INSTANT POT CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
RECOMMENDED VIBE:
Here’s an album I thought you might enjoy while cooking this recipe ?
The Instant Pot thing…
I was terrified of my instant pot for the first couple of weeks, but they are truly game-changing and I got comfortable & confident fast! I have a 6-quart Duo, and that is what was used for this recipe.
There are risks to working with pressurized stuff, but these things are really made so that it would be incredibly difficult to have a major mishap. It’s virtually impossible to budge the lid when it’s under pressure, so there is no risk of ‘accidentally’ opening.
The one thing you need to be mindful of is steam. When you open the quick-release valve, you can get a rush of steam that is plenty hot enough to cause serious burns. To avoid that, just be sure your hands and face are completely clear of the valve. I like to put a folded towel over the valve before I release it so that the steam goes into the towel and not in my face or all over the bottoms of my cabinets. (Chicken soup facial, anyone?)
Gather your chicken noodle soup ingredients
Grab everything you’ll need before you start cooking. This way there are no surprises and now rushing around the kitchen when you could be sipping wine and visiting!
Prep the vegetables
Slice off the root and stem ends of your onion, and then cut in half. Place each half flat on your cutting board and cut it roughly into 6ths. You’ll end up with pieces that are ¾” to 1″. If you don’t want to ‘notice’ onions, then chop them finer!
Slice off the root and stem ends 
Cut in half, place flat and cut in half again
Cut across 3 or 4 times 
You should end up with pieces around 1″
Give the carrots a quick peel (or not!) and cut them in half lengthwise. Then cut into pieces that are the size you like in your chicken noodle soup. The instant pot will cook them through no problem. If you cut them too small, they may fall apart more. I like them around ¾”.
Start with 2 medium carrots or 3 small ones 
Give them a quick peel if you like!
Slice in half lengthwise 
Then into ¾” pieces
I like to give celery a quick peel with my Y-shaped peeler. This removes the tougher, outer fibers that can become bitter. You don’t have to fully peel them – just a few passes will take off enough to let the celery become much more tender!
Peel celery to remove tough fibers 
Then cut to ¾” pieces
Ready to cook your instant pot chicken noodle soup!
One of the great things about the instant pot is that it is a multitasker. You can saute or sear your ingredients right in the same pot.
Plug in the instant pot and press the ‘saute’ button. Add the butter and allow it to melt completely before adding the onions, carrots and celery to the pot. Cook for 3-4 minutes, just until the onions become shiny, translucent and bit soft. We’re not trying to brown the onions, just give them a head start by softening them a bit. This also releases flavor and helps all of the flavors meld together.
Set Instant Pot to ‘saute’ and melt the butter 
Cook the onions, carrots and celery for 3-4 min to soften
Herbs & spices
Once your aromatics (onion, celery, carrot) are softened, add the salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, and oregano. Then add the water and broth, and give things a stir.
Set the chicken in the pot and secure the lid. Make sure that the release valve is set to ‘sealing’, press the ‘SOUP’ button, and use the +/- buttons to set timer to 7 minutes.
For instant pot chicken noodle soup, I strongly recommend using chicken that has the bones and skin still attached. There is a lot of flavor and good fat that helps give the soup and all-day flavor. You can use boneless/skinless, but the broth won’t be as rich in flavor.
After the 7-minute SOUP cycle…
Once the instant pot build up enough pressure, the clock will tick down from 7 minutes. Once the clock reaches 00:00, the instant pot will begin counting back upwards so that you can see how long the food has been releasing pressure naturally.
IN instant pot lingo, there are two types of releases: natural release and instant release. Natural release just means allowing the pressure to reduce gradually – in other words, you do nothing. Instant release means that you switch the valve from ‘sealing’ to ‘venting’. This allows any remaining steam to escape so that you can open the pot.
For this recipe, we want to let the pressure release naturally. This should take around 15 minutes. If there is still pressure after 15 minutes, you can go ahead and manually release any remaining pressure.
Remove the lid…
Once the steam has all released, remove the lid. Carefully remove the chicken and place it on a cutting board or sheet pan to cool.
Press the ‘saute’ button on the instant pot. Add the dry pasta to the pot and stir to combine. Allow the noodles to cook for 6-8 minutes while you prepare the chicken.
Using two forks or your hands, pull the skin and bones off of the chicken and discard. Pull the chicken apart into bite sized pieces, being careful to remove any bones or inedible parts. I find hands work much better, once the chicken has cooled.
Add the chicken back to the pot and test the noodles for doneness. As soon as the pasta is cooked, add the lemon juice and mix thoroughly to combine. Taste for salt & pepper and add if needed!
0 Comments