Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
This Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup recipe gives you tender shredded chicken, soft wide egg noodles, and a clear golden broth in one pot, with the noodles cooked separately at the end so they never turn to mush.
Equipment
- Electric pressure cooker - 6-quart model or larger so the pot is never more than two-thirds full
- Wooden spoon - For sautéing and for scraping the bottom of the pot
- Soup Ladle - For serving
- Cutting board - For prepping vegetables and shredding chicken
- Chef's knife - For the mirepoix
- Instant-read meat thermometer - To confirm the chicken reaches 165°F (74°C)
- Two forks - For shredding the cooked chicken
- Glass storage containers - For leftovers
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil - 30 ml, for sautéing the vegetables and searing the chicken lightly
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter - 28 g, for richness in the base
- 1 medium yellow onion - about 1 cup or 150 g, diced
- 3 medium carrots - about 1½ cups or 180 g, peeled and sliced
- 3 stalks celery - about 1 cup or 120 g, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic - minced
- 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts - 680 g, about 2 large breasts
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth - 1.9 L, for a broth you can season to taste
- 1 cup water - 240 ml, to round out the liquid
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary - lightly crushed
- 2 bay leaves
- 1½ teaspoons salt - plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups wide egg noodles - about 6 oz or 170 g
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley - chopped, for finishing
- ½ lemon - juice only, optional, stirred in at the end for brightness
Instructions
- Press Sauté on the Instant Pot and heat the olive oil and butter until the butter melts and foams. Add the onion, carrots, and celery, and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until the onion turns soft and translucent, then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Press Cancel to turn off the Sauté function. Pour in about 1 cup (240 ml) of the chicken broth and scrape the bottom of the pot with the wooden spoon to lift any browned bits, making sure nothing is stuck to the base.
- Pour in the remaining chicken broth and the water. Add the thyme, crushed rosemary, bay leaves, salt, and black pepper, and stir once to combine. Nestle the chicken breasts into the liquid so they are fully submerged.
- Close the lid and turn the valve to the Sealing position. Select Pressure Cook or Manual on high pressure and set the time to 8 minutes. The pot will take roughly 12 to 15 minutes to come up to pressure before the countdown begins.
- When the cook time ends, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, carefully move the valve to Venting to release any remaining pressure, keeping your hand and face away from the steam, then open the lid once the pin drops.
- Lift the chicken breasts out of the pot and set them on the cutting board. Remove and discard the bay leaves, then shred the chicken with two forks and set it aside while you cook the noodles.
- Press Sauté again and bring the broth to a gentle boil. Add the egg noodles and cook uncovered for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are tender but still have a little bite. Taste the broth and add more salt if it needs it.
- Stir the shredded chicken back into the pot and let it warm through for a minute. Turn the pot off, then stir in the lemon juice if you are using it. Ladle into bowls and top each one with chopped fresh parsley.
Notes
- Deglaze before you seal. Scraping the browned bits off the bottom before you close the lid is the single step that stops the pot from flashing a burn warning.
- Keep the pot two-thirds full at most. Soup expands and foams, and an overfilled pot can spit liquid during the release.
- Cut the carrots and celery evenly. Uniform slices cook at the same rate and give you a little of everything in each spoonful.
- Use low-sodium broth. It lets you control the salt, especially since the noodles pull seasoning out of the liquid.
- Do not skip the natural release. The 10-minute rest keeps the chicken juicy and lets the broth settle.
- Check the chicken at 165°F (74°C). If a thick breast is not quite there, drop it back in during the noodle step.
- Finish with acid. A small squeeze of lemon at the end brightens the broth more than extra salt ever does.
- Storage: Cool the soup, then store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Keep noodles separate for the best texture.
- Freezing: Freeze the soup without noodles in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months, then add fresh noodles when you reheat.
- Variations: Swap in chicken thighs, use rotisserie chicken as a shortcut, add greens, swap the noodles, make it gluten-free, add dumplings, or spice it up with red pepper flakes.
Nutrition
Serving: 1BowlCalories: 245kcalCarbohydrates: 20gProtein: 24gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 2.5gSodium: 680mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3g
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