
Instant Pot chicken noodle soup
All the slow-simmered flavor of chicken noodle soup in under an hour, made start to finish in one pot.
- 55 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.67 a serving
- 330 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free

Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, sliced into coins
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 4 oz egg noodles
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 bay leave
Each serving has about 330 calories, 32 g protein, 30 g carbs and 8 g fat, and costs about $2.67 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No chicken broth? Vegetable broth or bone broth works.
- No chicken breasts? Boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins work.
- No egg noodles? Fettuccine or penne works.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion, the carrots and celery, and the garlic.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Press , add the oil, and cook the onion, carrots and celery, stirring, until the onion , about 5 minutes.
Sauté. Sautéing means cooking cut-up food in a little oil or butter over medium to medium-high heat, stirring now and then. It cooks things quickly and browns them lightly without burning.
How you’ll know: You hear a steady, lively sizzle, not a hiss and spit, and the edges start to soften and color.
Softened. For vegetables it means cooked until they bend and lose their crunch; for butter, left out until it dents easily. Soft onions taste sweet, and soft butter mixes in smoothly.
How you’ll know: Onions squash easily against the pan with your spoon, and butter dents under a finger without looking greasy.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Stir in the garlic and thyme for 30 seconds, then press Cancel.
Medium heatTimer: 30 sec
Pour in the broth and scrape the bottom with a wooden spoon so nothing is stuck. Add the salt, pepper and bay leaf and lay the chicken in whole.
Dolly’s tip: Anything stuck to the bottom can set off the burn warning, so give it a good scrape.Lock the lid, set the valve to Sealing and pressure cook on High for 8 minutes.
Timer: 8 min
Dolly’s tip: It takes about 10 minutes to come up to pressure before the countdown starts. That’s normal.Let the pressure release on its own for 5 minutes, then turn the valve to Venting to let out the rest. Keep your hand and face away from the steam.
Timer: 5 min
Lift out the chicken and check the thickest part: 165°F, or white all the way through with no pink.
Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
Press Sauté, bring the soup , add the noodles and cook for 6 minutes, stirring now and then, until tender.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Medium-high heatTimer: 6 min
While the noodles cook, the chicken with two forks. Stir it back in, pull out the bay leaf, taste for salt and serve with parsley.
Shred. Shredding means making thin strips, either on the big holes of a grater or by pulling cooked meat apart with two forks. Shreds soak up sauce and mix evenly through a dish.
How you’ll know: Cooked chicken pulls apart into strands with little effort, and cheese comes off in long, loose strips.

Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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