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| Chicken Soup |
This Chicken Noodle Soup Is Easy
Every time I start to
think about this soup, I want to make it. Classic chicken noodle soup is pure
comfort food. Thankfully, our recipe is so easy you can even make it tonight!
Chicken noodle soup is one of the easiest soups to make. The ingredients are
simple and inexpensive. You are looking at about 40 minutes from start to
finish for this soup. Not too bad, especially when 20 minutes of that time is
hands-off!
How to Make the Best Chicken Noodle Soup
We’ve made chicken soup
for years and have tried it in various ways. We’ve even started from a whole
chicken before.
I’ll take a bowl of
satisfying chicken soup any day, but this version is the one we circle back to.
It’s straightforward and quick to make.
It’s important to use good-quality chicken broth.
While I wish we
had homemade chicken broth in our freezer all the time, we don’t.
When reaching for store-bought broth, we go for low-sodium. We also look for a
store-bought broth that’s darker in color (usually means more flavor) and since
I know it usually has more of a backbone, I like to buy boxed bone broth (we
use homemade bone broth sometimes, too).
In case you are
wondering, we use Pacific Foods Bone Broth and also like the stock sold at
Trader Joe’s.
Don’t be afraid to season your soup.
When it comes to soups,
season early and check the seasoning often. Before we add the chicken thighs to
the soup, we always check the seasoning level of the broth. If the flavor
doesn’t pop, add a bit more salt.
Another option is to use fish sauce.
It may seem odd, but whenever we’re tasting
something and it’s just missing that something, a small dash of
fish sauce fixes it.
For the best chicken soup, I use chicken thighs.
Chicken soup is
better when made with darker meat. Chicken thighs become tender and soft in the
soup — similar to how the chicken turns out in our recipe for shredded
chicken. The chicken breast doesn’t tenderize and stays firm in the soup. You can
use both cuts of chicken, but thighs will produce better soup.
Herbs are a must in this soup
— we add thyme and bay
leaves at the beginning, which help to add a herby backbone to the broth. For a
pop of freshness, stir in a handful of chopped fresh parsley at the end. Other
herbs will work, too. Instead of (or in addition to) the thyme and bay leaves,
try rosemary. For the herbs at the end, try fresh chives for a mild onion
flavor.
As for the noodles,
you can use whatever
you love. We love the lightness of egg noodles, but you can throw just about
any pasta into the pot. Another recipe that uses egg noodles
Make-Ahead and Storing Tips
The soup can be made
and refrigerated for 3 to 4 days and frozen for up to 3 months.
If you are not planning
on enjoying the soup straight away or plan to freeze it, you should hold
off on adding the noodles. As the soup sits, the noodles soak up the broth. You
can deal with this in two ways:
When reheating the soup,
Add a bit more broth/stock to the pot. I’ve even
been known to add a splash of plain water to the soup when reheating. As long
as you don’t need to add a lot, it won’t thin the flavor of the soup too much.
When making the soup ahead of time,
For the freshest, least soggy noodles, leave
the noodles out then refrigerate or freeze the soup. When you are ready to
reheat, bring the soup to a low simmer and add dried noodles. Cook until they
are done and enjoy.
Quick Recap
Let’s recap, for the
best chicken noodle soup from scratch, keep the following in mind:
- Use high-quality stock/broth
- Season the soup early and check it often
- Chicken thighs make a better soup and are far
more tender than chicken breast
- Add extra flavor with herbs, both at the
beginning and at the end
What Can I Add to Soup for More Flavor
Our recipe sticks to
classic ingredients and flavors, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things you
can add to make it your own:
For a creamy chicken
noodle soup, add 2 to 4 tablespoons of heavy cream or half-and-half. We do this
when making our creamy chicken soup.
Add three to four lemon
slices for a lemon chicken soup — similar to this Lemony Chicken and
Vegetable Soup.
Add three or four
slices of lime, swap the parsley for fresh cilantro, and then add diced
tomatoes and cubed avocado for Mexican-style chicken soup. You can even
add diced corn tortillas as we do for this tortilla chicken soup.
Add a teaspoon of
toasted sesame oil and a few dashes of fish sauce for an ultra-satisfying,
umami-packed soup.
Swirl in fresh spinach
or kale at the end of cooking for more of a vegetable-heavy soup.
Swap the noodles for
potatoes, winter squash, rice, quinoa, or grains. Add hearty veggies (like
potatoes) to the pot along with the onions and carrots. When it comes to rice
and grains, add them already cooked. (Take a look at our sausage and
potato soup or our homemade creamy potato soup for some
inspiration)
Swap the noodles for
tortellini — I love using cheese-filled pasta when making this veggie
tortellini soup.
Save Time and Use Rotisserie Chicken or Leftover Chicken
For the easiest chicken noodle soup,
If you have a rotisserie or leftover chicken,
instead of adding chicken thighs to the pot, add two to three cups of shredded
or diced cooked chicken to the soup at the same time as adding the dried
noodles.
Since there is no need
to cook the chicken thighs, reduce the simmer time by 10 minutes. We
use this method whenever we’ve roasted a whole chicken the night
before.
Ultra-Satisfying Chicken Noodle Soup
- PREP 5mins
- COOK 35mins
- TOTAL 40mins
This quicker version of
homemade chicken noodle soup skips cooking a whole chicken and calls on
boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead. The soup still tastes incredible,
satisfying, and classic. The significantly reduced cook time makes this chicken
soup from scratch possible on a weeknight. We highly recommend chicken thighs
for this because of their flavor and soft texture when cooked, but if you
prefer them, chicken breasts will work.
Makes 6 servings
YOU WILL NEED
2 tablespoons butter,
chicken fat, or olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 large carrots,
chopped
2 stalks of celery,
chopped (optional)
Heaped tablespoon of minced garlic (4 cloves)
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs fresh thyme or
use 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 pound skinless, boneless
chicken thighs (4 or 5 thighs)
8 cups chicken stock or
broth, low sodium, or use homemade stock
5 ounces egg noodles
(or pasta of choice)
Salt and pepper, to
taste
1/4 cup fresh parsley,
finely chopped
Water or more stock, as
needed
DIRECTIONS
·
Melt butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium
heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring every few minutes
until the vegetables begin to soften; 5 to 6 minutes.
·
Stir in the garlic, bay leaves, and thyme. Cook, while
stirring the garlic around the pan, for about 1 minute.
·
Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a low simmer.
Taste the soup then adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Depending on the
stock used, you might need to add 1 or more teaspoons of salt.
·
Submerge the chicken thighs into the soup so that the
broth covers them. Bring the soup back to a low simmer then partially cover the
pot with a lid and cook, stirring a few times until the chicken thighs are cooked
through; about 20 minutes.
·
If, during this time, the broth seems low, add a
splash more stock or a bit of water. Turn the heat to medium-low.
·
Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate. Stir the
noodles into the soup and cook until done, 6 to 10 minutes depending on the
type of noodles used.
· While the noodles cook, shred the chicken into strips or dice it into cubes. Slide the chicken back into the pot and then taste the soup once more for seasoning. Adjust with more salt and pepper, as needed. Stir in the parsley and serve.
Notes
- Refrigerating Chicken Noodle Soup: As the soup
sits, the noodles soak up the soup broth. When reheating, add a splash of
extra chicken stock or if you don’t have any, water.
- Freezing Chicken Noodle Soup: The noodles don’t
fare too well when frozen. If you plan on freezing the soup, remove the
portion of soup you plan to freeze before adding the noodles. Freeze the
broth, chicken, and vegetables. When you are ready to reheat the soup, add
dried noodles to the soup and simmer until done.
- Seasoning the Soup: If you feel the soup is
missing some zing, add a bit more salt. You can also add a pop of flavor
with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a dash of fish sauce (we use this
trick for store-bought stocks and broths often), or Worcestershire sauce.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided
below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate
approximate values.
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