This easy yet delicious one-pot chicken soup can be made in as little as 30 minutes. It’s the perfect weeknight dinner any time of the year.
Nutrient-rich and packed with healthy root vegetables, this chicken soup is perfect for rainy days or when you’re feeling under the weather.
And in Japan, fall weather doesn’t come around until the beginning of October. However, it rains all the time in the summer.
So even though the actual temperature is hot, I crave warm, soothing soups when it’s cloudy out.
Thankfully, this pressure-cooker meal is super hands-off. Pop the ingredients in an instant pot and forget it. No standing over the hot stove, or using your gas in the summer.
When my husband and I both caught a cold this summer, I threw this together in my pressure cooker and it was blessedly easy.
Plus it’s absolutely packed with earthy vegetables and soothing spices- perfect for when you’re recovering.
Ingredients
- Skin-on chicken thighs
- If you can’t find skin-on, use 1 tsp of olive oil instead
- Mirepoix
- celery
- yellow onion
- carrot
- garlic
- Vegetables
- Potatoes
- Sweet potato cubed or kabocha, yam
- Spices
- black pepper
- turmeric
- salt
- oregano
- Water or broth
- Feel free to add bouillon or stock cubes
Method
1. In honesty, you can chop the vegetables however you want, however, I recommend a large, rough chop for all the root vegetables. This way, they can easily hold their shape.
2. Add your vegetables directly to the pressure cooker.
3. Then add the spices atop the vegetables.
4. Nestle your chicken thighs on the vegetables and spices.
5. After pressure cooking, check the chicken and veggies for done-ness.
6. Shred the chicken on a separate plate and remove the skin. Add it back to the pot.
7. Mix well and taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Serve in a bowl with a sprinkle of parsley or a slice of toasted bread and butter. Goes amazingly with Garlic Butter Toast too!
Tips and Tricks
One of my favorite kitchen hacks is to freeze things like celery and onions ahead. If you process a bunch of celery at once and put it in the freezer, you can make soups anytime. Same with chopped onion; just pull it out of your freezer and go.
I highly recommend adding the turmeric to this recipe to give the soup its signature golden color without adding artificial color. It’s also a healthy, warming spice which is perfect for when you’re sick.
Another nice thing to try is adding different spices. If you enjoy a warm, slightly spicy soup, try adding ginger. Or sprinkle some curry powder in to give it some oomph! Otherwise, bay leaves or thyme are other excellent additions.
Stovetop version
While you can easily do this on the stove in a large pot, the pressure cooker method is fast and requires no tending to a boiling pot on a hot day.
But if you don’t have access to a pressure cooker, this is still a quick recipe. For example, you can cut the chicken into smaller pieces to help cooking go faster.
- After chopping all the veg, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add it to the pot after the mirepoix (onions, celery, and carrots) and brown it.
- Then add the remaining vegetables, spices, and water. Since the water will cook off, I recommend adding about one quart.
- Bring it up to a boil then simmer for at least 15 minutes. Check the potatoes for doneness and adjust the spices. Then enjoy!
Substitutions and Additions
To make this a chicken noodle soup, ladle it onto bowls with your cooked noodle of choice. Egg noodles are delicious, but penne, shells, or macaroni would be great too.
If you don’t have access to sweet potatoes, then yams make a great substitute. Kabocha or squash are also delicious, nutritious substitutions for this recipe.
They melt in, giving the soup a stew-like consistency, and are therefore good for picky eaters like kids.
Red lentils are another great addition if you want to add protein without altering the flavor. Just wash a 1/2 cup of them thoroughly and add before the chicken. They completely dissolve when pressure-cooked.
You can use chicken breast if you don’t like chicken thighs. If you do, lower the pressure-cook time so they don’t get rubbery. And if you use skin-off chicken, add a ‘lil glug of olive oil.
If you want a more powerful blast of flavor, try adding garam masala or curry powder for a fun new take on chicken soup!
Make it vegetarian/vegan
To turn this meal into a vegetarian/vegan soup, substitute the chicken for imitation chicken or chickpeas.
Add a spoonful of veggie bouillon for that extra punch of flavor.
Toppings
A crusty French bread or simple sliced bread goes a long way with this soup. Pop it in your toaster and slather your favorite oil or butter on top.
You can ddd cheese if you’re feeling cheeky and enjoy!
Storage
You can pack this into either large or small tupperware or silicon bags to store in the fridge or freezer. I like the pint-size ziploc containers with screw-on lids for soup personally.
Lasts in the fridge for 4-5 days and in the freezer for 3-6 months.
Easy Chicken Soup
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot, Multi pot, etc.)
Ingredients
- 1 tsp olive oil optional (if no chicken skin)
- 1/2 cup celery chopped
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 2 carrots rough chopped
- 2 small potatoes cubed
- 1 medium sweet potato cubed (substitute: kabocha, yam)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp oregano
- 2 boneless chicken thighs skin on if possible
- 2 cups water
Instructions
- Add the chopped onions, celery, carrot, potato, sweet potato and garlic to the pressure cooker.
- Sprinkle the black pepper, turmeric, salt, and oregano atop the vegetables.
- Lay the chicken thighs over the vegetables, then pour in the water.
- Place your pressure cooker lid on. If you're using an Instant Pot or similar, set it to pressure cook on high for 14 minutes. No natural release needed.
- Release the pressure. Then with two forks, move the thighs to a plate to remove the skin and shred. The chicken should be extremely tender and fall apart easily.
- Return the shredded chicken to the pot, and mix everything together. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
