Soup is one of the best easy meals you can make. You can make every part of the dish from scratch or take your own shortcuts.
Soup is such an easy meal. You can go all in on your homestead with chickens you butchered and broth you made. Or you can hit the easy button with the carton of broth and the chicken from the butcher. Either way, it's still a scratch meal that's pretty economical!
We don't always have a flock of chickens around, but even when we need to purchase chicken it's most economical to purchase the whole bird. Then northing goes to waste and you get all the good parts to make broth and gravy. We also love Roast Chicken in Cast Iron when you want the pretty presentation of the chicken. Don't forget to soak up all that bone broth with Heavy Cream Drop Biscuits.
Key Ingredients
Whole Chicken - I find that a 3-4 pound bird fits in a 6-quart Instant Pot.
Broth - Homemade or store-bought, use veggie or chicken here.
Veggies - The classic carrot, onion, celery, and garlic!
Seasoning - Basil, parsley, and rosemary are all quite lovely. Try a sprinkle of turmeric as well!
How to Make Chicken Soup in the Instant Pot
***See recipe card below for precise measurements and instructions.***
Step 1: Cook the whole bird. Yes, you can cook from frozen!
Step 2: Allow to cool enough to handle so you can remove all the meat.
Step 3: Add the veggies for a quick run through the pressure cooker.
Step 4: add the chicken back in an noodles if desired.
FAQs
Yes! The beauty of this meal is you don't have to remember to thaw the chicken! You can cook from fresh or frozen, as long as you are able to remove the giblets or anything else. And half-frozen because you remembered late is no problem! Just remember you still need a decent amount of time!
The noodles are stirred in at the end so you could use any type of pasta. We like Tinkyada brown rice noodles when we want gluten-free, or you could stir in any type of cooked rice as well. Even leave it out for a quick veggie-laden soup!
I highly recommend serving the soup with the noodles in their own pot. We cook them separate and then dish up a scoop of noodles into the bowl and top with the soup. First, this makes soup easy for little kids because you can give them a lot less liquid. And when you store soup, if it has the noodles or rice in it, they will soak up broth. This means you won't have much broth left in your soup AND the grains will be mushy! So serve and store separately for best textures.
Photos by Megan Hampton
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Dairy Free Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 white or yellow onions minced
- 5 - 6 carrots chopped
- 3 - 5 stalks celery chopped
- 3 5 cloves garlic minced
- 3 - 4 lb whole chicken fresh or frozen
- 2 quarts chicken broth
- 1 ½ tablespoons dried basil
- 3 tablespoons dried parsley
- ½ tablespoon dried rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Remove any giblets, ties, metal bits, etc. holding the legs together. Place chicken in the Instant Pot with 1-2 cups of water. Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes if fresh, 50 minutes if frozen.
- Allow pressure to release naturally for 10-15 minutes before releasing remaining pressure. Use a thermometer to check for 165°F on the chicken, especially if it was frozen.
- Allow the chicken to cool enough to pick the meat off. You can do this while the veggies cook.
- Add broth, seasonings, and veggies to the Instant Pot and cook for 6 minutes on high. Check for desired doneness.
- Stir the chicken into the soup and serve.
- Cook noodles or rice on the side as desired.
Notes
- Store leftover soup separate from noodles so they keep their texture.
- Save your chicken bones to make broth!
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