This Instant Pot Ginger Chicken & Rice Soup is a cozy, freezer-friendly meal that’s perfect for cooler nights! It’s packed with fresh ginger, garlic, plenty of vegetables and brown rice for a well-rounded, seriously delicious soup.
What are the ingredients in this Instant Pot Ginger Chicken & Rice Soup?
This soup is seriously full of veggies, but the main star is ginger. If you don’t like ginger, you will not like this soup. #warning
Let’s have a look at the ingredients with all my comments!
- avocado oil – I prefer using avocado oil to saute my veggies because of the high smoke point and neutral flavor.
- onion, carrot, & celery – AKA mirepoix. You want about 3 cups total of this diced mixture (a little more is okay too).
- garlic – Someone shared with me the phrase “measure garlic with your heart” and I think it is the most appropriate for soup.
- fresh ginger – I used just over 3 ounces of fresh ginger root before peeling. Use a spoon or a veggie peeler to remove the peel. Slice and then roughly dice up the ginger in a similar size as the garlic.
- chicken broth – I use the low-sodium variety from Costco.
- chicken breasts – You can use fresh or frozen chicken breasts here, I tried both! I would suggest skipping chicken thighs, they may come out a little too overdone.
- brown rice – I tried two kinds of brown rice and they both worked great: long grain brown rice and quick cooking brown rice. However, I would suggest sticking with brown rice, as other kinds of rice have different cook times in the Instant Pot.
- dried parsley – Optional skip the dried parsley and add 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley after cooking. Sometimes I have it on hand, sometimes I don’t!
- dried basil & thyme – Soup flavors that I don’t usually have fresh around my house, so using dried is just fine (don’t hate me).
- sea salt & fresh ground black pepper – Fresh ground black pepper is best black pepper! Add these ingredients to your preferred taste.
- dried red chili pepper flakes – This soup needs a little heat backbone to soothe the spice level of the ginger, and I think red chili pepper flakes do the trick! They are optional if you don’t like it spicy, but they aren’t too hot. It’s more of a flavor thing. Just a pinch.
- frozen cauliflower rice – This seriously blends right in with the veggies and the brown rice, you’ll hardly notice it. Add the frozen bag in after pressure cooking. The heat from the hot hot soup will warm the cauli-rice perfectly. Learned this trick from Tastes Lovely!
Reader Love
On a cold winter day, this soup is just the thing! Thanks so much for this recipe. Will certainly go in the rotation as it is quick, delicious and everyone in my family enjoyed it!
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First step is to saute the veggies – onion, carrot, & celery, and later add the ginger and garlic. Softening these veggies and releasing the aromatics is vital to the flavors of this recipe!
Next step is to add remaining ingredients except the cauliflower rice into the pot, give it a stir, and then pressure cook. You’ll do 15 minutes of high pressure, followed by 10 minutes of natural pressure release.
After you’ve safely opened the lid, fish out the chicken breasts and shred them up. Add them back to the pot, along with the bag of frozen cauliflower rice. Stir the soup until the cauli-rice has softened and everything is well mixed.
And it’s ready to serve! I like to top this kind of soup with fresh parsley for a fresh flavor, but it’s not required.
Can I use white rice or a different kind of rice?
I would suggest sticking with brown rice for this recipe. Other kinds of rice have different cook times and may be over cooked or undercooked with this recipe.
Both long grain brown rice and quick cooking brown rice work for this recipe.
Which instant pot model do you use?
For all of my Instant Pot recipes, I previously used my Instant Pot Duo Plus 6 Qt (affiliate link!). I recently upgraded to a 6-quart Duo Evo Plus for the sous vide function.
However, I still recommend the Duo Plus or basic 7-1 Instant Pot – they do the job just fine!
I have not tested this recipe in a mini or 8-quart Instant Pot.
Reader Love
LOVE this recipe! I make it any time myself or my family are sick, and it’s perfect for winter in the PNW. Sometimes I add quinoa, and a little lemon squeeze gives a really nice punch of brightness. I usually use half the ginger and it’s perfect for all in the fam (picky toddler included!).
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How can I meal prep this Instant Pot Ginger Chicken & Rice Soup?
- Partial prep & cook later: Chop all the veggies, measure out the spices, and make sure everything is ready to go up to 48 hours ahead of time. Then, when dinner time rolls around, make the recipe as written.
- Complete prep & store: Make this soup ahead of time and store in individual portioned airtight containers in the fridge. Reheat as needed throughout the week!
- Complete prep & freeze: Freeze portions of your soup and keep them in the freezer until you need a meal. I prefer to freeze soup in my 2-Cup Souper Cubes Trays! More info below.
- Do a combination of 2 and 3. I usually eat a serving, portion a couple servings for the week, and freeze the rest.
Store in individually portioned containers or one large airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within 4 days.
Use Souper Cubes Trays (2-Cup Souper Cubes Trays pictured) to freeze individual portions of soup in cubes. Store in the trays or transfer to another airtight container. Best enjoyed within 4-6 months.
Reheat from the fridge: Cook in a microwave safe container for about 2 minutes, or until steaming hot. Alternatively, heat in a small saucepan on the stove until steaming hot (about 10 minutes).
Reheat from the freezer: Place cube in a saucepan and heat over medium, stirring occasionally, until completely thawed and steaming hot (about 15 minutes).
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Instant Pot Ginger Chicken & Rice Soup
This Instant Pot Ginger Chicken & Rice Soup is a cozy, freezer-friendly meal that’s perfect for cooler nights! It’s packed with fresh ginger, garlic, plenty of vegetables and brown rice for a well-rounded, seriously delicious soup.
- Total Time45 minutes
- Yield6–8 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 2 stalks of celery, diced
- 5–6 cloves garlic, roughly minced
- ~3 ounces fresh ginger, peeled and roughly minced
- 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, fresh or frozen
- 3/4 cup dry/uncooked brown rice
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- (optional) 1/4 teaspoon dried red chili pepper flakes
- 1 (12-ounce) bag frozen cauliflower rice
- (optional) chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Sauté: Hit the Sauté button on your Instant Pot, and make sure it’s set to High. Add avocado oil to the insert. When hot, add the onion, carrots and celery, along with a dash of salt. Use a high heat spatula or wooden spoon to stir occasionally and cook until onions are translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add minced ginger and garlic, then stir and cook for 1 minute, until quite fragrant. Hit cancel to turn off the sauté function.
- Add ingredients: Add a small amount of chicken broth to remove any brown stuck bits from the bottom of the pot (deglaze), then add the remaining chicken broth. Add the chicken breasts, brown rice, dried parsley, dried basil, dried thyme, salt, pepper and optional red chili pepper flakes to the pot. Stir gently to give it a quick mix.
- Pressure cook: Place the IP lid on and make sure the steam release valve is sealed. Set the IP to Manual or Pressure Cook High for 15 minutes. When it’s done cooking, let the steam naturally release for 10 minutes. Hit the quick release valve to release the remaining steam.
- Finish & serve: After the float valve has gone down, carefully remove the lid. Remove chicken breasts and shred, then return to the pot. Add the frozen cauliflower rice and stir until the soup is well combined (cauli rice will heat up from the hot soup). Serve with fresh parsley garnish (optional). Store in the refrigerator and enjoy within 4 days. Freezer friendly – store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Notes
Nutrition information estimated with My Fitness Pal.
Instant Pot: Instant Pot takes around 15 minutes to come to pressure. I have only tested this recipe with a 6-quart Instant Pot, and the recipe may not work correctly with other Instant Pot sizes. Please keep in mind that due to the nature of pressure cooking there may be inconsistencies from small variations in ingredients or altitude. Try it and see what works best for you!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Mains
- Method: Instant Pot
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ~1 1/2 cups
- Calories: 265
- Sugar: 3g
- Fat: 8g
- Carbohydrates: 24g
- Fiber: 4g
- Protein: 22g
Did You Make This?
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I have an old fashioned pressure cooker. Are there any guidelines to converting from instapot?
Hi Janey – Unfortunately, I’ve never used an old fashioned pressure cooker so I don’t have any specific guidelines for you. But my guess is there should not be many changes. I read that old fashioned pressure cookers actually reach a higher pressure than the IP, so if anything, you could probably reduce the cook time a little bit. Otherwise, I believe the instructions would mostly stay the same. Please let me know if you give it a try and share how it turns out with your pressure cooker! Thanks, Danielle
Recipe turned out perfectly. I thought the ginger level was just right. It’s a delicious and different take on chicken soup! Quick and simple in the instant pot too.
Hi Jessica – So happy you loved this soup! I really appreciate you taking the time to leave a review and rating. Super helpful for me and other readers! Happy soup season! -Danielle
Loved this recipe! I will be using this recipe as my “go to” chicken soup in the future. Thanks so much!