Don’t you just love cold weather, especially when you can curl up with a good book while a pot of soup slowly cooks on the stove? I certainly do! When I was younger, my mom would make us homemade soups and stews during the colder months. Our combined favorite was my mom’s delicious beef stew! One of my absolute personal favorites, though, was when we had homemade chicken noodle soup.
I have absolutely nothing against chicken noodle soup from the can, box, or any other quick options out there, but there is seriously nothing like a bowl of the homemade version. It warms your whole soul. When we were really lucky, my mom even made chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles… oh, my gosh… so yummy!
Over my years of trying to perfect my own chicken noodle soup recipe, I have learned that it can be made on an average weeknight because it only requires simple ingredients which can be prepared ahead of time (another huge time saver!)! My recipe does not have noodles made from scratch, but I use ones that I feel are the next best thing. (You can substitute your own noodles in this recipe, though!) I personally love the homestyle noodles I find in the pasta section of the local grocery store, which can also conveniently be found on Amazon if you can’t find them in your area. Anyway, they cook up to a very similar texture and taste as homemade noodles, and they taste amazing in this soup recipe!
The first step is to make sure you have cooked chicken ready to go. For me, I simply use the shredded chicken I make when I meal prep. I dice it up a bit, so it is more traditional for soup, but it can be left in its shredded form.
Next, I use fresh veggies – carrots, celery, and onion. You can cut up all the veggies beforehand (the day or morning before) and have them ready in the fridge for when you will make the soup. This cuts down on the prep time dramatically! I actually have diced large batches of carrots and celery and placed them in the freezer for future use, which works perfectly for this recipe too! If those options don’t work for you, you can always use frozen carrots, peas, etc. found in the freezer section of the grocery store. However, I would still recommend using fresh onion!
After you have all the ingredients together, you have very little to do other than sautéing onions, combining everything else, and stirring occasionally. Nice, right?! I tend to be a little noodle-heavy, so feel free to adjust that for your own personal preferences. (The scrumptious noodles are one of my and my toddlers’ favorite parts!) Serve this soup with a warm slice of bread or crackers, and you have a perfect meal for a cold, winter day!
Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup finely diced onion
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 32 oz box chicken stock
- 2 cups water
- 1 chicken bouillon cube
- ¾ cup celery, chopped
- ¾ cup carrots, chopped
- 2 cups chicken, cooked and diced
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp dried parsley
- ½ tsp bouquet garni
- ¼ tsp pepper
- ¾ cup dried homestyle noodles
Instructions
- Saute the onion and butter in a large pot on the stove over medium heat until the onions become translucent and slightly golden.
- Stir in the flour and allow the mixture to cook for another minute or two. Stir frequently.
- Add the chicken stock and stir well, making sure any clumps are flour are completely blended in.
- Add all the remaining ingredients except the noodles, and stir well. Turn the heat up to medium-high, or even high, and allow it to come to a boil. Stir frequently and watch it carefully so it does not boil over.
- Stir in the dried noodles and allow the soup to come to a boil again.
- Turn the heat down to low or medium-low to achieve a steady simmer and allow the soup to cook for at least 15 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Check on the soup after 15 to 20 minutes, carefully checking the noodles and tasting for any additional spices.
- Add any additional salt, etc. to taste and allow the soup to finish cooking until the noodles are completely tender – about 5 to 10 more minutes.
- Enjoy!
