Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Soup is such a simple recipe that there’s no reason to use the canned version! This cream of chicken soup recipe is great for using up leftover Thanksgiving turkey or rotisserie chicken. Add rice, pasta, or even more vegetables to make this a substantial meal.
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I also refer to this Instant Pot Cream of Chicken Soup as Thanksgiving Soup because you can add leftover Thanksgiving turkey instead of chicken. It’s a great recipe to use leftover rotisserie chicken too.
I freeze leftover chicken or turkey into 2-cup portions, and when I’m ready to use it, I thaw and add to this and other soup recipes.
This creamy chicken soup is made with leeks, a milder version of onions. I find that pressure cooking the leeks gives the soup a nice creamy texture.
This is a simple and quick recipe – the soup is made by sauteing the vegetables and herbs, pressure cooking them with the broth, and then adding chicken and cream. That’s it.
➡ You’ll love a few more Instant Pot soup recipes, including Instant Pot Green Chile Stew (with pork), Instant Pot Thai Coconut Soup, or Instant Pot Italian Wedding Soup.
One of my favorite recipes is Chicken Curry Soup, which can be made on the stovetop or in an Instant Pot. For a seafood soup, try Chipotle Shrimp Soup, and for a peanutty twist, you’ll love African Peanut Stew.
Ingredients and Tips
🧂 Creamy Chicken Soup Ingredients
💡 Recipe and Ingredient Tips
Here are some tips that will help you make this Instant Pot creamy chicken soup a success.
🦃 Turkey Substitute: Replace cooked chicken with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. For a fun twist, shape leftover stuffing into 1½-inch balls, bake at 350°F until lightly browned, and use them as dumplings in your curry.
🍗 Chicken: If using uncooked chicken, cut it into bite-sized pieces and add it with the mushrooms. Pressure cook for 3 minutes, then quick release before continuing with the recipe.
🍾 White Wine: Instead of white wine, I use dry white vermouth to avoid opening a new bottle. Chicken broth is also a great substitute if you prefer not to use wine.
🥬 Leeks: Clean leeks thoroughly to remove grit. Use the white and light green parts, saving the dark green tops for stock. If leeks aren’t available, substitute with 1 cup of chopped onions.
🥕 Vegetables: Frozen peas can be added when incorporating cooked chicken or turkey and heat through. Other frozen vegetables like spinach or corn work well too. Add your choice of fresh veggies with the mushrooms and pressure cook for 1 minute.
🌶️ Spice: Enhance flavor by adding chopped or sliced jalapeños while sautéing vegetables. Alternatively, add diced chipotle peppers with the cream for extra heat.
🌿 Thyme: Substitute dried thyme with 1 to 1½ teaspoons of fresh thyme for a brighter flavor.
⚠️ Burn Message and Sealing Issues: This recipe was tested in a 6-quart Instant Pot Ultra with no sealing issues or burn errors.
How to Make Creamy Chicken Soup
⏲️ Instant Pot Method
- Turn on Saute mode
- Add vegetables
- Saute vegetables and spices
- Deglaze and add broth
- Pressure cook
- Release pressure
- Add chicken and garnish
- Turn on Saute mode. Once the Instant Pot has pre-heated, add butter and let it melt but not brown.
- Stir in leeks, celery, and carrots. Saute vegetables until leeks are soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, pepper, salt, nutmeg and saute for about a minute.
- Add flour and stir constantly for about a minute. Press Cancel and add wine to deglaze the pot. Stir to completely remove brown bits from the bottom of the Instant Pot. If not completely deglazed, add a few tablespoons of broth.
- Stir in remaining broth and mushrooms.
Program the Instant Pot and release pressure
- Close the lid.
- Select Pressure Cook mode and cook on high pressure for 1 minute.
- The display will go from On to 01:00. The float valve will go up after a few minutes. The display will count down to 00:00.
- Do a 10 minute natural release of pressure or a full natural release. Once the float valve goes down, the lid can be opened.
- Stir in cooked chicken and cream.
- Select Saute mode and cook for a couple of minutes until heated through, stirring gently.
Serve garnished with green onions, chopped parsley, and bacon.
♨️ Stovetop Method
- Saute leeks, carrots, celery, and garlic in butter.
- Saute mushrooms.
- Add thyme, pepper, salt, nutmeg and saute for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Stir in flour and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Deglaze and stir in broth, chicken and cream.
- Simmer and garnish with parsley.
[See recipe card below for detailed instructions.]
Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 cups leeks sliced thin
- 1 cup celery chopped
- ¾ cup carrots diced
- 1 Tbsp garlic minced
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon black pepper powder
- ¾ tsp salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup dry white wine or sherry
- 1 ½ cups low sodium chicken broth plus up to ¼ cup more for deglazing
- 2 cups mushrooms sliced or quartered
- 2 cups cooked chicken or turkey diced
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- Garnish: scallions parsley and crumbled bacon
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Select the Saute function.
- Add butter to the inner pot and allow it to melt for a few seconds.
- Add leeks, celery, carrots, and garlic.
- Saute till vegetables have softened, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add thyme, pepper, salt, nutmeg and saute for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Stir in flour and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- At any point, if you find the Instant Pot is getting too hot, press ‘Cancel’ and allow to cool down and then resume cooking.
- Press Cancel and add wine or sherry to deglaze the pot. Stir to remove brown bits from the bottom of the Instant Pot. If not completely deglazed, add a tablespoon or two of broth.
- Stir in remaining broth and mushrooms.
- Close the lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 1 minute.
- Do a 10-minute Natural Release of Pressure (NPR). If you're in a rush, a quick release (QR) would also be fine. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods]
- Stir in chicken and cream.
- Select Saute and allow the ingredients to simmer for a few minutes.
- Garnish each serving with scallions, parsley and/or crumbled bacon.
Stovetop Instructions
- Heat up a large saucepan over medium heat and add butter.
- Sweat leeks, celery, carrots, and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes.
- Increase heat to medium high. Add mushrooms and saute for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Sprinkle thyme, pepper, salt, nutmeg, and flour over vegetables. Saute for 1 minute.
- Deglaze the pan with wine or sherry and simmer until nearly evaporated. Stir in broth, chicken, and cream.
- Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish each serving with scallions, parsley, and/or crumbled bacon.
Notes
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. chopped leeks, minced garlic, cubed carrots, etc.
- See the blog post for more detailed recipe tips.
Nutrition
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I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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Marian says
Is it possible to use half and half in lieu of heavy cream? I always have 1/2 and 1/2 on hand but rarely heavy cream. Not sure if it would curdle.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Marian, yes you could use half and half. It would be a bit thinner and less rich but I think it would be fine.
Skeezix says
It’s important to know which kitchen tools are the best choice for any given task. An Instant Pot works well for ingredients that need long cooking in order to be tender, such as beans or a rump roast. The downside of using a pressure cooker (such as an Instant Pot) is that it takes extra time to bring the pressure up and then to bring it back down again so the lid can be opened. Since there’s nothing in this recipe that needs long cooking or tenderizing, that’s adding a lot of extra time and busywork for no valid reason. It will be faster to simply cook this soup on top of the stove.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
This recipe is one option for people who are looking to make a delicious cream of chicken soup. Of course, a stove is always an option. I do have readers who don’t have access to a stove and some readers (elderly) who don’t feel comfortable using a stove.
Cathy Ajeman says
Can I use my 3 quart pot?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Cathy, the rule of thumb is you need to make sure the contents don’t go past the 2/3 mark. Unless you have food that expands e.g. rice, beans, in which case don’t go past the 1/2 mark.
Amanda says
Hi Neena,
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. It has become my favorite soup! I didn’t really cook with leeks before (they seemed costly), but after trying this soup, I am now a big fan. My husband doesn’t like mushrooms so I had to leave it out, but even without it, this is the best comfort food without being too heavy. By the way, I’ve also tried your red beans and rice recipe and it was also a big hit. Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful IP recipes and tips!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Oh, thanks Amanda! I’m glad you’ve discovered the joy of leeks. Thanks for taking a moment to leave a comment and for sharing your experience.
Laura says
This soup is amazing! I’m making it now a second time, doubling everything and the house smells so good! Thanks!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thanks, Laura – I’m so glad to hear it. It’s the definition of comfort food 🙂
Laura L. Murphy says
Super (sooper?!) tasty! Only thing I did different was evaporated milk instead of cream. Thanks for this great recipe, so full of flavor, will be making this again and again – and doubling!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you, Laura – it’s very kind of you to take the time to comment. It’s such a simple and comforting soup!
Sandra says
My husband I really enjoyed the soup and how you write the recipe is so bread. I am 77 and just wish someone could do chopping for me.lol
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Sandra, I’m with you – I’d love a sous chef just to chop chicken, onions and garlic, haha! Thanks for taking the time to comment on the recipe!
Michelle Welle-Countiss says
Holy cow! I just bought my first Instant Pot Duo and have been looking for recipes that I could “learn” on. This is fantastic! I used broth instead of wine. It is creamy, full of flavor, and perfect for a quick meal. Thanks!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Michelle, you are very wise to try out a recipe like this to introduce yourself to the Instant Pot (or is it vice versa?) I love this recipe for thanksgiving leftovers!
Cynthia says
Thank you so much for detailing this recipe. My husband and I love it,in fact I have made it twice in the last two weeks. I only came across your site recently and want to thank you for your lovely recipes, the little videos and the detailed instructions. I have printed out several more of your recipes this morning and tonight I am making the Morrocan soup.
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Thank you for taking a moment to comment and rate the recipe, Cynthia! I am so excited for you to try the Instant Pot Moroccan Stew. I think you’re going to love it – but do let me know what you think 🙂
Ben says
Great soup for a cold winter day. The family loved it….
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Ben, it’s such a simple soup but so comforting in the winter. Thanks for taking a minute to comment!
John says
If I wanted to add some cut up potatoes, rice, or pasta to this soup, when would be the best step to do so?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi John, you can add diced (1/3 inch cubed) potatoes with the mushrooms, etc and cook for the same amount of time. You can pressure cook some orzo with the soup ingredients, but you’ll need to increase the cooking time to 3 minutes or so (no potatoes though – they would overcook unless you cut them into larger chunks). You can add cooked rice or cooked pasta at the end and heat in saute mode. Enjoy.
Lynn Woods says
I, perhaps mistakenly, bought an 8 qt IP. What would the formula be to convert a 6 qt recipe to an 8 qt? Thanks!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Lynn – you should be able to make most 6 quart recipes in an 8 quart without much change. The only exception is recipes that have very little liquid, in which case you’ll need to increase the liquid by a bit. I’ve made most of my 6 quart recipes in my 8 quart with no problems.