This Instant Pot chicken and farro soup is a hearty bowl of chicken, carrots, celery, and leek with chewy farro, garlic, and dried thyme, oregano, and parsley. It cooks in 12 minutes, and about 45 minutes from start to finish. It's a warming soup for the cold months and the long nights around Yule. Below the recipe, you'll find why farro is such a good winter grain, what each ingredient brings magically, and how to stir a little warmth into the pot for the season.
Why Farro Soup Is Good Winter Food
Farro soup is good winter food because farro is a grain of the summer harvest that keeps all winter long. In Italy, farro is usually sown in autumn and harvested from mid-July to mid-August, then dried and stored. A pot of it in winter is last summer's harvest, eaten in the coldest part of the year.
Farro is also one of the oldest grains people have eaten. The name covers three ancient hulled wheats, einkorn, emmer, and spelt, which come from the Fertile Crescent. In ancient Rome, emmer was called far, and it was cooked into puls, a porridge that was a staple of Roman cooking and part of their oldest religious rituals. Roman couples in the oldest form of marriage, confarreatio, even shared a cake made of emmer.
A hot bowl of grain, chicken, and herbs is exactly what the long nights around the winter solstice call for. For more ways to work with the season, see our guide to winter witchcraft and our Yule correspondences.
Magical Properties of the Ingredients
This pot leans toward abundance, protection, and steady strength for the cold months. Here is what each ingredient brings.
- Farro is for abundance and having enough. It's an ancient wheat, a grain of the harvest stored to carry people through winter.
- Thyme is for courage and for a peaceful home.
- Oregano is the herb of happiness. Practitioners use it for joy and for letting go of what's weighing on you.
- Parsley is for protection and purification.
- Garlic is one of the oldest protection foods, used to keep harm away from the household.
- Carrots are for grounding. They grow down into the dark earth.
- Celery is for focus and calm.
- Leek is for protection and strength, like its cousins onion and garlic.
- Tomato has long been called the "love apple," and practitioners use it for love and for protecting the home.
- Chicken is nourishment and comfort, the base of a soup made to warm the people you love.
- Salt is protection and purification.
- Black pepper is a fire spice for protection and for clearing away what you don't want to carry through winter.
How to Make Chicken and Farro Soup in the Instant Pot
To make chicken and farro soup in the Instant Pot, sauté the leek, carrots, and celery in oil, add garlic and tomato paste, then add the broth, farro, herbs, salt, pepper, and whole chicken breasts. Pressure cook for 12 minutes, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, and shred the chicken back into the soup.
Instant Pot Chicken and Farro Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 cups carrots halved lengthwise and cut into 3/4-inch slices
- 1 cup celery sliced, with leaves
- 1 leek or 1 bunch green onions sliced
- 1 ½ teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon ground thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup pearled farro rinsed
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to Sauté and heat the oil. Sauté the leek (or green onions), carrots, and celery until the vegetables soften. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the broth and scrape up anything stuck to the bottom so the Instant Pot doesn't show a burn warning. Add the remaining ingredients, laying the chicken breasts on top.
- Close the lid, set the valve to sealing, and pressure cook on high for 12 minutes.
- Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then release the rest manually.
- Lift out the chicken, shred it with two forks, and stir it back into the soup. Serve.
Notes
- This timing is for pearled farro, the kind most grocery stores sell.
- Taste before adding more salt. Store-bought broth is often salted already.
- Use homemade bone broth or chicken broth for the richest flavor.
- Farro keeps soaking up broth as the soup sits. Add a splash of broth or water when you reheat leftovers.
- Leftovers keep for 4 days in the fridge.
How to Stir Warmth Into the Pot for Winter
You can make this soup a small kitchen spell for a warm, well-fed winter by holding that wish in mind while it cooks. Here's how.
- Choose who you're cooking for. It might be your household, a friend who's had a hard week, or yourself.
- Name what each ingredient brings as it goes in. Farro is for having enough, garlic and leek are for protection, and the herbs are for joy and a peaceful home.
- Stir clockwise once everything is in the pot. Practitioners stir clockwise to draw something in. While you stir, recite:
Grain of summer, winter's bowl,
keep us warm and keep us whole.
- Share the first bowls while they're hot. If you're cooking for someone outside your home, bring them a jar of it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do You Have to Soak Farro Before Cooking It in the Instant Pot?
No, you don't have to soak farro before cooking it in the Instant Pot. Rinse pearled farro and add it straight to the pot. It turns tender and chewy in 12 minutes.
What Is the Difference Between Pearled and Whole Farro?
The difference between pearled and whole farro is how much of the outer bran is left on the grain. Pearled farro has the bran rubbed off, so it cooks faster. Whole farro keeps all of its bran and needs a longer cooking time.
Can I Use Chicken Thighs Instead of Breasts?
Yes, you can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts. Use the same weight and the same 12-minute cook time, then shred them the same way.
How Do I Store Chicken and Farro Soup?
Store chicken and farro soup in the fridge for up to 4 days. The farro keeps soaking up broth, so add a splash of broth or water when you reheat it.
Can I Freeze Chicken and Farro Soup?
Yes, you can freeze chicken and farro soup for up to 3 months. The farro softens a little after freezing, so add a splash of broth when you reheat it.
A pot of soup on a cold night is one of the simplest ways to look after the people you love.
