Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup made from scratch and in a fraction of the time. Delicious and hearty, loaded with noodles and chicken, this soup will warm the cockles of your heart.
I wished for snow for Christmas and my wish came true tenfold. While it was beautiful while snowing, now I don’t wish for it anymore, but I’m stuck with it. That and the temperature, because it’s been very cold. Nothing’s better on a cold winter night than a bowl of comforting chicken noodle soup. Especially when you have a cold. Not me, but hubs does.
Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
Which is why I decided to make him a chicken noodle soup, in the instant pot because you guys have been emailing me for more and more IP recipes. While I have some coming over the next few months, I thought now would be the perfect time for a chicken noodle soup.
How To Make Chicken Noodle Soup In The Instant Pot
The secret to good chicken noodle soup is to make the broth from scratch using chicken with skin and bones. My mom always made her soup with a whole chicken, lots of carrots, onion, celery and sometimes a parsnip for more flavor. The end result is always the best and tastiest broth and my favorite part was always the noodles. Oodles of noodles, the more the better.
This Instant Pot chicken noodle soup is similar but it takes a lot less time and the soup is just as incredible, loaded with tons of flavor.
I did not use a whole chicken, it’s not necessary, but you’ll need about 2 lbs of chicken with skin and bones. You will want at least one chicken breast, so that you have some to shred after to add back to the soup. The biggest advantage of using the Instant Pot to make this soup is of course time. It takes 7 minutes to cook the chicken for that delicious broth.
Someone asked me if the food cooked in the Instant Pot is bland and I think the exact opposite is the truth. I find the flavors richer and much deeper. When you open that lid after cooking and the aromas hit your nose, you won’t be able to wait till you have a taste of this soup.
One thing to note is I didn’t cook the noodles with the chicken on the soup cycle and that is because I didn’t want to end up with mushy noodles, noodles cook quick anyway, so I didn’t think it’s necessary.
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Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon butter unsalted
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 medium carrots chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon pepper or to taste
- 1 teaspoon thyme dry, 1 tbsp if using fresh
- 1 tablespoon parsley fresh, chopped
- 1 tablespoon oregano fresh, chopped, 1 tsp if using dry
- 4 cups chicken broth no sodium added
- 2 pounds chicken with skin and bones, use at least 1 chicken breast
- 4 cups water
- 5 ounce egg noodles uncooked, (about 2 cups)
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. (See your manufacturer’s guide for detailed instructions on how to use your instant pot.)
- Add the butter and cook until the butter has melted. Add the onion, carrots and celery and saute for 3 minutes until the onion softens and becomes translucent.
- Season with salt and pepper, add the thyme, parsley, oregano and stir. Pour in the chicken broth. Add the chicken pieces and add another 4 cups of water.
- Close the lid (follow the manufacturer’s guide for instructions on how to close the instant pot lid). Set the Instant Pot to the Soup setting and set the timer to 7 minutes.
- Once the Instant Pot cycle is complete, wait until the natural release cycle is complete, should take about 10 minutes. Follow the manufacturer’s guide for quick release, if in a rush. Carefully unlock and remove the lid from the instant pot.
- Remove the chicken pieces from the soup and shred with two forks.
- Add the noodles to the soup and set the Instant Pot to the saute setting again. Cook for another 6 minutes uncovered, or until the noodles are cooked.
- Turn off the Instant Pot, by pressing the cancel button. Add the shredded chicken back to the Instant Pot, taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary. Garnish with additional parsley if preferred.
Video
Recipe Notes
- What is an Instant Pot: An IP is a multi-cooker, it’s like seven different appliances all in one! It does the job of a slow cooker, pressure cooker, rice cooker, steamer, yogurt maker, etc.
- I don’t have an Instant Pot, can I still make this soup: Absolutely, you would follow the exact steps except it would take a bit longer to cook the chicken in the broth. Or you can see my Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup or Crockpot Chicken Noodle soup recipe for the crockpot version.
- Can I use boneless skinless chicken breast: Yes, of course but cooking the chicken with the skin and bones will give you a deeper more delicious broth.
- Can I use chicken drumsticks or thighs: Yes, you can. Any part of the chicken can be used, as long as you have enough chicken meat to add to the soup after you shred it.Â
- Can I use frozen chicken: Yes, you can. The time can vary depending on how big your chicken pieces are but I would start with 10 to 12 minutes and go from there.
- Why use chicken broth, can I just use water instead: Yes, you can absolutely replace the chicken broth with an additional 4 cups of water.
- Can I freeze this soup: If you plan to freeze the soup, hold off on adding the noodles. Wait to add the noodles when you take the soup from the freezer and reheat it. The noodles won’t hold up very well when defrosted and reheated.
- Nutrition:Â Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
This recipe is so easy and flavorful. It has become my go-to recipe for soothing chicken soup.
I’ve never rated a recipe before, but this was a HUGE hit for our family. I made it when my mother in law was sick and kids, in laws, spouse all loved this recipient. I used bone in skin on thighs (for the first time in my life) as suggested and it was super flavorful. I DID substitute reduced sodium chicken broth for the 4 cups of water and low sodium chicken stock for the 4 cups of broth.
Could I use a cooked rotisserie chicken? Would that change the cooking time?
If you use cooked rotisserie chicken you won’t get all the chicken flavor so I wouldn’t recommend it. However, you can, obviously you don’t need to cook the chicken but I would still do it for the same amount of time, hopefully it will flavor your soup a bit.
I tried this recipe today and really like it. The first time I tried to make chicken noodle soup in my instant pot, it was bland. The seasonings you suggest really made the difference, the soup was very good. Thank you!
My pleasure, glad you enjoyed it!
Never thought I’d find anything close to my moms homemade chicken noodle soup (she made the broth from scratch) until I found your recipe. I always use bone in skin on chicken thighs (2.5 pounds). Just don’t care for chicken breast in the instant pot, thighs are so much more tender.
The pressure cooking intensifies the flavor so much. I use Better Than Bouillon base. I add 2.5 tablespoons to 8 cups of water.
I double the celery and try to add any more veggies that I can (green pepper, daikon radish and spinach (add the spinach after soup has cooked. Not crazy about too many carrots in the instant pot bc they release natural sugars and sometimes I can taste it.
Thanks so much, this is one of my all time favorite recipes!
My pleasure, Lisa! Love your additions to it.
Can you double the recipe or is that too much for the Instant Pot?
Depending on the Instant Pot you have. It’s usually good to have 2/3 of the pot full of liquid so there is some space left for the pressure to form. Best thing to do is to check your instruction manual for the pot, see their recommendations and go from there.
How long can this recipe last in the freezer?
Super easy and delicious. I had left over rice from the night before – just tossed it in at the end. I would of never put thyme or oregano in chicken soup; I thought wrong…it is great!
I know, right? So good!
can i do this with a small whole chicken frozen?
You can but it will take a lot longer and it depends on the size of your chicken. Best to consult your IP manual.
Why whould you want to make soup with a frozen chicken?
Well Matt, I cannot speak for Eva personally, but perhaps the question was asked because she buys bulk to meal prep.
I just made taco bowls in my instant pot yesterday with frozen chicken and it was fantastic.
Delicious. I added shredded Parmesan cheese to it when serving which added a nice bit of saltiness.
Agree! Freshly grated parmesan cheese is a perfect addition to this when serving.