When we first made the switch from processed food to real food, I didn’t know much about planning meals. Most of my short adult life at that time had consisted of purchasing freezer meals from the grocery store. There wasn’t any need to plan since meals never required any forethought.
As we made the shift from purchasing pre-packaged meals to ingredients (and home-cooked meals), I realized that some planning was going to need to take place on a weekly basis. If not, this real food lifestyle wasn’t going to last long.
Meal planning wasn’t easy for me at first. I struggled with this activity just as much as you probably did, or do.
In the beginning, creating a meal plan would take me at least an hour or two. Most of my time was spent looking through cookbooks. Using these cookbooks, I finally decided to create a list of our favorite recipes. The goal was to use this list as my meal plan guide versus paging through cookbooks each week.
The list was an instant success. The time I spent creating an actual meal plan was reduced in half—all thanks to a piece of paper that soon became known as, Family Favorite Meals.
I still use my Family Favorite Meals list to create my weekly meal plans. The list, of course, has grown over the years. In the beginning, 7 meal ideas were listed. Now, there are well over 25 meal ideas on the list. Each time I prepare a new meal, and the meal is a winner with the family, the list grows.
Today’s soup recipe is the newest addition to my ever-growing Family Favorite Meals list (thanks to Helen, the LS Instant Pot Guru). It’s the kind of recipe that’s perfect for busy school nights, especially now that fall is right around the corner and I’m craving all the comfort food. And boots and sweaters. A Florida girl can dream–it’s still hurricane season down here.
Thanks to the Instant Pot, this creamed chicken and rice soup only takes about 30 minutes to make, from start to finish. We can enjoy the flavors and tastes of the fall season in half the time.
Instant Pot Creamed Chicken and Rice Soup (Pressure Cooker Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 TB extra virgin olive oil
- 3 celery stalks chopped (1 cup once chopped)
- 2 medium carrots chopped (1 cup once chopped)
- 1/2 medium white onion chopped (1/2 cup once chopped)
- 8 ounces white mushrooms sliced
- 3/4 cup long grain white rice uncooked*
- 2 garlic cloves peeled and minced
- 2 TB lemon juice (about one lemon, juiced)
- 1 1/2 tsp dried parsley
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 lb boneless and skinless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts, depending on size)
- 6 cups chicken broth or stock, low-sodium if using store-bought broth/stock
- 1 cup heavy cream **
Special Equipment:
- Instant Pot
- medium bowl for shredding the chicken
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to Saute, Normal Temperature. Once hot, add the olive oil.
- Add the celery, carrots, and onion. Saute the veggies until translucent and slightly soft.
- Add the mushrooms, rice, and garlic. Stir to evenly coat the ingredients. Add the lemon juice and parsley. Press the Cancel button.
- Add the broth, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot well.
- Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the pot.
- Lock the lid on and set the Instant Pot to Manual, High Pressure for 10 minutes. The valve on top should be set to Sealed.
- Let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure (use a hot pad holder or towel) and opening the lid.
- Remove the chicken and shred.
- Return the shredded chicken to the pot, add the cream, and taste for seasoning (adding more salt or pepper as needed). Use the Saute function if the soup needs to be heated further after adding the cream. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe is literally insanely good. I came back just to comment and rate! The only thing I did different was add just a few less mushrooms so my kids wouldn’t complaint as much about their presence… flavorful, rich, filling, can’t wait to make this a staple for our family! With our 4th baby on the way I’m all about easy, low-mess recipes that taste great and this fits every category.
So happy you loved this recipe, Tierney! It means a lot to LS when you comment and rate. Thank you!
LS Team
One of my very favorite recipes. Make it often. Everyone loves it.
Excellent use of my instant pot. Thanks.
So glad you love it, Andi!
Made it this evening and it was easy and absolutely delish!
Yay, Lindsey! So glad you loved it!
Made this tonight, I doubled the carrots and celery to make sure my family of 5 had plenty of veggies and ALL 5 bowls were gobbled up! Husband went back for seconds and my toddler was begging for seconds. We STILL have plenty of leftovers which makes me happy!! I will definitely make this again.
If you are new to IP meals be aware that it took roughly 20-25 minutes once lid was locked and closed for IP to actually start counting down the 10 minute cook time. So allow for that additional time.
I make this soup ALL THE TIME. It’s definitely my go to chicken soup! I like to add a sliced zucchini and a cup of frozen green beans when I throw in the mushrooms. I also up the spices by adding 1 tsp each of dried basil, oregano and italian seasoning. I always use around 1 lb of boneless/skinless thighs instead of breasts, just my personal preference. Sometimes I even throw in some crumbled cooked bacon when I add the chicken. This is definitely a favorite in my house!
Yay! So glad you’re loving it!