This Jerk Chicken Soup is a delicious spin on traditional chicken soup. Made with an authentic jerk seasoning, sweet potato, beans, and corn. Have a taste of the Caribbean with this amazing and flavorful soup.
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Jerk chicken soup? That's usually the question I get when I talk about this recipe. Yes, it's a little different but it's oh so tasty.
I love using Walkerswood Jerk Seasoning when it comes to my jerk recipes. I use it in my Air Fried Jamaican Jerk Pork and I even make bbq sauce with it.
I first learned about Jerk Chicken Soup from my cousin in Jamaica who owned a restuarant on the island. According to him, jerk chicken soup was one of the most popular items on the menu. I've had Jamaican pumpkin soup and fish soup, but this was the first I even heard of a jerk chicken soup.
I recreated the dish at home in my Instant Pot because it is my go to vessel for creating soups. I choose to sear my chicken pieces first to give the soup more flavor. Since the Instant Pot has a pretty reliable sear option, it works great for this recipe.
How to Make Jerk Chicken Soup?
First, you'll want to rub your chicken thighs with the jerk seasoning and sear it in the Instant Pot. This gives the soup so much flavor. The bottom of your pot will get dark but that's ok.
Make sure you do not overcrowd your pot when searing or your chicken won't brown properly. I cook in batches and I usually place 2-3 pieces at a time. I then set it aside.
Next, you will deglaze your Instant Pot with a little chicken broth. This is an important step whenever you use the sauté feature on your Instant Pot. Prior to pressure cooking, all brown bits should be removed from the bottom of the instant Pot. Use a wooden spoon to delgaze properly.
Once you've deglazed, you will add your onions, garlic, and green pepper and cook until the onions soften. Then you'll add the remainder of the ingredients, including the browned chicken, and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Once the pressure cooking cycle is complete, I allow it to natural release for 10 minutes, then I release any remaining pressure.
Once I open the lid, I give my soup a nice stir to break up the chicken thighs. I then add some coconut milk to lighten it up and calm down the spice. I then add salt and pepper to the pot.
How Long to Cook Soup in the Instant Pot Pressure Cooker?
It truly depends on the recipe on how long you will cook your soup. I've cooked soups for as little as 10 minutes and some as long as 30. I like to cook this soup at 15 to ensure that my flavors develop and that my thighs cook to the point that they shred once my soup is done.
Can you sub ingredients in the Soup?
You sure can. I've used celery in this recipe, black beans, and carrots before. The possibilities are endless. You could use your very own jerk seasoning but I highly recommend Walkerswood Jerk Seasoning if you want a real authentic jerk flavor.
Hope you enjoy this Jerk Chicken Soup recipe as much as we do 🙂
Looking for more Soup Recipes? Try these out:
- Mannish Water (Goat Soup)
- Easy Seafood Chowder
- Pressure cooker Lentil Soup (Carrabba's Copycat)
- Hearty Instant Pot Vegetable Soup
Looking for more Caribbean recipes? Try these out:
- Instant Pot Jamaican Cornmeal Porridge
- Jamaican Rum Punch
- Air Fryer Jamaican Jerk Pork
- Jamaican Corned Beef and Cabbage
- Jamaican Callaloo and Saltfish
- Jamaican Rice and Peas (Instant Pot)
- Jamaican Oxtails Recipe (Instant Pot)
Pin Jerk Chicken Soup for Later
Jerk Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- ¼ cup jerk seasoning
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 green scallions chopped
- 1 medium sweet potato chopped
- ½ green pepper chopped
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 14.5 oz can red kidney beans rinsed and drained
- 1 14.5 oz can whole kernel corn drained
- 4 cups chicken broth separated
- ½ cup coconut milk
- cilantro garnish
Instructions
- Wash and pat chicken thighs dry. Pour jerk seasoning over the the chicken and combine, making sure that all the chicken thighs are covered with the seasoning.
- Set Instant Pot to sauté, select more so that the sauté setting will be on high heat.
- Once Instant Pot says hot, add vegetable oil. Place 2-3 pieces of chicken in the Instant Pot. Cook each side until browned (about 2 minutes per side). Cook in batches until all chicken thigh pieces have been browned. Set to the side.
- Once all chicken pieces are removed, add about ¼ cup chicken broth to the bottom of the Instant Pot. Use a wooden spoon to get up all of the brown bits on the bottom.
- Add yellow onion, green pepper, minced garlic, and green onions. Stir until onions are softened, about 3 minutes. Turn off Instant Pot. Add sweet potato, red kidney beans, corn, and chicken broth. Place browned chicken thighs on top of the soup, ensuring that the chicken thighs are in the liquid. Cover and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes.
- Once pressure cook cycle is complete, allow soup to natural release for 10 minutes, then release the remaining pressure. Once all pressure is released, open lid and stir, shredding the chicken as you stir. Add coconut milk. Season with salt and pepper and top with cilantro.
Stovetop Instructions
- Wash and pat chicken thighs dry. Pour jerk seasoning over the the chicken and combine, making sure that all the chicken thighs are covered with the seasoning.
- Place a large pot over medium-high heat. Add vegetable oil. Brown the chicken thighs in the oil on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
- Once all chicken pieces are removed, add about ¼ cup chicken broth to the bottom of the Instant Pot. Use a wooden spoon to get up all of the brown bits on the bottom.
- Add yellow onion, green pepper, minced garlic, and green onions. Stir until onions are softened, about 3 minutes. Add sweet potato, red kidney beans, corn, and chicken broth. Place browned chicken thighs on top of the soup, ensuring that the chicken thighs are in the liquid.
- Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and bring the mixture to a simmer. Allow the soup to simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once cooked, the chicken shroud shred naturally in the pot while you stir. If it doesn't, remove the cooked chicken thighs from the soup, allow to cool, and shred. Then return to the pot.
- Add coconut milk. Season with salt and pepper and top with cilantro.
Video
Notes
Notes on Jerk Chicken Soup
- This recipe was made in a 6qt Instant Pot Duo.
- Walkerswood Jerk Seasoning comes in mild and hot and spicy. Both work well in this recipe. Use the kind that works best for your taste.
- Always deglaze your Instant Pot with a wooden spoon.
Nutrition
Step by Step Photos of Jerk Chicken Soup
This post was updated on September 6, 2022 with stovetop instructions in the recipe card.
Yolanda Mohr says
I haven’t tried it yet but it makes me so sad people are so quick to throw stones. No one says all recipes are exactly the same. Will be trying this soon. Keep up the good work!
Tanya says
Thanks Yolanda!
Sherri says
We love this recipe. I cooked it on stovetop with 5 bone in thighs. Boiled thighs till tender and deboned. Kept broth plus added a little canned broth to make about 4-5 cups. Sauteed onions and bell pepper some butter then threw seasonings on top of vegetables for a minute or two. Put all the vegetables and seasoning back into broth including chopped sweet potato,corn,beans and cooked till tender about 45 minutes. Then added back chicken and canned coconut milk.
For seasonings I looked up a Jamaican jerk recipe and mixed up my own. Delicious!
Louie says
Can you make this on the stovetop? What changes would be required? Thank you
Tanya says
Hi Louie, yes it can, You would follow the recipe as instructed in a large heavy bottom pot but rather than pressure cooking it, you would simmer the ingredients over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through and the sweet potatoes, have softened, about 20-30 minutes.
Rob says
As always, your recipes are delicious and so is this Jerk Chicken soup. I made it in my 8qt Foodi. Unfortunately, I used about 3/4 jar of Walkerswood HOT jerk sauce and, as my wife says, it's delish but too painful to eat. Next time I will back off on the jerk sauce. But, for now, I have a big pot of soup that I cannot eat all by myself and so I will need to seek out friends and family with a high heat tolerance to help me get this consumed! Thank you for your recipes, you are the best! cheers
Tanya says
Oh wow, that sounds hot. You could add a little more coconut milk to try and tame it some more too. So glad you all enjoyed it 🙂
Amy says
This jerk chicken soup is delicious! I made it just the way the recipe is written. We loved every bite.
Tanya says
Thank you Amy 🙂
Sonia says
My hubby made the jerk chicken . It’s amazing , it is tasty ,nutritious and easy to prepare. Thank you Tanya.
Tanya says
Thank you, Sonia! So happy you liked it 🙂
Nicki says
Hi do you try it with dumplings yet?
Sunny says
This was great! I used a huge chicken breast, two small sweet potatoes and a red bell pepper since that was what I had on hand. It turned out excellent with just the right amount of heat and excellent seasoning with the Walkerswood. Will definitely make again!
MJ says
This is truly delicious. I used bone in chicken breasts (pre-seasoned Trini style and further marinated in the jerk sauce for about 8 hours) and beef stock (cause it was already opened and needed to be used) and forgot to pick up a green pepper. Otherwise, I stuck to the recipe and I will def be making it again. I hope this freezes well... I have a tendency to freeze half of any soup I make so that I can easily revisit it when I inevitably don't feel like cooking in a couple week's time.
Thank you for this!
Miss vee says
Hi tanya could i add dumplings to this soup if so would it cook through at 15 minutes in the pressure cooker
Tanya says
Hi Miss Vee, I haven't added dumplings yet (I need to, my husband keeps asking me to) but they should cook in the time frame. Since it takes a little while to rise to pressure, your dumplings have enough time to cook through.
Vanisha Chauhan says
Amazing thank you tanya I'll let you know how it turns out with the dumplings. Can't wait to try this recipe.
Dale Mckinney says
@Miss vee, can someone please share dumpling recipe
Mimi says
Hi! I only have chicken breast this time around can I make it with that instead? And what would the time be??
I’ve made this recipe so many times and every time it’s been Soo delicous!! So thank you. So many compliments
Tanya says
Thank you Mimi! You can use chicken breast instead. I'd keep the cooktime the same.
Sean says
Good lord. I love spicy but this was WAY spicy. I used the hot jerk sauce. do not do that! Use way less if you use it or mix with mild. I could rename myself Dragon at this point because I’m breathing fire. I feel like I have tiny bombs blowing up in my mouth.....Good idea though. Good ingredients. I added rotel tomatoes and just now made some rice to add to try and calm it down a bit. Anyway, thanks for the soup!
Tanya says
Oh no, yes, mixing with mild should make it less spicy. You could also add some sour cream to cool it down too.
Cruz says
I made this tonight and it is delicious! Bye bye plain ole chicken noodle soup....
Tanya says
Awesome! So glad you liked it...and I agree, this is my favorite chicken soup.
Yashica says
Can you use a crockpot?
Tanya says
I haven’t made this in a crockpot but I know it would work as I’ve made similiar soups in the crockpot...you may need to sear the thighs on the stovetop first to get that nice seat. Then I’d do 6-8 hrs on low. I’d wait to add the coconut milk before serving.
Yashica says
How would you do the cook time on the stove? Or crockpot. I do not have Ip