Easy Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

Easy Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

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.

Prep: 10

Cook: 45

Total: 55

Yield:8

Equipment

Instant Pot

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

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.

For a Stovetop Method

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.
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.
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!
Add gluten-free pasta to pot.
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.

For a Slow Cooker Method

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

Recipe By:Cheryl Malik