This extra-flavorful chicken pesto soup has all the appeal that makes chicken soup such a popular dish, plus pesto and lemon juice! And you can make this fun chicken and pesto soup in the Instant Pot or on the stove!
PIN the Chicken Pesto Soup recipe to make later!
Chicken pesto soup is a recipe I came up with when I was experimenting with a chicken soup with cauliflower rice! And I know people love pesto chicken. So knowing the popularity of that combination likely influenced the impulse to add pesto to this tasty soup.
And the chicken soup with pesto and lemon was a real wow for me! I made this soup in the Instant Pot, which was quick and easy. But you can easily make it on the stove, and I provide instructions for that. Whichever version you prefer, I hope you make this interesting soup right away!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is just a list of ingredients; scroll down for the full printable recipe. Or if you want the GO TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, which will take you directly to the full recipe with ingredient quantities.)
Which pesto did I use for Chicken Pesto Soup?
I always use my Basil Pesto with Lemon if I have some in the fridge or freezer. But when I don’t have homemade pesto, I love it Kirkland Basil Pesto (affiliate link) sold at Costco or on Amazon.com.
This is how you make soup with pesto and keep the pot clean:
This is a simple recipe, but I want to give you one warning: Make sure to turn off the heat when stirring the pesto into the hot soup. If you add pesto and let the soup sit while the Instant Pot (or stove) is still on, you will have melted cheese on the pot that is difficult to remove. (I learned that the hard way, although it didn’t stop me from really enjoying the soup!) Another option to keep your Instant Pot or stockpot as clean as possible is to stir some pesto into each bowl of soup when you serve it.
How low in carbohydrates is this Chicken Pesto Soup?
This fun chicken soup variation contains only 5 net carbs and 22 grams of protein per serving!
Do you love your Instant Pot?
I use one 6 liter instant pot for all my recipes made in the Instant Pot. Check out my growing collection of Instant Pot recipes!
How to make Chicken Pesto Soup:
(This is just a summary of the steps for the recipe; scroll down for the full printable recipe. Or if you want the GO TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, which will take you directly to the full recipe.)
- Remove the cauliflower rice from the freezer and let it begin to thaw.
- Clean the chicken fillets and cut them lengthwise.
- Finely chop the onion, celery and carrots.
- Set Instant Pot to SAUTE, HIGH HEAT and melt butter; Then add the onion, carrots and celery and cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add Italian herb seasoning, sage, ground thyme, salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook for another minute.
- Add chicken broth or broth, chicken breast strips and soup base.
- Lock lid and set Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH, 6 minutes.
- Let Instant Pot natural release 10 minutes; Then release the rest of the pressure.
- Remove the cooked chicken pieces to the cutting board.
- Set Instant Pot to SAUTE, LOW and add frozen cauliflower rice.
- While the cauliflower rice is cooking, cut the chicken into pieces.
- After the cauliflower rice has cooked for about 5 minutes, add the shredded chicken to the soup and cook for about 3 more minutes.
- Turn off the Instant Pot and stir in the basil pesto and lemon juice.
- Serve the Chicken Pesto Soup immediately and enjoy! We served this with more Parmesan cheese to add to the table.
- See full recipe below for stovetop instructions for this recipe.
Make it a low-carb meal:
One of these low-carb breads or muffins would taste great with Chicken Pesto Soup:
Want more low-carb Instant Pot soups?
Check out Low-Carb and Keto Instant Pot Soups for many more tasty soup ideas.
Ingredients
1 small onion, chopped
2 small carrots, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon butter
1 teaspoon. Italian herb seasoning
1/2 tsp. ground sage
1/2 tsp. ground thyme (see notes)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
8 cups chicken stock (see notes)
3 T chicken soup base
4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
10.5 oz. package of frozen cauliflower rice (see notes)
1/4 cup basil pesto (see notes)
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice (see notes)
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Remove the cauliflower rice from the freezer and let it begin to thaw on the counter. (I used a 10.5 oz package, which contained 2.5 cups of cauliflower rice.)
- Clean the chicken fillets and cut them lengthwise into 2 or 3 strips.
- Finely chop the onion, celery and carrots. (You can use less carrot if you want to reduce the carbs even more.)
- Set Instant Pot to SAUTE, HIGH HEAT and melt butter. Then add the chopped onion, carrots and celery and cook for a few minutes.
- Add Italian herb seasoning, sage, ground thyme, salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook for another minute.
- Add chicken broth or broth, chicken breast strips and soup base.
- Lock lid and set Instant Pot to MANUAL, HIGH, 6 minutes.
- When the time is up, let the Instant Pot release naturally for 10 minutes; Then carefully open the valve and release the rest of the pressure.
- Place the cooked chicken pieces on a cutting board.
- Set Instant Pot to SAUTE, LOW and add the frozen cauliflower rice.
- While the cauliflower rice is cooking, cut the chicken into pieces.
- After the cauliflower rice has cooked for at least 5 minutes, add the shredded chicken to the soup and cook for about 3 more minutes.
- Turn off the Instant Pot and stir in the basil pesto and lemon juice.
- Serve immediately and enjoy! We served this with more Parmesan cheese to add to the table.
Instructions for the hob:
- Defrost the cauliflower rice, prepare the vegetables and prepare the chicken in the same way as above.
- For stovetop cooking, you will need at least another half cup of chicken stock or broth.
- Melt the butter in a large stockpot and fry the onion, carrots and celery for a few minutes.
- Then add Italian herb seasoning, sage, thyme, salt and freshly ground black pepper and cook for a few more minutes.
- Add chicken stock or stock, chicken breast strips and soup base to the stockpot and reduce heat to low.
- Simmer the soup over low heat for about 40 minutes, or until the chicken is firm.
- Remove chicken to cutting board and add cauliflower rice. Cook on low for about 15 more minutes.
- Cut the chicken into pieces and add them to the stockpot when the cauliflower rice is ready. Cook for about 5 more minutes to ensure the chicken is heated through.
- Turn off the heat, stir in the basil pesto and lemon juice and serve.
Comments
If you have homemade chicken stock, it will be delicious in this soup. If you use canned chicken stock, 8 cups is 4.5 cans. If cooking on the stove, use the whole 5 cans. I use Better than stock roasted chicken base (affiliate link), but any chicken soup base that you like the taste of will work.
The 10.5 oz. package of frozen cauliflower rice was 2.5 cups; You can use a little more if you prefer a thicker soup.
Use more or less pesto and lemon juice to taste. If I had some of my Lemon Basil Pesto in the freezer, I would definitely use it for the soup, but store-bought basil pesto is delicious too. I used my fresh frozen lemon juice lemon juice.
Recipe created by Kalyn and perfected for the Instant Pot with help from Kara.
Nutritional information
Yield
8
Portion size
1
Quantity per serving
Calories 191Total fat 8gSaturated fat 2gTrans fat 0 gramsUnsaturated fat 5gCholesterol 62mgSodium 1188 mgCarbohydrates 7gFiber 2gSugar 3gEgg white 22g
Nutritional information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I use. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy as many variables influence these calculations.
Suggestions for a low-carb diet / low-glycemic diet / South Beach diet:
Chicken Pesto Soup is a great dinner option for any low-carb diet, including Keto. It’s also great for any phase of the Original South Beach Diet.
Find more recipes like this:
Use Instant Pot Recipes to find more soups like this. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTokor on YouTube to see all the good recipes I share there.
Historical notes on this recipe:
This tasty chicken and pesto soup was first posted in 2021. The recipe was last updated with more information in 2026.
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