instant pot basic chicken soup

Pressure cooking has me hooked. Last Mother’s Day my present was an Instant Pot and I’m in love. From the best hard boiled eggs ever to the fastest bone broth and all of my favorite soups, this little machine creates intense flavor and quick dinners. I am still creating and testing, but one of our favorites is this basic Chicken Soup. In no time, about 1 hour from start to finish you have a rich, flavorful broth, a whole chicken and any veggies you love for a complete, satisfying meal. My kids would eat this everyday!

I used a whole chicken because it makes the broth delicious, but also adds more to the meal and there is always leftovers to make chicken salad or a protein side for any dish.

I like to chop my veggies very small, I’ve never really liked the taste of cooked carrots, so this gives me all of the flavor without biting into big chunks. I use a traditional mirepoix, which is flavor base made from diced vegetables that are cooked, usually with butter or oil. This mirepoix is made up of carrots, onions and celery.

For a more filling meal, you can stir some cooked noodles into the soup. I prefer to cook the noodles separately so that they don’t absorb a ton of moisture from the soup itself. I mix them in just before serving, and store them separately from the soup in the fridge. I found a brand of egg noodles by Manischewitz that is grain and gluten free, this was a find!

INGREDIENTS

• (1) 3 pound chicken, or an equivalent mix of bone-in thighs, legs, or breast meat

• 4 ribs celery, diced

• 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced

• 1 medium yellow onion, diced

• 1 Tbs. tomato paste (secret ingredient)

• 2 tsp. salt

• 1 tsp. dried parsley

• 1 Tbs. olive oil

• Fill water to line labeled in the Instant Pot

DIRECTIONS

• Turn Instant Pot to saute feature for 15 minutes and pour olive oil in to warm

• Add diced onions, carrots, and celery to pan and cook until translucent (add more veggies for a heartier soup… cabbage, zucchini or greens)

• Add tomato paste and coat veggies

• Add parsley, and salt along with whole chicken (make sure to check for gizzards in the cavity of the bird)

• Fill water to line labeled inside the Instant Pot

• Place the lid on the pressure cooker. Make sure the pressure regulator is set to the “Sealing” position. Select the “Manual” program, then set the time to 25 minutes at high pressure. (Instant Pot users can also select the "Soup" program and follow the same cooking time.

• It will take about 35 minutes for your pressure cooker to come up to pressure, and then the actual cooking will begin. Total time from the time you seal the pressure cooker to the finished dish is about one hour.

• "quick" releasing the pressure when timer goes off

• Take lid off and separate the chicken from the broth. When it is ready to be handled, you can shred the chicken and place it back in the broth or serve it in the side for your family to grab desired amount. (hint, if there are leftovers, the soup will store better if the chicken is separate from the broth)

• Serve