This Instant Pot chicken noodle soup is loaded with chicken, noodles, vegetables, and tastes just like, if not better than regular chicken noodle soup! It's an incredibly easy recipe that's perfect for the weekdays or making ahead to freeze for later. Plus, it takes only 7 to 10 minutes of active cook time! Also try our Instant Pot beef stew if you're looking for more easy (and tasty!) Instant Pot recipes.

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Ingredients for Instant Pot chicken noodle soup
Please scroll down to the recipe card for the ingredient quantities!
- Chicken - Feel free to use either skinless boneless chicken breasts or chicken thighs. We prefer using chicken breast because it gives the soup a cleaner flavor, but chicken thighs will give a juicier texture.
- Onion, carrots, celery - These three are known as mirepoix and the base flavor of most soups and stews. It'll build up the classic chicken noodle soup flavor and add natural sweetness to the soup.
- Unsalted chicken stock - We always recommend using unsalted stocks so that you can better control the amount of salt added.
- Bay leaves and dry thyme leaves - These herbs will give the chicken noodle soup an extra layer of flavor.
- Dry egg noodles - We like using those dry twirly egg noodles because they cook faster than standard pasta and they bulk up the chicken noodle soup nicely. If you prefer, you can use whatever pasta noodle you like. We've tried with elbow macaroni and even spaghetti (broken up into smaller pieces). Just adjust the cook time accordingly.
- Salt and pepper - For seasoning the soup.
- Parsley (optional for garnish)
How to make chicken noodle soup in the Instant Pot
Please scroll down to the recipe card for the full recipe and instructions!
1. Combine ingredients. Add everything the chicken, onion, carrot, celery, stock, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and black pepper to the Instant Pot. This will bring everything up to just under the max line in a 6Qt Instant Pot. Give everything a good stir.
2. Pressure cook. Place the lid on the Instant Pot, lock it, and make sure the pressure release knob is on "Sealing". Select the "Soup/Stew" button for 20 minutes on high pressure. After the 20 minutes are up, allow the Instant Pot to naturally release for 5 minute then manual release the rest of the steam.
📝 Note: If your Instant Pot does not have a "Soup/Stew" button, select the "Pressure Cook" function and cook for 20 minutes on high pressure.
3. Add egg noodles. With the Instant Pot lid off, select the "Saute" function and allow the soup to come to a simmer. Add the egg noodles to the soup and give everything a good stir. Cook the egg noodles according to your package recommended time (ours took about 7 minutes) or to your preferred tenderness.
4. Taste. At this time, you can taste the soup to see if you'd like additional salt and pepper. Adjust according to your preference.
5. Serve. Portion the chicken noodle soup to serving bowls and top with chopped parsley for garnish. Enjoy while hot!
Recipe Tips
- Add the veggies first. We recommend always adding the vegetables first then the proteins to help prevent the meat from getting stuck to the pot. Less scrubbing is always a win-win!
- Cut the vegetables as close the recommended size as possible so that they will become tender within the cook time. This is especially important for the carrots because it's much firmer.
- Use your leftover chicken. Although, cooking the chicken with the chicken noodle soup will taste better than adding the chicken at the end, you can add cooked chicken, like rotisserie chicken, to use up your leftover. Follow the recipe as you would normally, just skip the raw chicken. Once the soup is done pressure cooking and the noodles are just about tender, add the shredded cooked chicken. Depending on the seasoning on the chicken, you may need to use a little less salt.
Storage
This Instant Pot chicken noodle soup is PERFECT for making ahead for a dreary day or for when you're under the weather. To store, simply portion the chicken noodle soup into airtight containers and allow it to cool completely before refrigerating or freezing.
It will be good for 5 to 7 days refrigerated and up to 3 months frozen. If freezing, make sure to leave about a ½ to 1 inch gap to accomodate for the expansion.
Reheating
📝 Note: The noodles in your leftover chicken noodle soup will become much more tender than when freshly made. Otherwise, the soup tastes even better than day one!
Stovetop method: Transfer the chicken noodle soup to a pot and heat over medium high heat. Stir occasionally until the soup is hot. If frozen, make sure to allow the soup to defrost in the fridge overnight before heating.
Microwave method: Place the chicken noodle soup into a microwave safe bowl and cover loosely. Microwave until hot and midway through, give everything a stir so that it heats up evenly. From frozen, let the soup defrost in the fridge overnight until defrosted if stored in a non-microwave safe container. If stored in a microwave safe container, you can reheat in the microwave from frozen. Just crack the lid and cover the container loosely.
FAQ
If the chicken is cut into 1 inch chunks like in our recipe, it needs only 20 minutes of pressure cooking time with 5 minutes of natural release time.
No, we do not recommend pressure cooking the noodles with the rest of the chicken noodles soup because the noodles will become VERY soft by the time the soup is done.
Feel free to use any kind of pasta noodles of your choice. Our favorite is the egg noodles, but we've also used elbow macaroni and broken spaghetti. They are all good choices.
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast cut into 1 inch chunks (chicken thighs are fine too *see notes)
- 1 large yellow onion cut into ½ inch pieces
- 2 large carrots peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
- 4 stalks celery cut into 1 inch pieces
- 8 cups unsalted chicken stock
- 4 dry bay leaves
- 1½ teaspoons dry thyme leaves
- 4 teaspoons salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon cracked black pepper or to taste
- 4 ounces dry egg noodle or pasta of your choice *see notes
- Parsley finely chopped (optional for garnish)
Instructions
- To the Instant Pot, add everything EXCEPT the egg noodles (chicken, onion, carrot, celery, stock, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and black pepper).
- Give everything a good stir, place the lid on the Instant Pot, lock it, and make sure the pressure release knob is on "Sealing". Select the "Soup/Stew" button for 20 minutes on high pressure.If your Instant Pot does not have a "Soup/Stew" button, select the "Pressure Cook" function and cook for 20 minutes on high pressure.
- After the 20 minutes are up, allow the Instant Pot to naturally release for 5 minute then manual release the remaining steam by turning the pressure release knob to "Venting". Once all of the pressure is released, unlock and open the lid.
- With the Instant Pot lid off, select the "Saute" function and allow the soup to come to a simmer. Add the egg noodles to the soup and give everything a good stir. Cook the egg noodles according to your package recommended time (ours took about 7 minutes) or until tender or to your preferred tenderness.
- At this time, you can taste the soup to see if you'd like additional salt and pepper. Adjust according to your preference.
- Portion the chicken noodle soup to serving bowls and top with chopped parsley for garnish. Enjoy while hot!
Notes
- Chicken breast vs chicken thighs - Feel free to use either chicken breast or chicken thighs for this Instant Pot chicken noodle soup. The main difference is that chicken breasts give the soup a cleaner flavor but chicken thighs will yield a slightly juicier texture. We prefer chicken breasts. If you are using chicken thighs, make sure to trim off most of the excess fat.
- Egg noodles and pasta - Egg noodles cook much pasta than regular pasta and is much more fun to eat and easily bulks up the soup. We have tried using other pasta like elbow and spaghetti (broken into smaller pieces) and they work well too. Just adjust the cook time as needed.
Linc says
The recipe was very easy to follow, and that soup was fantastic. Thank you for the great recipe!
Mei says
So glad you enjoyed it, Linc!
Mei ❤️