Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Soup

There is nothing like the perfect bowl of chicken soup on a cold snowy day.

Anytime that I see that it's going to be a cold winter day, I make this instant pot creamy chicken soup.

My family absolutely loves it, even the little ones!

It's a bowl of comfort with yummy vegetables and a touch of richness.

The addition of pasta and peas make it even yummier with a burst of flavor from the lemon juice, rosemary and thyme.

I've made this creamy chicken soup using leftover chicken from my buttermilk roast chicken recipe and it comes out delicious.

We haven't had much snow here in RI this winter.

I'm not complaining but my 2 year old loves the snow!

The first real snow storm we had, she was so excited to go outside and make a snowman.

And of course when we came in we had to have hot chocolate and a big warm bowl of this creamy chicken soup.

It really does hit the spot, especially with a chunk of crusty, buttery garlic bread ;).

• olive oil
• carrots
• celery
• onion
• garlic
• chicken breast (or leftover rotisserie chicken)
• thyme, rosemary, bay leaf
• chicken stock
• flour
• milk (or half and half)
• cream cheese
• frozen peas
• small pasta (such as ditalini or small shells)
• lemon juice
• spinach (or kale, chard or escarole)

The great thing about soups is that they're so versatile.

If you don't like the peas, skip them.

Want to use egg noodles instead of the small pasta? Go for it.

You can really adjust this recipe to your personal preferences/dietary needs.

1. Swap the pasta with cauliflower rice or wild rice.
2. Use Greek yogurt in place of the cream cheese.
3. Try milk instead of half and half.

I've also made this soup recipe with kale, however my family prefers the spinach.

And again, I've used leftover chicken from my whole oven roasted chicken recipe.

If you do use leftover chicken you simply adjust the cooking time on the instant pot. I will put instructions in the notes section of the recipe card.

1. Set your instant pot to SAUTE mode. Add olive oil. Once hot add your onion, carrots, and celery. Cook 2-3 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Turn off SAUTE mode.
2. Add your chicken breast (see notes if using leftover cooked chicken), thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, salt, pepper and chicken stock. Give it a stir. Cover your instant pot and set to PRESSURE COOK HIGH for 15 minutes. If using frozen chicken, set for 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine flour and half and half in a small bowl. Whisk well until there are no lumps. Set aside.
4. Once instant pot is done, natural release the pressure for 10 minutes then quick release remaining pressure. Carefully remove lid and transfer the chicken to a cutting board.
5. Stir flour/milk mixture into the instant pot. Then add the cream cheese and peas.
6. Set instant pot to SOUP mode. Once the soup is bubbling add pasta and cook for about 7-8 minutes or until pasta is al dente.
7. While pasta is cooking, shred the chicken using two forks.
8. Shut off soup function. Stir in shredded chicken, spinach and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper if needed.

*If using leftover cooked chicken, I like to chop it into smaller chunks. Add to instant pot with the chicken stock and herbs. Cover and set instant pot to PRESSURE COOK on HIGH for 10 minutes.

Follow the rest of the recipe instructions, omitting the step of removing the chicken to shred.

*Sometimes when you add the cream cheese, it doesn't fully melt into the soup and leaves chunks. I usually don't mind the chunks but to avoid this you'll want to make sure your cream cheese is room temp before adding it into the soup and make sure it's in small cubes to help it easily dissolve.

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