The Best Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Chicken noodle soup was something that was on our dinner table pretty much every Sunday, while growing up. My mom would always make it from scratch, there was no question about it. The idea of ordering take out or making it from a mix or something was unheard of. Even to this day when I think of what to make for dinner on Sundays, chicken noodle soup with roasted chicken and potatoes is what always comes to mind. Chicken soup must be made from scratch. And for that you need a whole chicken, no ifs ands or buts about it. You need a whole chicken with skin and bones and all. The meat and bones give the stock so much flavor and dimension, as well as all that sick day relief. I like to pack mine full of chopped carrots, celery, and super soft egg noodles.
Veggies – Just the classic 3 today: carrot, celery, and onion. You could add some garlic for some garlic flavor, but this is not something my mom every added to chicken noodle soup. Herbs – Fresh parsley is all we need today. If dry is all you have on hand that will work just fine as well just keep in mind that 1 teaspoon dried equals 1 tablespoon fresh. Other herbs you can use are fresh thyme, rosemary, or a bay leaf. Chicken – Bones, skin, meat and all. We need all those parts that are usually considered scraps to develop a rich broth. You can boil the chicken whole, which is what my mom always did but I cut it up into pieces. If you don’t have a whole chicken you can use a combination of chicken breasts, chicken thighs or drumsticks. Chicken bouillon – This ingredient is essentially just dehydrated broth that will pack so much flavor and umami into our soup. You can use either the cube or the powder. My mom always used vegeta though, which is a very European all purpose food seasoning. Liquids – We need liquid in our pot so we’re going to use water. We’re going to combine this with the bouillon cube to ensure maximum chicken flavor. Noodles – I like to use egg noodle for my this recipe. Some people like to use fusilli or rice noodles, if that’s the case just adjust noodle cook time according to package instructions. Seasoning – Salt and pepper, adjust for taste!
This is one of those recipes that tastes impressively good like it took hours to make, but actually didn’t! In fact, all you have to do for this chicken soup is add some noodles once you boil a whole chicken and some veggies. It’s super easy and super delicious!
Prep Your Broth
You will need to cook the chicken and vegetables to make the chicken stock for the soup. But first, you need to get everything into the pot. So remove the bag of gizzards from the inside of the whole chicken. Then put the raw chicken in a large stockpot or Dutch oven that will hold at least 5 quarts. Next, add enough water to the pot to cover the chicken. Then add the whole onion, whole carrots, and celery sticks to the pot making sure there is still enough water to cover the vegetables.
Skim The Broth
Now that everything is in the pot, bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Yet, as it begins to boil you will start to notice a dirty foam forming around the pot, which is totally normal. However, for a nice and clear broth, you’ll need to skim that foam from the top using a skimmer and keep removing the foam until there is none left.
Cook The Chicken And Veggies
Once the foam has been completely skimmed from the top, turn the heat down to medium-low. Then cover the pot with a lid and allow the soup to simmer for about an hour or until the vegetables are fork tender and the chicken is almost falling off the bone.
Remove The Chicken And Veggies
When the chicken is fully cooked, carefully remove it from the pot along with the veggies. Then set them both aside to cool for a bit. Also, at this point, if there is too much chicken broth in the pot you can ladle some of it out and store it in the fridge in an airtight container or jar for later use.
Shred The Chicken And Cut The Veggies
While the chicken is still cooling, chop up the cooked carrots and celery and then put them back into the pot with the broth. Next, use a fork to shred some meat from the chicken. But before you do, you may want to consider how much broth you have and how much chicken you want in your soup. I normally use about half of the chicken and then save the rest for other recipes. But you can use as much chicken as you like.
Add The Noodles
This is the best part of any classic chicken noodle soup recipe! Add the dry noodles to the pot along with the chicken bouillon or vegeta. Then taste your broth and season with salt and pepper as needed. Now, cook the soup on medium heat for another 5 to 10 minutes or until the noodles are fully cooked. Note, be careful not to add too many noodles because they do expand quite a bit as they cook and even more the longer they sit in the broth.
Finish The Soup
When the noodles are finished cooking, taste your soup for salt one last time and season it if needed. But only if needed! How much salt you will add depends on the amount that was added by the bouillon as well as your personal preference.
Serve And Enjoy
Ladle the delicious homemade chicken noodle soup into a bowl, top with a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley, and serve with some saltine crackers.
Got Leftover Chicken?
Use this recipe to make the best chicken salad ever! No leftovers or scraps go to waste in my kitchen.
Other Cooking Options
You don’t just have to make this hearty, good for the soul soup on the stove top, you can most definitely make it with some of the other kitchen gadgets you have lying around.
Crockpot
Set it and forget it! This recipe is super minimal effort required and can be made while you’re busy at work, just follow my recipe right here on the blog for chicken noodle soup in the crock pot.
Pressure cooker
Chicken noodle soup in under 15 minutes? And I’m not talking any of that pre made stuff, no I mean the real flu fighting deal. Whip it up in my flash with my recipe here.
Leftovers
Homemade chicken noodle soup will last 3 – 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
Freezing
This recipe freezes amazingly as well! Just be sure to pack up to store before adding any noodles as they tend to turn mushy when thawed. Stored in an airtight container this soup will stay fresh frozen for 4 – 6 months. Just thaw it overnight in it’s container in the fridge before reheating on the stove.
Other Delicious Soup Recipes To Try
Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings Chicken and Dumplings Red Lentil and Chicken Soup Matzo Ball Soup Italian Wedding Soup Minestrone Soup Chicken Potato Soup
Originally posted April, 2011.
