A good chicken vegetable soup is worth its weight in gold, and if you can make it happen in 20 minutes or less in your Instant Pot pressure cooker, it is priceless! As I was developing this recipe and tasting the result with my husband, we were remarking that nothing beats a warm, comforting soup when you are hungry, or feeling down, or cold (it’s definitely getting chillier around here in Colorado at this time of the year).
I make it a habit to always have soup in the refrigerator and I batch cook it in large quantities. My favorites are this creamy butternut squash, carrot, and ginger soup, this healing breakfast chicken soup, and of course this insanely good chicken vegetable soup! These soups are suitable for freezing.
Paleo – AIP – Pressure Cooker
Chicken Vegetable Soup
Freezer-friendly
Great for leftovers!
The quantities given in the recipe below work for a 6-quart Instant Pot pressure cooker. If you have a pressure cooker, just not an Instant Pot, you might find some very useful tips on how to translate an Instant Pot recipe in this post.
I had two little helpers the last time I made this soup in my Instant Pot! We just got these two little kittens (they are brothers) and they are a hoot! So curious about everything! The delicious aroma of the chicken vegetable soup attracted them to the kitchen as I was taking pictures. This recipe is definitely kitty-approved!
If you are looking for more delicious and flavorful Instant Pot recipes like this chicken vegetable soup, check out The Paleo AIP Instant Pot Cookbook (it’s actually an ebook), as well as other Instant Pot recipes on the blog!
- 1 ¼ pounds sliced carrots (about 6 large carrots)
- 1 pound sliced celery (about 1 large bunch)
- 1 pound sliced leeks (about 1 large leek), white and green parts
- 1 pound chicken breasts, cut into ½-inch pieces
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- A handful of fresh thyme
- 2 quarts chicken broth
- Press the Sauté button on the Instant Pot, bring it to High, and add olive oil. When the pan is hot, add chicken and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Cancel the sauté function.
- Add vegetables, sea salt, thyme, and broth.
- Close and lock the lid. Press Manual for High pressure. Set the cooking time to 15 minutes. Once the time is up, quick release the pressure.
- Open the lid and discard thyme.
- Check seasoning and adjust salt to taste. Serve hot. Makes great leftovers!
This Pressure Cooker Chicken Vegetable Soup has been shared on: Paleo AIP Recipe Roundtable
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Could this recipe be adapted to a 6 qt slow cooker? Suggestions, please. I don’t presently own a pressure cooker.
Thank you.
Hello Nancy,
I am sure you can make this on your slow cooker. I haven’t done it before, but I would suggest to leave it in the crockpot on low for 8 hours.
I make this soup this evening. It’s delicious! I love soups, but I’ve missed eating flavorful soups since going AIP. I’ll be making this often!
This one is also a regular at our house! We love it so much 🙂
Made this tonight, was pleasantly surprised at how flavorful it is! Thanks so much for a great recipe!
Sophie,
I made your chicken soup recipe today and it came out wonderfully!
Definitely a “Keeper”!
Thank you for your positive feedback Karyn 🙂
I’m not paleo…making this for a sick friend who clearly needed chicken soup! My house already smells amazing and it’s not even up to pressure yet. I modified it slightly by adding some minced garlic, ~3/4 tsp dried thyme instead of fresh, and I subbed smoked sea salt for 1 of the 2 tsps. Can’t wait till it’s done!
Mmmh! The smells! Your friend is lucky 🙂
Is the chicken already cooked at time of sauté?mthanks in advance for the clarification.
No, you first put the chicken raw in the pot, then you sauté it. Good luck!
I made this tonight and my daughters couldn’t get enough. I did make a substitution due to an allergy to celery. I added chunks of zucchini. We loved it! Adding this to our recipe box. Thank you!
Thank you so much for your positive feedback Leslie 🙂
The chicken ended up being pretty dry, but the soup is extremely flavorful! Any idea what I did wrong? Sauté too long maybe?
Yes, I think you are right, sautéed the chicken too long.
I’m going to use baby potatoes and boneless skinless chicken thighs (no celery)
how long should I cook this for please?
Thanks
This was just the question I was going to ask! Need advice on chx thighs and taters!
Hello,
Was 15 minutes long enough for potatoes?
Thanks!
I believe so – Sophie
Thank you for this this recipe. It is SO simple and yet do dilicious. It’s going to be my go-to chicken soup recipe now!
I limited my saute time, and I cut my chicken into larger pieces 1.5″ to prevent overcooking. I still think the chicken was a bit dry. Have you ever tried this with a shorter cooking time? I’m tempted to try 10 minutes, knowing the broth will still be very hot and continue cooking the contents after I release the pressure.
You know, I am thinking that if the chicken is still too dry, you could skip the sauté part entirely!
I substituted boneless chicken thighs for the breast and it came out PERFECT! I’ve noticed chicken breast can get a bit dry in the instant pot. Thank you for this recipe, it’s very flavorful and wonderful 🙂
Great idea! Thank you for your feedback kris 🙂
My soup will be ready in 8 minutes … can’t wait to try it.
Add about 25 minutes to the total time. That is how long it took for my instant pot to start counting down the 15 minute cook time…unless there is something wrong with my instant pot?!?
When I make soup I add water to my bone in chicken, and get a broth. Can I do this with instant pot too! I j St got it and haven’t used it yet
What about garlic? I’m new to the instapot, but I my slow cooker recipes call for garlic, and some call for lemon. Thoughts?
Hello Holly,
Go for it! Garlic and lemon are AIP approved and will definitely add depth of flavor to this dish 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Hi, I am a really bad cook so just wanted to prophase this with that information. However, this soup came out delicious and it was REALLY easy. Thanks for your help!
Thank you so much Brianna for your positive feedback! This one is a winner for sure 🙂
I made this today for my daughter who has a cold and it’s delicious. She requested noodles, so I threw in some kelp noodles, too. Very flavorful!
What can I substitute for leeks? We are not fans around here. Thanks!
You can leave it out, or replace with bok choy for example.
This soup was super tasty! Served some up for dinner for my guy and I. He said it was the best he has ever had. So quick to make. I froze 8 individual containers for future meals. And I used chicken bone broth instead of just broth. So good! Thanks for the recipe:)
Did it freeze well, Suzy? I expect it would but it’s always nice to get feedback from someone who’s tried it.
Yes, it does freeze really well! – Sophie
This is by far one of the best-, if not THE BEST-, chicken soup I’ve ever had, whether you eat AIP or not. What a comfort it has brought to my family this past season. It’s quickly become a staple dish. I’ve shared it with our parents and they love it too. Thank you so much for creating such a great, easy, and nourishing dish.
I love this recipe. An easy go to on a busy night. I do slightly modify mine through. I add roughly 1/2-1 tsp of red pepper flakes and 1-2 tbsp of parmesan cheese. Kicks it up a notch and helps thicken it up. These are added post cooking even through the red pepper flakes could easily be added during the prep before pressurization. Definitely worth trying.