instant pot chicken noddle soup

It was a very gloomy and rainy weekend over here. Since I had some extra carrots, celery, and onion after making the Instant Pot Beef Stew, I decided that I would attempt chicken noodle soup in my handy dandy Instant Pot. I did some searching on the Internet and came across a popular recipe that fit with the ingredients I already had.

Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

Recipe by Kristine's Kitchen

INGREDIENTS

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

4 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch pieces

4 ribs celery, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 bay leaf

3/4 tsp salt 

1/4 tsp black pepper

4 cups low sodium chicken broth

4 cups water

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used chicken boneless skinless chicken thighs)

6 oz. egg noodles (I used fusilli noodles)

chopped fresh parsley, optional for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. Press the SAUTE button on the Instant Pot and add the olive oil to the pot. Once the pot is hot, add the onion, carrots and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies start to soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic.

2. Press CANCEL to turn off the Instant Pot.

3. Add the dried oregano, thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper, broth and water to the pot. Stir. Nestle the chicken into the broth.

4. Close the Instant Pot lid and turn the valve to the sealing position. Pressure cook on high pressure for 7 minutes. The Instant Pot will take about 20 minutes to reach pressure and then the cook time will begin counting down. 

5. When the cook time ends, allow the Instant Pot to naturally release for 10 minutes. Then, carefully release the remaining pressure by turning the steam release valve to the venting position using the handle of a long spoon.

6. When the pin drops down, open the Instant Pot lid. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Remove the chicken to a clean plate, bowl, or cutting board. Shred the chicken.

7. Press CANCEL to turn off the warm setting and then press SAUTE. Add the noodles to the pot and let them simmer for about 5 minutes, until just tender. Turn the Instant Pot off.

8. Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup. Taste soup and season with additional salt and pepper as needed. Serve soup with fresh parsley, if desired.

NOTES

-To make this recipe with frozen chicken, increase the pressure cook time to 12 minutes plus 10 minute natural pressure release.

-If using bone-in chicken, pressure cook for 10 minutes followed by a 10 minute natural release.

-To cook chicken noodle soup on the stove top, follow the recipe as written except instead of pressure cooking, simmer soup on the stove (covered) for about 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken to shred, and add the noodles to the pot, simmering until noodles are cooked. Return the shredded chicken to the pot and serve.

This recipe stood out to me because it was easy to follow with minimal ingredients. I am usually turned off by recipes with a laundry list of strange ingredients that literally have no other purpose. Not the case here. These are normal, common pantry and produce items. The last step of the recipe was the most important for me. After the pressure cook, I tasted the broth and it was a little too weak in flavor for my preference. So, I added more dried thyme, salt and pepper to taste until it was to my liking and that worked out just fine. When adjusting the seasoning, just make sure to add in the extra seasonings gradually and taste as you go. You can always add more but you cannot easily reverse the situation if you over-season. 

I am adding this to my recipe box, because I would definitely make this again. It is a great soup for cold days, if you're feeling under-the-weather, or just because.

Stay healthy, friends!