Nourishing Instant Pot Turmeric Chicken Soup
This homemade chicken soup can be made using an Instant Pot or slow cooker, depending on what you prefer!
Either way, it comes out comforting, healthy, and so delicious.
It is packed full of veggies and shredded chicken with a warming turmeric broth.
“I just tried it as instructed and it came out perfectly! It’s hard to believe that a delicious and hearty soup can be made in 5 minutes!” ~Naudia S.

This made-from-scratch easy soup recipe is so simple to make and tastes like you slowly simmered it all day.
But doesn’t require you to stand over the stove to get that depth of flavor.
I’m a big fan of instant pot soups these days, they have minimal prep steps & come together in a matter of minutes.
Just add your ingredients and let your Instant Pot do the rest of the work!
If you don’t have one, though, not to worry – I also included instructions for how to cook chicken soup in your slow cooker.
what goes with chicken soup
Pair with any side salad for a fun soup & salad night -or- serve with crusty bread, crackers or muffins on the side for dipping.
Here’s a few of my favorite gluten-free & dairy-free sides to serve with this easy chicken soup recipe.
- cornbread muffins
- sweet potato muffins
- golden glow turmeric muffins
- apple cider muffins
- chopped kale salad
- lentil meal prep salad
- butternut squash harvest salad

how to store nourishing instant pot turmeric chicken soup
- Homemade chicken soup will keep well in the fridge for up to 3-4 days, in a sealed container.
- This recipe also freezes well, store in a sealed freezer friendly container for up to 2-3 months.
recipe notes, modifications & adaptations
- Use boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs–whichever you prefer is fine.
- Add 2-3 handfuls of spinach to the cooked soup for a boost of greens.
- Turmeric stains, so be aware when feeding little ones who might spill.
- If you want chicken noodle soup, you can add leftover cooked rice or pasta noodles to your soup after cooking.
- I used homemade chicken stock but store bought low-sodium chicken stock or vegetable stock will work in its place. Or for extra flavor use chicken bone broth.
Looking to make this soup on the stovetop? Check out this stovetop turmeric chicken soup recipe.

this recipe is…
Dairy FreeGluten FreeNut FreePaleoWhole30
I hope you’ll make this nourishing instant pot turmeric chicken soup recipe soon.
If you do, be sure to share it on Instagram and tag me at @realfoodwholelife so I can see!


Nourishing Instant Pot Turmeric Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 2 cups chopped carrot
- 2 cups chopped celery
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 1 quart chicken stock
- 1 cup water
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Add the olive oil to an electric pressure cooker. Turn to saute, add the onion and ¼ teaspoon salt and saute for 4 minutes.
- Add the carrots, celery, ¼ teaspoon salt, turmeric and pepper, stirring to combine.
- Salt the chicken on both sides using ¼ teaspoon salt. Add the chicken in a single layer on top of the vegetables.
- Pour in the chicken stock, water, and remaining 1 ½ teaspoon salt.
- Secure the lid, select the manual setting, and set it to high pressure for 15 minutes. Your instant pot may take anywhere from 25-35+ minutes to come to pressure before the cook time starts.
- When the pressure cooker timer is done, quick release the pressure.
- Remove the chicken, and shred or chop into bite sized pieces. Add back to the pressure cooker, stirring to combine. Taste, adding additional salt or pepper if desired.
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a medium pan over medium heat. Add the onion and ¼ teaspoon salt, cooking until soft, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
- Add the carrots, celery, ¼ teaspoon salt, turmeric and pepper, stirring to combine.
- Add the vegetable mixture to a 6-quart slow cooker.
- Salt the chicken on both sides using ¼ teaspoon salt. Add the chicken in a single layer on top of the vegetables.
- Pour in the chicken stock, water, and remaining 1 ½ teaspoon salt.
- Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 6, or until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender.
- Remove the chicken, and shred or chop into bite sized pieces. Add back to the slow cooker, stirring to combine. Taste, adding additional salt or pepper if desired.
How to incorporate fresh turmeric (I just got a huge amount of the root in my farm fresh box) as opposed to dried
Hi Lori, I haven’t tried this recipe with fresh turmeric, but I imagine the general rule of dried to fresh spice would apply. That is 1 teaspoon dried turmeric equals about 1 tablespoon fresh. You might try 2 tablespoons fresh and see how it goes.
I’ve made this twice – once when I was just getting a cold. It’s a great recipe and easy, quick enough to do when you’re in a hurry or sick. I cut celery to one cup in, added one cup of leeks and used kale instead of spinach cause that’s what I had on hand. Delicious! Love it! Thank you!
Lucy, love that you adapted this to your tastes and what you had on hand. Sounds lovely. So clad you enjoyed!
I made this in my Instapot and it was absolutely amazing! Thank you for this easy recipe. From prep to done – 25 minutes and very good flavor! 🙂
Yay, so glad you enjoyed Maxine!
I made this on the stovetop last week, loved it, and enjoyed leftovers a few times during the week, thank you!
Fantastic Melissa, so glad you enjoyed this one!
I made this yesterday and it is delicious!!!!! thank you! I added shitake mushrooms and cabbage too. I can’t wait for leftovers!
Yay, so glad you enjoyed this one. Cheers to yummy leftovers!
Seriously love this soup! I’ve added chickpeas and potatoes sometimes to give it even more oomph. Delish!
Curious about the nutrition info on this.. please!!🙏🙏
Ashley, yay, so glad you enjoyed this one!
I have made this a handful of times and each time it is effortless and delicious. Twice I have used fresh tumeric root about 2Tbls chopped and it was perfect. I usually add a little cayenne pepper for kick. This is packed with power to fight colds, detox your system or simply fill you up. It is a go to recipe I have shared with many. Thanks for this amazing soup!
Justina, yay, so happy you’re enjoying this one–love that you’re sharing the love! Cheers!
I have made this a handful of times, twice with fresh tumeric (about 2 TBLs chopped) and it was perfect. This is such a delicious and satisfying soup- perfect for fighting a cold, detoxing your system or simply a satisfying meal. I’ve shared this with a ton of people who concur. Thanks!!!
This has become my go-to recipe for soup in the instant pot. I make a batch a few times a month! It’s very forgiving and I play around with the proportions of veggies. Thank you!
Riella, yay, so happy to hear you’re enjoyed this one and that you’re adjusting the veggies. Cheers!
delicious and so nutritious…can’t beat this recipe.
Yay, so glad you enjoyed this one, Jyoti.
Wow! This is good! I used only a little over a pound of chicken and it was plenty. I took the suggestion of adding spinach when serving and also added some leftover cooked wild rice medley I had. Recommend that if you want a little more heft to it. This will be my go-to soup recipe. So flavorful and so good for you.
I meant to give it five stars – hit send too quickly!
Thank you!!
Zoe, so happy to hear you enjoyed this one and that it was still good with a bit less chicken. Love the idea of adding rice medley, too. Thanks so much for leaving a review. 🙂
I made the slow cooker version of this soup and it was delicious!
Thanks Robyn!🤗
Genevieve, yay, so glad you enjoyed this one! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
I think this recipe would be great as-is, but I added three cloves of garlic when I added the carrots. I also added a tablespoon of both flax meal and basil seeds to increase the fiber and nutrition and for thickening. I will add even more flax and basil next time. This will become a go-to recipe at my house.
Brandi, ohhhh, I like the idea of adding basil, and great idea of bumping up the fiber with flax! So glad you enjoyed and thanks so much for leaving a review!
I tried this recipe and it came out so good. Love it! I want to make it again with leftover cooked chicken. I’m sure the cook time would be shorter, do you know how long it should be? Thanks!
Naudia, hmmmm, I haven’t tried it, but I think you could try for 5 minutes on high pressure, then quick release. Just long enough for the veggies to cook through if the chicken is already cooked! If you give it a try let us know how it turns out.
Thanks so much for your quick response Robyn, I’ll let you know as soon as I try it. 😊
Hi Robyn, I just tried it as instructed and it came out perfectly! It’s hard to believe that a delicious and hearty soup can be made in 5 minutes. Thanks so much for your help. 😊
Naudia, yay, so happy to hear you enjoyed this one! Here’s to all the easy, nourishing recipes! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review!
Can you double the recipe and cook it the same time or how would you adjust it?
Hi Anna, if you double the amount of liquid just keep on eye on the “Max Fill Line” in your IP, you don’t want to fill it past that point. If you do add more chicken and liquid you don’t need to change the amount to time you need to set the Instant Pot to high pressure (it will still be 15 minutes), but it will take your IP longer to come to pressure, so the total cook time will end up being longer. Hope that helps!
Can you double this recipe and cook it for the same amount of time?
This was better than I thought it was going to be, but would enjoy the nutrition information.
Hi Jessica, so glad you enjoyed the recipe! I’ve added the nutrition information for you — hope it’s helpful!
This was VERY good but I had to tweak a couple of things. I didn’t have chicken stock so I drained the broth from a can of chicken soup and added water. I cut out all the rest of the salt. I added peas at the end and had to use spaghetti noodles that I broke in 3-sections. I used the instant pot to cook and this turned out excellent. I will be making it again in the future exactly the way you suggested but the tweaked version worked really well! Thank you for this amazing smile recipe!
So glad you enjoyed this one Raechel, especially making it work with what you had on hand. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!