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!
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 step-by-step 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 the “Saute” setting and wait for it to get hot. Then, add some oil and sauté the vegetables with the seasonings until they are tender, about five minutes.
Add the Chicken
Now add in the chicken broth, bay leaves, and chicken.
Cook the Soup
Close up the pressure cooker, set it to sealing, and cook it on high pressure for five minutes.
Shred the Chicken
Remove the chicken from the Instant Pot, let it cool slightly, and shred it. I love using my stand mixer with the paddle attachment to make quick work of shredding the chicken.
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 soup begins to boil, add the noodles and cook for the length of time listed on the package. Alternatively, use homemade egg noodles and only cook the noodles for three minutes.
Finish the Soup
Add the shredded chicken back to the soup. Remove the bay leaves. Taste the soup and add more salt or pepper to taste, serve, and enjoy.
Tips and Tricks
- This is the Instant Pot that I love. I’ve had it for years, and it always works flawlessly.
- Swap the vegetables for frozen vegetables. Cut out the first few steps of the recipe and just start the soup by adding chicken broth, seasonings, and chicken, and cooking. Then add 1 1/2 cups frozen vegetables at the very end when you are adding the shredded chicken back in.
- Use chicken thighs. This recipe is easy to make with chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts.
- Use any pasta that you would like. If your family doesn’t love egg noodles, swap them out for a pasta you do love, and then follow the timing on that box.
- Use homemade egg noodles. They are easy to make with only two ingredients, and take just three minutes to cook once this soup is boiling in Step 6.
- Leave out the pasta if you plan on freezing leftovers. If you would like to freeze the leftovers, serve the pasta separately and store the soup in the freezer without noodles.
Storing and Reheating
This chicken noodle soup recipe can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container 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.
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 be 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 stalks 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 broth
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 8 ounces pasta or egg noodles (see note 1)
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 5 minutes.2 tablespoons olive oil, 3 medium carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 small yellow onion, 2 garlic cloves, 2 teaspoons dried basil, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Add the chicken broth and the bay leaves, stirring to combine. Add the chicken breasts.8 cups low sodium chicken broth, 2 dried bay leaves, 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Put the top on and seal. Set it to manual, high pressure, 5 minutes (see Note 2). 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.8 ounces pasta or egg noodles
- 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.
- 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.
Recipe Video
Notes
- To use homemade egg noodles, only cook the noodles for three minutes after adding them in step 6.
- Though we are setting the cook time for five minutes, it will take about 16 minutes for the instant pot to come to pressure, five minutes for the cooking time, and another 6 minutes for the pressure to release. Then at the end there is the added time of cooking the noodles. That is the reason why the total time for the recipe is 55 minutes.
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.
Annonymous says
The best instant pot chicken noodle soup recipe I have ever tried (out of many). My family loved it. Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear that you liked it!
Kate says
It shows the cooking time to be 5 minutes in step 3. I’m sure this is a typo correct? I cooked it for 45 minutes then followed the instructions and it was great.
If you look at the top of the recipe card, you will see that the total cook time is 45 minutes. The time set on the IP is 5 minutes. But with the other steps involved, how long it takes for the IP to come to pressure, and the release time, the total time is 45 minutes.
Taylor says
This soup is better than anything you could buy from a store or a restaurant! It has become a staple in my home. The 1 pot from start to finish makes cleanup so easy. 10/10 recommend making this!
I’m so glad you like it as much as we do!
Fred says
Hi, your recipe looks interesting. I see when to remove the chicken but it don’t see when to add it. I’m assuming at the beginning but before or after the carrots and celery.
Thanks
It’s the second sentence of step 2.
Jeanne Fellone says
The soup was So delicious my picky son even liked it. I borrowed my son‘s dusty instant pot and I’ve been having a wonderful time. Thank you for making this so easy for me. I Can’t wait to find more recipes from you.
I’m so glad that you liked it!
Sandra says
I appreciated the extra instant pot instructions. I made it with bone in chicken thighs and fresh herbs. It turned out perfectly and was very easy! Thank you.
I’m so glad that you liked it!