Yeeesh, time really flies, doesn’t it? It’s been a while since my last post (apologies!), but better late than never to share this Instant Pot chicken noodle soup recipe, yes?
Anyway, as you may have heard, there’s this mega virus touching all parts of the globe right now (yes, the sarcasm is alive and well here). And, unfortunately, the Coronavirus has landed in Missoula. The last I heard is that we’ve got two presumptive cases, which means that there’s likely quite a few more people out there who have come down with it, too, and are contagious.
While I refuse to fall prey to the panic and paranoia that many people have succumbed to (I did not buy massive amounts of toilet paper), I am approaching this virus thoughtfully, rationally, and carefully.
It’s not hype to socially distance myself from the general population, as we all should be doing if we want the spread of this virus to flatten. (Flatten the curve, anyone?) So, I figured that if I were to get sick, I obviously shouldn’t be wandering around in public places, most especially a grocery store. Which means that this weekend I decided to go to the store to pick up some ingredients to make some Instant Pot chicken noodle soup, to have on hand if I were to get sick. (I plan to freeze this.)
I probably shouldn’t have been surprised by what I saw at my local, neighborhood grocery store, but it still was odd to witness. I walked in and immediately noticed that all the bananas were gone (except one lone one, who, I joked with the cashier was practicing excellent social distancing from all the other, nonexistent bananas).
The onions and potatoes were completely gone, all the large carrots had vanished, as had most vegetables. Nearly all the pasta and rice were gone, and the store had limited customers to two chicken breasts apiece.
The toilet paper, unsurprisingly, was also nonexistent, with a sign on the empty rack saying that all purchases were final and refunds would not be offered.
Weird times, folks. Weird times.
Wash those hands!
Anyway…back to the main point of this post. Apparently, I, along with many of my fellow Missoulians, had the same idea and we were all making loads of soup this past weekend, hence the run on the onions and carrots.
The Instant Pot chicken noodle soup recipe that I made is flipping awesome, and I wanted to be able to share it with you here, in case you, too, wanted to have a stockpile of soup on hand that you can freeze and access when needed. Also, it’s way nicer to be eating this soup than the canned stuff, and I’d argue that this is healthier, cheaper and goes a lot farther than a small can ever would. (It nearly filled my 6-quart instant pot!)
Normally, I’d want to make this with large carrots (as I think they have better flavor), but all the large-sized carrots were gone when I went to the store, and the only thing left was a few one-pound packages of baby carrots. They worked in a pinch, but in the future, I’d use the regular-sized carrots.
Side bonus? Your house smells wonderful as the soup cooks! Turn on Simon and Garfunkel’s Scarborough Fair, revel in the scents of the parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme wafting about, and dance around your kitchen as you get ready to take a taste of this delicious soup! And, if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you can whip up some easy rustic dutch oven no-knead crusty bread bread to go along with it!
Without further ado, here’s the recipe!
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 4 medium carrots peeled and cut into small pieces, or 1 pound of baby carrots chopped small
- 4 ribs celery chopped
- 4 large cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon dried sage
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- ¾ teaspoon salt or to taste (I ended up using about 1½ teaspoons)
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper or to taste (I likely ended up using about ¾ teaspoon)
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth (I make mine with 4 cups of water and 4 teaspoons of Better than Boullion)
- 4 cups water
- 1 to 1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 6 ounces egg noodles
- chopped fresh parsley optional, for serving
- Press the sauté button on the Instant Pot and add your olive oil to the pot. Once the pot and the oil are hot, add the onion, carrots and celery and cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies start to soften, about 3 to 5 minutes, depending on your volume of vegetables. Stir in the garlic.
- Press "Cancel" to turn off the Instant Pot.
- Add the dried oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage, dried parsley, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Stir and toast the seasonings with the vegetables for about a minute.
- Add broth and water to the pot. Stir. Nestle the chicken into the broth. (Chicken can be frozen - see notes on cooking times for frozen chicken.)
- Close the Instant Pot lid and turn the valve to the sealing position. Pressure cook on high pressure for 7 minutes if chicken is fresh. The Instant Pot will take about 20 minutes to reach pressure and then the cook time will begin counting down.
- When the cook time ends, allow the Instant Pot to naturally release for 10 minutes (i.e. let it sit for 10 minutes without doing anything). Then, carefully release the remaining pressure by turning the steam release valve to the venting position using the handle of a long spoon or while wearing thick, protective oven mitts.
- When the pin drops down, open the Instant Pot lid. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Remove the chicken to a clean plate, bowl, or cutting board. Let the chicken rest for a few minutes and then shred the chicken.
- Press "Cancel" to turn off the warm setting and then press "Saute" and set it to high. Add the noodles to the pot and let them simmer for about 5 minutes, until just tender. Turn the Instant Pot off.
- Stir the shredded chicken back into the soup. Taste soup and season with additional salt and pepper as needed. Serve soup with fresh parsley, if desired.
If using bone-in fresh chicken, pressure cook for 10 minutes followed by a 10 minute natural release.
To cook chicken noodle soup on the stove top, follow the recipe as written except instead of pressure cooking, simmer soup on the stove (covered) for about 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken to shred, and add the noodles to the pot, simmering until noodles are cooked. Return the shredded chicken to the pot and serve.
Recipe slightly adapted from Kristine's Kitchen.
