love it too so looking g forward to doing this next week. This recipe is so easy to always keep stuff on hand. Also so good using homemade or store bought sodium free broth for someone like me on a sodium restricted diet.
Ohhhh, Lemon Orzo sounds like a great option too, Juliana! Enjoy and lots of hugs.
I want an instant pot so badly right now
They’re the best, I highly recommend getting one!
I am so impressed. I have been so curious to try lemon in soups, and this recipe looks absolutely amazing.
This was so satisfying! A new favorite at our house!
I made this Lemon Chicken Soup the other night in my Instapot and I thought it was wonderful. I had 2 sick kids and they even enjoyed it. Great recipe. Saving to make again.
Great, thanks Heidy!!! I made it when I was sick last week too. It helped me feel better!
Chicken and rice soup brings back so many memories from my childhood — of course, it was usually soup from a can. Love that you’ve made it from scratch and in no time flat!
Could I use brown rice instead of basmati?
Not for this one because the chicken would get way overcooked. Brown rice takes at least 20 minutes to cook. I’ll try to think of a similar recipe using brown rice that I can test and post.
Delicious ?! We used shredded chicken. Excellent.
This is one of my favorite recipes and my husband loves it too!