Chicken Noodle Soup

What Type of Noodle?

My mom used to make chicken noodle soup from home-cooked egg noodles. However, the best aspect of the soup is that it can be made with any type of noodles work!

DIY egg noodle: All you require is flour along with salt, milk, and eggs, and you can have them ready in just 5 minutes!

Farfalle pasta

Elbow macaroni

Rotini

About the Chicken Stock

If you are wondering if you should make a homemade stock of chicken or a store-bought one to make this dish. Then homemade is the best option! The key is to use a rotisserie bird to use the meat for the soup. Then create chicken broth from the carcass left over and bones. It’s amazing how simple it is. It truly makes the soup stand out in terms of the depth of taste.

How to Make Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

You can create your own chicken stock ahead of time with the rotisserie chicken or pick a quality brand of chicken stock that is available in stores.

Saute veggies. Add butter, chopped carrots, and celery to the large stock pot on medium-high heat. Cook for three minutes. Add garlic, and cook for another 30 seconds.

Add chicken broth or stock. The broth should be seasoned with salt (definitely test the broth prior to adding salt), pepper, and one tiny pinch of sage, rosemary, and crushed red pepper. You can add a small teaspoon of “better than bullion” chicken or chicken bouillon powder should you wish to test the taste.

Add noodles, and cook. After boiling, add noodles (either the homemade, uncooked egg noodles or the dry pasta purchased from a store) and cook until the noodles are cooked in a bite. If you use commercially prepared noodles, be careful not to overcook them! Take the soup pot off the flame when the noodles are barely cooked because they will continue to cook and get rid of the heat.

Add chicken. Include the meat from the chicken rotisserie. Taste the broth again, and add additional seasonings as needed.

Serve. I like serving this nutritious soup with simple no-knead bread and home-cooked rolls, and If you like this recipe, check out my latest dumplings and chicken soup!

Does chicken noodle soup have health benefits?

It is true that making homemade soup with chicken noodles can be healthier than canned soups, which are nor loaded with sodium, other preservatives, and artificial flavors. Chicken broth and stock (especially when made at home) are packed with minerals and vitamins and can be soothing to the body. Even if you buy canned chicken broth or noodles, it’s more nutritious in all ways!

Preparation and instructions for freezing:

To prepare ahead: The soup can be perfect when prepared in advance with home-cooked egg noodles because they aren’t spongy and overcooked like noodles purchased from stores. If you want regular noodles, I suggest creating the soup (steps 1 and 2) before boiling it with the noodles and then adding the chicken the day before serving.

To store: Keep in an airtight box in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days, depending on the freshness of the chicken you use.

: Let the soup cool totally before placing it in a freezer-safe container for up to 2 months. The soup can be frozen overnight in the refrigerator or on a medium temperature in the kitchen. If you are using ready-to-eat noodles, I recommend undercooking them prior to freezing the soup to ensure they don’t become too wet when heating.

Ingredients for chicken noodle soup

For the Soup:

1/2 Tablespoon butter

Two ribs of celery, diced

3-4 large carrots diced

One clove of garlic, minced

10 cups of chicken broth or broth*

One teaspoon salt, to taste

1/2 teaspoon newly ground black pepper, to taste

1/8 teaspoon of dried rosemary, or more, as you like.

1/8 teaspoon of a teaspoon of dried sage

One batch of egg noodles made from scratch, 5 cups of dry egg noodles. Farfalle or any other bite-sized pasta

3 cups rotisserie chicken *

One teaspoon is superior to the chicken flavor of bouillon (or more, when needed) or Granules.

Instructions

Add butter, chopped celery, and carrots to a large pot at medium-high temperature. Cook for three minutes. Add garlic, and cook for more than 30 seconds.

Incorporate chicken stock, and add rosemary and sage, crushed red pepper salt (definitely test the broth before adding salt), and pepper. Add one teaspoon of “better than bullion” chicken or chicken bouillon cubes or the granules if needed.

Bring broth to a simmer. Add noodles (either cooked homemade egg noodles that are not cooked or dried store-bought noodles) and cook until the noodles are cooked at the right al dente.

If you have noodles from a store, be careful not to cook them too long! Take the pot off the cooking as soon as they’re just soft. After removing the pot from the flame, the noodles will continue cooking, and you do not want them to become mushy.

Incorporate the chicken’s meat from your rotisserie bird. Check the broth for taste and add additional seasonings as needed.

Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days, based on the quality of the chicken you cooked it with.

Notes

Stock: I HIGHLY recommend making this soup with homemade stock! It’s very easy to do if you buy a rotisserie chicken, and you can even make it ahead of time and freeze it. That way you can use the rotisserie chicken meat for the soup and the bones for the broth. 

If using store-bought broth I recommend adding Better than Bullion chicken base to it to give it more depth of flavor.

Chicken: Using a rotisserie chicken (or your own whole roasted chicken) is my recommended method because you can use the meat for the soup and the bones to make homemade chicken stock. To use raw chicken meat, add raw chicken thighs, breasts, or tenders right to the boiling broth in step 3 (before adding the noodles). Cooking time will differ depending on the chicken you use but cook for about 5 minutes before adding the noodles.

Make ahead: This soup is best made ahead of time when you are using homemade egg noodles (they don’t get soggy like regular store bought noodles).  If using regular dry noodles I recommend making the broth (steps 1-2) first, and then the day of serving boiling the broth and noodles and adding the chicken.

 Freezing Instructions: Allow the soup to cool completely and store it in a freezer safe container for 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, or over medium heat on the stove. If using store bought noodles I would suggest undercooking the noodles before freezing the soup. So it is avoid them getting soggy upon reheating.