This feel good Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup recipe is a hands-off dinner made with shredded chicken, vegetables, and rice in a comforting broth. This hearty and flavorful traditional chicken soup recipe is made in a set-and-forget style to keep your hands free! It's naturally gluten-free and slow cooker instructions are included as an alternative.
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup makes the perfect meal prep recipe since it freezes well and can easily be made into a double batch with minimal extra effort. It's a winter and sick season staple in my house.
I like to pair it with crusty bread like my Gluten free French baguette, Gluten-Free Irish Soda Bread, Gluten-Free Artisan Bread, or No Knead Gluten-Free Bread. For a "soup and fries" combo, I also make it with my Crispy Baked Cottage Fries.
For more Instant Pot recipes, check out my Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore, Instant Pot Beef Short Ribs, Tomato Soup with Shrimp, Instant Pot Minestrone Soup, and Instant Pot Beef Stew. Most of these also make excellent postpartum freezer meals along with my Savory Pumpkin Stew.
For traditional country-style desserts to enjoy afterward, check out my Gluten-Free Apple Coffee Cake, Apple Crumble, Gluten-Free Apple Pie, or my Baked Cinnamon Apple Slices.
It also pairs nicely with a feel-good piece of Vegan Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake with Dairy-Free Chocolate Frosting.
How to make it (with photos)
With 10 common ingredients and a set it and forget it style, this flavorful Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup is sure to be a staple in every gluten-free kitchen.
Ingredient Notes + Substitutions
This Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup uses 10 ingredients plus the kitchen staples of salt, ground black pepper, and oil.
Chicken
This recipe uses 1 ¼ pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts for a single batch. If you purchased the chicken breasts with skin on, remove it ahead of time. Chicken skin cooked in a pressure cooker has an unpleasant rubbery texture.
Rice
I typically use brown rice for this recipe. It holds its shape and texture better than white rice, which can become a bit mushy over time.
While 1 cup doesn't seem like much for a single batch, I'm always surprised by how much rice it produces when fully hydrated. If you think you want more rice, I recommend making it as written the first time and then adding additional steamed rice at the end if you like.
If you don't have brown rice, long grain white rice, basmati rice, and even jasmine rice taste great in this recipe.
Broth
I use low sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth so that I can control the amount of salt. Chicken broth has the nicest flavor of the two.
If making a double batch for freezing, I often use only about 6 cups (just enough to fully submerge the ingredients) so that the Instant Pot is not over-filled. I then add extra broth to individual portions before serving.
Thyme
I wrote the recipe with dried thyme leaves but use both dried and fresh thyme depending on the season. You can replace the ¾ teaspoon of dried thyme leaves with 2-3 sprigs of fresh thyme. Remove the thyme stalks after cooking and before serving.
More Ingredient Notes
- onion - I use a yellow onion when making this recipe. White onion will also work, and I don't recommend red onion because of their sweetness.
- carrots - While written with full-sized carrots, I often use a few handfuls of baby carrots since we usually have some on hand, yet rarely finish the bag for just snacking.
- mushrooms - Use sliced or quartered cremini or white mushrooms. I prefer the texture of quartered mushrooms, but it's also nice to buy them pre-sliced to save time. Mushrooms add a nice richness to the broth, but can be left out if you don't like them.
- parsley - I used chopped fresh parsley in this recipe. If using dried parsley, replace the 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley with 2 teaspoons of dried parsley.
To make this recipe, you also need olive oil, celery, a garlic clove, salt, and ground black pepper.
See the recipe card for a full list of ingredients with quantities.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Learn how to make Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup in four easy steps.
- Vegetables + rice: Add the olive oil to the Instant Pot and use a spatula or tilt the pot to coat the bottom. Then add the onion, carrots, celery, mushrooms, brown rice, garlic, dried thyme, salt and pepper. Pour in the broth then stir the vegetable mixture with a spatula to mix everything together.
- Chicken: Nestle the chicken breasts in the vegetables, rice, and broth so that they are completely submerged. If using fresh thyme, add the sprigs and submerge the leaves in the broth.
- Pressure cook: Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook at high pressure for 45 minutes. When finished, let the pressure release naturally for 10-15 minutes. Then manually release any remaining pressure by pressing the quick release valve.
- Finish: In a small jar or bowl, mix the tapioca starch with 1 tablespoon of cold water and whisk, shake, or stir vigorously to make a starch slurry. Pour it into the Instant Pot while stirring constantly for 1 minute to evenly distribute the starch and thicken the soup. Use two forks to shred the chicken breasts. Be careful to avoid burning your hands in the steam.
Instant Pot vs. Slow Cooker
I use the Duo Plus 9-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker and Slow Cooker to make this recipe. On high pressure, the cooking time is 45 minutes.
In a slow cooker, this translates to about 4 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. To determine when it is finished, check to make sure the celery is soft and the chicken is fully cooked through, shredding easily.
Expert Tips
This Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup recipe is perfect as a meal prep or freezer meal. Here are my best tips for making it ahead of time:
Freeze in individual portions.
Freezing this soup in individual portions can save lunch or dinner on a busy day! I like to use Souper Cubes since it saves space in the freezer and prevents reheating in plastic containers, which can transfer harmful chemicals if not fully heatproof.
Make a concentrated double batch.
Making a double batch with 6-7 cups of broth instead of the full 8 cups allows it to fit easily into a standard 6 quart Instant Pot or slow cooker.
Leaving out some of the broth will make this soup into more of a stew. It freezes beautifully and takes less room with less broth. I recommend adding the broth back in for a Chicken and Rice Soup, or leave it out for a traditional Chicken and Rice dish.
Recipe FAQs
Here I answered some frequently asked questions about this Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup recipe. Don't see your question? Leave it in the comments at the end of this post and I'll answer within two business days.
Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Freeze in individual portions for up to 3 months. I recommend using Souper Cubes for freezing.
Yes! To make this recipe in a slow cooker, fill the pot as described in the Instant Pot instructions. Then cook on high heat for 4 hours or on low heat for 6-8 hours. To determine if it is finished, check to make sure the celery is soft and the chicken is fully cooked through, shredding easily.
If you want a thicker chicken and rice soup after following the instructions as listed and waiting 5-10 minutes for the original starch slurry to do its job, you can add an additional tablespoon of starch mixed with a little cold water. If the soup has cooled in the meantime, reheat and simmer for 2-5 minutes after stirring in the additional starch slurry.
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📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Soup
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- ½ large yellow onion , diced
- 2 medium carrots , peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 medium celery stalks , diced into pea-sized pieces
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms or white mushrooms, sliced or quartered
- 1 cup brown rice , uncooked
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- ¾ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt , plus more to taste after cooking
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 1 ¼ pounds skinless chicken breasts , uncooked
Optional
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley , optional to garnish
- 1 tablespoon tapioca starch , optional to thicken
Instructions
- Vegetables + rice: Add the olive oil to the Instant Pot and use a spatula or tilt the pot to coat the bottom. Then add the onion, carrots, celery, mushrooms, brown rice, garlic, dried thyme, salt and pepper. Pour in the broth then stir the vegetable mixture with a spatula to mix everything together.
- Chicken: Nestle the chicken breasts in the vegetables, rice, and broth so that they are completely submerged. If using fresh thyme, add the sprigs and submerge the leaves in the broth.
- Pressure cook: Set the Instant Pot to pressure cook at high pressure for 45 minutes. When finished, let the pressure release naturally for 10-15 minutes. Then manually release any remaining pressure by pressing the quick release valve.
- Finish: In a small jar or bowl, mix the tapioca starch with 1 tablespoon of cold water and whisk, shake, or stir vigorously to make a starch slurry. Pour it into the Instant Pot while stirring constantly for 1 minute to evenly distribute the starch and thicken the soup. Use two forks to shred the chicken breasts. Be careful to avoid burning your hands in the steam.
Siobhan says
This gluten free chicken and rice soup is flavorful and easy. I love the shredded chicken and that it’s made in the Instant Pot. More recipes like this please 🙂