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Instant Pot Chicken Cabbage Soup recipe with Chinese Napa cabbage, juicy chicken and shiitake. This instant pot chicken Napa cabbage soup is Paleo, Whole30 and Keto and ready in 20 minutes. Perfect for fall weather and colder months. Stovetop instructions included!

Instant Pot Chicken Cabbage Soup – Healthy, Easy, and Cozy Delicious!
Cabbages are probably one of my top three favorite go-to vegetables. They pack with tons of umami and the flavor intensifies after you cook them. I’ve written quite a few cabbage recipes from Asian Chicken Cabbage Salad, Chicken Cabbage Stir-Fry, Chinese Lion’s Head meatball stew with cabbage, to today’s Instant Pot Chicken Cabbage Soup.

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There are many chicken cabbage soup recipes on the net with various seasonings. If you are looking for a new exciting flavor, definitely check out my Asian-flavored cabbage soup made with shiitake.

Stir-Fry Version
If you don’t have an Instant Pot at home, I have a stovetop version you can find it here. It is a stir-fry recipe and you can easily convert it to soup by adding more chicken stock. Follow the same cooking steps below and adjust seasonings before serving. Simple and easy!

By completely coincidence I added a few chopped jalapeno before serving. Jalapeno is not a traditional ingredient you’ll find in Chinese cabbage soup but both my husband and I love the little spicy flavor punch. You can use them as a garnish to individual serving bowls so everyone can enjoy the soup based on their preference.

I highly recommend that you use chicken thighs for this cabbage soup recipe. Thigh meat will be more moist and tender than breast meat. Some people feel that thigh meat is too rich to the taste buds but in this case since the flavor is diluted with the broth, if you can, I recommend you give thigh meat a try.

More Cabbage Recipes!
- Napa Cabbage Stir-Fry
- Paleo Chicken Stir-Fry with Cabbage
- Creamed Chinese Napa Cabbage
- Sauteed Taiwanese cabbage
So my dear readers this Instant Pot Chicken Cabbage Soup is –
Easy
Healthy
Low carb
Umami flavor rich
Fall and colder weather friendly
& Paleo, Whole30, Keto
If you give this Instant Pot Chicken Cabbage Soup a try, be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe below. It’ll help me and my blog tremendously. Thanks in advance.
And if you aren’t a blog subscriber yet, be sure to subscriber to me blog and get my free video guide on how to make 10 Delicious Paleo Meals Ready in 10 Minutes Each!

Instant Pot Chicken Cabbage Soup (Paleo, Whole30, Keto)

Video
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 2 lbs chicken thighs , boneless and skinless
- 1 tsp coarse sea salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
Aromatics:
- 6-7 large cloves garlic , sliced
- 2 large shallots , sliced lengthwise
- 4-5 thin slices fresh ginger , finely chopped
Other:
- Half One Whole napa cabbage , about 6-8 heaping cups, dice to 2.5-inch sections, separate stems and leafy parts
- 5 to 6 oz. fresh shiitake , sliced
- Avocado oil
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tsp Red Boat fish sauce , optional
- 1 bulb scallion , chopped
- 1 whole red or green jalapeno , optional
Instructions
- Season the chicken, prep aromatics, and dice napa cabbage and slice shiitake. Set them aside ready to use.
- In a 6-quart instant pot, press “Saute” and wait until the panel indicates hot, add 2 tbsp avocado oil and sear the chicken thighs about 3 minutes per side. Set the chicken aside.
- Add 1 to 1.5 tbsp cooking oil, saute garlic, shallots, and ginger until fragrant (about 20-25 seconds). Season with a pinch of salt.
- Deglaze the pot with 1 cup chicken stock and use a wooden spoon to scrape any brown bits. Press “Cancel”. Add chicken, shiitake, and cabbage stems on the top layer. Seal the lid and valve, Press “Manual” and adjust cook time to 15 minutes. Once the Instant Pot is done cooking (it will beep) wait for 10 minutes (natural release) before switching to quick release.
- Stir-in cabbage leaves. Season the broth with coconut aminos and toasted sesame oil. Taste and see if you like to add the fish sauce or more salt. Garnish with chopped scallions and jalapeno, if using. Serve hot or warm with sautéed cauliflower rice, roasted sweet potatoes, or any rice or sweet potato noodles for a gluten-free meal.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love more pressure cooker/Instant Pot recipes? Check out my Instant Pot Vietnamese Beef Stew Bo Kho, Best Whole30 Instant Pot Recipes, Instant Pot Butter Chicken, Instant Pot Chinese Bone Broth, Taiwanese Meat Sauce, Pumpkin Chicken Korma, and my Instant Pot recipe archive.
Made this today and I AM IN LOVE! This soup is absolutely amazing.
Thank you!
This is delightful and so perfect for a mama feeling like she needs to work on warding off a bug! So much comfort and immunity!
Thank you, Shelby!
This soup is seriously so delicious! Its perfect for a rainy or cold day when you just want something hearty and warm. Very easy and fast to make. I absolutely enjoyed this recipe.
Awesome! So happy to hear!
Very easy and hearty meal! Delicious! Perfect for a cold and rainy day!
So happy to hear. Thank you so much!
In the recipe for Chinese Chicken Cabbage soup you are adding the cabbage stems twice???
Thank you for pointing that out, Mary! It should be the leafy part so cook the stems with the chicken then stir-in the leafy part toward the end. Thank you.
Delicious! I will definitely make this again.
I just made this! It was amazing!
Yay! Thank you!
Yay!! Thankfully a delicious addition to our brand new instant pots “keeper recipes!” I added a few small potatoes & carrots we needed to use up and upped the napa to a whole head. I used 4 cups of chicken broth to accommodate the extra veggies. We added our favorite heat, the Datil pepper! (Try it!!) My DH ate this with jasmine rice on the side & since I’m not much of a “soup” fan, I ate it with rice and almost no juice.
LOVED IT!!
Thank you Chihyu for putting this out there for me to find! I am encouraged to try others you have @i(heart)umami! Happy eating!
Thanks so much, Cathie! So happy to hear that!
I just made the soup and it was delicious! My IP didn’t have a manual button so I put the soup button on for 15 minutes! I think next time I will add the cabbage 1/2 way through because it was too soft. Thanks for sharing, this was the first time I cooked with mushrooms!
Thanks for sharing, Teresa! Dice the cabbage to larger chunks and place the leafy part on top of everything else helps. Alternatively stir-in the leafy part after it’s done cooking. Hope that helps. :))
This is really good. Next time I will do it on the stovetop. The chicken was cooked perfectly but everything else was mush. Flavors are perfect! Next time I’ll add snow peas and fresh bean sprouts on top.