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Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup

This Chicken Noodle Soup recipe is another one I’ve been meaning to get up for a long time. I think it’s been almost two years since I made it on Instagram. Looking for a good plant-based soup? Check out my Tuscan Kale Soup recipe.

ingredients for Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken Noodle Soup Ingredients

Feel free to jump to the full recipe, but here are useful notes about the ingredients you will need to make this Chicken Noodle Soup recipe:

  • Whole chicken: The younger the better. You might be tempted to grab a big one, but don’t; age is most important. I use Butcher Box‘s Whole Young Chicken, which averages about 3 lbs. Chicken from Butcher Box is organic, free-range, GAP 3 certified, and really delicious. If you follow me on Instagram you’ll know I’ve been a customer for years now, and I love it.
  • Mirepoix: Your standard mix of celery, carrot, and onion. Normally mirepoix is all chopped in equal sizes and cooked together, but in this soup, we’re dicing and sauteing the onions, while just slicing and simmering the celery and carrot.
  • Chicken bouillon base: The chicken by itself is enough to make chicken broth as an ingredient, but not a broth with enough body for a Chicken Noodle Soup. To drive that flavor home a little bit more in every spoonful we add a bit of chicken bouillon base. My favorite is Anne’s Chicken Base, but Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken is great, too.
  • Salted butter: Just for getting things started. Any fat will work, but y’all know I love my butter.
  • Garlic, rosemary, thyme, parsley, oregano, bay leaf: These aromatics are classic for poultry, and are essential in this soup. The bay leaf is good for any meat-based broth, period.
  • Kosher salt, seasoned salt: Only a pinch or two of kosher salt, just for drawing the moisture out of the onion and garlic. Seasoned salt for flavoring the soup. I use Lawry’s, or my own homemade blend.
  • Turmeric, ground coriander, paprika, cracked black pepper: Can you guess which ones are more for appearances? I’ll tell you: pepper and coriander for a bite. Turmeric and paprika both warm up the broth. Mostly in color, but slightly in flavor, too.
  • Equipment: I always make this soup in an enameled dutch oven, but it would work fine in any large stockpot. Just make sure it’s big; 5-qt at least. Here’s what you’ll need:

How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup 

Full instructions are included in the recipe below, but here is a basic overview of what you’ll need to do, along with some important tidbits to help you make the most of this Chicken Noodle Soup recipe:

  • Build the broth. Sautee the onions and garlic in the butter until softened, then add the whole chicken, along with the herbs, water, seasoned salt, cracked black pepper, and chicken bouillon. How much water you can add at once will depend very much on the size of your pot. I generally go about it by adding as much as the pot can hold at first and adding additional liquid in batches as the cooking process goes on. You might not use the whole 10 cups, or you might need more. The level of heat, how tightly the lid fits on your pot, there are many variables that affect that.
  • Cook the chicken. Bring the liquid to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through. To keep the bright and shiny make sure to skim the foam off the top of the liquid as it cooks with a spoon. This is optional, and I didn’t do it for the soup in the pictures, to give you an idea of what to expect if you skip this one. It doesn’t need to be completely cooked through, as you’ll be adding it back to the soup after removing it from bones, but you want it as done as possible – without going too far and drying it out. A 3 1/2 pound chicken over medium heat in my house takes about 25 minutes.
  • Build the soup. Once the chicken is cooked, transfer it to a bowl to cool, then remove it from the bones. Strain the used herbs (or at least their stems) from the soup and pour in the carrots and celery. Stir in more water, paprika, coriander, and turmeric. Simmer while you remove the chicken from the carcass and shred it. You can keep the bones to boil them again to make broth – surprisingly no, they have not been expended – or discard them. I like to use a hand mixer to shred chicken because I despise the chore, but you can use your hands or two forks if you like.
  • Finish it up. After you add the meat back to the pot make sure the soup reaches about 3/4 of the way up the sides. If it doesn’t, add more water. Taste and adjust with more seasoned salt if needed, then reduce to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. 
  • Cook the noodles. After 10 minutes pour in the egg noodles. Cook the Chicken Noodle Soup for 15 minutes, until the noodles are tender. Alternatively, you can cook them separately according to package directions (more on that below). Taste and adjust a final time if needed. Dassit! 
storage containers of Chicken Noodle Soup, broth and soup contents stored separately

How to Store Chicken Noodle Soup

This recipe makes a big ol’ hearty batch of soup: odds are you’ll have leftovers even if you’re cooking for a decent-sized crowd. I wanted to make sure to include tips on how to save some for later.

  • Store the broth separately. Position a colander over the top of your storage container and pour the soup through it to catch the broth. Pour the soup contents into a different container. This might seem like a pain, but do it! If you store it together, the noodles will suck up most of the broth, making them mushy and the soup dry.
  • Freezing it: This Chicken Noodle Soup will keep for 3-4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator and you’ll need to know ahead of time if you want to freeze this soup because for longer storage you definitely need to cook the noodles separately. It freezes very well in airtight containers, but only sans noodles. Once frozen it’ll keep for up to 4 months. Make a fresh batch of egg noodles when you’re ready to defrost and eat the soup.

That’s it! Leave a rating if you try it. Here’s a Pinterest graphic:

Chicken Noodle Soup Pinterest Graphic
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Chicken Noodle Soup


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  • Author: María
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 12 1x

Description

Pro tip: if you’re sick and stuffy, sprinkle some cayenne pepper in your bowl. Opens those sinuses all the way up! 


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 (3-4 lb) whole young chicken, innards removed
  • 10 C water, plus more as needed
  • 4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 3 celery stalks, sliced
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 1/2 C fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, parsley, oregano)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tbsp chicken bouillon base
  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 tbsp seasoned salt, to taste
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/8 tsp cracked black pepper
  • 1/8 tsp kosher salt, as needed


Instructions

  1. Place a large – about 6 qt – dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the butter. Once the butter has melted add the diced onion and stir to coat. Sprinkle over a pinch of salt to encourage the onions to release their moisture. Let cook until tender, around 5 minutes or so, then add the garlic and cook until fragrant – about 2 minutes more. 
  2. Add the chicken to the pot. Tuck the herbs and bay leaf in alongside it, then pour around 6 cups of water – or as much as fits without overflowing. Next, stir in the chicken bouillon, seasoned salt, and cracked black pepper. 
  3. Bring the liquid to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about half an hour or so. If you weren’t able to add all 6 cups of broth at once, add more liquid every 10 minutes to keep the chicken as submerged as possible. To keep the broth clear and pretty, skim the foam that accumulates on the top of the liquid with a spoon as it cooks.
  4. After the chicken is cooked through, carefully remove it from the broth, along with the spent herbs. Discard the herbs and transfer the chicken to a plate to cool enough to handle. Add the carrots and celery to the pot, along with 2 more cups of water, the paprika, coriander, and turmeric. 
  5. As soon as the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones (discard those or keep them for stock). Keep the meat in the bowl, then attack it with a hand mixer to shred. Or shred it with your fingers. After it’s shredded add the meat back to the pot. The soup should reach about 3/4 of the way up the sides. If it doesn’t, add more water. Taste and adjust with more seasoned salt if needed, then reduce to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. 
  6. After 10 minutes pour in the egg noodles. Cook the soup for 15 minutes, until the noodles are tender. Alternatively, you can cook them separately according to package directions. Dassit! 

Notes

You should read the post above the recipe if you’ve never made this from scratch before. I mean even if you have I recommend it. 

  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 60
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