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Homemade chicken noodle soup from scratch in just 30 minutes.
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The minute anybody in my house comes down with the slightest sniffle, I run to the store for ingredients for chicken soup. It’s the go-to cure-all around here!
The recipe I make is classic and very simple, but to get it ready even more quickly, I make it in the pressure cooker.
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Why Use the Pressure Cooker?
Pressure cooking in the Instant Pot (or any electric pressure cooker) reduces the cooking time a fair amount. Using an electric one also allows you to leave the pot unattended while it cooks. The cooker will even switch to a “Keep Warm” setting once cooking has finished so you don’t have to worry about turning off the cooker right away when the soup is done.
How to Make Chicken Soup in the Pressure Cooker
Just throw all the ingredients in the pot, press a button, and come back to piping hot soup later on!
- New to the Instant Pot? Check out our post How To Use an Instant Pot: A First-Timer’s Guide.
The Best Chicken for Chicken Soup
I use a whole chicken for my soup for a few reasons:
- First, it’s the most economical way to go.
- Second, I like having a mix of white and dark meat.
- Third, all of the bones and cartilage help to create a rich, nourishing broth.
You can also use any mix of bone-in drumsticks, thighs, or breast meat. Remove the skin if you like, but I like a little bit of rendered chicken fat in my soup!
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Tips for the Best Chicken Soup
- You’ll need a 6-quart or larger pressure cooker for this recipe. The pot should be just big enough to fit a 3- to 4-pound chicken. If you have a larger pressure cooker (8-quart or bigger), you can also get away with using a slightly larger chicken.
- Be careful when doing a quick-release. This is because liquid-heavy pressure cooker recipes like this soup can release a lot of steam during the venting step after cooking.
- Scared of steam? That's ok! If you want to avoid the jet of steam entirely, you can wait for the pressure to release naturally. Just wait until the pressure cooker’s float valve has returned to its "down" position. This will take quite a while, though, since this recipe contains a lot of liquid.
- Chicken jello?! Good chicken soup made with the whole chicken will often develop a jelly-like consistency once chilled, so don't be alarmed if this happens to you! The soup will turn back into liquid when warmed.
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Add-Ins to Chicken Soup in the Instant Pot
- Chicken Noodle Soup: Stir some cooked noodles into the soup; I prefer to cook the noodles separately so that they don’t absorb a ton of moisture from the soup itself. I mix them in just before serving, and store them separately from the soup in the fridge.
- Chicken and Dumplings: Make this recipe in the Instant Pot if you're dying for some dumplings!
No Instant Pot? Make This On the Stovetop!
Put the chicken in a large soup pot or Dutch oven, breast side up. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot, pouring in the water last to avoid splashing. Cover the pot and place it on the stove over medium heat.
When the soup comes to a boil, turn it down to low and simmer, covered, until the chicken is tender and the meat is just beginning to come away from the bones, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Continue with the remaining steps as described in the recipe below.
Or just follow our stovetop chicken noodle soup recipe.
More Chicken Soups to Cure What Ails You!
- Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
- One-Pot Chicken and Rice Soup
- Mom's Cold Season Chicken Soup
- Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Mulligatawny Soup
Note: This recipe was updated on February 2, 2022. The vegetables are now added partway through cooking.
Instant Pot Chicken Soup
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time60 mins
Total Time80 mins
Servings4to 6 servings
Ingredients
1 (3- to 4-pound) chicken, or an equivalent mix of bone-in thighs, legs, or breast meat
3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
12 sprigs fresh flat leaf parsley
3 large sprigs fresh thyme
4 teaspoons salt
2 quarts water
4 ribs celery, sliced
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
1 medium parsnip, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
Cooked egg noodles, optional
Method
Put the chicken in the pot of the pressure cooker, breast side up.
Add the garlic, herbs, water, and salt to the cooker:
Adding four teaspoons of salt at this point will result in a well-seasoned soup broth. Use less salt or eliminate if you'd like to make basic chicken broth to use for other purposes.
Cook the soup:
Place the lid on the pressure cooker. Make sure the pressure regulator is set to the “Sealing” position. Program the cooker to pressure cook 25 minutes at high pressure. (Instant Pot users can also select the "Soup" program and follow the same cooking time. For stovetop pressure cookers, cook at high pressure for 22 minutes.)
It will take about 35 minutes for your pressure cooker to come up to pressure, and then the actual cooking will begin. Total time from the time you seal the pressure cooker to the finished dish is about 1 hour.
Release the pressure:
When the soup has finished cooking, wait about 15 minutes before "quick" releasing the pressure. This helps prevent a lot of steamy broth spitting out of the valve. Even so be careful when releasing the steam!
You can also let the pressure release naturally, though this will take quite a while. Wait until the pressure cooker’s float valve has returned to its "down" position before opening the pressure cooker.
Remove the chicken to cool, then cook the vegetables:
Use a pair of tongs or a slotted spoon to remove the chicken from the pot, and transfer it to a dish to cool until you can comfortably handle it, about 20 minutes. It may come apart as you are removing it from the pot, so go slowly and carefully.
As the chicken cools, add the celery, carrots, parsnip, and onion to the hot broth in the pot. Place the lid on the pressure cooker. Make sure the pressure regulator is set to the “Sealing” position. Program the cooker to pressure cook 5 minutes at high pressure.
Prepare the chicken meat:
As the vegetables cook, take the meat off of the bones, and discard the bones, skin, and cartilage. Cut or tear the meat into bite-sized pieces.
When the cooker beeps, either quick release the pressure (for firmer vegetables) or let the pressure release naturally (for more tender vegetables).
Stir the chicken meat back into the soup:
Remove the herb sprigs. Ladle into bowls and serve. Add cooked egg noodles, if you like.
Let any leftover soup cool completely, then store in the fridge for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months. The soup may gel as it cools; it will liquefy again when heated.
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- Chicken
- Comfort Food
- Pressure Cooker
- Egg Noodles
| Nutrition Facts (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 606 | Calories |
| 41g | Fat |
| 9g | Carbs |
| 48g | Protein |
Show Full Nutrition Label
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| Nutrition Facts | |
|---|---|
| Servings: 4to 6 | |
| Amount per serving | |
| Calories | 606 |
| % Daily Value* | |
| Total Fat 41g | 53% |
| Saturated Fat 12g | 58% |
| Cholesterol 230mg | 77% |
| Sodium 1653mg | 72% |
| Total Carbohydrate 9g | 3% |
| Dietary Fiber 2g | 9% |
| Total Sugars 3g | |
| Protein 48g | |
| Vitamin C 23mg | 114% |
| Calcium 81mg | 6% |
| Iron 5mg | 26% |
| Potassium 802mg | 17% |
| *The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. | |
Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.
