Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients at a Glance

• Oil/Butter: To sauté the chicken and vegetables, use olive oil or butter. I personally recommend butter for a rich homey flavor.
• Chicken: Use either boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs that have been diced into bite-sized pieces.
• Chicken Stock: Low-sodium stock is best, so you can control the level of sodium yourself.
• White Wine: Select a dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio. It does not need to be an expensive bottle, but you want to use wine worth drinking for the best results--do NOT use anything labeled cooking wine.
• Vegetables: Celery, carrots, and a yellow onion are the building blocks to any classic chicken soup.
• Egg Noodles: Regular or whole wheat wide egg noodles are recommended.
• For Flavor: Fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, lemon juice, salt, and pepper work together to add tremendous flavor to the soup.

How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

If you are unfamiliar with cooking in an Instant Pot or the functions of your Instant Pot, be sure to start with my guide for using an Instant Pot for the best results on this and future recipes. You will find the full recipe in detail in the recipe card below.

1. Saute the Chicken and Vegetables. Using the sauté function on the Instant Pot, sauté the onions, celery, carrots, and chicken in melted butter until the onion has softened. We aren't looking for a golden brown color or a hard sear. Instead, you just want to sauté your chicken, just until it is a pale white on all sides. The chicken will finish cooking under pressure.

2. Deglaze the Inner Pot. With the sauté function still going, add in white wine and use a wooden spoon or spatula to scrape up browned bits on the bottom of the inner pot. This is a crucial step to help to prevent a burn warning and it also adds additional flavor to your soup. Allow the alcohol to simmer for 1-2 minutes, to slightly reduce and intensify in flavor. Then hit cancel on the pressure cooker to turn off the sauté function.
3. Layer Ingredients. To the inner pot, add the chicken stock, thyme, rosemary, and season with another pinch of salt and pepper. Add the noodles to the inner pot and gently push them down into the liquid until just submerged. This will help them to cook evenly in the soup.

4. Pressure Cook. Place the lid on the Instant Pot, seal the lid, and set it to cook on HIGH pressure for 3 minutes. Because of the pressurized cooking, it only takes 3 minutes for the chicken and noodles to be perfectly cooked and the soup to develop a rich, delicious flavor.
5. Release Pressure. Once cook time has elapsed, let the Instant Pot release pressure for exactly 5 minutes. This will ensure that the noodles have finished cooking, but will not be overcooked. To do this, use a long wooden spoon or spatula of some sort and slowly push the venting knob from the sealed to the venting position. Be sure to stand back to prevent yourself from coming in contact with hot liquid or steam.
6. Season. Once the pressure has been released, open the lid. Remove the sprigs of thyme and stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if needed.
7. Serve. Serve Instant Pot Chicken Noodle soup immediately and if desired, no one would complain about pairing this cozy soup with whole wheat yeast rolls or fluffy buttermilk biscuits.

Recipe Modifications

• Omit the Wine: If you don't care to cook with alcohol, omit the wine and use additional chicken stock in it's place.
• Use Leftover Chicken: If you would like to use leftover cooked chicken (like rotisserie chicken or Instant Pot shredded chicken breasts), simply add cubed or shredded cooked chicken into the pressure cooker right before adding the noodles.
• No Fresh Herbs? You can replace the fresh thyme leaves and fresh rosemary with 1 teaspoon each of dried thyme leaves and dried rosemary leaves. Don't use ground rosemary or ground thyme, as the flavor is different.