Chicken Noodle Soup
Make this cozy and delicious Chicken Noodle Soup chock full of tender noodles, juicy chicken, and a mix of carrots, celery, and onions. It’s your go-to comfort food that’s not just warm and cozy but nourishing, too, making those chilly days a bit more bearable.
Chicken Soup Ingredients
1. Chicken: I have prepared this soup using chicken breasts, bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, boneless skinless chicken thighs, a combination of each, and every other combination you can imagine. While there is no “wrong” chicken for chicken soup, if you plan to prepare your own “quick” broth as I explain in this recipe (different from chicken stock or bone broth), I find that skinless bone-in chicken thighs are the best. The broth is flavorful, but not overly fatty and the chicken remains juicy – unlike chicken breasts which are prone to drying out from prolonged boiling.
2. Broth: Prepare your own or use your favorite store-bought broth. For this recipe, I simply simmered chicken thighs in water to make the broth base. For heartier broth recipes, check out my chicken stock or beef bone broth recipe.
3. Vegetables: Nearly every country has its own version of chicken soup. As such, each version will look and taste a little different from the next. The most common vegetables, however, include a mixture of onion, celery, and carrots (also known as the mirepoix).
4. Herbs: Keep it simple or go wild, the herbs you choose to flavor your soup are entirely up to you. In this version, I left things super simple and only added a touch of fresh chopped parsley after the soup was finished cooking. Other popular herbs, dried or fresh, include oregano, rosemary, and thyme.
5. Optional: Try adding some anti-inflammatory ingredients including garlic, ginger, and turmeric. If you’re new to cooking with any of these ingredients, start with a small amount and add more as needed.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 yellow onion,, diced
- 3 celery stalks,, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots,, thinly sliced
- 6 cloves garlic,, minced
- 10 to 12 cups low sodium chicken broth,, I normally use 12 cups because I like a brothier soup
- 4 thyme sprigs,, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 pounds skinless, bone-in chicken breasts
- 1¼ teaspoon salt,, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper,, or to taste
- 10 ounces Carba-Nada Noodles (low carb noodles),, or use regular wide egg noodles
- Chopped fresh parsley,, for garnish
- Lemon wedges,, for serving
Instructions
Heat the olive oil and butter in a Dutch oven set over medium heat. To the heated oil, add the chopped onions, sliced celery, and carrots; cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic and cook for 20 seconds.
Add the chicken broth and stir all the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add thyme sprigs and bay leaf; increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a simmer.
Add in the chicken breasts, salt, and pepper; stir, then cover and simmer over medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes or until the chicken is done.
Remove the chicken breasts from the pot and transfer them to a cutting board.
At this point, if using regular egg noodles, add them to the broth and cook for 6 to 7 minutes or until al dente. If using the Carba-Nada noodles, wait to add those to the pot together with the shredded chicken because they cook in about 4 to 5 minutes.
In the meantime, shred the chicken and discard the bones. Stir the shredded chicken into the soup; cover and simmer for 2 more minutes.
Remove the soup from the heat and discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Taste the soup for salt and pepper and adjust accordingly.
Ladle into bowls, garnish with parsley, and serve with lemon wedges.
