What’s in Chicken Noodle Soup?
It doesn’t take many ingredients or complicated ingredients to make homemade chicken noodle soup. You only need chicken, a few basic veggies, herbs, and spices to make chicken noodle soup. Here are the ingredients you’ll need:
- Vegetables: I make a straightforward mirepoix with celery, carrot, and onion, and I add a little garlic for flavor. This vegetable medley simmers with the chicken to produce a delicious homemade soup broth. The vegetables give the soup a ton of color and texture as well.
- Bone-in Chicken: The best chicken noodle soup is made with bone-in chicken, which is essential. I use bone-in, skinless chicken breasts, so there are tasty bits of white meat all over my soup. Feel free to use drumsticks or thighs if you prefer dark meat. Although you can leave the skin on while the soup simmers and remove it later if you want an extra-rich soup, I prefer to remove the skin to cut down on excess fat.
- Herbs and Spices: The traditional warm flavor of this soup is derived from a blend of basil, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and pepper. Naturally, we also add salt to enhance the natural flavors even more!
- Water: To make an incredibly delicious homemade broth, simmer the chicken, veggies, and seasoning in water.
- Noodles: You can use pretty much any type of pasta shape for this recipe; some suggestions are stars, alphabet pasta, fideo, or ditalini. I personally like to use wide egg noodles for this soup because of its airy texture.
CLASSIC VEGAN CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
Today, I’m sharing a classic with you. I grew up eating chicken noodle soup (I mean, who didn’t?), and there was something so satisfying about that warm, comforting bowl of super-salted soup. Of course, it looks pretty disgusting to look at the ingredients can right now. I recall that the chicken in the can was consistently quite chewy, causing me to spit out the majority of it.
My mother began preparing a recipe for chicken noodle soup that she got from a newspaper when I was an adult. It was creamy and slightly spicy and incredibly delicious. Come discover that it was made with a can of soup and a cream of mushroom soup! Whoa! I thought it was homemade! I thought it was homemade! Lol. Regardless, it was really yummy and I always requested it.
I used whole food potatoes instead of chicken, even vegan chicken, and they turned out just as satisfying, comforting, and full! Comforting soups and stews are my favorite, and I’m best at making them when I’m being creative in the kitchen.
This only requires eight simple ingredients, is entirely plant-based, and is very straightforward.
Full recipe and details on recipe card below.
- Carrots
- Celery
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Red potatoes or yukon gold potatoes
- Veggie broth
- Vegan bouillon cubes (see recipe below for alternate version)
- Dried thyme
- Nutritional yeast
- Noodles: Use regular or gluten-free. I used gluten-free brown rice spiral noodles.
HOW TO MAKE VEGAN CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
Step 1: Add the broth (or water, if you’re using the other version) and heat until it begins to boil. When adding the bouillon cubes (or spice version), whisk to make sure everything is well combined.
Step 2: Add all of the veggies except the pasta. Bring back to a boil and stir well. Vegetables should become tender but not completely cooked after 10 minutes of simmering under cover and low heat.
Step 3: Add the pasta, turn up the heat to medium-high, and then restart the boiling process. Cook for ten minutes or until the pasta reaches your desired level of tenderness. It will cook more quickly if you’re using gluten-free ingredients, so keep an eye on it to avoid getting mushy.
Step 4: Taste and adjust the salt to taste, as the amount of salt required can vary significantly depending on the type of broth or bouillon cubes used. I enjoy adding a generous pinch of freshly ground black pepper to the top.
