This Creamy Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe is simple and quick but packs a serious flavor punch. This creamy soup is loaded with vegetables and can easily be made dairy-free or vegetarian.
You’ll also love this Juicy Instant Pot Chicken Breast and these Instant Pot Chicken Recipes!
Table of Contents
This Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup was one of the very first things I made in my pressure cooker. After making a few ridiculously easy recipes, like Instant Pot Baked Potatoes, How to Cook Frozen Chicken Breasts in the Instant Pot, and Instant Pot Taco Meat from Frozen Ground Beef, I decided it was time to try out a soup.
I think soups and stews are some of the easiest recipes to make in the instant pot, especially if you’re just starting out.
They have enough liquid that it easily comes to pressure and you won’t get that concerning “burn” message flashing on the screen.
Plus you get that “I spent all day in the kitchen” flavor in just 5-10 minutes.
Ingredients Needed:
- Canola Oil: we need just a little bit of oil to sauté the veggies before pressure cooking.
- Carrot, Celery, and Onion: the classic soup trio to create a flavor base and add plenty of texture.
- Chicken: you’ll need 1 boneless and skinless chicken breast cut into 1/2″ pieces.
- Seasonings: a simple blend of parsley, salt, minced garlic, thyme, and black pepper gives the soup the best flavor.
- Chicken Broth: I like to use low sodium so I can add salt to taste myself.
- Pasta: any short pasta will work. I usually use Ditalini or Orzo!
- Cream and Cornstarch: forms a slurry which makes the soup thicker and creamy.
- Chopped Spinach: a handful of fresh, chopped spinach wilted into the soup adds some extra color and texture.
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
This simple instant pot soup takes just 10 minutes to prep! See the detailed recipe in the card below.
- Sauté the veggies: Turn the instant pot to sauté and heat the oil. Add in the carrots, celery, and onion, then cook until softened.
- Brown the chicken: Add in the seasonings and the cubed chicken and cook until white on the outside.
- Add the broth and pasta: Pour the broth into the instant pot, then stir in uncooked pasta. Cook until al dente.
- Add the cream and spinach: In a bowl, mix together cream and cornstarch, then mix that into the soup along with the chopped spinach. Cook until thickened, then serve.
Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup FAQs
Not in this recipe. Since we’re cooking the chicken takes longer to cook than the noodles, we need to brown the chicken first. Luckily, this can all be done in the instant pot so we’re not dirtying any more dishes!
We’re making our chicken noodle soup creamy with a cornstarch slurry. It’s made of heavy cream and cornstarch. Just whisk those two together until smooth, then mix that into your soup at the end.
Leftover chicken noodle soup will last in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. Keep in mind that the pasta will soak up the liquid and soften as the soup sits. Leftovers will still taste delicious though!
If you’re going to freeze your soup, I recommend doing so without the pasta. Cooked noodles can become mushy in the freezer. To freeze your soup, follow the recipe as instructed, but don’t add the pasta. Instead, cool the soup completely, then store it in the freezer. When you’re ready to enjoy, thaw the soup and add cooked pasta just before serving.
Variations
- Add more veggies. You can easily use other veggies. Add peppers, mushrooms, or anything that suits your fancy.
- Make it vegetarian. Leave out the chicken, use chicken broth, and add more veggies to change it up!
- Make it dairy-free. To make this soup dairy-free, simply leave out the milk. If you want to thicken it slightly, you can do so by substituting the milk for an additional cup of broth and cornstarch.
- Make it gluten-free. Just use a gluten-free pasta.
- Spice it up. Add a sprinkle of cayenne or red pepper flakes.
Serving Suggestions
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup is great on its own, but if you want to bulk your meal up, serve it next to Garlic Bread or Breadsticks, Homemade Dinner Rolls, Roasted Green Beans, or Air Fryer Broccoli.
Looking for more pairing ideas? Check out more of my easy side dish recipes!
More Instant Pot Soup Recipes You’ll Love
Creamy Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 3 large carrots peeled and sliced (not too thin)
- 2 ribs celery sliced
- 1 medium onion (finely diced)
- 1 boneless skinless chicken breast (cut into ½" pieces) about 300 grams
- 1 teaspoon parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup short pasta (such as Ditalini or Orzo) about 130 grams
- ½ cup cream (I use heavy cream but any will do)
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 1 cup chopped spinach
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot to saute and add the oil. Wait until the Instant Pot reads "hot" and then add the carrots, celery and onion. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes until onion has softened.
- Add the cubed chicken. Cook and stir for 3-4 minutes just until white on the outside.
- Stir in the parsley, salt, garlic, thyme and pepper. Cook and stir 1 minute.
- Add the broth and scrape the bottom of the pot well to remove any browned bits. Stir in the uncooked pasta.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and turn the valve to sealing. Press Manual, leave on High pressure, and use the arrows to select a cook time of 2 minutes. It will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure and start counting down.
- When the cook time is over, turn the Instant Pot off. Let the pressure release naturally for about 5 minutes before opening the valve to release the remaining pressure.
- Whisk together the cream and corn starch. Stir into the pot with the spinach. .
- Cook and stir for 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened. Taste and serve.
Notes
Nutrition Information
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Brittany says
Can this be made in a crockpot?
Ashley Fehr says
Yes! It’s actually based off of this recipe:https://www.thereciperebel.com/easy-slow-cooker-creamy-chicken-noodle-soup/
Joyce says
I just made this tonight. It’s great! I’m experimenting with my Power Cooker (bought from Costco online). Thanks Ashley.
Joyce says
Forgot to give it 5 star rating!
Ashley Fehr says
Yay! So glad to hear that!
Patrice says
I was so looking forward to this soup. Might soup didn’t turn creamy after adding the whisked milk and cornstarch. Soup ended I’ll looking like milk soup haha. Not sure where I went wrong 🙁 Any thoughts what could have happened? I’ll have to try again another day.
Ashley Fehr says
Your chicken might have released more liquid during the cooking process. It is not thick like chowder, so you may just want to reduce the broth a little next time if you like it thicker.
MicheleGH says
Ashley, this soup was wonderful! I added a diced medium onion and used evaporated skim milk. I also had about 1/2 cup of some leftover frozen corn, cut from the cob, that I added at the end. Divine!
Those who think it has little taste might need to change their brand of chicken broth or use turkey broth. I love the Ditalini pasta – so much easier to eat than floppy egg noodles.
Thank you! This is definitely a “keeper” recipe in our house!
Ashley Fehr says
Thanks! I’m so glad you liked it! I love the idea of adding fresh off the cob corn!
Deepu Panicker says
superb recipe, I love soups. I am going to try this out very soon, your photographs are great too, thank you Ashley
Ashley Fehr says
Thank you so much!
Becky says
Can this soup be frozen and heated up later?
Ashley Fehr says
Absolutely! The only thing that might change is the pasta will become softer in texture after freezing and reheating.
Hakima says
Hai.. I’m a very newbie in cooking, since I have one bundle of joy (a baby girl) 8 months ago… and now she eats like baby bear.. haha.. finally found your blog, and fell in love with your recipes.. May I know what brand of Instant pot you’ve been using?
Many thanks…
Ashley Fehr says
Hi Hakima! I’m using a 6 quart Instant Pot – that is the brand. I hope you enjoy the recipe if you get to try it!
Pamela says
Just used my Instant Pot for the very first time and made this recipe (after the water test) …WOWZA!! I am a believer. Thank you so much for such a fabulous flavor-packed and incredibly easy recipe. The house smells amazing to boot! Looking forward to using this game changer and to trying more of your recipes.
Ashley Fehr says
Yay! Thanks! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it 🙂
Alexis says
Can we use wide egg noodles?
Ashley Fehr says
Yes! They should cook in about the same amount of time
Andrea says
I must be the only one who thought this soup was lacking in flavor. We had to use quite a bit of salt and pepper at the table, which we normally don’t do.
Ashley Fehr says
You can definitely adjust the seasoning to your tastes
Allie Sonier says
I just made this and it is delicious and super easy! I used oriecchetti pasta. This will be one of my go-to winter recipes.
Ashley Fehr says
So glad to hear that Allie!
Betsy says
Can’t wait to try with these noodes,
Ashley Fehr says
I’d love to hear how it goes!
Kimberly Gecik says
Can this recipe be doubled or tripled?
Ashley Fehr says
Yes, definitely, but you don’t want to fill your Instant Pot past the 2/3 mark. You might be able to get away with 1/5 times the recipe to make 6 servings, or if you have an 8 quart Instant Pot you could double.
Cristina says
If you double the recipe do you need to increase the cooking time, or is it the same?
Thanks
Ashley Fehr says
You won’t need to increase the time, but it will take longer to come to pressure.
Emily says
This was amazing! Totally rivals any soup you can get at Panera or similar. We had no leftovers and my husband even sopped up the leftover broth from the pot with bread. I will be adding this to my dinner menu rotation.
Ashley Fehr says
Oh yay! I’m so happy to hear that!
Sarah Weller says
What time frame would I need to use if I were to make this is a slow cooker as I don’t have an instant pot but this looks amazing!
Ashley Fehr says
I would likely cook the veggies most of the day, maybe 8 hours on low, then add the pasta for the last 20 minutes and stir in the milk.
Lan Grabske says
I am not a fan of soups, it made this for my dad. Of course, I had to taste it myself… delicious! I’m a fan of this soup. The prep time and cooking time made it even better.
Ashley Fehr says
Yay! SO happy to hear that!
Lucy says
Delicious and very easy to make it. My kids kept asking for more.
Ashley Fehr says
I’m so glad you all liked it!
Joyce Hiebert says
Oh man all these instant pot recipes makes me want one.
Ashley Fehr says
It’s not a must have, I don’t think! But it is handy in its own way 🙂
Sarah @Whole and Heavenly Oven says
This soup is serious cozy food GOALS, Ashley! I just got an instant pot and I’m definitely looking forward to trying this one!
Ashley Fehr says
Oh I hope you love it!
Sonya says
Interested to try this recipe but do not have an instant pot. What would the cooking time be for this recipe if not using an instant pot?
Ashley Fehr says
I’m not sure exactly, but I would just cook the veggies until they were tender, then add the pasta and the milk and cook just until al dente.