Best Instant Pot Turkey Soup (30 Minutes)
The best instant pot turkey soup in just 30 minutes? Yep. This soul-warming, comforting soup is a quick, easy and yummy weeknight meal-in-a-bowl. Swap the turkey with chicken for a homemade chicken soup if you like.
Servings (change as needed): 6
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoon oil
- 2 cups chopped onions (1 medium-large onion)
- 3 cups chopped celery, carrots, parsnips, 1/2 inch/1.2cm pieces about 1-2 carrots, 2 celery ribs, 1-2 parsnips
- 2 pounds bone-in turkey pieces, skin on if possible, Note 1 thighs, drumsticks, wings have most flavor
- 7 cups chicken or turkey broth, Note 2
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley
- salt and pepper to taste (start with 1/2 tsp salt and adjust as needed)
Optional
- 2 cups -3 cups cooked fine egg noodles Boil 2-2 1/2 cups (4-6 ounces) dry egg noodles
- 2 cups fresh baby spinach, roughly chopped (or use 1/3 cup defrosted well drained frozen spinach)
Instructions
- SAUTE ONIONS: Press SAUTÉ mode on instant pot. When hot, add oil and onions. Sauté for 3 minutes until softened. Press CANCEL.
- COOK TURKEY SOUP: Add chopped vegetables, turkey, broth, bay leaf, parsley. Place cover on instant pot. Set to SEALING. Press PRESSURE OR MANUAL or SOUP. Use + and - indicators to set time to 10 minutes. Instant pot will take about 10 minutes to build pressure before the 10 minute countdown begins. Once cooking is complete, do a quick release (be careful of the rush of hot steam). Discard bay leaf and garlic clove. Taste and adjust seasonings. Note 3. If broth seems too watery, see Note 4.
- BOIL NOODLES (OPTIONAL): While turkey soup is cooking, boil noodles according to package directions. Note 5.
- FINISH AND SERVE: Remove turkey from soup. Skim grease from top of soup with large spoon. Alternatively, refrigerate overnight in sealed container and skim congealed grease off top of soup the next day. Shred or dice turkey meat and discard bones. Add turkey meat and noodles. Stir in spinach (if using) until wilted for 1 minute. Taste again and adjust seasonings, adding salt and pepper, if needed. Sprinkle with fresh parsley if desired. Serve.
Notes
- Turkey options
- Instead of turkey thighs, use a turkey leg or wings. Or, sub in chicken instead.
- Instead of fresh turkey, you can use turkey bones with meat on them from Thanksgiving leftovers. Roasted drumsticks or wings are great.
- Broth options
- Epicurious taste tests found the best chicken broths are: Swanson Chicken Bone Broth, Kitchen Basics Unsalted Chicken Stock, Brodo and Osso Good.
- Since we're extracting wonderful flavor from fresh turkey meat, I feel it's fine to use a decent broth, not necessarily the best. I actually like Campbell's condensed chicken broth in a can. It lets me add the amount of water I want.
- Better Than Bouillon Chicken Base is a good powder option to use with water.
- If you have no broth, use water. Add 6 cups water (not 7) and more seasonings.
- Flavor/Seasoning options
- I keep it simple with a clove of garlic, salt, pepper, fresh parsley and a bay leaf.
- Try adding a teaspoon for two of poultry seasoning, a common flavor in stuffing/dressing. Poultry seasoning is a combination of sage, thyme, marjoram, and rosemary with a dash of nutmeg and pepper - somewhat similar to herbes de provence.
- Feel free to change up the flavors with fresh herbs like cilantro, dill or basil.
- Tips to enhance the depth/intensity of soup broth:
-
- After cooking, if you still think the broth should be more flavorful, boil it down for 5-10 minutes on the Saute function of the instant pot.
- If still not intense enough, add a half or full can of condensed broth (e.g. Campbell's chicken soup) - not a 'ready to serve' can.
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- Noodles
- Noodles are optional. Cook them on the stove while the soup is cooking in the instant pot. This option is best if you're planning to freeze the soup. Alternatively, cook them directly in the instant pot after the soup is finished on the Sauté function.
- If planning to have leftovers, add noodles to individual bowls instead of the pot. This way you can store the leftover noodles and soup separately.
- Use any small noodles e.g egg noodles, vermicelli, orzo, etc.
Calories: 413kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 2074mg | Potassium: 1015mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1370IU | Vitamin C: 44mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 4mg