Chicken Noodle Soup

This chicken noodle soup recipe comes out delicious every time and tastes like it took hours to make. But it doesn’t! It can be made to freeze. Whip up a batch to nurse someone back to good health. It’s perfect for meal prep, gifting, great for a cool night to keep you warm, the ideal comfort food.

There is no denying how wonderful homemade chicken noodle soup is. Prepping this out and having it in the freezer to have when you really need it is genius! So I’ve been told.

Let’s dive right in and get to what makes some soups better than others.

For chicken noodle soup, it’s all in the flavor, the chicken fat renders the best flavor.

And don’t miss my most used items to make soup and more delicious soup recieps after the recipe 🙂

Using chicken thighs is key!

While most people who want to make soup quickly might be tempted to grab chicken breast, don’t, it’ll become dry, chewy and won’t render the amazing flavor of chicken thighs.
But let’s keep is super simple (my favorite way to cook)

Use boneless skinless chicken thighs, they make for a delicious soup, without too much fat and no need to remove the skin or debone. This simple recipe will have you enjoying a bowl in no time flat!

Alternatively, you can use chicken thighs with the skin on and bone in, but I find it a lot of extra work, without exceptional benefits, boneless skinless chicken thighs offer delicious tender chicken with just enough chicken fat to create great tasting broth.

Good chicken soup..

will include carrots, onions, and celery (a mirepoix if you want to sound fancy). The magical trio is not to be missed. It can turn ordinary into fantastic since it adds so much flavor! It can enhance any soup. Chop the pieces into larger chunks or smaller dice. I often match the chopping size to the pasta shape. So the smaller the pasta shape, the smaller I chop the vegetables.

If you are not a fan of one of the items, don’t worry… either use the vegetable itself cut into really big pieces, so that after the soup is cooked you can remove that vegetable but the flavor will help make the soup taste well rounded. Another workaround to use an additional amount of chicken flavor or vegetable bouillon when making the soup so it doesn’t take like dishwater! Or check out my blended chicken soup it’s smooth if it’s the texture you don’t prefer.

• remember- chicken breasts cooking quickly and with high heat can be chewy, use chicken thighs for better texture and flavor.

Chicken thighs are really the star of the show here, dice them so they cook quickly and easily, boneless skinless chicken thighs remain juicy and tender and don’t give that dry chewy texture you can find when making soup with chicken breasts. The flavor of the chicken thighs gives the best flavoring for the chicken broth in this soup.

Veggies…

Now for the veggies… as I mentioned… the mirepoix carrot, onion, and celery.

Heat a 5 qt pot on medium heat, add butter then veggies, and saute for 1-2 minutes.

Add the diced chicken, and chicken broth and simmer on a medium-low temperature for 10 minutes or until the chicken reaches at least 165°. Don’t rapidly boil the soup, it’ll make the chicken firm and tough. Low and slower will help the chicken cook up tender and juicy. Alternatively, you can cook the chicken in an Instant Pot (pressure cooker).

This recipe makes 12- 2 cup servings…

16 oz is a nice size portion. Making this the perfect recipe to make and share, meal prep, freeze, or serve a crowd.

These 16oz wide-mouth jars are perfect for freezing, when freezing glass jars it’s suggested they do not indent before the top area. These are straight to the top, perfect for freezing. I also use these great leak-proof plastic lids for easy storage and freezing.

Can the pasta be cooked in the pot with the soup?

Yes, you can. I choose to cook them separately. Then rinse the noodles with cool water so they stop cooking and won’t absorb all the broth, preventing them from swelling up. I usually don’t mix the pasta into the soup as it gets too mushy, but I do add the pasta to the top of leftovers after the broth has cooled, to keep the soup all together avoiding the pasta getting too soft.

What noodles did you use?

I love using Al dente brand, bonnetti (which means little bonnets) golden egg noodles availabel on Amazon, or in stores as well, I just love taht they cook in 5 minutes and are adorably cute!

What other noodles are best for this soup?

I love these small crinkled-edge egg noodles. But any small pasta will work well. Egg noodles tend to be softer and less “chewy”. Ditalini, elbows, orzo, pastina, alphabets, broken spaghetti, and other small noodles are all great options.

What chicken broth should I use?

Use your favorite, I often buy cartons of chicken broth from Costco. Another option is to use chicken bouillon and water. I always have chicken bouillon on hand. Once you give the soup a taste, add chicken bouillon to reach the amount of chicken flavor you prefer. I typically add a tablespoon or two to a pot of soup this size.

When reheating the soup…

from the fridge, you can heat it in the microwave in the glass jars. I suggest heating it slowly and stirring at regular intervals.

If frozen, you can thaw it in the fridge, soak the jars in in cold water until thawed, or microwave at 30% power at 1-minute intervals and stirring at each interval. Or run a bit of water over the glass jar and slide out the frozen soup and place it into a pot and reheat slowly.

Add additional chicken broth or water and chicken bouillon if needed when reheating the soup, to ensure there is enough broth for the soup.

It’s so great to have a recipe that works well for gifting, meal prep, and freezing.

*I’ve linked more soups and items I use to make soup below after the recipe!

My list of must-have items to make soup

• Le Creuset Red Dutch Oven I use this pot all the time to cook soup, I love how it cooks everything and it cooks soup far better than my older, thin stainless pot.
• Thermometer I’m not quite sure how I cooked before having this super-fast digital thermometer, and it makes the perfect gift, I give it all the time and everyone loves it. Be sure you’re always bringing food to the proper temperature.
• Thermos If you leave the house and want hot soup to go with you to be able to enjoy any time you’d like this thermos keeps soup hot for many hours.
• a ladle is great to put soup into serving bowls and canning jars
• I’m always looking for a way to make less mess, this funnel I use every day to help me store leftovers in jars, like soup and I also use it to put the hot soup into the thermos a wide-mouth funnel
• Freezer tape I use this to write on the jars, and it removes so easily when you no longer need the label
• Immersion/hand Blender this is the immersion I use… every single day, really. I love it for soups, sauces, smoothies, and whipped cream
• Wide-mouth canning jars 16 oz the perfect 2 cup portion for soup and just about everything else, I not only use these for leftover soup, I use them for sauces, drinking glasses, and just about everything.
• Great plastic lids for glass jars if I don’t want to fuss with metal lids and bands on the canning jars I use these one-piece plastic lids!

• Zuppa Toscano a creamy potato soup with sausage and kale, an Olive Garden Copycat Soup Recipe!
• Tomato Bisque creamy and silky and full of great flavor, goes great over pasta for a fun dinner as well.
• Spaghetti Soup my family’s favorite, bring traditional pasta dinner over to the soup side!
• Mushroom Soup a hearty vegetarian soup that tastes like a meal!
• Black Bean Soup This is always a favorite with quesadillas
• Chicken Tortilla Soup you’ll never regret making this

Want MORE SOUP RECIPES check them out here.