Need a quick and easy weeknight meal made in under 25 minutes? This delicious soup recipe is for you!
Use leftover chicken, broth, veggies, and spaghetti noodles to make the quickest and easiest homemade Instant Pot chicken noodle soup recipe. All the classic flavors you love in half the time!
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Key Takeaways
- The Instant Pot (an electric pressure cooker) reduces cooking time and makes clean up easy. It’s the perfect appliance for making easy, homemade soups in half the time. Check out the best recipes to make in the Instant Pot.
- My favorite soup to make in the Instant Pot is homemade chicken noodle soup. And this recipe is hands-down the easiest and fastest recipe.
- Use leftover cooked chicken meat to make this speedy recipe.
- Perfect for a quick weekend lunch or busy weeknight meal.
- Leftovers make the best meal-prep lunch.
- If you’re new to the Instant Pot, my Instant Pot Guide is the best place to start.
Before You Get Started: Ingredients Needed
- 3 tablespoons butter (or 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 3 celery stalks, diced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 8 cups chicken broth/stock or veggie broth (homemade broth or store-bought broth)
- 2 cups cooked chicken (cut into bite-sized pieces: shredded or cubed)
- 8 ounces uncooked spaghetti noodles, broken in half
- 2-3 cups chopped spinach (optional)
- salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Time-Saving Chicken Tip: This recipe saves time by using leftover chicken meat; not raw chicken. Cook a whole chicken, chicken thighs, or boneless skinless chicken breasts in advance. Or, pick up cooked chicken pieces from the store or a rotisserie chicken. Shred the meat and store the chicken in the fridge until ready to use.
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup: Video Guide
Step By Step Instructions Guide
- Step 1: Plug in your Instant Pot and push the Sauté button to use the sauté feature. The screen on the front will read On and the bottom of the pot will get hot to sauté.
- Step 2: Melt butter in the Instant Pot. Once melted, add the diced onion, carrot, celery, and a big pinch of salt to bring out their juices. Saute the veggies for about 5 minutes until soft.
- Step 3: Add the garlic, thyme, oregano, and basil. Saute for 1 minute.
- Step 4: Add the broth, cooked chicken, and broken noodles.
- Step 5: Turn off the Instant Pot so the sauté mode turns off. Secure the lid on the Instant Pot, turn the steam vent valve on top of the lid to Sealed, and push the Soup button. Use the manual buttons (the +/- buttons) to bring the pressure cook time down to 4 minutes. Note: The Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure and begin cooking.
- Step 6: When the 4 minutes is done, quick release the steam valve. To do this, turn the valve on top of the lid from the sealed position to a venting position, using a towel to protect your hand as steam will quickly escape from the valve. It will take 1-2 minutes to release all of the pressure from the pot.
- Step 7: After the pressure releases, open the lid, stir in the chopped spinach to wilt. Add more salt and pepper (to your taste). The soup is hot enough to wilt the spinach, so there’s no need to add more heat.
- Optional: Sprinkle chopped fresh parsley over the top of the soup for flavor and garnishing.
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup Variation
For a creamy soup, like my creamy chicken and rice soup or chicken pot pie soup, stir in 1 cup of heavy cream after pressure cooking. Use the Saute function if the soup needs to be heated further after adding the cream.
What to Avoid Doing
- Don’t Use Egg Noodles: Yes, tender egg noodles are more traditional for chicken soup, but they don’t hold up well in the Instant Pot. Use a heartier noodle, like spaghetti noodles. Whole wheat, regular semolina, and gluten-free (brown rice) spaghetti noodles all work well.
- Don’t Use a Natural Release After Cooking The Soup: This recipe uses a quick release to release the steam/pressure from the pot after cooking. A quick release keeps the noodles and chicken perfectly tender. A natural release, which is not used for this recipe, allows the Instant Pot to slowly release pressure on its own.
- Learn more about pressure cooking basics.
How to Prevent Pressure Cooking Issues
- Avoid the Burn Notice: It’s a good rule of thumb to scrape up any little bits stuck on the bottom of the Instant Pot before pressure cooking. After sautéing, use a wooden spoon to scrape up the bits (if there are any), adding some liquid (like chicken broth), if needed, to loosen the bits.
- Check the Silicone Seal Ring: A significant reason food may not cook properly is the silicone ring, located on the perimeter of the lid, may need to be secured better. This ring can quickly come undone after washing or cooking, so always make sure the ring is secure on the lid before using.
- Prevent Spewing from the Steam Valve: Since this recipe calls for a quick release, you’ll immediately turn the valve on top of the lid from sealed to venting after the cooking time is up. Because of this, and the starchy noodles, the steam valve may spew starchy water. To prevent this, use a hot pad holder to open the valve, let the steam escape, return it to sealed for a second, reopen, and repeat. Another option I use is to place a towel over the lid and steam valve as the pressure releases.
- Learn more about pressure cooking basics.
How to Store & Reheat Leftovers
- Store the leftovers in an airtight container, in the fridge, for up 5 days.
- For long-term storage, store in freezer containers, in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost in the fridge overnight, then reheat. Here’s how to meal prep soup.
- Reheat the soup on the stove-top in a saucepan, in the microwave using a microwave-safe bowl, or in the Instant Pot using the saute button/function.
- For a school or work lunch, add the heated soup to a thermos. Here’s how to pack a hot lunch.
What to Serve With Chicken Noodle Soup
Like my chicken einkorn dumpling soup, this recipe is a meal itself, but it also pairs well with…
- Einkorn bread
- Sourdough bread
- Almond Flour banana bread
- Green leafy salad with tahini dressing
- Einkorn muffins
FAQs
- If I add more broth do I have to change the cook time? No, you don’t need to adjust time. Cook according to the time provided here.
- Each time we’ve made a soup in the instant pot, we have a huge amount of soup spew out of the steam valve. Any suggestions??? To prevent this, use a hot pad holder to open the valve, let the steam escape, return it to sealed for a second, reopen, and repeat. Another option I use is to place a towel over the lid and steam valve as the pressure releases.
- This was excellent, but my egg noddles came out like mush. I’m new to the instant pot and want this to be my go-to chicken noodle recipe. Any thoughts on how to fix the noddle issue? Egg noodles are more delicate and need less time to cook. I don’t recommend using egg noodles in this recipe, but reduce the pressure cook time by half (just 2 minutes) if you want to. This time adjustment should prevent mushy egg noodles.
- Can I double this recipe? While you can double the recipe, you won’t be able to fit the extra broth in a 6-quart Instant Pot without going over the fill line (found inside the liner of the pot). So for this reason, I don’t recommend doubling the recipe.
More Easy Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
Easiest Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
A quick and easy weeknight meal made in under 30 minutes, from prep to bowl. Use leftover chicken, broth, and spaghetti noodles to make a flavorful, from-scratch chicken noodle soup in the Instant Pot.
Cost: $12
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter or 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 2 large carrots diced
- 3 celery ribs diced
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 8 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth
- 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken add more if you want meatier soup, or leave it out if you wish for it to have a vegetable-based soup
- 8 ounces spaghetti noodles broken in half (uncooked noodles)
- 2-3 cups chopped spinach (optional)
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Plug in your Instant Pot and push the Sauté button to use the sauté feature. The screen on the front will read On and the bottom of the pot will get hot to sauté.
- Melt butter in the Instant Pot. Once melted, add the diced onion, carrot, celery, and a big pinch of salt to bring out their juices. Saute the veggies for about 5 minutes until soft.
- Add the garlic, thyme, oregano, and basil. Saute for 1 minute.
- Add the broth, cooked chicken, and broken noodles. Turn off the Instant Pot so the sauté mode turns off.
- Secure the lid on the Instant Pot, turn the steam vent valve on top of the lid to Sealed, and push the Soup button. Use the manual buttons (the +/- buttons) to bring the pressure cook time down to 4 minutes. Note: The pot will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure and begin cooking.
- When the 4 minutes is done, quick release the steam valve, turning the valve from Sealed to Venting (use a towel or oven mitt to turn the valve). It will take 1-2 minutes to release all of the pressure from the pot.
- After the pressure releases, take the lid off, stir in chopped spinach to wilt and more salt and pepper (to your taste). The soup is hot enough to wilt the spinach, so there's no need to add more heat.
- Serve warm.
Video
Notes
Cooked Chicken: This recipe saves time by using leftover chicken meat; not raw chicken. Cook a whole chicken, chicken thighs, or boneless skinless chicken breasts in advance. Or, pick up cooked chicken pieces from the store or a rotisserie chicken. Shred the meat and store the chicken the fridge.
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup Variation: For a creamy soup, like my creamy chicken and rice soup or chicken pot pie soup, stir in 1 cup of heavy cream after pressure cooking. Use the Saute function if the soup needs to be heated further after adding the cream.
Nutrition
Calories: 253kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 13gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 956mgPotassium: 491mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 3940IUVitamin C: 21.7mgCalcium: 58mgIron: 1.9mg
Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!
Alternative Chicken Soup Cooking Methods
If you don’t have an Instant Pot and want to make homemade chicken noodle soup, I recommend checking out this stove-top veggie noodle version ,this slow cooker version, or my stove-top chicken and dumplings . I LOVE chicken noodle soup and there’s no shortage of simple ways to make this classic soup.
My Favorite Instant Pot Soup Recipes
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This recipe is fantastic! I’m making it for the third week in a row tonight, as we are remodeling our kitchen and have been relying on our instant pot and crockpot for our meals. This is the best kind of comfort food, especially with a little added cream at the end. So quick to put together and just the most delicious results with a green salad and crusty loaf of bread. My family thanks you!!
Yay, Maura! That makes me so happy to hear. I remember when we went through the remodel process and didn’t have a functioning kitchen. Loved using my Instant Pot. I’m so glad this meal has been serving you well during this time. And I love the idea of adding cream at the end-great addition!
Delicous recipe! I made it last night using chicken from a whole chicken I cooked from the previous night using your spatchcock method. It was a huge hit with my family. My husband was impressed and kept complimenting it and my kids went back for seconds. I’m so happy to have found this recipe!
Thank you!!
That’s AMAZING, Angie! Love hearing this.
Truly appreciate the way you have made this delicious recipe.
If I add more broth do I have to change the cook time?
Hey Jp, No, you don’t need to adjust time. Cook according to the time provided here.
Amazing recipe!
Glad you liked the soup, Nancy!
This recipe has been my go-to chicken soup for several years. I just wanted to say thanks! The recipe is well written and very tasty
Hey Amy, That’s so great to hear! Thank you so much for coming back to the site to leave a review, too. That means so much!
So easy and so good! My favorite chicken noodle soup ever!
Yay, Jamie! So glad you enjoyed it!
This was the best chicken noodle soup. It will be on repeat.
So glad you enjoyed it, Papi!
Great recipe for my husband who loves soup! I added a little fresh lemon juice, it perks up the soup a little and sneaks in a little Vitamin C!
YUM! Thanks for sharing, Reena!
LS Team
Looking delcious. Thank you so much for the recipe.
We love this soup! Make it the night after cooking a whole chicken in the IP using the tasty broth. I use linguine noodles broken in fourths. Served it tonight with a fresh loaf or einkorn sourdough bread….delicious! Thanks for this great recipe!
Hey Belinda, I’m so happy to hear that! Your meal tonight sounds AMAZING!!! Thank you for coming back to rate and review the recipe. That means so much.
I just Pressure Cooked this Soup when I got home from Work , at 9:30pm…
It was GREAT !!! I was eating by 10:30 pm. as I already had a Chicken Slow Cooked . I used Chicken Broth , but think I will try Bone Broth the next time I SlownCook or Pressure Cook a
chicken . Thanks !!!
Thats wonderful, Mike! So happy you loved it! Thank you for taking the time to comment and rate, means a lot to the LS.
LS Team.
This is my favorite recipe! I use bone broth, extra garlic, and spatzle noodles. I have made it for sick friends and family. It is so nourishing and healing. Thank you so much for sharing it years ago.
Hey Deb, I’m so glad you’re loving this recipe! Thank you for sharing and rating. That means so much.
Came out great, but low on broth. Going to add another 2 cups of water with Better than Bouillon. Flavor is on point!!!