Chicken Noodle Soup
on Feb 05, 2018, Updated Jun 28, 2023
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Looking for a homemade cure for all that ails you? Try a bowl of chicken noodle soup because you can’t go wrong with a trusted classic.
Despite my efforts, I realize obsessing with hand-washing and antibacterial products will not protect me from germs.
Of course, I am always asking why hasn’t someone hasn’t an invisible bubble yet?
How I wish that magical superpower did exist.
And this year seems worse than usual.
There’s no getting around it—everyone is sick.
It seems like there is a moment every cold and flu season where we hit peak congested ick.
Like the majority of the under five set, our four-year-old pretty much has the sniffles on an every other week rotation.
My husband and I do our best to stay healthy, but when it spreads to us, all I crave is soup.
That ranges from one with turmeric, an herbal cure-all, to classic chicken noodle soup.
You really can’t go wrong with a mother or grandmother-approved recipe, right?
Preparing the Chicken Stock
First, I pull out my big stockpot.
It’s important to make sure it is large enough to hold a whole chicken along with chopped carrots, celery and leeks.
I also add aromatics including fresh thyme, parsley stems, peppercorns, a garlic clove and a bay leaf.
Then I fill the pot with cold water, bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer.
I do this with a lid on the pot that is slightly askew, so not too much of the liquid evaporates.
After about an hour, the chicken is poached and the liquid has turned into chicken stock.
Finally, I strain the broth.
How To Make Chicken Noodle Soup
To make the soup, I shred the entire chicken with a fork.
I cook the pasta in a separate saucepan and only add it when I am serving the soup. That way I avoid soggy noodles.
Then I fill each bowl with soup and add in chicken, carrots, celery and noodles.
You can also use the poached chicken as a protein in salads or stir it with store-bough salsa for tacos.
Or stir that shredded chicken into your favorite chili.
Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- For chicken stock
- 1 whole chicken 3 to 3-1/2 pounds, giblets removed
- 2 carrots peeled and roughly chopped
- 3 celery stalks roughly chopped
- 1 leek roughly chopped
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 4 fresh parsley stems
- 1 garlic clove peeled and smashed
- 3-4 quarts cold water
- For soup
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
- 2 celery stalks sliced 1/4-inch-thick
- 8 ounces pasta
- 2 cups shredded chicken
- Salt & black pepper
- Chopped fresh parsley for serving
Instructions
- For the stock, place the chicken with the carrots, celery, leeks, peppercorns, bay leaf, thyme, parsley stems and garlic in a large soup pot. Add the water so it just covers chicken. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, partially covered, on low heat. Simmer the mixture for 1 hour until the chicken is cooked.
- Transfer the chicken to a plate. Once it is cool enough to handle, remove the skin. Using a fork shred the meat. Discard the bones and carcass.
- Pour the stock through a fine mesh strainer into a large saucepan to remove the vegetables and herbs. If you are not using the stock immediately, cool it in an ice bath before refrigerating it up to 1 week or freezing.
- For the soup, add the carrots and celery to the chicken stock and simmer until tender, about 10 minutes.
- In a medium saucepan, cook the pasta according to package instructions. Rinse under cold water before adding to the stock along with the shredded chicken. Simmer for a few minutes until heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped parsley before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
