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How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Soup

Learn how to make Instant Pot chicken soup with this delicious guide!  The recipe is absurdly simple yet filled with loads of hearty flavor all with the added bonus of a one pot meal!

How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Soup
Chicken soup is clearly the best way to cure a crummy day or a nasty case of the sniffles.

Chicken bouillon is clearly the best way to cure a crummy day or a nasty case of the sniffles.  That was precisely the situation in my house a few weeks ago.

Munchkin had the flu, I had strept throat and hubby was just feeling crummy.  Soup was in order. And one with oodles of noodles.

I have been researching how to make chicken soup for quite some time.  I attempted many types of soups in the instant pot and frequently I was disappointed because it either lacked flavor or I ran into the issue of the broth not being clear or a million other issues.

How to make the perfect soup with chicken

I was set on creating the ultimate chicken soup this time though.  One that would soothe my throat, cure my munchkin’s sniffles and improve the hubby’s crummy mood.  I had high hopes for my instant pot and maybe it was the delusion caused by my fever or perhaps it was the encouragement that I recieved from my Facebook fans who were asking me for more Instant Pot recipes and more recently how to make chicken soup in a multicooker.  Whatever the reason was, I set out to create that ultimate chicken soup…

And ladies and gentlemen I succeeded.

Instant pot chicken soup

The Technique

There are a few known secrets to this beautiful chicken soup and aside from the magic of the multicooker there is also a few techniques that make this super fast soup taste as if it simmered slowly all day.

  1. The Chicken: In a traditional chicken soup, (such as this lovely Jewish Chicken Soup) the entire chicken is used.  The dark, the white and all the in-between 🙂 The difference is that in a classic chicken soup, it is simmered uncovered and therefore you are able to skim all the “scum” off the top that coagulates and you are left with a super clear soup.  However, in an instant pot all the cooking happens with the lid closed and there is no opportunity to skim the coagulated scum off and that results in a less than clear broth…which is a no-no in my book.  So for this particular chicken soup, I decided to only use bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts.  They happen to have less scum come out of them, yet with the right broth to chicken ratio they produce a really great flavor and color without the worry of a cloudy and scum filled broth. I used a little bit more chicken then usual because I wanted the soup to be filled with tons of chicken pieces.  Once the soup had finished cooking, I removed the chicken out of the soup, deboned it and shredded it by hand.
  2. The Stock: The stock or broth used in this soup is extremely important.  I have experimented with this recipe a few times having used just the breasts, aromatics and water and it just lacked the depth of flavor that I really crave from a soul warming chicken soup.  I knew that my quest in learning how to make Instant Pot soup, I would have to really amp up the flavor to make those die hard chicken soup fans like me turn to the Instant Pot for their chicken soups.  I decided to use a really great chicken stock that I knew had loads of flavor.  There are several companies out in the grocery stores today that have wonderfully deep flavored broths and stocks that do wonders for soups.  In the event that I do not have any homemade stock or broth in my freezer I reach for one of these stocks.  I prefer stocks because I feel they have a richer flavor however if you have a broth that you know is going to be full of flavor have at it!  By using this other than water you are not only flavoring your soup but also your chicken and thereby increasing the flavor profile of the soup ten-fold.  If for some reason you cannot find a flavorful stock just add in a tablespoon or two of my very favorite Better Than Bouillion.Instant pot chicken soup - Girl and the Kitchen
  3. The Aromatics: The aromatics in this soup are super simple.  They consist of the classic onions, carrots and celery or otherwise known as mirepoix.  I wanted a super flavorful broth with tons of veggies so I used twice as many veggies as usual and it proved to be correct.  The soup was uber flavorful with sweet notes from the carrots and a savory flavor from the celery.  In addition, I decided to throw in some fresh parsley once the soup had finished cooking as well as some chopped chives to brighten the color as well as the flavor profile.
  4. The Noodles:  In a classic chicken noodle soup, egg noodles are the chosen noodles.  Typically those noodles are cooked in the soup along with all the other ingredients.  This works out great if the soup is being eaten immediately.  However, if the soup is eaten the next day, the noodles will soak up all that delicious broth and you end up with chicken noodle pasta instead of chicken noodle soup.  Because of that I cooked up the noodles separately and added them to each bowl as it was eaten.

As I nursed my aching throat and my exhausted body with this warm soup, I sipped in every fat goblet and and slurped up each noodle and I felt a bit better.  When I turned to the munchkin and saw her carefully blowing on each steaming hot spoonful and sighing “MMMMMM, ahhhhhhh” after each mouthful, my soul felt a lot lighter and my ego seemed to fly a little higher.  And if learning how to make this chicken soup in a slow cooker can make me such an awesome mom…I can stop trying to bribe her with My Little Ponies and instead just give her a bowl of soup.

Instant pot chicken soup - Girl and the Kitchen

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How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Soup

Instant Pot Chicken Soup


  • Total Time: 17 minutes
  • Yield: 6 people 1x

Description

Learn how to make soup from chicken with this delicious guide!  The recipe is absurdly simple yet  filled with loads of hearty flavor all with the added bonus of a one pit meal!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 onions (chopped roughly )
  • 4 large carrots (chopped into rounds)
  • 4 celery stalks (chopped into rounds)
  • 4 garlic cloves (minced on the microplane)
  • 3 chicken breasts(about 2.5-3lbs) (bone-in, skin on)
  • 2 quarts chicken stock
  • 2 tbsp parsley (chopped)
  • salt and pepper (to taste)
  • 6 oz egg noodles (un-cooked)

Instructions

  1. Turn the Instant Pot setting to “sautee” on medium.
  2. Pour in the olive oil.  Add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic to the Instant pot. Season with salt and pepper.  Allow to sweat (no color) for 5-7 min.
  3. Pour in the stock into the multicooker and add in the chicken breasts.
  4. Set the Instant Pot to “soup‘ for 10 minutes.
  5. Once the Instant Pot soup cycle is complete, wait until the natural release cycle is complete, this should take about 10-15 minutes depending on your model.
  6. Remove the chicken breasts with tongs to a cutting board and shred with your hands or two forks.
  7. If you are planning on eating the soup in one sitting, at this point go ahead and turn on the “sautee” setting on the Instant Pot.  Once the soup boils add in the noodles and cook according to the package instructions.
  8. If you plan on saving the soup for later or want to eat it throughout the week, just cook the noodles separately and keep in a separate container in the fridge.
  9. Turn off the Instant Pot by pressing “cancel” Place the chicken back into the pot.  Taste and season.  Garnish with the parsley and enjoy.

Notes

  1. The nutritional information is an estimate only.
  2. Boneless, skinless chicken breasts can be used, however they will not have as much flavor.
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 7 minutes
  • Category: Soup
  • Cuisine: American Classic

Instant pot Chicken Soup

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Instant pot chicken soup

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36 Comments

  1. This recipe looks great! I love soup and plan to try it in my new instant pot. What brand(s) of stock/broth do YOU personally like? There are too many to try them all. Your imput would be much appreciated!

    1. Personally , I love Trader Joe’s chicken stock. It’s the best on the market I think. You always want to look for stock not broth 😉 those have the most flavor

  2. Delicious and easy. Here’s a variation I tried The second time I made this, I omitted the carrots, and along with the aromatics, added 1/2 cup fresh sliced mushrooms and thinly sliced green garlic, including the greens, along with one stalk of lemongrass in biggish chunks. I don’t like noodles, so added about 2 cups cut up and peeled kabocha squash with the stock. While the soup is heating, I blanched some sugar snap peas for 2 minutes. After removing bones and shredding the chicken, I stirred the soup vigorously so the squash starts to fall apart, and then added the chicken back in. I put a portion of snap peas into each serving bowl, then ladled the soup on top. Note: the lemongrass must be removed as it is tough to chew, I leave that to the diners.

    1. Sounds tremendous! If you don’t like noodles, have you tried rice, or do you just eat as soup with the extra vegies? I really like the lemon grass addition, kinda reminds me of a Pho.

  3. Omg I just made the ChxNoodle soup the only thing I added was fresh corn off the cob. I never realized how easy this could be this is my first purchase of the Instant pot. I think I hesitated in the past to get it because I was afraid of the pressure cook part of it. The soup is absolutely delicious thank you to girl in the kitchen I can’t wait to try another one of your recipes I did sign up .

  4. thanks for this recipe! it was my first time making chicken soup in the instant pot and it couldn’t have been easier! i used Swanson Organic Chicken Bone Broth and it turned out great! next time i make it, i will try the Trader Joe’s stock so i can compare.

  5. If you are using chicken stock, there really is no need for a pressure cooker. I make this soup in a pot on the stove in about a half hour… probably slightly less time than the instant pot with the heat-up time and natural release.

    That said, I will try this in the instant pot. I am curious if even the short pressure cook will add flavor.

    Thanks!

    1. Jerry… the chicken stock really enhances the flavor. And the reason I love to make it in an IP is because I can walk away and run errands!!!! That makes it super easy for a crazy busy mom!

  6. This soup was delicious! But the second time I made it, the chicken turned out chewy. My pot had not done a natural pressure release by 25 mins so I did quick release at that point. Had to do this the first time I made this soup too…but, is that what went wrong with the tough chicken?

    1. Tough to say. Typically when breasts are over cooked in liquid they just fall apart they don’t get chewy. It could have been the chicken itself or the quick release. Or just a crazy fluke 🙂

      1. Thanks! Would you leave the pot to natural release even if it’s taking over a half hour to start? New the the instant pot over here… 😉

      1. There isn’t much scum to be honest because its just the chicken breasts. If you cook them ahead of time you will not really be extracting that much flavor out of them..

  7. If I made this on the stove, how long would it take? I have bone in thighs and just read how that would be a cloudy soup: ( Can I just make onthe stove? Thanks!!

    1. Sure!!!! It would take about 90 minutes 😉 you just have to scum it! If you go to my Jewish Chicken Soup recipe it will show you all you need to do 😉

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  9. I have done a lot of cooking in my life but never used an Instant Pot for cooking up a soup or much of anything else. I appreciated your writing, stories, anecdotes in your story writing. It was entertaining and amusing, made things so much easier to digest and take in (pun intended). I will try to follow you on FB and if you had a web would follow you there also. –This is just a clue to let you know to clarify your chicken soup use cheese cloth like a mesh of it, and have it very cold water soaked. Pour the soup stock through it and it will come out clarified. Thanks once again.

  10. Very flavorful especially for how quick and easy it is to make! Our chicken breasts were about 80% thawed so I was a little concerned they wouldn’t be cooked but they were

  11. Soup was easy to make but didn’t taste as good as a stovetop version with more chicken bones to flavor the stock. So if I make again I will add a pound or so of backs or wings and see if that helps. Also might sub mushrooms for carrots as they seem to give the soup a sweeter taste than I prefer.

  12. I prefer not to use as an ingredient any type of store-bought broth, stock, bouillon cubes, etc. My grandmother used to push the softened carrots and sweet potatoes through a strainer into the chicken soup at the end of the recipe. I instead add at the beginning of the recipe a jar of baby food carrots and sometimes half a jar of baby food sweet potatoes as well. Consider trying this.

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