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This easy Instant Pot chicken noodle soup is the answer to homemade chicken noodle soup when you’re sick! It’s so easy to make and tastes like you simmered it all day. It’s made with a whole chicken, making the broth rich and the chicken tender. Use zoodles instead of pasta for a paleo chicken noodle soup! Also includes instructions for stovetop and slow cooker methods.
Why This Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup Is So Good
- The Instant Pot makes this recipe a total breeze. It has all the comfort and goodness of a soup that’s simmered on the stove all day, but it goes from fridge to table in roughly an hour.
- It’s really super easy to make and is TOTALLY homemade! Since it’s homemade, it’s cost effective, and you can load it with as much flavor as you like.
- This soup is super nourishing, thanks to the natural bone broth made from cooking the whole chicken in the soup itself. It’s everything you could ever want when you or a loved one is feeling under the weather.
- It’s SO easy to adjust this soup for different dietary needs! For a gluten free chicken noodle soup, just use gluten free noodles. For paleo or low carb, use zoodles instead of pasta.
Key Ingredients for Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken – A whole chicken is the key to a soup that’s packed with vitamins and nutrients, which your body needs any time, but especially if you’re not feeling well. Because the chicken cooks with the aromatics in water, it produces an extremely rich broth and tender chicken in a single step. After that, you simply shred the chicken and add it back to the soup, while the noodles soften to perfection. Spoon up a big bowl and get well, my friend!
Noodles – What’s chicken noodle soup without noodles?! Fusilli is one of my favorite pastas – it’s got that great spiral that’s just fun to eat. You can use any pasta you like best, though. Egg noodles would be great here!
Chef’s Tips
- If you can, use organic chicken that hasn’t been raised on antibiotics.
- If you’re using zoodles, completely skip the pasta steps in the instructions. You’ll want to add them right when you serve the soup. Portion them into the bowl first, then ladle the soup on top.
- Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge up to 4 days, as long as you keep them in an airtight container. Reheat the Instant Pot chicken noodle soup on the stovetop or in the microwave.
- If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can make this Instant Pot chicken noodle soup in a slow cooker or on the stovetop! We’ve included instructions for both in the recipe card notes below.
Check Out These Other Delicious Soup Recipes
- Chilled Avocado Soup
- Shrimp Bisque
- She Crab Soup
- Easy Black Bean Soup
- Chicken and Rice Soup
- The Best Lobster Bisque (Ruth’s Chris Copycat Recipe)
- Best Ever Tom Kha Gai Soup (Thai Coconut Chicken Soup, Whole30, Paleo)
- Healthy Zuppa Toscana (Whole30, Paleo, Dairy Free)
- Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
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Easy Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon refined coconut oil or avocado or olive oil
- 1 medium white onion chopped
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 5 carrots sliced on the diagonal into ½-inch pieces
- 4 stalks celery sliced into ½-inch pieces
- 1 whole chicken about 5 pounds, giblets removed and discarded or saved for another use
- 8 cups water
- 2 bay leaves
- 5 black peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon pink or grey salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 ½ – 2 cups fusilli or other pasta, see Notes for alternatives
- ½ cup fresh parsley minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to Sauté and heat 1 tablespoon oil in pot. Add onions and cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add garlic, carrots, and celery, and sauté for 1-2 more minutes, or until garlic is fragrant and celery is beginning to soften.
- Place whole chicken on top of vegetables, then pour in water, bay leaves, peppercorns, salt, and freshly cracked black pepper.
- Secure lid and set to Manual High Pressure for 20 minutes.
- When timer is up, Quick Release lid carefully. Carefully transfer whole chicken to a large cutting board, keeping an eye open for any liquid from the cavity. It will be very hot!
- Turn Instant Pot on Sauté mode. Add pasta.
- While pasta cooks, with two forks, shred chicken off the bone. When pasta is tender, return chicken pieces to soup, discarding bones. Stir in fresh parsley and fresh lemon juice.
- Add more salt or pepper to taste.
- Portion into bowls and serve hot.
Notes
- You can use chicken breasts or chicken thighs instead of a whole chicken if you’d prefer. A whole chicken will give you a variety of light and dark meat, plus tons of nutrients in the broth.
- Make it Paleo: Use zoodles instead of pasta.
- Make it Gluten Free: Use gluten free pasta.
- Make it Low Carb: Use zoodles or a low carb pasta.
- Make it Keto: Use zoodles, miracle noodles, or palmini pasta.
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Place a large pot on stove over medium heat and and 1 Tbsp. oil . Add onions and cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, carrots, and celery, and sauté for 1-2 more minutes, or until garlic is fragrant and celery is beginning to soften.
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Place whole chicken on top of vegetables, then pour in water, bay leaves, peppercorns, salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. Bring to boil and let simmer about 45 minutes to an hour or until cooked through and tender. You can also use 4 chicken thighs for a quicker soup; they will only take about 40 minutes to boil.
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Carefully transfer chicken to a large cutting board, keeping an eye on any liquid from the cavity if using a whole chicken. It will be very hot!
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Add gluten-free pasta to pot.
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While pasta cooks, with two forks, shred chicken off the bone. When pasta is tender, return chicken pieces to soup, discarding bones. Stir in fresh parsley and fresh lemon juice. Add more salt or pepper to taste. Serve.
- You’ll want to sauté the onions, garlic, carrots, and celery as written in the recipe, then add all the ingredients, except for the noodles and parsley, to your slow cooker.
- Cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through, with the meat falling off the bone. This will take about 6 hours on High or 8 hours on Low.
- Remove chicken and shred. While you shred the chicken, add the pasta to the slow cooker. Cook the pasta on low about 20-30 minutes or until cooked. Return the chicken to the soup, add parsley, and warm through, then serve.
Nutrition Information
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
I would like to make this and have already prepared chicken to use, how would you suggest making this considering the already cooked chicken?
Hi Leah, you can definitely make this with pre-cooked chicken! You’ll just skip the steps where you cook the whole chicken in the Instant Pot with the veggies and instead mix in the shredded chicken you have on hand after the noodles have cooked. Let them sit in the hot liquid for a couple minutes so they are warmed through, then serve!