Description
Instant Pot Chicken Soup With Rice (From Scratch) - Cooking once, cooking twice, cooking chicken soup with rice...in the pressure cooker, starting with nothing but bones and water.
Ingredients
Chicken Bone Broth (Makes about 3 quarts of broth)
- 3 pounds chicken backs (or the carcasses from 2 roasted chickens)
- 1 medium onion, peeled and halved
- 1 rib celery, broken into pieces
- 1 carrot, scrubbed and broken into pieces
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 8 cups of water (or to cover, or to the max fill line of the PC)
Chicken Soup with Rice
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 rib celery, chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1/2 cup white rice
- 8 cups of Chicken Bone Broth (from above)
- 1 ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- Minced parsley, for garnish
Instructions
- Pressure cook the chicken broth for 60 minutes: (See my Instant Pot Chicken Broth for a detailed recipe.) Add the chicken backs, onion, celery, carrot, bay leaf, and salt to an Instant Pot or other pressure cooker, then add the water. (It should cover the chicken backs - if it doesn't, add water to cover or up to the max fill line on the pressure cooker). Lock the lid and pressure cook on high pressure for 60 minutes in an Instant Pot (or other electric pressure cooker) or 50 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure come down naturally – about 30 minutes. (It takes a long time for all that water to cool off. If you're in a hurry, let the pressure come down for at least 20 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure.) Scoop the bones and vegetables out of the pot with a slotted spoon and discard. Strain the broth through a [fine mesh strainer] and discard the solids. Reserve 8 cups of broth for the soup, and refrigerate or freeze the rest for another use.
- Sauté the aromatics: Wipe out the pressure cooker pot liner, then put it back in the pressure cooker base. Add the vegetable oil and heat over sauté mode - medium until shimmering, about 3 minutes. (Use medium heat for a stovetop PC.) Add the onion, celery, and carrot, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt and the thyme. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onions soften and turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cubed chicken breast, then stir in the rice.
- Pressure cook the soup for 4 minutes with a 10-minute Natural Release: Add the 8 cups of chicken broth to the pot, lock the lid on the pot, and pressure cook for 4 minutes on high pressure (use the same timing for both electric and stovetop PCs). Let the pressure come down naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release the rest. (If the released steam starts to sputter and spit out starch, shut the valve and let the pressure come down for another 5 minutes before quickly releasing again.)
- Season and serve: Unlock the lid on the pressure cooker, and stir in 1½ teaspoons of salt and the fresh ground pepper. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
You can make the entire batch of broth ahead of time, which makes this a quick weeknight recipe. Finish step 1, then freeze all the broth in 2 cup containers. When you’re ready for soup, grab 8 cups of broth from the freezer, and continue with step 2.
1/2 cup of rice is not going to look like much…but it will expand a lot. Don’t add more, or you will wind up with more of a rice stew than a soup.
If you have leftovers from 2 roasted chickens, use the bones to make the broth, and about 2 cups of shredded chicken instead of the raw chicken breast.
Tools
6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker)
Slotted Spoon and Fine Mesh Strainer for straining the broth. (And, a spare pot liner for your pressure cooker is the perfect place to strain the broth into.)
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 2 hours
- Category: Sunday Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American