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
To do this:
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?
It’s more complicated than it sounds. 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.
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.
How to make this Instant Pot healthy chicken pot pie soup
Start by sautéing your onions, carrots, and celery in ghee or olive oil in the Instant Pot on Sauté mode until onions are soft. Add the garlic and sauté briefly, about 30-60 seconds, until fragrant.
Add the potatoes, chicken broth, chicken, and thyme to the Instant Pot. Seal the lid and cook on Manual High Pressure for 10 minutes. It’ll take about 10-15 minutes for the Instant Pot to come to pressure.
In the meantime, make your cashew-coconut cream. In a high-speed blender, blend your cashews and coconut cream until very, very smooth. 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.
After the Instant Pot is finished cooking, Quick Release and stir in the cashew-coconut cream. Season with lots of salt and freshly cracked black pepper and garnish with fresh chopped parsley.
How to make this healthy chicken pot pie soup on the stovetop
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can absolutely make this recipe 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, and thyme to your pot.
Bring to a boil and cook 4 minutes.
Add your chicken breasts and cook 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.
How to make this chicken pot pie soup in the slow cooker
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 to the slow cooker. 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.
On our free Whole30 meal plan.
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
Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup (Paleo, Whole30)
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized chunks
- 2 Tbsp. ghee or olive oil
- 1 onion diced, 1 cup
- 3 carrots diced, 1 cup
- 3 stalks celery sliced, 1 cup
- 5-6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound red potatoes diced
- 2 cups chicken broth or stock
- 1 cup full-fat canned coconut cream or milk
- 1 cup cashews
- 2 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 tsp. dried sage
- freshly cracked black pepper
- fresh parsley leaves chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot on Sauté mode. Melt ghee in the 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 the valve in Sealing position and cook Manual High Pressure for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add coconut milk and cashews to a high-speed blender. Blend until very, very smooth.
- When time is up, Quick Release, then stir in the coconut-cashew mixture and add salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.
Video
Notes
If you don't have 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.
In the slow cooker:
- 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.
This is really yummy! I omitted the cashews since I didn’t have any. Wish I had read the comments to try steamed cauliflower instead. But it’s still delicious. Really does taste like pot pie! It was a little thinner than I like (probably b/c of no cashews) but I think it will thicken up in the fridge. What are the calories per serving? I’m seeing 545 kcal but I’m having no luck figuring out what that means. Thanks for the great recipe and easy to follow directions!
Hi! We just updated the recipe card to reflect that detail. 446 calories per serving. 🙂
Omgoodness! Thus is the BOMB!!
LOVED IT!
I didn’t add potatoes and I cut back on the thyme and sage, but it so so good!!
I NEVER make comments on recipes that I’ve tried….but this one…WOW! This soup is seriously delicious and so easy to make. My husband and I do a Whole 30 every January so I’m always looking for new and interesting recipes. This tastes better than my regular chicken pot pie!!! It is so flavorful and delicious! Thank you!!!
Wowza So SO good. I have had an insta pot for 3 years and have been afraid to use it 🙈. The steam release made me jump, but man was it easy to use and make this delicious soup. This Whole 30 is easier b/c I have new recipes – THANKS to YOU!! Cheers.
I normally don’t post on recipes I make. However I just wanted to say this was AWESOME! So yummy! So glad I made it. Need to keep this one one hand.
Absolutely delicious! Huge hit for whole family (toddlers included).
I didn’t have any of the fresh herbs on hand so I skipped that, added some extra garlic seasoning and it tasted wonderful.
Will be a staple in our household 🙂
Yum yum yum! So easy and flavorful! My husband LOVES this and says he can do Whole30 forever as long as we keep this soup in the rotation!
Glad y’all like it!
Made this tonight and it was delicious!! Will be saving it to the rotation. I was wondering if it freezes well??
Yes! It freezes well. 🙂
Omg this soup was ridiculously delicious and my husband and I loved it! So happy we made it!
So glad you loved it!
Absolutely love this soup, it’s now a staple when I’m craving something on a cold night. I was dubious using the coconut cream but it adds the richness the soup needs and surprisingly no strong coconut flavor. I add a can of corn at the end and top with crunchy bacon and green onions which make it AMAZING. Thank you so much!!
Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience!
I was very hesitant about the cashews but this tastes just like chicken pot pie minus the pie crust. Absolutely delicious!
Thank you!!!
Can I use something besides cashews? I am allergic to cashews.Thanks!
Steamed cauliflower is a great substitute. 🙂
Thanks!
Made this tonight and…. it was a hit!
Yay, we are so glad you love it!
I made this recipe three times! I used coconut cream for my first try and decided I didn’t like the coconut flavor. I use coconut milk instead and blend it with sea-salted cashews. I tried using fresh and dried thyme for different batches, and fresh makes a big difference in taste and aroma. I added more onion, celery, and carrots to make the soup heartier. This soup is really yummy but I think this recipe could still use something extra. I might try adding turmeric and fresh lemon, or maybe a few drops of red boat fish sauce.
Thanks for sharing your experiences! 🙂