It’s SOUP SEASON! It’s no secret I LOVE a good soup recipe. But, this hearty chicken noodle soup recipe isn’t good. IT’S GREAT! Forget canned soup, hunker in and make a batch of this soul warming soup. You can eat 1/2 now and freeze the other 1/2 for that day you wake up feeling like a bowl of hearty chicken noodle soup is the only thing to cure what ails you. If you’ve got any bone broth from making the HIH slow cooker whole chicken, this is the PERFECT time to use it!
There is something extra special about homemade soups. Whether you need to bring a dish for a potluck or a neighbor in need, homemade soup is filled with love. This hearty chicken noodle soup is packed with veggies, noodles, and of course, lots of juicy, flavorful chicken. My freezer isn’t complete without a container or two of this soup waiting to warm us up on a cold, snowy day. There’s that saying, “you never regret a work out.” In my opinion, the same concept can be applied to homemade soup. Homemade soups take some effort, but you’ll never regret it!
Keys to Success
- Cut the onion small, leave the celery and carrots larger. Well, you don’t have to, but that’s the way I like it! I like the onion to be there for flavor and the carrots and celery to still have a little bit of bite to them. Since the chicken cooks with the veggies, if you cut the carrots and celery too small, they’ll get mushy. If you prefer super soft veggies in your soup, don’t let me stop you from chopping small!
- No brown bits left behind! Once the veggies and chicken are cooked, there will be plenty of brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Those brown bits on the bottom of the pan are full of FLAVOR! As you add the chicken broth or stock, use a wooden spoon or spatula to loosen all of those brown bits from the bottom of the pan. It doesn’t seem like much, but delazing the bottom of the pan brings out that unmistakeable homemade flavor.
- Add noodles when you’re ready to serve. To avoid soggy noodles, wait to boil the noodles in the soup until you’re ready to serve!
- Let it simmer. Is this hearty chicken noodle soup delicious as soon as you’ve completed all the recipe steps, darn tootin’ it is! Is it even better if left to simmer on the stove all afternoon, you better believe it! Your house will smell INCREDIBLE and all of the flavors just get better and better as it simmers on the stove.
- Not into chopping? Use a handy dandy veggie chopper or food processor!
Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup
Equipment
- 1 large dutch oven or stock pot
- 1 chef's knife
- 1 Wooden spoon
- Measuring cups and spoons
Ingredients
- 4 lbs chicken bone in, skin on chicken breasts and/or thighs is preferred, but boneless skinless chicken breast can be used to keep fat and calories down.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 3-4 stalks of celery roughly sliced
- 3-4 large carrots roughly sliced
- 8 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried + more to taste
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried + more to taste
- 4 fresh sage leaves or 1 teaspoon dried ground sage + more to taste
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 2 teaspoons salt + more to taste
- 2 teaspoons coarse ground black pepper + more to taste
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 cups rotini pasta or egg noodles
Instructions
- Heat a large dutch oven or stock pot over medium high heat with the olive oil
- While your stock pot or dutch oven is heating, pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with ½ of the salt and pepper.
- Place the seasoned chicken, skin side down in the hot pan and allow to cook until the skins are golden brown and the fat has started to render, wait at about 3 minutes before checking on your chicken, continue to brown the chicken on all sides then remove from the pan and set aside
- In the same pot and still over medium high heat, add the prepared celery, onions, carrot, and remaining salt, black pepper and white pepper; cook until the onions are translucent, approximately 2 minutes, stirring frequently to loosen the brown bits on the bottom of the pot from cooking the chicken.
- Reduce the heat to medium low and add the chicken along with the rosemary, sage, and thyme over the veggies; cover and cook for approximately 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through, watch your heat to ensure the bottom of the pot does not burn
- Remove the chicken and set aside to cool.
- Turn the heat back up to medium high, add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Use a wooden spoon to get any new brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Taste the broth for seasoning, adding salt and/or pepper if needed
- Once the chicken has cooled enough to be handled, remove the chicken from the bone and shred or cut into bite sized chunks; add the chicken pot, followed by the lemon juice and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Simmer longer if time allows.
- If you’re ready to serve the soup, bring to a boil and add the noodles, cook according to package instructions and serve.
- If you’re not ready to serve, refrigerate or freeze the soup before adding noodles. When ready to serve, bring to a boil and add the pasta and cook to package instructions.
Nutrition
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