Earthy and cozy is how I would describe this Ethiopian Chicken Soup. It's a twist on a classic chicken noodle soup seasoned with a warm Ethiopian spice blend called Berbere. The result is one satisfying bowl of chicken soup that'll warm your soul in just 30 minutes!
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In my original recipe for a classic Homemade Chicken Noodle soup, I pressure cook bone-in skinless chicken with root vegetables like carrots and celery, and season it with spices and herbs. I cook the noodles in the simmering broth and the result is a simple meal that warms up your soul!
Jump to:
- Ethiopian Twist to Classic Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
- What is Berbere Seasoning
- How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup in an Instant Pot
- Stovetop Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
- Customize this Ethiopian Spiced Chicken Noodle Soup
- How to Make Vegetarian Noodle Soup with Ethiopian Spices
- More Ethiopian Dishes Using Berbere
- 📖 Recipe
Ethiopian Twist to Classic Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
During fall and winter, I make this chicken soup a lot, almost twice a month. It's a very convenient and quick one-pot meal that comes together in under 30 minutes. Recently, I have been making many variations of it. I keep changing the seasoning and spice blends in this soup recipe. This combination is a definitely a home run!
I added the Ethiopian Spice blend called Berbere Seasoning
, which is a combination of warm whole spices that are toasted and ground together. This spice blend adds a distinctive tangy and mild spicy and smoky flavor to the soup.
What is Berbere Seasoning
Most Ethiopian dishes are made with a spice blend called Berbere Seasoning, which is a combination of warm whole spices like cumin, cardamom, coriander, and fenugreek, garlic, cloves, turmeric, grated ginger root, black pepper, salt, paprika, cinnamon, and dried red chiles, that are toasted and ground together.
I like this brand of Berbere Seasoning, but it is slightly on the spicier side. So, I mix it with a couple of teaspoons of ground coriander and that tones down the spice for my family.
How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup in an Instant Pot
- I make this soup in my programmable pressure cooker, Instant Pot, but you can make it in any pressure cooker. Simply follow the suggested timing for cooking chicken breast or soup, and this recipe will work just fine.
- • Turn the instant pot on SAUTE mode. Wait 30 seconds and add olive oil and crushed garlic cloves. Let the garlic sizzle for 30 seconds, then add chopped celery and carrots. Add all the ingredients in the pot and stir everything.
- Cancel Saute. Close lid. Set valve to Sealing position. Cook on Manual or Pressure Cook for 6-8 minutes, depending on how thick the chicken breast it. When I use breast halves, like in the video, I set the time to 6 minutes.
- Open after 10 minutes of natural pressure release (NPR 10). Remove chicken for shredding. Use two forks and pull apart the chicken. Put the shredded chicken back in the pot. Garnish with cilantro and lime!
Stovetop Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
• Making this soup on the stove-top is a breeze. Take a heavy bottom sauce pan. Heat olive oil in the pan and add crushed garlic to it. As soon as it starts sizzling, add everything else and let it come to a boil.
• After that, reduce the heat to medium, cover the pot and let it simmer for 15-18 minutes, or till chicken is tender enough to shred. Remove the chicken, shred it and add it back to the soup. Garnish with cilantro and you're all done!
Customize this Ethiopian Spiced Chicken Noodle Soup
This chicken soup recipe is very easy to customize to your taste. If you don't like spice, reduce the quantity of the Berbere seasoning and increase the ground coriander. If you're like my husband, and like an extra kick, add a couple of tablespoons of Sriracha to it instead of the tomato paste.
How to Make Vegetarian Noodle Soup with Ethiopian Spices
To make this soup vegetarian, you can skip the chicken and add some canned chickpeas instead, they taste awesome in this soup !
To make this Chicken Noodle Soup healthier, I added whole-grain elbow macaroni to the soup. It not only increases the fiber and reduces the net carbs per serving, it also increases the protein content of the soup.
Here are several more Chili and Soup Recipes from my kitchen.
More Ethiopian Dishes Using Berbere
Here are a few more dishes made with Ethiopian flavors:
📖 Recipe
Chicken Noodle Soup with Ethiopian Spices (Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker)
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Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 cup celery chopped
- 1 cup carrots chopped
- 32 oz. low-sodium Broth Chicken, Vegetable
- ½ cup Whole Grain Elbow Pasta
- 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
- 1.5 tablespoon Berbere Seasoning adjust to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon Sriracha or, tomato paste for mild heat
- 1 lb. Chicken breast
Instructions
- Chop celery and carrots and keep aside. Turn the instant pot on SAUTE mode. Wait 30 seconds and add olive oil and crushed garlic cloves. Let the garlic sizzle for 30 seconds, then add chopped celery and carrots. Add all the ingredients in the pot and stir everything. You can skip the saute step and make easily this a dump & start recipe.
- Cancel Saute. Close lid. Set valve to Sealing position. Cook on Manual or Pressure Cook for 6-8 minutes, depending on how thick the chicken breast it. When I use breast halves, like in the video, I set the time to 6 minutes.
- Open after 10 minutes of natural pressure release (NPR 10). Remove chicken for shredding. Use two forks and pull apart the chicken. Put the shredded chicken back in the pot. Garnish with cilantro!
Stove top recipe
- Take a heavy bottom sauce pan. Heat olive oil in the pan and add crushed garlic to it. As soon as it starts sizzling, add everything else and let it come to a boil.
- After that, reduce the heat to medium, cover the pot and let it simmer for 15-18 minutes, or till chicken is tender enough to shred.
- Remove the chicken, shred it and add it back to the soup. Garnish with cilantro and you're all done!
Amanda Somarriba says
I was looking on though I was trying to find an Ethiopian soup. This came on and I’m looking forward to trying this recipe. Just one question, how would I proceed and making this without an Insta pot?
Aneesha says
Hi Amanda, if you scroll down to the recipe card, I've mentioned the stovetop instructions. Enjoy!
Shannon says
I love this recipe! I halved everything to make it in my IP mini, and did egg noodles instead of whole wheat elbow just for preference. I’m definitely going to make this again.
Aneesha says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for taking the time to rate the recipe Shannon.