Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Don’t Add All the Noodles If You Plan on Leftovers. When you add all the noodles at once, the leftovers become mushy, depressing, and bloated in the refrigerator or freezer. If you intend to consume the entire pot of soup at once, then don’t add all of the noodles. If not, divide the noodles into bowls and pour the soup on top.
- Scrape Up Any Browned Bits. Once the vegetables are cooked, use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. This will give your homemade chicken noodle soup some additional flavor.
- Avoid Adding Too Many Veggies. I’m usually on Team Add-All-the-Veggies, but this time I’m not. I love chicken noodle soup. If you add too many vegetables, the broth will become too sweet and lose its desired savory flavor. If you must include additional vegetables, I advise going with a green like spinach or kale rather than corn, peas, sweet potatoes, or more onions and carrots.
- Don’t Overcook the Chicken. Make sure the chicken is cooked only long enough to reach a safe temperature—not longer. An extended cooking time will result in chewy, rubbery chicken.
- Add a Parmesan Rind. Yes, the same trick that adds extra flavor to Minestrone Soup and Kale Soup also works when you make homemade chicken noodle soup! A Parmesan rind adds umami flavor and even slightly thickens the broth. Just watch how much salt you add to the recipe—a Parm rind also increases the salinity of the broth.
Video: Making Quick Chicken Noodle Soup
Unlike my Baba, I don’t often prepare large quantities of chicken noodle soup over low heat these days. Instead, I usually make up a quicker version of ourselves when one of us is ill or in need of comfort.
Additionally, you must chop the chicken into tiny pieces before adding it to the broth if you want this soup to finish so quickly. The small pieces of chicken cook faster. Additionally, you should check that your noodles are cooking quickly.
Consequently, to get things going quickly, heat your chicken stock for six minutes in a microwave-safe bowl. You’ll start on the stove while the broth heats up. As soon as the carrots are ready, put them in a big pot with butter and oil.
Chop the onion and add to the pot. Add the minced garlic and seasonings and mix them in. Your hot chicken broth should be beeping in your microwave by now. Carefully pour the broth into your pot on the stovetop. Put the lid on and increase the stove to high.
Once the broth is boiling, chop your chicken into small pieces and add it. After reducing to a simmer, cook the chicken through. Re-increase the heat, stir in the noodles, and boil. We need something to cook quickly, so I grabbed some egg noodles that only need three minutes to cook.
You can take out the bay leaf and serve the noodles when they are al dente. You can make this chicken noodle soup recipe quickly, even if you’re feeling under the weather.
Meal Prep Tip
Chop the ingredients for the mirepoix a day in advance and keep them chilled until you’re ready to cook to reduce prep time.
