How to make chicken noodle soup
It’s very easy to prepare chicken noodle soup by following these steps:
- Sauté: In a big pot over medium-high heat, preheat a little olive oil. When the onion begins to turn translucent, add the diced onion and sauté it. Then add the chicken drumsticks and sauté until they brown.
- Simmer: Now add all vegetables, chicken broth, and bay leaves. After covering the pot and bringing it to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer the soup for 20 minutes.
- After the noodles are cooked, remove the chicken drumsticks and toss them with the shredded chicken. Remove the meat from the bones and skin as the noodles cook. Add the chicken back to the soup. Cook until the noodles are done.
- Remove the bay leaves, add a little salt and pepper, and some parsley to the dish before serving. Enjoy!.
Before attempting this recipe at home, I suggest reading through these brief notes.
- Always use chicken drumsticks to make chicken noodle soup. As was previously mentioned, the flavor of the broth depends on the bones and skin. Therefore, I would strongly advise choosing chicken thighs or drumsticks rather than skinless, boneless breasts.
- Don’t omit any of the vegetables. You need every vegetable to make a delicious chicken noodle soup. So be sure to not skip any of them.
- Add more broth if needed. The amount of broth needed may vary depending on the type of noodles you use. Just add more broth when you feel like it’s necessary. It won’t significantly thin the flavor, so don’t worry about it.
How to make this chicken soup with noodles:
As I stated at the beginning, this was a last-minute recipe that I quickly put together. Almost didn’t want to share it, but a lot of my followers asked me to. This doesn’t have to be a complicated supper; in fact, I think you’ll be surprised at how little work it requires.
- Drumsticks: You can also use leg quarters or skin-on, bone-in thighs.
- I chopped the onion, celery, and carrots roughly; don’t worry about chopping them precisely—they will simmer in the broth for a while!
- Thyme: You can substitute a few shakes of dry thyme for the few fresh sprigs I used.
- Chicken broth: I had some leftover chicken broth from Thanksgiving that I didn’t use. I usually just use water to make soup, so you don’t necessarily need to buy broth. Just use water and add a little extra salt.
- Lemon and dill: To add some brightness to the soup, I garnish it with freshly chopped dill and lemon juice. If you don’t have dill, you can add some freshly minced parsley. Finishing with just lemon juice is totally fine, too. It’s just that with rich broths, I enjoy the final burst of acidity.
- Noodles: Broad egg noodles work just fine, but I used fine ones. In the event that you don’t have noodles, you can simply peel, chop, and add a few potatoes to the soup. It’ll save you the additional pot, too!.
- Step 1: Brown the drumsticks on all sides by frying them in a small amount of olive oil.
- Step 2: You could now take the chicken out of the pot, but since this recipe is all about minimalism, just toss the celery, onion, and carrots on top of the chicken. Add the thyme sprigs on top.
- Step 3: Pour in two cups of water and four cups of chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then quickly simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, or until they are 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Continue to simmer the liquid until it reduces by almost half, but do not bring it to a boil. It might be necessary for you to be slightly above low heat. Whenever the liquid evaporates too quickly, adjust the heat. Naturally, simmer on low heat and don’t worry about cooking off half the liquid if you want more broth.
- Step 4: Boil up the noodles. Drain and rinse them.
- Step 5: Remove the chicken from the pot and stir into the broth with the noodles, dill, and lemon juice. When everything is ready to serve, return the chicken and serve it directly from the pot or into a tureen.
If you make the recipe, please let me know how it turned out by leaving a comment below! I really hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Chicken Noodle Soup Ingredients
Ingredients needed to make this chicken noodle soup are as follows:
- Chicken drumsticks: Cooking the chicken with bones and skin adds so much more flavor to the broth, so I highly recommend using chicken drumsticks instead of boneless, skinless chicken breasts! I tried making this soup with a variety of chicken parts, but the best are definitely the drumsticks. Drumsticks are the best option because chicken thighs aren’t as meaty and work just as well.
- Vegetables: To make a very aromatic chicken noodle soup, you’ll need yellow onions, yellow potatoes, carrots, celery, and leek. As the vegetables are crucial to the broth’s flavor, please make sure not to omit any of them. Additionally, they are nutrient-dense, which is a bonus.
- To maximize the flavor of the soup, it is highly recommended to use either chicken or vegetable broth, or a combination of both. Although broth tastes much better than water, you can still use it in the soup.
- Another essential ingredient for the best chicken noodle soup is bay leaves, which add a wonderful aroma and are essential to the soup’s flavor.
- Egg noodles: Egg noodles are perfect for making this soup. Feel free to substitute a different kind of noodle if you’d like.
- Parsley: While not strictly necessary, parsley enhances the flavor of the chicken noodle soup. Therefore, I suggest chopping some fresh parsley and adding it to the soup as a garnish at the very end.
