Instant Pot Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup (Paleo, Whole30)
Posted: 12/19/18
Updated: 04/25/23
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This healthy chicken pot pie soup is super rich, creamy, and comforting. Made in the Instant Pot, it’s paleo, Whole30, dairy free, and gluten-free, too, without skimping on any flavor. This healthy soup comes together in about 30 minutes and is good enough to eat all week!
This recipe is from my digital cookbook The Paleo Instant Pot, which you can buy for $25 by clicking here! It includes over 30 Whole30-approved recipes designed for the Instant Pot and focused on flavor. It’s the perfect last-minute Christmas gift for a healthy food lover, and it’s a must for anyone you know getting an Instant Pot under their tree!
Let’s be really clear:
My husband is the winner here.
We’re testing new, healthy recipes daily, usually Whole30 and paleo, but always as flavorful as I can dooty them up to be. When he does a Whole30? It’s like this: he comes home from lawyering all day and sits down to either a brand new dish or one of our regular faves, like egg roll in a bowl, zuppa toscana, or – let’s face it – the chicken zucchini poppers from One Lovely Life.
Got the context? He tries a lot of really good food. So when he tried this soup and said,
“Definitely the best Whole30 soup you’ve ever made.”
I knew we had a seriously good healthy chicken pot pie soup on our hands.
Why we love this healthy chicken pot pie soup
There’s no surprise, really:
- This healthy chicken pot pie soup is made creamy with a coconut-cashew cream, doubling down on the richness of the soup with no dairy at all.
- It’s made in the Instant Pot, and it’s quick and easy.
- This creamy Whole30 soup is insanely comforting and satisfying.
I was inspired by one of my all-time favorite dishes–chicken pot pie–to make a healthier version that I could eat on a Whole30 or our paleo diet.
Variations
- Use fresh herbs, like thyme or rosemary, if you prefer.
- If you can’t eat coconut or are worried about a coconut flavor, you can simply replace the coconut cream with water, almond milk, or chicken stock. However, the coconut cream is delicious in this recipe and doesn’t leave a coconutty flavor!
- Make this healthy chicken pot pie soup in the slow cooker or on the stovetop instead. See directions below.
Use cooked chicken to make this paleo and Whole30 recipe even faster
Simply sauté the mirepoix (the onion, carrots, and celery) and garlic on the stovetop instead of the Instant Pot as detailed in the first step of the recipe, then add the potatoes, chicken broth, and thyme to your pot.
Make your cashew-coconut cream as directed in the recipe.
Bring to a boil and boil until potatoes are fork-tender. Add your chicken and cashew-coconut cream to the pot and stir well. Finish with plenty of salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
Is this recipe dairy free?
It is if you use olive oil in the place of ghee. Most people don’t have a problem with ghee, even if they’re lactose intolerant, but if you’re avoiding all, even minute, instances of lactose, or cow’s milk proteins (for a breastfeeding sensitivity, for example), use the olive oil.
What is coconut cream?
In this recipe, coconut cream means just the white, solid part of a can of coconut milk or coconut cream. Wait, what?
Here’s the deal: “coconut cream” in a can means it contains more of the rich, solid cream than a can of coconut milk does.
I like to buy cans of “coconut cream” (unsweetened, of course) since I can get nearly a cup of pure coconut cream from those. You may need 2 cans of full-fat coconut milk to produce 1 cup of coconut cream.
Refrigerate the coconut milk or cream overnight, then remove the can from the fridge without shaking it or stirring the contents at all. Open the can and scoop off the top layer of thick, solid, white cream. That’s all you want to use in this recipe. You can discard the remaining liquid or use it for something else.
Can I substitute something for the cashews?
Sure! Try 1 cup of steamed cauliflower blended together with the coconut milk in place of the cashews if you have an allergy. If not, use the cashews! They are so, so important to this recipe.
Other recipes you’ll love
- Dreamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
- Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Thighs
- Immune Booster Shot Recipe (Maximum Strength!)
- Instant Pot Brown Rice
- Easy Black Bean Soup
- Mango Habanero Wings
- Egg Roll in a Bowl Meal Prep (Whole30, Paleo, Keto)
- Whole30 Beef Stroganoff
Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup (Paleo, Whole30)
A super-rich and creamy chicken pot pie soup is so comforting and satisfying. It’s made in the Instant Pot, and it’s dairy free, grain free, gluten free, paleo, and Whole30.
servings
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized chunks, approximately 1-2 pounds
- 2 tablespoons ghee or olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced, approximately 1 cup
- 3 large carrots diced, approximately 1 cup
- 3 large celery stalks sliced, approximately 1 cup
- 5-6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound red potatoes diced
- 2 cups chicken broth or chicken stock
- 1 cup full-fat canned coconut cream or coconut milk, see Notes
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt more or less to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried sage
- freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- fresh parsley leaves chopped, for garnish
Equipment
- Instant Pot or other pressure cooker (see Notes for alternate methods)
- high-speed blender
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot on Sauté mode. Melt ghee in pot, then add onion, carrots, and celery, stirring regularly. Cook until onions are soft, then add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Add potatoes, chicken broth, chicken, dried sage, and fresh thyme to Instant Pot. Secure lid with valve in Sealing position and set to Manual High Pressure for 10 minutes. Once Instant Pot pressurizes, cook time will begin.
- While Instant Pot cooks, add coconut milk and cashews to high-speed blender. Blend until very, very smooth.
- When time is up, Quick Release, then stir in coconut-cashew mixture and add salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste. Serve warm.
Notes
- If you do not have a high-speed blender, soak your cashews in hot water for a few hours then drain and proceed with the directions.
- Coconut Cream: Refrigerate a can of unsweetened coconut cream or unsweetened coconut milk overnight. Remove the can without shaking it or stirring the contents. Open the can and scoop off the solid white layer on top of the liquid – use 1 cup of this solid layer in the recipe.
Make This Soup Without an Instant Pot
On the stovetop:- Heat the ghee or olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the onion, carrots, and celery until the onions are soft, then sauté the garlic about a minute or until fragrant. Add the potatoes, chicken broth, sage, and thyme to your pot.
- Bring to a boil and cook 4 minutes.
- Add your chicken breasts and cook for 6 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are fork-tender.
- Meanwhile, make your cashew-coconut cream as directed in the recipe.
- Add your cashew-coconut cream to the pot and stir well. Finish with plenty of salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Heat the ghee or olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté the onion, carrots, and celery until the onions are soft, then sauté the garlic about a minute or until fragrant. Transfer the sautéd mixture Add the potatoes, chicken broth, chicken, sage, and thyme to your pot.
- Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6.
- In the meantime, make the cashew-coconut cream as directed in the recipe. When the slow cooker time is up and potatoes are tender, stir in cashew-coconut cream and season with plenty of salt and pepper.
Video
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 645kcal, Carbohydrates: 42g, Protein: 27g, Fat: 44g, Saturated Fat: 26g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 11g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 55mg, Sodium: 1510mg, Potassium: 1524mg, Fiber: 7g, Vitamin A: 7851IU, Vitamin C: 24mg, Calcium: 87mg, Iron: 6mg, Net Carbs: 35g
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
Are there any alternatives to the coconut cream/milk? Lactose free sour cream, or Greek yogurt maybe?
We didn’t test those alternatives so we can’t say how they might affect the taste or texture, or how you’d need to adjust the recipe to accommodate them. If you try them, please let us know what you tried and how it went!
Ghee has dairy. Dangerous for those with a dairy allergy
You’re right, ghee is not dairy free! It’s only lactose free. We listed olive oil as the other ingredient that can be used, in place of the ghee, and the olive oil is dairy free.
This turned out far too sweet for me. I followed exactly as written – used Trader Joe’s coconut cream (no sugar) and raw cashews and it was inedibly sweet. I had to add a lot of lemon juice, a few dollops of mustard and a lot more herbs. I like the idea of this though, I may try something similar but use cashew nut cream cheese or cashew yogurt to help thicken it.
I’m sorry you had that experience! It definitely shouldn’t have been sweet. I’m not familiar with Trader Joe’s coconut cream – did it specify that it was unsweetened? We actually recommend refrigerating cans of coconut milk for at least 24 hours, then using the coconut cream that forms on top of the liquid. I hope you’ll give it another try!
Can’t wait to try making this in our slow cooker tomorrow! Do you think I could add mushrooms or sweet corn to the recipie?
You could most definitely add mushrooms or sweet corn! Hope you enjoy it!
My favorite soup to make – reminds me of the chicken pot pie my grandmother used to make! I have done instant pot and stove top version! Question: Have you ever frozen this soup?
The texture of the potatoes might be a bit more mushy/gritty once thawed than it would be fresh. If that doesn’t bother you, I’d say go for it! 🙂
Can this recipe be made in the 3qt mini lux instant pot?
It can, but you may need to halve the recipe. We made it in an 6-quart Instant Pot!
Thanks for the wonderful recipe, your amazing.
If I used my instant pot on the soup/broth setting, how long would I cook it for please? Or do you prefer soup cooked on pressure cook mode, like in this recipe?
Thanks Kindly
Thanks for your rating, Lorrae! We suggest the pressure cook method for this recipe, although we do have a stovetop and slow cooker version!