Quick, simple, and nutritious Instant Pot Chicken Soup with chopped veggies. Mom approved belly warming soup to help beat the cold and flu season!
Burr! Last week I was wearing shorts and this week we turned on the heat in the house! Within the past seven days if felt like we experienced summer, then winter. BOOM-BOOM!
Such a drastic change in a short about of time. Crazy, crazy, weather. There is no denying it, folks, global warming is REALLY happening.
Anyhow, between sneezing with allergies and getting cold sniffles as we experience these quick sessions of varying degrees of seasons, we expect our bodies to adjust and go with the flow. Nice thought, but that’s not what always happens.
My household has already been hit with the flu!! Alan got a nasty cough, fever, chills, and overall yuckiness. He was forced to take a weeklong chillax break and stayed home from work for a few days too. Sam got sick as well. NO FUN.
What do you crave when you aren’t feeling well? Mom’s loving touch of course! Whether it’s ensuring the medicine cabinet is stocked with acetaminophen and cough meds, the house is sprayed with Lysol (well, I didn’t want to get sick too!), or a good ‘ole fashioned chicken soup is cooked. Moms have a special touch.
If you haven’t made chicken soup before I’m going to dispel a myth that it takes hours and hours to cook. It’s basically a very simple simple process, especially when using an Instant Pot!
I used chicken thighs with the skin for this recipe. I think the thighs have more flavor and when you are sick and barely eating, you need the fat in your diet. FAT is good for us. Please repeat. FAT is good for us!
Now if you are really freaking out about using the skin (been there), then take baby steps while we retrain ourselves to add healthy fats back in our diets. Once you cook the meat (with the skin), debone and shred the chicken, go ahead and discard the skin if you must.
There is one other tip that is worth sharing. Sometimes I use all water in my chicken soup, but when I want extra salt and a boost in flavor I enhance the soup with chicken broth. Feel free to play with the ratios to suit your preference.
I offered rice on the side instead of adding in to the soup like in this easy turkey rice soup. If you are on a strict low carb, ketogenic diet then you might enjoy a low carb cheddar biscuit with your soup.
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 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. Place chicken back in pot. Soup is ready to be served.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 455 Total Fat: 32g Saturated Fat: 8g Cholesterol: 151mg Sodium: 1027mg Fiber: 2g Sugar: 5g Protein: 29g
Angela
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!
Healthy World Cuisine
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!
Karen (Back Road Journal)
A comforting and nourishing meal for your sickly family. I hope everyone is well on the road to recovery.
Justine
Looks wonderful! And chicken thighs are the bomb 🙂
Debra C.
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!
Lori Vachon
It certainly can’t hurt to have a go-to chicken soup recipe going into cold/flu season!
Michaela Kenkel
Chicken soup is my NUMBER ONE FAVORITE comfort food! I have an instant pot — I need to get it out and try this!
Jennifer A Stewart
I put an instant pot on my christmas list so I hope i get one so I can make this!!
Madi
I need to get an instant pot so I can make this! I love chicken soup!
Beth
That is such a gorgeous soup!! I still don’t have an instant pot! I really need to get with the program!!
Pam Greer
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!
Sandra Shaffer
Oh man! I could barely move, so thank goodness for quick meals like soup!
Elaine @ Dishes Delish
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!)
Sandra Shaffer
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!
Jeanne
Can you tell me what modifications can be made for an already-roasted leftover chicken? Thank you!
Sandra Shaffer
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!
Jeanne
It was delicious and my family loved it! Thanks so much Sandra! One more question, What about using a whole raw roasting chicken?
Vickie Zitkovich
I’m confused. I’ve never used the soup button and when I did it said 4 minutes. Will the thighs be cooked.
Sandra Shaffer
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.
Gina H
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.
Sandra Shaffer
So glad to hear you enjoyed this chicken soup recipe, Gina. I’m always thrilled with how mead cooks and tenderizes in the IP!
Loren Valentine
Hello! I never saw what to do with the bay leaves…Did I miss it?
Sandra Shaffer
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.
Loren Valentine
Great thank you! It was delicious by the way and I’m
about to make it again!
someguy
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.
Sandra Shaffer
Thank you for stopping by! Hope you eat up every bite 🙂
Donna
Deeelish!!
Sandra Shaffer
That sums it up, doesn’t it, Donna? Thank you!!