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Craving comfort? This Feel-Better Chicken Soup recipe delivers. Whether you're under the weather or just looking for a cozy meal, you can't go wrong with a warming bowl of this homemade chicken noodle. Tender chicken simmers in a delicious savory broth, enriched with nutrient-packed vegetables, herbs, fresh ginger, and turmeric. The best part is it comes together in under an hour for an anytime pick-me-up. Easy, super-flavorful, and nourishing - this homemade chicken noodle soup is the ultimate feel-good food.
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Soothing, comforting chicken noodle soup
It’s that time of year again - cold and flu season is in full swing. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been battling my fair share of sickness with a dwindling box of tissues at my disposal and nothing but soup on the brain.
I heavily considered making Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup, Lemon Garlic Chicken Orzo Soup, or Harira, but nothing could keep me from dragging my feet in the kitchen. This lingering illness has zapped my energy.
This week, though, the call of comfort food finally got too loud to ignore, and I knew homemade chicken noodle soup had to happen. I'm so glad I found the willpower to whip some up, because let me tell you, the first spoonful of this Feel-Good Chicken Soup was pure relief. The juicy chicken, tender veggies, and flavorful broth were just what I needed to feel human again. If you're currently feeling like a walking germ, I promise this is worth the small effort.
This recipe will taste like the classic chicken noodle from your childhood, but with a few upgrades. Firstly, the recipe uses chicken thighs rather than the more common chicken breasts, which gives a better flavor to the broth and more tender shreds of chicken. To ensure that the broth is anything but bland, I use Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base. It's got a deeper, more concentrated flavor than chicken broth, so if you don't have the time (or energy!) to make your own stock, this is the next best option. For even more flavor, I use fresh herbs, garlic, ginger, and turmeric in the soup. These ingredients don't stop it from tasting like traditional chicken noodle, but they offer a little more zest and depth, and they also tout immune-boosting properties that might just help you feel better faster.
Why you'll love it
Don't let me make it seem like you'll only love this recipe if you're under-the-weather. It's the trifecta of cozy comfort food - homemade flavor, quick prep, and customizable for whatever you're craving.
- QUICK & EASY: In under an hour, you can go from raw ingredients to a hot bowl of comfort. Perfect for those busy days, sick days, or when you just need a quick and nourishing pick-me-up.
- FLAVORFUL BROTH: Fresh herbs, garlic, ginger and turmeric create a savory, layered broth accented by juicy chicken thighs and roasted chicken bouillon base.
- CUSTOMIZABLE COZINESS: Load up on veggies, switch up herbs, or swap the noodles for rice - you can make this classic soup your own.
Key ingredients
The rich, homemade flavor of this chicken noodle soup comes from cooking with these simple ingredients:
- Chicken thighs - If you're partial to chicken breast, you can absolutely swap it in. However, thighs impart more collagen, moisture, and rich chicken flavor compared to breasts - so if you want the best chicken noodle soup, you know what to do!
- Aromatic vegetables - The classic mirepoix combo of onions, carrots, and celery create a savory base, while a generous amount of garlic adds plenty of warmth.
- Fresh and dried herbs - Rosemary, thyme, and parsley all round out the soup with their fresh flavors. Dried bay leaves add depth to the broth.
- Turmeric and ginger - These antioxidant-rich ingredients underpin the other flavors with subtle heat and earthiness. Turmeric also lends a light yellow hue to the broth.
- Better Than Bouillon - This concentrated base provides intense roasted chicken flavor that has much more impact than cubes or boxed/canned chicken broth.
- Lemon - A small amount of lemon juice balances the richness and pulls the other flavors into focus. Its acidity brightens the entire soup!
- Noodles - You can't have chicken noodle soup without noodles! They're essential for adding bulk, texture, and starchy comfort. Quality noodles that cook up al dente work best. More on this below!
All about the noodles
For traditional chicken noodle flavor, egg noodles are the subtly rich, classic choice. Ditalini and couscous are smaller pasta shapes that work nicely, too - their tiny size is perfect for incorporating into spoonfuls of chicken and veggies. For this recipe, I used gemelli, a short-cut, tightly twisted pasta. It's most commonly used in saucier recipes, but I like it for soups because it holds up well in the broth - the noodles aren't likely to dissolve from the heat or shred apart when stirred, unlike delicate egg noodles.
If using thicker, more durable noodles / pasta, you can cook your pasta right in the soup. However, if using egg noodles or other thin shapes, it's worth avoiding! For the best texture, cook delicate noodles separately and add to your bowl before serving. This prevents mushiness, especially when reheating leftovers.
How to make the ultimate chicken soup
This is one classic comfort food that takes very little effort to make. There are only 5 main steps:
- Brown the chicken. You can cook the chicken right in the broth with great results. However, browning the chicken adds extra flavor and allows the spices to better adhere to the meat. Additionally, it makes it easier to remove all of the chicken for shredding before adding it back to the soup.
- Cook the vegetables. Sauté the onion, carrots, celery in olive oil until tender. Add the garlic and cook briefly until fragrant.
- Simmer it up. Add chicken broth base, water, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves. Add the shredded chicken back to the pot.
- Noodle time. Shortly before serving, remove the woody herb sprigs and bay leaves from the pot and add the noodles. Cook until just shy of al dente. The noodles will continue to soften in the soup.
- Finish the soup. Add chopped parsley and lemon juice. Season to taste and enjoy!
For the full, detailed walk-through of the recipe, check out the recipe card at the end of this post!
Feel-Better Chicken Soup Recipe
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5 from 1 review
- Author: Morgan
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 medium white or yellow onion, diced
- 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
- 3 ribs celery, sliced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons poultry spice
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 generous pinch red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- 6 cups water, plus more as needed
- 3 tablespoons roasted chicken bouillon base, such as Better than Bouillon
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 10 ounces pasta or noodles of choice (I used gemelli pasta)
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Dry the chicken thighs and season with the spices. Add the chicken thighs to the pot and cook for 6 minutes per side, or until browned and cooked through. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate to cool slightly.
- Once cool enough to handle, shred the chicken by hand or with two forks. Set aside.
- Add the onions, carrots and celery to the same pot. Cook for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often, for 1 minute until fragrant.
- Pour in the water and chicken bouillon. Add the shredded chicken, rosemary, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a gentle boil for 10 minutes.
- Add the pasta and continue simmering for 6 minutes or until pasta is just shy of al dente*.
- Remove from heat and stir in the fresh parsley and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve chicken noodle soup hot and enjoy!
Notes
* If using a more delicate pasta or noodles such as egg noodles, cook the noodles separately and add to your bowl of soup when serving. This will prevent the noodles from getting mushy and shredding easily when stirring or reheating.
