Instant Pot Chicken Soup
Quick, simple, and nutritious Instant Pot Chicken Soup with chopped veggies. Mom approved belly warming soup to help beat the cold and flu season! This perfect Instant Pot soup recipe is one that will become a favorite, not just for comfort and health benefits, but for the incredible depth of flavors.
Instant Pot Chicken Soup
Whether your family has been hit with the flu, or you simply want the comforting flavors of a classic chicken soup recipe, this one is sure to hit the spot.Â
This recipe is one that is truly as good as, if not better than, the classic homemade chicken soup your mom made when you were a child.Â
Tender bits of carrot and celery along with shredded chicken are cooked to perfection in this rich broth.Â
A few secret spices added into the mix bring out a deeper flavor that makes Instant Pot chicken soup not just a simple recipe, but one that has layers of incredible flavor.
The best part? This recipe is just as delicious as that slowly cooked soup, but ready in a matter of minutes!
Can I Use Chicken Breasts in this Chicken Soup in the Pressure Cooker?
I used chicken thighs with the skin for this recipe. I think the thighs have more flavor, and when you’re sick and barely eating, you need the fat in your diet.Â
Fat is good for us, and I am working on including more healthy fats in our diet.Â
If you are someone who really doesn’t like the skin or thighs, you can remove the skin, and/or use chicken breasts instead for this recipe.Â
Just know that you won’t have as rich a flavor in the end as you would if using chicken thighs.Â
If you have extra chicken and want a different soup option, add this Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup to your meal plan.
What Other Vegetables Are Healthy in Chicken Soup?
Classically, you would add the onions, celery, and carrots to a chicken soup recipe. Those were my go-to for this meal, but that doesn’t mean those are the only veggies you can add into this soup.
For those who are looking for a keto-friendly meal and want to skip the carrots, feel free to add in things like diced broccoli or cauliflower, and maybe even some mushrooms.Â
If the carbohydrates in the vegetables aren’t a concern, you could add in some green peas for both color and flavor.
The only word of caution when adding alternate vegetables to this recipe is to consider their cooking time and determine if a longer pressured cooking would cause the texture to be unsavory.Â
Most veggies would be fine in this recipe, but this would be a personal taste preference choice.
I have even added some of my homemade cream of mushroom soup into this chicken soup recipe to make it closer to a chowder and richer in flavor.Â
That’s the joy of soups – they are so easy to adapt!
Can I Turn This Into Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup?
If you want to add noodles, or even rice, to this soup, feel free to do so.Â
I definitely understand how chicken and rice soup or Instant Pot chicken noodle soup can be preferred by some.Â
Lately, I’ve been leaving the added pasta and rice out as I follow a more low-carb and keto-friendly diet.
That said, you can add them into this if you wish like I did in this easy turkey rice soup, just know more liquid may be needed to keep it a brothy soup.Â
Alternately, I do have a great recipe for a Keto Chicken Soup you can test out if you prefer to keep the carbs at the lowest amount possible.
Can I Use Chicken Stock Instead of Just Water?
One of my favorite ways to add a richer flavor to soups is to use broth in place of the water, or in addition to it.Â
For this recipe, I love adding some rich chicken broth that I have already made, or purchased.
If you want to make your own chicken broth, you can use the same steps in my Slow Cooker Turkey Stock recipe, but use a chicken carcass instead.Â
Broth freezes beautifully and is always great to have on hand in your pantry or freezer.
Breads to Serve With Soup
If you are on a strict low carb, ketogenic diet then you might enjoy a low carb cheddar biscuit or this grain free bread with your soup.
For those that have some wiggle room in your daily macronutrients will love this Cheddar Jalapeno Beer Bread or a slice of Soda Bread.
Instant Pot Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil or butter
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 carrots chopped
- 3 celery ribs chopped
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 bay leaves whole
- 2 cups water filtered
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon parsley dried
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 teaspoon thyme dried
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot to Saute mode and add 1 tablespoon of oil or butter. In batches place chicken skin down in pot and saute rendering the fat from the skin for about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from pot and set aside.
- Add additional tablespoon on oil (if needed) to pot and saute diced onion carrots, and celery just until the onion begins to soften. Add garlic.
- Turn off Instant Pot and place chicken on top of vegetables. Add water and broth, salt, pepper, parsley, bay leaf and thyme. Cover soup with lid and turn the vent to closed. Turn on the Instant Pot to SOUP mode. Once the pressure builds up the soup (about 10 minutes) it will take about 20-25 minutes to cook all the ingredients. Once complete gently release pressure (vent). Remove chicken and shred and debone. Remove bay leaf. Place chicken back in pot. Soup is ready to be served. Â
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer
Please note that the nutritional information provided are guidelines and may vary based on the brand of products used. For your specific nutritional goals use My Fitness Pal or Verywell Fit recipe calculators. All content within this site is not intended as medical diagnosis or treatment and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical expertise.
How long would you cook it with a whole chicken?
Hi Karisse! Although I haven’t tried it, generally, it will be 6-8 minutes per pound.
Hello! I tried it with a 5.88lb bird for 40 min. It turned out great though the veggies were pretty mushy. I’m hoping that next time a smaller bird or using thighs will keep the veggies a bit more firm. Great recipe! The broth is fantastic!
If using pasta when do I add it. Also can you use lightly frozen chicken breasts? Thanks
Hi Rachel, lightly frozen chicken will take a little longer to cook. No adjustment needed. After shredding the chicken, I would put back in the IP and add the noddles. Put on sauté mode and cook for 4-5 minutes for the noodles to soften. Good luck!
Being ill, we used what we had on hand from the garden, carrots, chives, green onions, lovage … what a delicious soup broth and soft meat. Thanks for posting this, its worth the effort (while one feels poorly).
I’m so glad this soup brought you some comfort. Wishing you all the best.
The instructions don’t tell when to put the bay leaves in
Hi Tracey! Sorry about that. Add it with the water and broth. I’ll fix the recipe card. Thanks for letting me know that step was missing.
Deeelish!!
That sums it up, doesn’t it, Donna? Thank you!!
stumbled across your recipe looking for chicken soup in the IP and figured i’d give it a try. store only had boneless, skinless thighs in a 8 pack so i just used that. came out great but a little too much meat, next time i’ll just use 6 and up the veggies a bit too. flavor was good. thanks for sharing this.
Thank you for stopping by! Hope you eat up every bite 🙂
Hello! I never saw what to do with the bay leaves…Did I miss it?
Hi Loren! Sorry about that, I added the details. Add the bay leaves with the spices and once the soup is done, remove them before serving.
Great thank you! It was delicious by the way and I’m
about to make it again!
This soup was very good. I used 3 large boneless chicken breasts and it shredded beautifully. Next time I will use less salt because I usually don’t cook with a lot of salt. I will make this often. YUM.
So glad to hear you enjoyed this chicken soup recipe, Gina. I’m always thrilled with how mead cooks and tenderizes in the IP!
I’m confused. I’ve never used the soup button and when I did it said 4 minutes. Will the thighs be cooked.
Hi Vickie, the soup mode is programed to thirty minutes, so I’m not sure why yours said 4. Usually it takes about 10 minutes for the pressure to reach high, so your chicken should definitely cook longer than 4 minutes.
Can you tell me what modifications can be made for an already-roasted leftover chicken? Thank you!
Hi Jeanne, I would add the cooked shredded chicken (use at least 3 cups) after sautéing the vegetables so it has time to meld with the other ingredients. Let me know how it turns out!
It was delicious and my family loved it! Thanks so much Sandra! One more question, What about using a whole raw roasting chicken?
I finally bought an instant pot! It should come to my house tomorrow! Your chicken soup is going to be my first recipe! It looks so delicious!! (The flu was here too, I had one day of being the sickest I’ve ever been. And then it just went to a cold. But that first day, man, it was bad!)
Yay! You are going to love the IP and the soup! I can’t believe that I got sick a couple of times already. This year the flu is horrible!
We’ve had the flu here too, and the worst part is I had to make my own Chicken Soup. However, it wasn’t bad at all, because like you I used my Instant Pot. And, like you I used chicken thighs – need all that yummy chicken fat!
Oh man! I could barely move, so thank goodness for quick meals like soup!
That is such a gorgeous soup!! I still don’t have an instant pot! I really need to get with the program!!
I need to get an instant pot so I can make this! I love chicken soup!
I put an instant pot on my christmas list so I hope i get one so I can make this!!
Chicken soup is my NUMBER ONE FAVORITE comfort food! I have an instant pot — I need to get it out and try this!
It certainly can’t hurt to have a go-to chicken soup recipe going into cold/flu season!
Soup is good food. Such a comforting meal and your recipe is classic. I love that it’s made in the Instant Pot, I will be giving it a try soon!
Looks wonderful! And chicken thighs are the bomb 🙂
A comforting and nourishing meal for your sickly family. I hope everyone is well on the road to recovery.
I still do not have an instant pot but need to get on the bandwagon, just so I can try your delicious mom approved stay healthy soup. Seriously Mother Nature is going to be brutal this winter… Sharing, of course!
What a perfect meal!! I don’t yet have an instant pot but when I do, this is sure to be one of the first recipes I try!