Instant Pot Whole Chicken Soup

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This Instant Pot Whole Chicken Soup Recipe is warm, cozy, and filled with flavor. Made with juicy chicken, onions, garlic, veggies, herbs, and egg noodles.

Overhead view of a bowl of soup being held and served.

Not sure what to use your Instant Pot for, other than hard-boiled eggs? Try this easy and delicious pressure cooker chicken noodle soup. The whole family is guaranteed to love it! What is more heartwarming than a big bowl of pressure cooker chicken soup?

Say goodbye to spending all day making soup on the stovetop. This Instant Pot version saves SO MUCH time! A few other easy soup recipes I have been loving are my Easy Taco Soup, 30 Minute White Chicken Chili, and Creamy Cajun Potato Soup.

WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS INSTANT POT WHOLE CHICKEN SOUP:

  • Incredibly easy
  • All you need are a few basic ingredients
  • Makes a fantastic recipe for meal prep
  • Freezer friendly
  • Kid approved
  • Great for crowds
Close up of the whole chicken soup in a white bowl.

WHOLE CHICKEN SOUP RECIPE KEY INGREDIENTS:

  • Mirepoix – just a fancy name for finely diced onion, celery, and carrots. Mirepoix is key for achieving the iconic chicken noodle soup flavor.
  • A whole chicken – use a whole chicken for this soup recipe because the various cuts of meat with the bones and skin add a depth of flavor! The bones and skin also add a lot of nutrients to the pressure cooker chicken soup.
  • Low sodium chicken stock or broth – I typically go for low sodium broth because it gives me control over the amount of salt added to the soup.
  • Pasta – For this recipe, I used egg noodles because they are wide and perfect for soaking up the broth. You could use whatever pasta you like or make homemade!
  • Herbs and aromatics – I went with garlic, as well as fresh parsley and fresh rosemary, to give the soup a delectable fragrance and flavor!
Overhead view of soup in the instant pot ready to be served.

HOW TO MAKE PRESSURE COOKER CHICKEN SOUP RECIPE:

Step 1: Saute onions

Turn 6 quart Instant Pot to the high saute function. Once hot, add the olive oil and onion. Cook until slightly softened. Then, add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Press cancel to stop saute. 

Step 2: Cook the chicken

Add the whole chicken, broth, water, carrots, and celery to the Instant Pot. Place the lid on the pot and turn to the locking position. Set the vent to the sealing position. Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Once cook time is complete, do a quick release being careful of the hot steam. 

Step 3: Add the noodles

Once all of the steam is released, open the lid and remove the chicken. Set the Instant Pot to its saute function and bring to a boil, then add the egg noodles, rosemary, and parsley. Boil until noodles are tender. Meanwhile, remove the bones and skin from the chicken and shred the meat. When the pasta is tender, stir the meat into the soup. Taste and season as needed. 

Overhead view of chicken noodle soup in a white bowl garnished with fresh parsley and a biscuit off to the side.

TIPS AND VARIATIONS:

  • Use whatever vegetables you like. I stuck with the standard chicken noodle soup vegetables for this recipe.
  • Use whatever type of pasta you like. I like to make my own pasta, but any store bought pasta will work well in this instant pot whole chicken soup recipe.
  • This soup freezes well. If you plan on freezing leftover instant pot whole chicken noodle soup, don’t add the noodles, as they can become mushy. If you want to freeze the soup, let it cool completely and pour it into a freezer safe container. Freeze pressure cooker chicken noodle soup for 4-6 months. Thaw completely and reheat. If you left the noodles out, reheat on the stove and cook the noodles until al dente.
  • Pump up the flavor. For extra flavor, stir in some Better than Boullion Chicken Base.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Do I have to use a whole chicken for this soup recipe?

While I do recommend using a full chicken to achieve maximum flavor, you could also just use chicken breasts or thighs.

Can I make this soup gluten free?

If you want to make this soup gluten free, you could replace the noodles with rice, gluten free pasta, or extra veggies.

How long does this soup last in the refrigerator?

Store leftover pressure cooker chicken noodle soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or store in the freezer for 4-6 months.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH THIS PRESSURE COOKER CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP:

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Need a comforting bowl of chicken noodle soup? This Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Chicken Noodle Soup is easy to make and full of flavor. And thanks to the Instant Pot it's ready in a fraction of the time! #chicken #chickennoodlesoup #instantpot

Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Chicken Noodle Soup

Course: Chicken, Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken noodle soup, homemade chicken noodle soup
Need a comforting bowl of chicken noodle soup? This Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Chicken Noodle Soup is easy to make and full of flavor. And thanks to the Instant Pot it's ready in a fraction of the time!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 185kcal
Author: Malinda Linnebur
Print Recipe Save Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 (3-4 pound) (1.3-1.8kg) whole chicken, giblets removed and discarded
  • 4 cups (950ml) low sodium chicken stock/broth
  • 4 cups (950ml) water
  • 4 large carrots, peeled and diced (or sliced into rounds)
  • 3 stalks celery, diced
  • 6 ounces (170g) egg noodles (or pasta of choice)
  • 2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

Instructions

  • Turn 6 quart Instant Pot to high saute function. Once hot add oil and onion. Cook until slightly softened. Add garlic and cook stirring for 30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Press cancel to stop saute. 
  • Add whole chicken, chicken broth, water, carrots, and celery. Place lid on Instant Pot and turn to the locking position. Set the vent to sealing position. Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Do a quick release and be careful of the steam. 
  • Open lid and remove the chicken. Set Instant Pot to high saute function and once boiling add egg noodles, rosemary, and parsley. Boil until noodles are tender. Meanwhile, remove the bones and skin from the chicken and shred or chop meat into chunks. When the pasta is tender stir the meat into the soup. Taste for salt and pepper and season accordingly. 

Notes

  1. Time does not reflect the amount of time to pressure up or the time it takes for do a quick release. 
  2. Sometimes if the soup is lacking some flavor I like to stir in some Better than Boullion Chicken Base. 
  3. Use whatever vegetables you like. I just stuck with the standard chicken noodle soup vegetables for this post. If you are adding peas or corn add in towards the end of cooking the pasta. 
  4. Use whatever type of pasta you like as well. I like to make my own pasta but any store bought pasta will work well in this recipe. Just cook until tender.
  5. FREEZER FRIENDLY: Just one tip on freezing this……don’t add the noodles because they can become mushy. I have frozen the soup with homemade noodles (mine are pretty thick cut) and it was ok, but that is my experience and I know others can experience things differently. If you want to freeze the soup let it cool completely and pour into a freezer safe container. Freeze for 4-6 months. Thaw completely and reheat. If you left the noodles out reheat on the stove and cook the noodles until al dente. 
  6. Nutrition facts: Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the information shown is just an estimate.

Nutrition

Calories: 185kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 99mg | Potassium: 427mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 7025IU | Vitamin C: 6.6mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 1.2mg

26 thoughts on “Instant Pot Whole Chicken Soup”

  1. 5 stars
    I’ve tried this twice. It’s the best soup! So flavorful, quick and easy. Can I use a whole, frozen chicken? That’s how I used to cook my chicken noodle soup on the stove.

    Reply
    • Great question!! Yes you can cook from frozen. You will need to cook on high pressure for 13 minutes per pound of chicken. This makes the cooking time longer if using a bigger bird so the vegetables will be mushy at the end of cook time so I suggest cooking the chicken first then remove the chicken. Add all the veggies to the instant pot and cook until tender (high pressure for 5 minutes) then add back the shredded chicken and pasta and finish cooking as stated in the recipe. Hope that makes sense and if you have any other questions don’t hesitate to ask!

      Reply
  2. Just made this and it turned out delicious! Any tips on how to remove the chicken from the pot? When I removed it with tongs, it was so tender it fell apart in the pot and I later found two small bones I wasn’t able to fish out when the chicken fell apart.

    Reply
    • Hi Vanessa! So glad you liked the soup. Sorry about the bones, I know that can be a problem. I don’t have a real solution but you could replace the whole chicken with chicken thighs. The bones are bigger and easier to see to remove. Just make sure the backbone is not attached because those are really small bones that would be hard to remove. I don’t recommend using boneless because the soup will lose so much flavor. I hope that helps!

      Reply
    • Hope he got well soon! This is a staple in our house when I have sick little ones! Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    • I didn’t see water in the ingredient list. So I just used the chicken broth. Chicken was a little underdone. I added bone broth and water and used frozen noodles to save time, may I suggest you put the water in the ingredients list for us cooks that think they know everything and don’t read through instructions. Good stuff none the less!

      Reply
    • I am doing a Whole 30 so I want to add potatoes in stead of noodles. Do you think I could put them in for the 20 min of pressure cooking or boil after like noodles?

      Reply
      • You can cook the potatoes for the 20 minutes. Just use a red or Yukon gold so they hold their shape. Otherwise, feel free to boil them. I hope you enjoy!!

        Reply
  3. Hi! Trying this recipe now…it looks delicious! In the recipe you say to add the chicken broth and 4 cups of water. Are both needed and if so how much broth? Thank you

    Reply
  4. 5 stars
    Nothing like Chicken Noodle Soup during the winter! I usually make it on the stove top too but I can’t wait to try this in my IP!

    Reply

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