Instant Pot Chicken Soup

Ingredients

• 2½ pounds (1166g) bone-in chicken thighs
• 2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter or olive oil
• 1 (160g) onion (, diced)
• 2 tablespoons (30g) tomato paste
• 5 (18g) garlic cloves (, crushed and minced)
• 2 pinches dried basil
• 2 (0.3g) bay leaves
• 4 cups (1L) unsalted chicken stock
• 1 rib (87g) celery (, chopped)
• 2 (270g) carrots (, peeled and chopped)
• 4 - 5 (1lb or 454g) roma tomatoes (, quartered)
• Salt and Ground black pepper

Steps

1. 1

   If you're short on time, make this Jazzy Chicken Soup by dumping all ingredients in Instant Pot Pressure Cooker. Then skip all the browning steps, and jump to Step 4 - Pressure Cook Chicken Soup.

2. 2

   Brown Chicken: Heat up Instant Pot using Sauté More function. Wait until it says HOT (~8 mins). Pat dry chicken with a paper towel. Then season one side gently with salt and ground black pepper. Add in 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter or olive oil. Then quickly add in the chicken (seasoned side down) to prevent the butter from burning. Season the other side of chicken with more salt and ground black pepper. Brown both sides of chicken thighs in Instant Pot for 4 minutes per side.

3. 3

   Saute Onions and Garlic: Set aside the browned chicken. Add diced onion in Instant Pot, then saute until soften (~2 mins). Add in 2 tbsp (30g) tomato paste, then saute for another minute. Add in minced garlic, 2 pinches of dried basil, and 2 bay leaves, then saute for another minute.

4. 4

   Deglaze Instant Pot: Add ½ cup (125ml) unsalted chicken stock in Instant Pot. Then deglaze by scrubbing all the flavorful brown bits off the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Keep the brown bits as they're very flavorful!

5. 5

   Pressure Cook Chicken Soup: Add in browned chicken, chopped celery, chopped carrot, quartered tomatoes, and 3½ cups (875ml) unsalted chicken stock. Give it a quick mix. With Venting Knob in Venting Position, close the lid, then turn Venting Knob to Sealing Position. Pressure cook at High Pressure for 5 minutes, then Natural Release for 15 minutes.

6. 6

   Season & Shred Chicken: Place pressure cooked chicken in a large mixing bowl. Shred the chicken with two forks. Discard the bones and skins. Add back shredded chicken in Instant Pot. Taste the chicken soup, then season with more salt. For reference, we added 3 to 4 large pinches of kosher salt.

7. 7

   Serve: Serve this comforting Jazzy Chicken Soup as a wholesome meal. Enjoy!~