Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup is so easy to make, and is the ultimate comfort food. Throw it together and let your pressure cooker do the bulk of the work!
Craving chicken noodle soup but don’t have an Instant Pot? Make my homemade Chicken Noodle Soup recipe.
Soup recipes aren’t just my favorite to eat, they are my favorite to develop for you. There are a million things you can do with soup, and typically they work as a complete meal all made in one big pot.
In this Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup recipe, we are taking the classic homemade Chicken Noodle Soup and cooking it fast in our pressure cooker. The result is an easy comforting dinner that can be made while helping the kids with their homework – another favorite!
I loved this. I used my pressure cooker and I like easy fast recipes. Love the step by step instructions.
How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup in an Instant Pot
This is a brief overview so you can see how to make this easy and delicious dinner. For the full recipe with all of the measurements, see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Sauté the vegetables. Turn the instant pot on to “Saute” and wait for it to get hot. Then add some oil and saute the vegetables until they are tender, about 5 minutes.
- Let the Instant Pot cook the soup. Now add in the chicken stock, bay leaves, and chicken. Close up the pressure cooker, set it to sealing, and cook it on high pressure for 5 minutes. Read below about cooking times with instant pots.
- Cook the noodles. After the timer has gone off, you’ve released the pressure, and the float valve has dropped, open the Instant Pot and remove the chicken. Turn it back to “Saute.” Once the stock begins to boil, add the noodles and cook for the length of time listed on the package.
- Shred the chicken and finish the soup. Shred the chicken breasts (read more on this below), remove the bay leaves, and enjoy!
Shredding Cooked Chicken
One of my least favorite steps in recipes is shredding cooked chicken. I know I’m not alone in this because I hear it from some of you. There is something about digging into hot cooked chicken with two forks that makes me want to cry a little.
Recently, I have started throwing my cooked chicken breasts in the bowl of my stand mixer with the paddle attachment. I turn it on, walk away for a minute to do something else, and when I come back I have perfectly shredded chicken. It’s even worth the extra dish I have to wash.
Cooking Times for Instant Pot Recipes
Often when I post an Instant Pot recipe, people get really confused on the timing of the recipe. “It says to cook for 5 minutes but the total time on the recipe is 55 minutes.” I get it, it is a little confusing.
The total time of an Instant Pot recipe reflects the prep time of the recipe, in this recipe the sauté time for the vegetables, the time it takes for the pressure cooker to come to full pressure, and the time it takes for the pressure to release at the end. The five minutes you set the Instant Pot to is that time between it coming to pressure and it releasing.
In this particular recipe, it takes 16 minutes for the pressure cooker to come to pressure, then it will cook for 5 minutes, and then it takes another 6 minutes for the pressure to release.
Using Homemade Noodles
For many people, a chicken noodle soup is not homemade unless you make homemade egg noodles to put in. The good news is that I have you covered. I have a great (and easy) egg noodle recipe that I know you will love.
To use my homemade egg noodles in this recipe, follow the recipe as written. When you get to step 6, bring the liquid to a boil as written. Add the homemade egg noodles and cook for three minutes. Then remove the bay leaves and add the shredded chicken.
Homemade Egg Noodles
Instant Pot Recommendation
I have had this Instant Pot for five years. We use it at least once a week in my house, not even including the testing that recipes like this go through. We love it, and it continues to be a great purchase for us.
Instant Pot
Storing and Reheating
This chicken noodle soup recipe can be stored in the refrigerator for up to four days. Reheat on the stovetop over low heat, stirring often, or in the microwave with the bowl covered. As with any recipe, use your best discretion when it comes to leftovers.
FAQ
Yes! Skip the first step of sautéing the vegetables. Instead, add the chicken stock, seasonings, bay leaves, and chicken to the slow cooker and proceed as the recipe is written. At the very end, once the noodles are cooked, stir in 1 1/2 cups frozen vegetables. Cook until they are just warmed through.
Yes! If your family doesn’t like egg noodles, you can use any pasta in this recipe and it will be delicious. Just cook for the length of time indicated on the box.
Yes! Please see my instructions for doing so in the section above.
Because of the noodles, this is not my favorite soup to freeze. If you are looking to make it ahead, I would make it as written, with two adjustments. Add only 6 cups chicken stock and skip adding the noodles. When you are ready to serve it, add pre-cooked noodles to the warm soup.
Other Instant Pot Soup Recipes
If you are intimidated to use your Instant Pot, a soup recipe is a great place to start. Instant Pots are very safe to use, and with my step-by-step instructions, you should have no problems!
What to Serve with Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
As mentioned above, I really love that soups can function as a meal on their own. That being said, if you are looking for side dishes to serve with this Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup recipe, here are a few ideas.
- Garlic Bread: We are always looking for bread to dip in soups, and this garlic bread recipe is fast and fantastic with this soup.
- Twice Baked Potatoes: This soup recipe would go fantastic with these potatoes.
- Kale Salad: If you want to add more veggies to your day, you can’t go wrong with this salad. It is absolutely delicious and easy, too.
If you make this Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup or any of my other recipes, leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 medium carrots peeled and diced
- 2 celery stocks diced
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 8 cups low sodium chicken stock
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 8 ounces pasta or egg noodles
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot on and set to sauté. Once it says hot, add the olive oil and heat until it is warm. Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic. Season them with basil, parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper. Sauté until the vegetables are soft, about five minutes.
- Add the chicken stock and the bay leaves, stirring to combine. Add the chicken breasts.
- Put the top on and seal. Set it to manual, high pressure, 5 minutes. Make sure the valve is set to sealed before you start. After a moment the Instant Pot will beep and say "On." At that point it will start building pressure and eventually the pressure valve will raise and then it will start counting down the 5 minutes.
- Once the Instant Pot has counted down the 5 minutes, use a manual pressure release, turning it to venting. Once the valve has fallen you can remove the top.
- Remove the chicken from the Instant Pot. Set aside. Once they have cooled a little bit, shred them (read here for my favorite way to shred chicken).
- Turn the Instant Pot back to sauté. Once the liquid in the pot is boiling, add the noodles. Boil for the length of time the package of noodles suggests. (Read here for how to use my homemade egg noodles in this recipe.)
- After the noodles are done cooking, remove the bay leaves. Add the shredded chicken back to the pressure cooker. Stir to combine. Taste the soup and add more salt and pepper as needed.
Lane Sekavec says
Made this tonight and it was great!! Did the trick with the paddle on the stand mixer to shred the chicken and it worked just like you described.
I tripled the amount of noodles as I like a “thicker” soup (most recipes don’t seem to have enough noodles for my tastes) plus that was the size of the bag of frozen noodles I had and I didn’t want to have any stragglers. It worked fine but for the leftovers I’ll be adding another box of stock as the noodles soaked up a bit more liquid than I had expected. And there were plenty of leftovers……mmmm mmmm……better for this cold weekend!!
All in all a wonderful easy recipe and one we’ll be making again.
I’m so glad you liked it, Lane!
Morgan S. says
Found this recipe in 2024 and my family is obsessed! I had never made home chicken noodle soup before, and I’m still getting use to my instant pot, so this was a lifesaver! I’ve made in twice in two weeks during this miserable West Virginia February. Thanks again!
I’m so glad that you are enjoying the recipe and even happier that it is making you more comfortable with your slow cooker!
Zach Merseal says
Very good! Enjoyed it. Looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow. I doubled the recipe. Hahahaha.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Cindy Chapman says
Can I use frozen chicken?
I haven’t tested this with frozen chicken. It is going to need more cooking time, but I would want to test it to get that specific time frame.