Additional NotesYou can purchase pre-grilled chicken breast strips and cut them up for this recipe, but what I do is buy a big box of chicken breasts, season them up and grill them on the BBQ, then portion and freeze them for use in salads, soups, quick sandwiches and more.You can also do this with boneless chicken thighs, which give even more flavour.Because you want the carrots to be soft and flavourful, add them at the start of the cooking; the onions can wait until half way through.Try other veggies as well, including diced peppers, shredded parsnips or turnips, and others. The key is to keep the sizes small so they cook in the short soup heating time.
Campbells Condensed Chicken Noodle Soup
thin sliced carrots (yellow)
Start with an aromatic base
Pretty much every can of soup already contains aromatics. However, you’ll want to add more to your soup to give it some more vigor. Begin by finely chopping any combination of vegetables and alliums, such as bell peppers, ginger, onion, garlic, carrots, and celery. Whatever you decide on will flavor the entire soup can that you are about to heat. A longer cook will brown your ingredients for a deeper, more savory flavor, while a shorter sauté will produce a sweeter, less intense base.
If you’re out of alliums, you can still achieve an aromatic base by using robust herbs, spices, or condiments. Before heating, bloom a combination in oil to add flavor to plain (and thin) soups. Add butternut squash soup to a saucepan and sizzle in a pinch of Madras curry powder, garam masala, equal parts ground cumin and smoked paprika, or a sprig of rosemary. Mushroom soup pairs well with thyme, crushed red pepper flakes, and bay leaves. And a can of tomato soup practically begs to be opened with a dollop of harissa or sautéed red curry paste, or a sprinkling of dried basil and oregano.
Soups with more chunks, such as lentil or black bean, tend to be thicker and, let’s face it, gloopy. While they’re heating, add more water or low-sodium stock to thin them out and lessen the strong salinity. (Don’t worry if you go overboard; just keep simmering until the liquid reduces to the consistency you want.) To add body and richness to almost any dish, such as Italian minestrone or chicken noodle soup, you can also whisk in some coconut milk, warmed cream, or crème fraîche.
Recipe developer and author Carla Lalli Music purées half of her hammy chickpea soup to achieve the best of both textures—creamy without dairy—and chunky at the same time. The same goes for your thicker canned soups with bean or vegetable bases.
Once heated, fill your blender with half of the contents of your saucepan, making sure to include some liquid. Blend that until it becomes smooth, similar to a bisque, and then return it to the saucepan by stirring. (Or use an immersion blender—no transferring necessary. ).
To enhance the flavor and creaminess of the base, consider adding a dollop of umami-rich miso, a scoop of nut or seed butter, leftover mashed potatoes, or steamed cauliflower before blending.
Campbells Chicken Noodle Soup Upgrade
This is an improved condensed can of soup with lots of flavor, extra chicken, some veggies, and a unami hit from the grated parmesan.
- Prep Time 10 minutes
- Cook Time 10 minutes
- Total Time 20 minutes
- Serves 2 people
- Calories 325 kcal
- 1 Can Campbells Condensed Chicken Noodle Soup
- 1 Carrot, finely slicked into disks
- 50g Grilled Chicken Breast, cut into 1cm cubes
- 1 Green Onion, diced
- 15g Fresh Grated Parmesan
- First, prepare your vegetables by dicing up the green onion and thinly slicing the carrot stick (I work quickly with a mandolin).
- Chop your precooked chicken breast into bite-sized pieces, or dice it into 1cm cubes.
- The condensed soup should be opened, added to a soup pot along with another can of cold water.
- Stirring occasionally, add the chicken and carrots to the soup and cook over medium heat.
- Midway through cooking, add the diced green onions. Stir occasionally.
- After bringing the soup to a gentle boil, turn off the heat.
- Spoon the soup into two bowls, top with 7-8g of grated Parmesan cheese, and serve.
