This Instant Pot Winter Vegetable and Chicken Soup is the meal you’ll want to make on a chilly winter night (and then resolve to make on every subsequent weeknight). It’s that good. Full of nourishing veggies, this soup is super hearty, crazy flavorful and STUPID easy to make. Plus, you can feel really great about the fact that it’s low-carb, grain-free and squeaky clean all around.

One of the best parts: You can have someone else cook the chicken for this one. And that someone else should be Costco (or your favorite rotisserie chicken dealer). Simply shred a rotisserie chicken (I recommend Costco’s $5 special) and add it to your soup at the end. It’s those little shortcuts that make recipes like this perfect for busy, busy days.

And if you’re not a fan of chicken soup on busy and cold winter days, who ARE you? It really is the coziest of food, and after a long day of work or errands or general craziness, it’s one of the best things you can come home to. So make this Instant Pot Winter Vegetable and Chicken Soup on a dreary day (or just a sunny day when you need a little extra comfort) and you’ll thank yourself for it.

the process

This is a true shortcut recipe in that half of the recipe is using a shredded rotisserie chicken. And the other half requires very little to no heavy lifting – you literally just chop veggies and put them in your Instant Pot with some bone broth or chicken broth.

As I’ve mentioned in previous recipes, I like to keep the herbs and spices SIMPLE. For this one, that means using my favorite duo, rosemary and thyme, with a little fresh tarragon to mix it up. When using dried rosemary and thyme in a recipe like this, I recommend mincing it very finely versus using the whole pieces. If you have ground spices, that also works!

Please note that when you do add in the precooked and chopped or shredded chicken, put it in at the end. This may not come as a surprise to you, but there’s no need to cook a precooked chicken. Just toss it into the hot soup at the end (well if you’re one of those literal-minded people, just avoid what I said. Please don’t toss it in. You’ll get burned.) and leave it in the Instant Pot for about 10 minutes to warm it up.

Serve in a bowl with gluten-free crackers or just on its own. This is a magical bowl of coziness, and the best part: It only requires HALF of your effort for ALL of the flavor.