Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup, made with a whole chicken and hearty vegetables, tastes like you cooked it for hours! The pressure cooker extracts the flavor from the chicken for a rich, flavorful broth. But it takes less than two hours! This pressure cooker Chicken Noodle Soup recipe is a favorite classic!
Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
What is more soothing to the soul than a bowl of chicken noodle soup? Made with all the traditional ingredients, and a little extra herbs, this soup has a fresh, aromatic flavor. I always make this when one of us isn’t feeling well.
This time it was me. Feeling under the weather, that is. I’ve been working extra long hours and not getting enough sleep. I’m not sick, but I feel a little off. I think my Instant Pot Elderberry Syrup is helping me ward it off.
A batch of Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup was definitely called for today. I decided I to share my recipe with you in case you are looking for a pressure cooker chicken noodle soup recipe.
This chicken noodle soup made in the Instant Pot is flavorful, comforting, and feeds your family or group a healthy, tasty meal.
I have always made my chicken noodle soup with a whole chicken. You can use parts, but use the bone-in pieces because you will get more flavor and goodness from the bones (then save the bones for a batch of Instant Pot Bone Broth!).
Here are the easy steps to make this Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup recipe:
Often times I will add a turnip and a parsnip to my chicken noodle soup. I love the earthy sweet flavor from these root vegetables. I have them as optional ingredients in the recipe.
This chicken noodle soup recipe also has a lot of garlic in it, both for flavor and for its cold fighting properties. It isn’t too overpowering because this is a big pot of soup.
It’s important when adding the remaining water to just cover the chicken, but not go up to the Max Fill Line. Try to stay a little below it.
This ensures there is enough air space in the pressure cooker for the steam to accumulate and build the pressure.
For the noodles I like to use extra wide egg noodles. I add them in after the pressure cooking, and turn on the Sauté setting to cook them right in the hot soup. Easy, and you can control how soft you want them.
You can use Orzo pasta, or small shells, and they will be tasty and cute in this soup recipe.
You might think it is weird to put soy sauce in chicken noodle soup. Trust me on this, it won’t taste strange at all. Soy sauce adds UMAMI, which is a word for that satisfying flavor that is rich and earthy, but hard to describe. It’s that taste that is sometimes missing in savory dishes.
Couldn’t I just Make This Soup on the Stove Top?
Of course! However, making soup in the pressure cooker is wonderful because it maintains more of the nutrients, and extracts more of the flavors from the ingredients! It is also faster!
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If you make this delicious Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup, please leave a comment and a star rating below. I’d love to know how you liked it!
Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup, made with a whole chicken, tastes like you cooked it for two hours! The pressure cooker extracts the flavor from the chicken for a rich, flavorful broth. But it takes less than two hours! This pressure cooker Chicken Noodle Soup recipe is a classic!
- 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp Butter
- 1 large Onion, chopped
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 5 - 7 cloves Garlic, pressed or finely minced
- 1 1/2 cups Celery, chopped
- 3 Carrots, chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 Turnip, chopped (optional)
- 1 Parsnip, peeled and chopped (optional)
- 3 tsp Rubbed Sage, dry
- 4 sprigs Fresh Thyme, (or 1/2 tsp dried)
- 2 (4") sprigs Fresh Rosemary
- 1 - 2 tsp Kosher Salt (or more to taste)
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 7 cups Water, divided
- 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce (adds a great umami flavor)
- 1 (3 - 4 lb) Whole Chicken (or bone-in parts)
- 8 oz Wide Egg Noodles uncooked (about 3-4 cups)
- Turn on the Sauté function. When display reads “Hot” add the oil and butter.
Add onions, and bay leaf. Cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.
Add the celery and carrots (also turnip and parsnip, if using), and 1 cup of the water. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pot.
Add the, sage, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Stir.
Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
Pour in 4 cups of the water and the soy sauce and stir.
Add the chicken to the pot breast side up. Then pour in another 2 cups of the water, but don't use all of it if it gets too full (You can add more at the end).
- Place the lid on the pot and set the Steam Release Knob to Sealing (not on Ultra).
- Cancel the Sauté function.
Press the Pressure Cook (or Manual) button, or dial. Then press the + or - button or dial to select 25 minutes. It will take several minutes for the pot to come to pressure.
When the cook cycle ends, let the pot naturally release pressure for 10 minutes. Then manually release the remaining pressure in bursts, by turning the knob to Venting (or push the button on the Ultra). This is a full pot, so do a controlled Quick Release.
When the pin in the lid drops down, open the lid and stir the soup.
Very carefully take out the chicken with tongs and a large spoon and place it in a large bowl to cool down a little before you shred it.
Remove bay leaves and, if you want, at this point you can use a large spoon to skim off some of the fat floating on the surface of the soup.
Turn on the Sauté function again and add the noodles to the pot. Cook for 5-8 minutes, or until noodles are cooked to your liking.
Meanwhile, shred and debone the chicken. Set aside (save the bones for a batch of bone broth! Just freeze them until you need them.).
- Cancel the Sauté function.
Add the chicken back into the soup and stir. At this point you can add another cup of water if you want more broth. Taste and adjust salt, if needed.
- Serve with some warm, crusty bread!
I use a 6 qt Instant Pot and it was full. An 8 qt pot would work well, especially if you like to add extra water for more broth.
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love your step by step lookes great
This was SOOOO delicious! Made it tonight and used an almost 5 pound chicken in my 6qt. I added 2 cups of water at the end because it was quite full when I put the raw chicken in. It worked out perfectly and fed 5 of us with leftover for tomorrow too!
I’m so glad you liked it, Amanda! Thank you for your review!
Have you ever used a frozen whole chicken for this recipe? If so, how much longer did it take to cook? Are there any modifications to be made using a frozen whole chicken?
Yes, as long as 1) The package of giblets is removed, and 2) the chicken fits in the pot in its frozen state (good to check this before you start making the soup).
Increase cook time by about 5 minutes (also, the pot will take longer to come to pressure as it will be like having a block of ice in there).
Made this tonight, it was incredibly easy and oh so delicious ❤ and I’ve just realised I forgot the soy sauce!
That’s great, Robyn! I’m glad you liked it! Thanks for your review!
When do you put in the parsnips?
Hi Joe, you add it with the carrots and turnip, if using.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! I will definitely make it again! Thanks for sharing!
Korrene
Thank you, Korrene. I’m so glad you liked it!
I’d like to try this… but I usually have frozen chicken breasts on hand. What would I need to adjust using those instead?
Reduce the initial cook time to 12 minutes, with the same 10 min. natural release. You will want to shred them before adding back in.
This soup is AMAZING and makes a ton! I made it in an 8 quart and made the following additions (as it is a bigger pot):
– Extra cup of each carrots and celery
– Extra onion (2 large, total)
– Instead of dried sage I had ground, used 1.5 tsp
– Instead of fresh thyme I had dried, used 1/2 tsp (or 1/4 ground)
– Instead of fresh rosemary I had dried, used 1 tsp
– Once all ingredients were in the pot I added enough water to bring it up to the fill line
I followed all of the steps exactly (including cook time). In my opinion, the turnip and the soy sauce are what makes this soup special! It is seriously delicious, I never want to have any other kind again! There was so much chicken for the soup, I saved some for sandwiches too!
That’s awesome, Rebecca! Thank you for your review!
This recipe is a winner with my family. Everyone truly enjoyed it on this cold, rainy evening and I have some picky eaters. The only thing I changed is I used chicken broth in place of water. My two year old grandson gave me two thumbs and said it’s yummy. I have the 8 quart and everything was awesome. Thanks for the recipe! 😁
It won’t let me rate the recipe but we’r all give it 5 stars! 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟💯
I made this because I’ve been battling a serious cold and what could be better comfort than chicken soup?I’ll never make chicken soup any other way. The vegetables make it super nutritious and delicious. It was five stars (the app doesn’t register any ratings). Thank you for the recipe!
Delicious! I use gluten free noodles the first time but found that they completely went to mush in the soup the day after – so this time I cooked the pasta separate and added it to our bowls before ladling in the soup.