Instant Pot Chicken Parmesan Soup
This Instant Pot chicken parmesan soup is hands-off, easy and so delicious! Simple stovetop directions are also included in the recipe.
For this chicken parm soup, tender pasta and chicken are nestled in a flavorful tomato-based broth while toasty bread crumbs and freshly grated cheese are piled on top adding a delightful salty crunch. It is so easy and so good!
Instant Pot Directions
Thanks to the almighty Instant Pot (or other electric pressure cooker), this soup requires very little hands on time.
- Sauté the onion and garlic.
- Add broth, tomatoes, seasonings and pasta.
- Pressure cook for just a few minutes.
- After the pressure releases, stir in the chicken.
How to Calculate the Cook Time for Pasta in the Instant Pot:
- Take the al dente pasta cooking time from the package directions.
- Cut that number in half and subtract another two minutes.
- For instance, if the al dente cooking time is 12 minutes, the pressure cook time will be 4 minutes.
**If the pressure will naturally release for longer than 10 minutes, consider subtracting another minute off the pressure cook time to avoid over cooked pasta.
Let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes before quick releasing the remaining pressure.
Stir in the cooked chicken and let it heat through. Now’s a good time to take a little taste and season with salt, if needed.
This is important as different brands of canned tomatoes will vary in salt content. Don’t skip this step!
Prepping the Topping
While the soup cooks in the Instant Pot, heat a bit of olive oil or butter in a skillet and add the Panko bread crumbs. Cook for a few minutes until they are golden and toasty (watch closely so they don’t burn!).
While this Instant Pot chicken parmesan soup is quite delicious ladled into a bowl with no adornments, it really doesn’t venture into “chicken parm” territory without the extra toppings.
It is exceptionally tasty loaded with a scoop of crunchy, toasted bread crumbs and a sprinkle of cheese. 😍
I am positively gleeful every time I cook pasta to perfection in the Instant Pot, and this simple soup recipe is no exception.
It is SO EASY. And so, so yummy.
FYI: If you have any resident tomato haters living amongst you, you can easily swap out the diced tomatoes for crushed tomatoes (or give the diced tomatoes a whirl in the blender before adding).
What to Serve With This:
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Instant Pot Chicken Parmesan Soup
Ingredients
Soup:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup finely diced onion
- 1 tablespoon finely minced fresh garlic (about 3 to 4 cloves)
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 8 ounce penne pasta
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes or petite diced tomatoes
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 3 cups chopped, cooked chicken
Topping:
- 1 ½ cups Panko bread crumbs
- ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese or Mozzarella cheese
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh basil, for garnish
Instructions
- For the soup, in a 6-quart Instant Pot, heat the oil using the Sauté function. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often, until the onions turn translucent.
- Add the broth, penne pasta, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, basil, and oregano.
- Secure the lid and pressure valve. Select Pressure Cook and dial the cooking time up or down using the following calculations. Take the al dente pasta cooking time from the package. Cut that number in half and subtract two more minutes. For instance, if the al dente cooking time is 12 minutes, the pressure cook time will be 4 minutes.
- For the topping, while the soup cooks, heat the butter or oil in a skillet over medium heat on the stovetop. Add the bread crumbs and a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the crumbs are lightly toasted. Remove to a plate to cool. Set aside.
- Once the Instant Pot cooking time has ended, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes. Release the remaining pressure.
- Stir in the cooked chicken. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper (important!).
- Serve the soup with toasted bread crumbs, Parmesan or mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil.
What a delicious soup that is so simple to make! The bread crumbs really add a nice flavor and texture. We had it with Parmesan Romano cheese because that’s what we had and…yum! Thank you!
Can I double the recipe in my 6 qt instapot?
No, the quantity for a double batch would be too much for a 6-quart, I believe.
Made this fantastic dish and the Rosemary Bread for Sunday dinner. What a perfect comforting, cozy meal. The toppings take it over the top.
Two things to note, however: I accidentally added a full box of pasta instead of just half and it turned into casserole instead of soup, haha. Delicious all the same.
And a miniature schnauzer is able to jump counter level and pull an entire loaf of rosemary bread down. Thank goodness the recipe makes two loaves.
Thanks for all the food, Mel!!!
Very good – breadcrumbs and parmesan make it over the top! This will definitely be in our soup rotation this fall/winter!
I made this today, along with your Rosemary Bread, and let me tell you, it was perfection! the toppings are a must. It was a perfect, comforting Sunday dinner.
Two things to note, however. A one year old mini schnauzer named Atticus Finch cannot resist that bread and will jump to great heights and pull the loaf right off the counter. Thank goodness it makes two.
And if you accidentally add 16 ounces of pasta instead of the 8 ounces that is called for, it makes Chicken Parmesan Casserole. Ha!
Some days just work out that way.
Thank you, Mel!!!
Haha, this made me laugh right out loud. I need to meet Mr. Atticus Finch! Adorable. (Although probably not quite as adorable when devouring loaf of homemade french bread). Thanks for the comment, Wendy – glad it worked out even if it was a bit more casserole-like!
Delicious! All of my kids (4) ate it. The breadcrumb topping really elevates the bowl of soup! I’m enjoying the leftovers for lunch. For those of you wondering, if your pasta has an UNEVEN number of minutes for cooking time, go with the lower calculated number. Ie, mine had 11, and I’m always paranoid pasta won’t cook in these one pot type meals, so I did 4 minutes (because you can’t set 3.5) and it was a bit overcooked. Next time I’ll do 3 minutes.
Right around 5-6 cups.
Easy and delicious! I used garden tomatoes instead of canned and added a few diced carrots. My picky son said it was his favorite soup. Thanks Mel!
Love those changes, Annie! And yay for winning over your son’s taste buds!
Today was the first gray, rainy day of the Fall. It was the PERFECT day for this soup. My husband and three sons raved about it. I also have been meaning to try the cheesy breadsticks, and chocolate peanut butter chip cookies you posted recently, so I made it all. Best, rainy week night dinner ever. My family devoured it. I will be adding all three recipes to my rotation.
Best soup to inaugurate soup season! That whole meal sounds AMAZING. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and let me know, Tiffany!
I saw this post yesterday as I was wondering what to make for dinner. I happened to have all of the ingredients so I went for it. No surprise here, it’s a winner!! Next time I want to put a little of the canned Parm in with the panko to toast. See what happens … Thanks for feeding my family Mel!
Yay, Erika! I’m glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for letting me know. 🙂
As soon as I got this in my inbox, I decided to make it for dinner for my husband and me especially knowing we would have left-overs! I had everything for it including frozen rotieserrie chicken. It was so yummy and so easy. The toasted panko crumbs gave it that special flavor, and this will be in our dinner rotation. Thanks Mel for sharing your amazing recipes with us!!
Loved reading this, Vi! Thank you! Glad it was a hit with you and your husband. I agree that the toasted panko makes it a little bit extra special without a lot of extra work.
Yum! Made this tonight with a big can of whole tomatoes that I blended up, since that was all we had. Once I remembered to put the ring on my instant pot lid and it actually cooked it was delicious! Even my tomato averse kids gobbled it up. Perfect for the first day of fall even if it is still 93 degrees in TX
Happy to hear that, Meghan! (Also glad I’m not the only one that forgets the ring on the Instant pot sometimes – face palm!)
I am excited to make this! This is good timing to start using up some garden tomatoes.
This looks delicious! Curious though, do you precook the chicken in the instapot and if so, what timing/setting, etc?
Hi Kati, I use precooked chicken (like rotisserie chicken) for this recipe, so I don’t cook it in the Instant pot prior to using in the recipe.
Hi Mel! This looks delicious! Do you think you could put all the ingredients in the crock pot, including raw chicken, for 4-6 hours? Thanks for all your yummy recipes!
Hi Katie! Could definitely try! If so, I’d do everything but the pasta, and if possible, add it with a couple of hours of cooking time left so it doesn’t get too mushy.