Healthy Chicken, Bean and Vegetable Soup (Instant Pot)

This soup is loaded with protein and vegetables! You can make it vegetarian/vegan by omitting the chicken and using vegetable broth. Grab your instant pot and get ready for a healthy and comforting recipe that your whole family will love!

Whether the weather outside calls for warm, hearty soups or not, I start craving some kind of soup loaded with healthy ingredients after a few days of off-track eating. To me, that means in a stretch of days with less meal planning or more pizza and pasta nights than normal. (It’s all about balance, right?)

I originally made this recipe while my mom was in town visiting us and literally wanted all the chicken and vegetables that I could get my hands on that day. I added beans instead of the typical rice or potato option, but you could totally substitute or add those ingredients in if you’d like.

The first batch was good, but I wanted to make it great and remade it earlier this week with a few tweaks!

The final product turned out fantastic, and I even added a few generous sprinkles of crushed red pepper flakes to my leftovers. It was perfect!

This was my second original recipe using the Instant Pot, so I spent a good amount of time figuring out the right process. I think I’ve finally figured out the sweet spot of what to layer first to avoid burning!

You could choose to use the stovetop to cook your soup instead of the Instant Pot. In this case, you would need to cook the chicken and also your onions, carrots and celery (with the garlic) first. Shred the chicken and then transfer everything to a large soup pot. Then add the broth, beans and spices, but leave out the spinach until the very end like the directions below. Simmer until the vegetables turn soft for at least two hours, add the spinach in and you’ll be good to go!

Back to the Instant Pot, here is how it all breaks down. You’ll spend a decent amount of time chopping the vegetables, but then it’s all pretty easy and quick from there.

To avoid burning, start with the oil and vegetables at the bottom, then add the broth, the beans, the chicken and then spices.

For this recipe, you will cook everything except the spinach and toppings. After 10 minutes of cooking, and 5 minutes of sitting, the soup will be done! Then, you’ll go back and add the spinach and mix it around for about two minutes.

That’s it!

Serve hot with the toppings of your choice and/or with a side of crackers or bread. So easy!

I made this last night and finished off another bowl and a half for lunch today, and it was even better the second time around. Just like most soups and stews, this one packs extra flavor the longer it simmers and sits!

Now onto the deets.

Here’s the how-to:

(Simply right-click the photo above to save, pin, or print the recipe.)

Please let me know if you give any of the recipes featured on this blog a try. I’d love to hear your thoughts or tweaks if you made them!

All right, I better go and get ready to pick Skyler up from preschool. Thanks for checking in today, and I’ll see you back here tomorrow with a new set of Friday Favorites.

Have a great night!

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You might also like:

• Chunky Beef and Vegetable Soup (Instant Pot)
• Easy, Hearty, Tortellini Soup
• Black Bean and Vegetable Soup
• Hearty Vegetable Minestrone Soup