Prep all of the ingredients; chop the veggies, cube the chicken into bite-sized pieces, measure out the spices, broth, etc.

Turn on the Sauté setting. When hot, add the oil, onion, bay leaf, and celery. Cook for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables start to soften.

Add the chicken and cook a couple of minutes, stirring frequently.


Add the garlic and stir. Add a splash of the broth and stir to moisten and keep the contents from scorching. If the bottom of your pot has browned bits on it, use a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom and get them all up (called Deglazing - this prevents the burn error). Use a little more broth if needed.

Pour in the remainder of the chicken broth and add the carrots to the pot.

Add the spices to the pot, then add the uncooked rice and stir well.

Close the lid and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position, if not self-sealing.

Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button or dial, then the +/- button or dial to select 3 minutes. High Pressure. The pot will take several minutes to come to pressure.

When the cook cycle has finished, turn off the pot and let it sit undisturbed for 5 minutes (5 minute natural release). Then turn the steam release knob to the Venting position to release the remaining steam/pressure.

When the pin in the lid drops back down, open the lid, turn off the pot, and discard the bay leaf.

Add the parsley and stir.

If using the lemon juice, add and stir. Taste the soup and adjust salt, if needed.