Instant Pot Thai Chicken Noodles–a true one pot meal! The chicken, sauce and noodles are all cooked at the same time in minutes in your electric pressure cooker. The noodles are enveloped in a mild creamy peanut and lime sauce and the peanuts, cilantro and red bell pepper give texture and color. A delicious and easy recipe to make any night of the week.
Get the SLOW COOKER version of the recipe here
Instant Pot Thai Chicken Noodles
I’ve been making this recipe in the slow cooker for years. I decided to give it a try in my trusty Instant Pot. I realized that it would be possible to make it a true one pot meal by cooking the chicken and noodles at the same time. I danced around the kitchen when I opened the pot, stirred and tried the noodles. They tasted sooooo good and it was such an easy recipe to make. I love the pop of lime and the crunch from the red bell peppers and peanuts. The peanut sauce is not overwhelming and the cilantro brings everything together. At my house we all loved these noodles!
A few notes about the ingredients:
Chicken: I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs that I cut into bite-size pieces (that way they cook at the same rate as the noodles). I buy my chicken thighs in a bag at Costco in the freezer section for about $2.00 per pound. You can also use chicken breasts for this recipe.
Better than Bouillon Chicken Base: I love this stuff! I use it in any recipe that calls for chicken broth. I combine 1 cup of water with 1 tsp of the chicken base. It works well because it comes in a small jar that you can keep if your fridge for months.
Soy sauce: You’ll definitely want to use a low sodium soy sauce or a tamari sauce for this recipe. Regular soy sauce will make the noodles too salty.
Pasta: I used whole wheat thin spaghetti noodles. You can use regular white spaghetti noodles if you’d like. I just prefer using whole wheat pasta when I can.
Lime juice: I used a quarter cup of fresh lime juice. This definitely gave the noodles a lime-y flavor…which I love. If you are unsure if you want that much lime flavor start with 2 Tbsp of lime juice and go from there.
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What Pressure Cooker Did You Use?
To make Instant Pot Thai Chicken Noodles I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. I love this Instant Pot because it has the yogurt making function which I use almost weekly. It has two pressure settings (high and low), and there are also little slots in the handles so that you can rest the lid there instead of putting it down on your counter-top.
PrintInstant Pot Thai Chicken Noodles
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes
- Total Time: 18 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
Description
A true one pot meal! The chicken, sauce and noodles are all cooked at the same time in minutes in your electric pressure cooker. The noodles are enveloped in a mild creamy peanut and lime sauce and the peanuts, cilantro and red bell peppers give texture and color. A delicious and easy recipe to make any night of the week.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp canola or vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into bite size pieces
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups chicken broth (or 2 cups water and 2 tsp better than bouillon chicken base)
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 8 ounces whole wheat thin spaghetti noodles, uncooked
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/3 cup peanut butter
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 3/4 cup snipped cilantro
- 1/2 cup peanuts, chopped
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to the saute function. When the display says HOT add in the oil. Add in the chicken and saute for about 3 minutes. Add in garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add in the chicken broth and deglaze the pot. Add in the soy sauce and red pepper. Break the noodles in half and add them to the pot. The liquid should cover the noodles almost completely.
- Cover the pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes on high pressure. When the time is up move the valve to venting.
- Open the pot and stir in the lime juice and peanut butter. There will be a bit of liquid in the pot but it will get absorbed fairly quickly. Stir in the bell pepper and cilantro.
- Scoop noodles into bowls and top each one with 2 Tbsp of peanuts and additional cilantro, if desired.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*.
Chicken: I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs that I cut into bite-size pieces (that way they cook at the same rate as the noodles). I buy my chicken thighs in a bag at Costco in the freezer section for about $2.00 per pound. You can also use chicken breast for this recipe.
Better than Bouillon Chicken Base: I love this stuff! I use it in any recipe that calls for chicken broth. I combine 1 cup of water with 1 tsp of the chicken base. It works well because it comes in a small jar that you can keep if your fridge for months.
Soy sauce: You’ll definitely want to use a low sodium soy sauce or a tamari sauce for this recipe. Regular soy sauce will make the noodles too salty.
Pasta: I used whole wheat thin spaghetti noodles. You can use regular white spaghetti noodles if you’d like. I just prefer using whole wheat pasta when I can.
Lime juice: I used a quarter cup of fresh lime juice. This definitely gave the noodles a lime-y flavor…which I love. If you are unsure if you want that much lime flavor start with 2 Tbsp of lime juice and go from there.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot
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Linda says
I am gluten free and will need to use rice noodles. Would they work in this recipe with the stated cook times?
Karen says
I’ve tried rice noodles a few times in the IP and they NEVER have worked out. I wish I had better new for you. Sorry.
John M. says
This was delicious and very flavorful! Easily fit in my 3 qt. IP Mini, and I used a few tips from helpful commenters.
Instead of 2 cups of broth, I used one cup of broth and one cup of coconut milk.
Instead of one bell pepper, I used a packed cup of Asian stir-fry veggies.
The amount of lime juice and peanut butter used was just right, imparting just a subtle taste of both.
A nice taste of the tropics on this cold winter day. Thanks again, Karen.
Karen says
Mmmm! Sounds awesome! Love those ideas 🙂
Sophia says
I’ve lost track of the number of times I’ve made this. Love it so much! Thanks for sharing.
Karen says
You’re welcome! I am so glad to hear it!
Hilary Sigal says
Hi!! I am super new to the IP world. I also am not great at cooking. I wanted to try this because my family loves pad Thai (except me – I hate peanut butter!)
I followed the recipe (I thought I did) and it came out super peanut buttery and also sooo much sauce. Seemed more like cream of pad Thai. What did I do wrong??
Please help! I want to try again!
Wendy says
Made this for the first time tonight, and it was great. Just one thing….. Do you know how many Carbs & Calories are in this dish??? Anyone who is Diabetic needs to know the Carbs, and I need the Cals because I’m on a diet.
Karen says
I just updated the recipe with the nutrition info. Hope this helps!
Wendy says
Thank you so much Karen.
Bob Nordland says
If I were to use a whole, cut up chicken (bone-in), how would I adjust the cooking time?
Karen says
You will need to cook the chicken first because it will take much longer than the pasta which only takes 3 minutes. This is how I would do it:
Turn your Instant Pot to the saute function. When the display says HOT add in the oil. Add in the chicken and saute for about 3 minutes. Add in garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add in the chicken broth and deglaze the pot. Add in the soy sauce. Cover and make sure valve is sealed. Set the manual/pressure cook time to 12 minutes. Do a quick release. Add in the spaghetti and the red pepper. Pressure cook for 3 minutes then do a 10 minute natural pressure release. Follow the rest of the recipe as written.
Hope this helps!
Vivian says
My first time using Ninja pot. Easy recipe and turned out great. My husband liked it too. I will be making this again.
Thank you for the recipe.
Karen says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Vivian! I hope you like your Ninja pot! Pressure cooking is a lot of fun 🙂
Karen Halstead says
This was great. How would I go about doubling the recipe? I have an 8 quart IP. Even with just my husband and I there wasn’t much in the way of leftovers. I used lemon juice instead of lime and it worked great. I have doubled other recipes for the IP, but I am not sure with the noodles and the broth if I need to do anything special besides just doubling the ingredients. Great recipe. Trying the Low Mien recipe this week.
Karen says
Hi Karen, I would double all the ingredients and keep the same cooking time or maybe even decrease cooking time by 1-2 minutes.
Megan O says
Delish! Even my 3 and 4 year olds are eating it! Will definitely make again!
Karen says
Wow! They are some good 3 and 4 year olds!
Ashley says
This was great!
Karen says
Glad you liked it!
David says
Wow, Karen–I made this recipe pretty much exactly as you instructed, and we loved it! I also love how fast this one comes up to pressure and cooks. Thank you for your excellent instructions and for sharing!
Karen says
Glad you liked it David!
Ellyn says
Tuned out great! I 3x the recipe and it still tasted amazing. I used a frozen stir fry mix I had on hand instead of bell peppers (onions, red, green, and yellow bell peppers)…I liked the extra chunkiness of the pieces. Also added green onions…I felt like they would taste good and they did! Skipped the cilantro, didn’t have any fresh on hand, but didn’t miss it. Definitely will make again.
Karen says
Sounds tasty!!
Heather G says
If I were to make this without chicken, maybe adding more veggies instead, are there any other adjustments you would suggest? I’m new to the instant pot world and figuring this out 😁
Karen says
I would only use 1 3/4 cups of broth instead of the 2 cups.
Doc says
Delicious, instructions were easy and dish was great. I added some OleK Sambal for a chili kick and used peanut stir fry sauce.
Karen says
Sounds great! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Justin K says
We’ve made this twice this week! The second batch we made some tweaks… we substituted one cup of chicken broth for a cup of coconut milk, subbed a few big spoonfuls of chili paste the for the pepper flakes, and stirred in a good amount of baby spinach with the final ingredients. We also found a fettuccine rice noodle that cooks perfectly and makes this a great substitute for when we can’t make it to our favorite Thai place.
Karen says
Wow your version sounds wonderful!
heather says
sounds delish @Justin K. Which rice noodle brand did you use?
Ellyn says
Coconut milk sounds divine! Will definitely try that next time
Mary Mcmartin says
Even using less sodium soy sauce this was too salty. Probably could use half the peanut butter. The flavor had an oddly bitter taste. I want to love it, but I don’t. 🙁
Elissa says
Hi Karen, I’d like to add this to our meal plan for next week, but was thinking about adding more veggies so I don’t have to make a side. What would you recommend? Can I just add some thinly sliced carrots, celery or other crisp veggies and if I did would I need to change the ratios at all? Thanks!
Karen says
Yes I bet that would work nicely. No need to change the other parts of the recipe.
Elissa Grindatto says
This was amazing! I made it tonight and everyone loved it, yay! I added a bit more bell pepper and about a cup and a half of sugar snap peas. This will definitely be a regular at our house. Thanks for another great recipe Karen!
Karen says
I love the idea of the snap peas!
Mary says
Hi. Looks yummy! We have an 8qt UP. Would this work as is or should we amend it?
Karen says
Hi Mary, you can make it as is.
Betsy says
Too much peanut butter!!!
Esther Hsu says
Hi Karen,
This looks delicious! Can’t wait to try it. Would this full recipe be possible to do in a 3 quart instant pot? I have made recipes in my 3 quart pot instead, where the poster used a 6 quart instant pot, without any issues. Could we do the same for your recipe here or would you recommend cutting it, cooking the noodles separately, etc. instead to account for capacity constraints?
Thanks!
Karen says
with only 8 ounces of noodles I think it will fit just fine in the 3 quart. let me know!
Chrissy Dutton says
I love this easy, tasty meal. It also cooks pretty quickly so if you Do some prep the night before or before work, I can be ready really quickly after work. It’s a regular in our family rotation for the last several months.
Karen says
Glad you liked it! I love this one too 🙂
Tracy says
Can I use Thai rice noodles?
Karen says
I am not familiar with the thai rice noodles. They may cook too quickly for a pressure cooker. How long do they take on the stove to cook?
Crystal says
Definitely not … Rice noodle cook by pouring boiling water over them and covering. The IP would destroy them.
Chrissy says
This was so good that my picky eaters had seconds and thirds. Hubby requested it again today, though we just had it less than 2 weeks ago. I doubled it because I think the leftovers will heat up well, added the bell peppers in with the stuff at the beginning, and left the crushed red pepper for everyone to add to their liking. Very easy and yummy. Only takes about 30 mins to make including cooking. Will def make again! Thanks!
Alyssa says
I made this for my boyfriend one night, and he’s asked for it again multiple times since. So tasty! My favourite instant pot recipe to make.
Alex says
This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it…
Can I use ramen noodles instead of spaghetti?
Karen says
I’d be nervous they would cook too quickly and get super mushy.
Lynn Shipley says
Can you use angel hair pasta?
Karen says
Yes but I might cut down on the pressure cook time by 1-2 minutes.
Marcia says
Loved this recipe! The lime juice gives it a nice fresh taste. I added a little sriracha as my family likes a little bit of heat. Super fast, very little effort and delicious taste. Thanks for another winner Karen!
Karen says
Thanks Marcia! We really like this one too 🙂
Amanda says
Thank you; we both very much enjoyed this recipe! It is so much like chicken satay which we both love! Definitely make sure to use both low sodium soy sauce & low sodium broth. I did use the broth but did not have low sodium soy and it was a bit salty but still amazing!
Jennifer says
Rave reviews from my picky daughter! Couldn’t wait to go back for seconds. Thanks for the wonderful recipe.
Karen says
Nice!!
Kate says
The fish tasted fresh and flavorful but my husband and I both thought there was way too much peanut butter for our taste. I think we could have used half the amount called for. But we are new to instant pot and are going to keep trying your recipes!
Chris O'Malley says
Hey Karen, About to give this recipe a try but have a couple questions. 1. You only cook for 3 minutes? REally?? and 2. You do not cook after adding the cilantro or peppers, etc? Thanks,
Karen says
Yes that’s right!!
Amy O says
Can sunbutter be used instead of peanut butter? We have an allergy in our home.
Karen says
I’m sure it could! I’m not familiar with the taste of that so I’m not sure how great it would taste.
Kat says
Can this be made as s gluten free recipe using Gluten free Soy and Gluten Free pasta?
Karen says
Hi Kat, I am sure that it could. I am not familiar with the gluten free pastas but if they cook similar to regular pasta (as far as time goes) then they should work. Let me know how it turns out.
Debi says
We only use gluten free noodles, usually brown rice , it took 3-4 minutes additional cooking time for the noodles to be al-dente .i don’t like mushy noodles, I have found this to be true on all pasta poked in the instant pot
Karen says
Okay this is good to know. Thank you.