Y’all know I love love love my Instant Pot. It takes a meal like this Instant Pot Scratch Beef Noodle Soup with its rich luscious broth, tender flavorful beef, and noodles (your choice, homemade or not) from an all-afternoon project to absolutely do-able!
And it’s so easy, anyone can do it. Even if you’ve never thought about making a soup from scratch, bones and all before, I’ll talk ya through it. There’s a lot of detail, below, so if you’re just looking for a recipe, use that “jump” button!
Instant Pot Scratch Beef Noodle Soup
Around the House:
I gotta slip in a pic of my newest Grandbaby, Mackenzie Catherine! It’s just below. I want a matching outfit. I think I would look fab in that headband!
Mackenzie Catherine
About Instant Pot Scratch Beef Noodle Soup:
You can only get deep, rich flavor like this from starting with bones. Marrow bones are pricey, but starting with admittedly cheap and scrappy discount short ribs did the trick, making the broth silky and luxurious and giving just the right amount of soft, tender beef to satisfy.
A few veggies fill it out and add flavor. The standards are onion, carrot, and celery, and you might even notice a few peas, kind of a departure for me!
The Noodles:
Today I used egg noodles from the pantry (14 below outside and I stayed in!) Use the extra wide noodles if you go with this option; they hold up better.
When you go to the effort to make scratch soup, they deserve the best. A great noodle turns this into a substantial meal. Try the premium frozen noodles, the “Amish” dried noodles, or even better, my Homemade Egg Noodles. It’s like a 25-minute thing once you get the recipe down and part of the time is resting time, hands off.
Instant Pot Scratch Beef Noodle Soup
The First Step, Making The Broth & Beef:
It’s always a multi-step process to make scratch stock and soup, but it’s all easy and the Instant Pot saves so much time! Most of all, it’s so worth it in terms of flavor!
Saute the Bones & Veggie Scraps:
- The base for the flavor is the bones, sauteed until deeply brown. Wash and prepare vegetables ahead, then make use of the peelings. Toss in skins from the onion, peelings from the carrot, and the celery tops and bottom right in with the bones. Add salt and pepper.
- Cook, stirring often, until it’s deeply browned.
Deglaze:
The IP is just a mess on the bottom when everything is browned up and that’s what you want.
- You can toss in water and/or stock at that point, and scrape up from the bottom.
- Instead, do yourself a favor: Dump out everything onto a plate then add a cup of the liquid to the bottom of the pot. Really scrape the bottom of that pot clean. Only then add the rest of the liquid and put all those bones and scraps back in. You’ll be sure to avoid the dreaded burn notice this way.
Add Stock/Water & Cook:
Use 10 to 12 cups of water, stock, or a combination.
- I hold back a little and go with 10 cups and when everything is all done, add a little more liquid if I want it brothier. (You might need a little extra anyway to thin any leftovers, too, as the noodles absorb liquid as they sit.)
- Set on High Pressure, 35 minutes at a minimum, 45 at a max. And expect this to take a long time (I forgot to watch the clock but around 20 minutes) to come to pressure. Quick release is fine, and that’s going to take a while, too.
Finishing the Stock and Remove Excess Fat:
When finished, pull out the bones and meat and set aside until cool enough to handle and strain the stock into a bowl or other container. Discard all those veggie scraps. Remove the fat.
- The easiest way to remove the fat is to refrigerate the stock overnight and spoon it off the next day.
- If making in the same day, skim the fat from the top. A ladle works well for this; slowly press it into the stock and it will fill up with the fat. If you want, you can take a paper towel or a clean towel and lay it gently across the surface and it will suck up that remaining bit of fat left from the skimming.
- You can save that fat in a jar in the fridge and make things like savory pie crust (maybe for a pot pie) or tamales.
As far as that meat:
Slice away any shiny silverskin from the edges of the meat, cut or pull the meat off the bone, and cut it into small pieces, making sure to remove any of the fat you can.
- Much of the fat will be tough and chewy like rubber bands and isn’t edible.
- Fat in the meat that seems ok now, while it’s all nice and warm, can harden up in the cold of the fridge if there are leftovers.
- Feel each piece of beef with your fingers as you cut it and pick out any fat you see or feel. It’s a messy but necessary job!
Finishing the Soup:
Now here’s the final part – making the actual soup.
Saute the Vegetables and Garlic:
- You can multitask and saute the carrots, onion, and celery (the peas go in later) on the stovetop while the stock is cooking in the IP or do this in the IP after the stock is finished.
- No need to get any color on the veggies, just saute until softened. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Add in a little tomato paste and let it darken (or ketchup, which is fantastic in this because it has a touch of sweet and a hint of vinegar) cook for a minute until it darkens a bit.
Add the Stock and Beef:
Combine the de-fatted stock with the vegetables and add the beef back in.
- If the vegetables have been sauteed in a pan, add a little stock to it, stir to combine, and add them to the IP. Once in the IP, add the rest of the stock.
- If using the IP, just add the stock back in.
Either way, once the vegetables and stock are in the IP, add the beef.
Using the Saute function, simmer until the veggies are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes, taste and adjust for salt before adding the noodles. You want them to have good flavor. Cook for however long the package instructs and to your taste. Add the peas last when the noodles are almost done; they only need to warm through.
Taste and adjust the seasoning and serve.
- Soups like this love lots of pepper.
- A teensy dribble of vinegar wakes up the flavor.
- If you taste and don’t think this is beefy enough (especially if you use water) there’s no shame in your game if you want to add a teaspoon or so of beef bullion. Just sayin’.
Instant Pot Scratch Beef Noodle Soup
Saving Money on Instant Pot Scratch Beef Noodle Soup:
The biggest impact on the pricing is the bones. They may be difficult to find at a reasonable price. Check for discounted scrappy short ribs, a budget option. If there is an Asian (or other ethnic market) check there. Look for great pricing on the vegetables and stock at discount stores like Aldi or Lidl.
Basic Vegetables: All of these are dirt cheap; potatoes and carrots do go on sale, but they’re cheaper seasonally and often at big discounts before any fall or winter holiday. (See Win at the Grocery) Even celery may be on a discount then, too. Both potatoes and carrots are usually less in larger bags.
Peas: Frozen is the best option. Look for larger bags of basic peas when they’re on sale. Prime times to buy are in the weeks before almost any holiday or in the late summer as the harvest is coming in.
Instant Pot Scratch Beef Noodle Soup
Instant Pot Scratch Beef Noodle Soup
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 to 8 servings 1x
- Category: Soups
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided (may need a little more)
- 3 to 4 (about 1 1/4 pounds) short ribs (more if desired)
- salt & pepper to taste
- 10 to 12 cups water, beef broth or a combination. divided
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 medium carrots, peeled & diced
- 2 large celery stalks, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, very finely minced or pressed
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste or 1 1/2 tablespoons ketchup
- 8 ounces wide egg noodles
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup peas
- optional: a teaspoon of red wine vinegar
Note: Save the vegetable scraps and peelings for the stock.
Instructions
Heat a tablespoon oil in the Instant Pot using the Saute Medium setting. Salt and pepper the ribs and add to the pot. brown thoroughly on all sides, moving as necessary. As the ribs brown, add in any vegetable scraps and if needed a little bit more oil. Once the ribs are well browned, remove them and the vegetable scraps and reserve.
Use about 1 1/2 cups of the liquid of choice to deglaze the pot, thoroughly scraping the bottom, and removing all residue. Add the ribs and vegetable scraps back in along with remaining liquid, for 10 to 12 cups total of liquid as desired. Note: hedge your bets on the brothiness of the soup; start with 10 cups and when finished adjust to your taste with a little more. Seal and set to Pressure High 35 minutes (may add up to 10 minutes if time is available). Quick-release when finished.
Strain the broth into a large container and set aside. Skim after the fat rises to the top. Remove the beef and cut into small cubes, removing any fat. Discard vegetable scraps.
In the meantime, add another tablespoon oil to the instant pot, set to Saute Medium. When hot, add the onion, celery, and carrots, cooking several minutes, stirring now and then until starting to soften and onion is translucent. Add garlic and stir until fragrant. Add tomato paste or ketchup and continue to stir until slightly darkened.
Adjust the temperature of the Saute to High, add in the skimmed broth and cubed beef, and allow to simmer until vegetables are tender. Add in salt and pepper to taste, then the noodles. Continue to simmer until noodles are cooked to the desired state, adding in the peas to heat through when noodles are nearly done. If you’ve reserved any broth, determine if you wish to add it at this point. Taste and adjust seasoning.
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I’m sharing Instant Pot Scratch Beef Noodle Soup at Fiesta Friday #316 hosted this week by Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook.
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