A few weeks ago, I caught my first cold since the start of the pandemic. I didn't have any bone broth already made, so I decided to try making a chicken soup with a whole chicken, complete with bones, so that it would have the bone broth built in, along with a bunch of veggies, herbs and spices that would help boost my immune system to help my fight off the cold. Now that cold and flu season is in full swing, this Instant Pot recipe makes it easy to get all the nutrition you need in a one-pot recipe, just what you need when you're not feeling your best.
Instant Pot Cold-Busting Chicken Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
- One 3-4 lb chicken
- 8 cups water
- 1½ tablespoons kosher sea salt
- 2 tablespoons raw cider vinegar
- One 4" square of kelp/kombu
- 1½ cups onion, chopped
- ½ cup carrots, diced
- ¾ cup celery, diced
- 1 cup red pepper, diced
- 2 cups cauliflower florets, cut into small pieces
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- One 1" piece of fresh ginger, minced
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
- 2 cups mustard greens, collards or Tuscan kale, chopped
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
Directions:
Put the chicken into the Instant Pot liner, breast side up, along with water, cider vinegar, garlic, dried herbs, kelp and spices. Allow to sit for 30 minutes. (*You can technically skip this step if you're in a rush, but allowing it to sit allows the cider vinegar to start breaking down the bones in the chicken, which helps release the collagen and minerals from the bones.)
Put the lid on the Instant Pot. Make sure the pressure regulator is set to the “Sealing” position. Program the cooker to pressure cook 25 minutes at high pressure. (Instant Pot users can also select the "Soup" program if it has this setting, and follow the same cooking time. For stovetop pressure cookers, cook at high pressure for 22 minutes.) When the soup has finished cooking, wait about 15 minutes before "quick" releasing the pressure. This helps prevent the steamy broth from spitting out of the valve.
Carefully remove the chicken and the kelp from the pot allowing any broth to train out of it. Put it on a cutting board and allow to cool until safe to handle. Once cool enough to handle, strip off all the meat from the bones and add the bones into a strainer designed to fit into the pot then put the strainer back into the Instant Pot. Close the lid and set to 'Sealing' and set to high pressure for another 30-60 minutes (the longer the better if you have the time).
While the bone broth is cooking, cut up the chicken and kelp into bite-sized pieces. You can also cut up all the other remaining veggies while you wait if you haven't already done so.
After the bone broth finishes cooking, do a quick release then open the pot. Remove the strainer and discard the bones. Add in all the remaining (except for the parsley and mustard greens), close, set to 'Sealing' and set to pressure cook on high (or use the 'Soup' setting) for 3 minutes.
When the soup has finished cooking, do a quick release then open the pot. Stir in the greens and lemon juice and cook until the kale is wilted, around 3 minutes. Stir in the parsley and serve hot with keto crackers or keto bread.
Did you make this keto cold-busting Instant Pot whole chicken soup recipe? If so, please let me know how it turned out in the comments. Or if you share pics of your creations on Instagram, please tag me so I can see them. Enjoy! :)
