Perfect for bitter cold weather and for when you're feeling under the weather, this Pressure Cooker Short Cut Chicken Noodle Soup couldn't be easier to throw together. Warm, comforting, and good for you too!
I'm excited to introduce you to this month's theme (I love a good theme, in case you haven't noticed: Extracts, Flavored Water, Basics, etc etc).
It's Soup's On January! Healthy soups and sides to start your New Year off right! I'm starting with everybody's favorite, Chicken Noodle Soup.
I'm convinced you just haven't experienced a dynamite Chicken Noodle Soup until you've made it with a deep, dark, flavorful, homemade broth. This, my friends, is (Instant Pot) Pressure Cooker Short Cut Chicken Noodle Soup and it is comfort food to the max! My friend Barbara from Pressure Cooking Today created this recipe and it is one of the many incredible recipes from her book The Electric Pressure Cooker Cookbook.
There are so many recipes I have marked to try from her book including Greek Tacos, Cheesy Baked Chicken Taquitos, Cuban Sandwiches, Thai Chicken Rice Bowl, etc etc. I recently shared her recipe for Easy Moo Shu Pork and it was a big hit with my husband and mom. The kids were scared off by the mushrooms. When do kids decide that food isn't scary anymore!
On the other hand, my kids LOVED this Chicken Noodle Soup! The same kids that won't eat a carrot or piece of celery even if it's drowning in ranch or filled with peanut butter, gobbled down this soup. Granted, I served the noodles on the side and their bowls with 3/4's noodle to a quarter soup, but still, they ate a carrot! That's monumental!
My favorite meals are ones that make you slow down and savor each warm, comforting bite, and that's exactly what this soup does. I like to serve it with my favorite homemade bread that is packed to the brim with whole grains and seeds of all kind. Smear that bread with a yogurt/cream cheese whipped mixture, and I am in dip – dunkin' heaven!
The short cut comes from using a rotisserie chicken, and in my opinion is complete genius! I get all the homemade flavor in half the time!
The only change I made from the recipe was to use a whole grain pasta and I stored it separately from the soup in case I wanted to freeze the left overs. That little tip works like a charm!
This is the first soup for this months theme of “Soup's On January!” I've got more good stuff to come, just you wait! I'll also be throwing in some healthy sides that will pair perfectly with your yummy, healthy soups. Warm, flavorful soup is one of my favorite meals ever, I can't wait to get the rest of these recipes in your hands!
Tools used to make (Instant Pot) Pressure Cooker Short Cut Chicken Noodle Soup
Enjoy!
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Be sure and check out these other amazing soup recipes from the blog
Short Cut Chicken Noodle Soup
Homemade, flavorful Chicken Noodle Soup that comes together with minimal effort
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 75 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 large fully cooked rotisserie chicken
For Chicken Broth
- 1 large onion, coarsely chopped with the skin on
- 2 large carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 ribs celery, roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, smashed
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon pepperconrs
- 2 quarts (1.9 L) water
For Chicken Soup
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 rib celery, diced
- 4 carrots, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons salt, plus more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
- 1 package (12 ounces) egg noodles, cooked according to package directions (I used whole wheat noodles)
Instructions
- Remove the meat from the rotisserie chicken and dice into bite-size pieces. Save the bones, meat, and skin and refrigerate until ready to use.
To Make the Chicken Broth:
- Put chicken bones and skin in the pressure cooking pot. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, peppercorns, and water. Lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and 20 minutes cook time.
- When the cook time ends, turn off the pressure cooker. Let the pressure release naturally until completely released. (If you're short on time, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and finish with a quick pressure release.). When the valve drops, carefully remove the lid. Pour the stock through a strainer set over a very large bowl or pot. Discard the bones, skin, vegetables, and herbs. If time permits, let cool and remove the fat from the top.
To Make the Soup
- Select Browning/Saute and melt the butter in the pressure cooking pot. Add the onion and celery. Saute for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Stir in your homemade chicken broth, the diced chicken, carrots, parsley, salt, and pepper. Lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and 4 minutes cook time.
- When the cook time ends, turn off the pressure cooker. Let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes and finish with a quick pressure release. When the valve drops, carefully remove the lid. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve the soup spooned over the cooked noodles.
Keywords: instant pot, pressure cooker, chicken noodle soup, healthy soup, quick soup
This weekend I made chicken noodle soup in my Instant Pot (not this or any of Marci’s recipes) and was disappointed in the results. Oh, as a soup it was fine, but what I really wanted was a soup that tasted primarily of chicken and rich chicken broth. Instead my soup hardly tasted “chicken-y” at all. Instead it had a sweetness from the carrots and onions and an overall “vegetal” taste I wasn’t looking for. In addition, there was a taste from herbs that although used in small quantities took away from the chicken-y flavor I was seeking.
It looks like to get what I’m after, I’m going to need to make a chicken broth from cooking a whole chicken without adding carrots, celery, onions or herbs. Once the chicken is done, I’ll take the chicken from the pot, let it cool, remove the chicken from the bones and return the bones to the pot and cook the bones longer to coax every bit of chicken flavor from them. After removing the now more flavorful broth and bones from the pot I can saute a few chopped carrots, celery and onions, and a bit of thyme and perhaps a bay leaf, until the veggies are just done. I can then add the rich chicken broth and chicken, noodles or couscous cooked separately plus salt and pepper as desired, to create a very chicken-y rich, chicken soup. Since the veggies won’t cook in the broth as it is created, the veggie flavor shouldn’t dominate the soup and the chicken flavor should shine through.
Any thoughts from Marci or you readers? Anyone have the same problems I had making a chicken soup that wasn’t very chicken-y?
Razzy, My favorite chicken soup I’ve ever made did indeed start with making my own chicken and broth. It’s more time consuming of course, but so amazing! This short cut version is yummy, but will not be as flavorful. However, I am loving the Couscous chicken soup I posted recently. If you want something quick, that one has greater depth of flavor than most chicken noodle soups.
I was cruising for a shredded chicken recipe of chicke noodle soup!! I’ve made several of your skin care recipes this week and now It’s so fun to find you cook real food, too!
I have had my pots a year and use that 95 % of the time! Thanks for this recipe!!! Off to explore!
Heidi, you must be referring to Cami’s side of TIDBITS for the skin care recipes :). But absolutely, I’ll keep bringing the food recipes!
Why not put the noodles in for the 4 minutes instead of cooking them separately?
Pamela, You could definitely do that, but I personally find it easier to just cook up the pasta when the soup is about done. I like to serve them separate too since the soup won’t freeze very well with pasta in it.
Great idea to serve it over whole wheat noodles. Glad you and the family loved the soup. Thanks for the shout out about my new cookbook!
★★★★★
Barbara, Thank you! It really is an amazing cookbook. I’ve learned so much reading through the recipes.
I have several pressure cooker cookbooks, and yours and Barbara’s are the ones I use the most. Love them both!
I’ll definitely be trying out this chicken soup this month!
Is the bread your Instant Pot Whole Wheat Crusty Bread? Or a different recipe?
Candace, I love hearing that! Me and Barbara’s cookbooks are also my favorites ;). The bread pictured is a multigrain/multiseed bread that I make in my Bosch mixer. It’s great for toast, sandwiches, bread puddings etc. If you like making yeast dough/bread, send me an email and I’ll get you the recipe. I’ve debated whether to post it because people typically come here for pressure cooker recipes. marci@tidbits-marci.com
Marci,
This is perfect timing! I have chicken from the other night (I so love my Instant Pot!), cold weather makes me crave soup, and bingo! you post a chicken soup recipe. Guess what’s on the menu tonight!? Looking forward to more soup recipes as well.
????
Cecilia
Cecilia, bingo, haha! Bingo reminds me of hanging out at my grandmas house eating white rice with gravy on it. Random thought 🙂