This homemade chicken noodle soup is flavored with fresh herbs, spices, splash of lemon, and nourishing chicken stock. It’s what your heart craves on a cold day or when you’re feeling under the weather.
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Tips:
I love to brine several whole chickens at a time and then debone them after dinner and freeze what we don’t eat as a family. I freeze it in freezer bags and use later for making this soup or chicken enchiladas. Take the hassle out of meal planning in the coming weeks.
I ALWAY save the chicken carcasses. They are money. Saving you money from buying broth at the store and the flavor is superior to store-bought. Once I started making my own, I never buy it from the store.
How to Make Chicken Stock:
I throw two carcasses in the instant pot, add a quartered onion, several garlic cloves, a couple stalks of celery, two or three carrots, several pinches of good quality sea salt (Redmond’s or Jacobson are two of my favorite), a couple teaspoons of peppercorns, and then pour in plenty of filtered water until the fill line is reached. I set the instant pot on the soup setting for about two hours and allow it to slow release once it’s finished. Once it cools, I use what I need for making soup and freeze the rest in glass mason jars. Just make sure the jars are cooled in the refrigerator fist, or you will end up with cracked jars and broth that needs to be tossed. Store bought works just fine as well. Make sure it's a good quality brand like Kettle and Fire without the extra unnecessary ingredients.
FAQ:
Can I freeze this soup?
Yes, of course. I like to freeze mine in mason jars and it will last several months in the freezer.
Can I use another meat instead of chicken?
Yes! Try pork sausage. I would sauté it prior to sautéing vegetables. Once the meat is browned, remove it from the pot until the vegetables have cooked and are softened.
Another option would be substituting leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Just add it to the pot and let it simmer away.
What can I substitute for noodles?
I always freeze extra leftover rice and save it for tossing into soup or on a night I forgot to soak my rice ahead of time (more on the health benefits of rice soaking at a later date). I have also used pre cooked what bulgar in my soup.
Prep Ahead:
Like I mentioned above, I like using leftover chicken that I freeze from roasting whole chickens. Sometimes I will roast chicken thighs on a sheet pan with a little avocado oil, salt, and pepper. I cut it into chunks or shred it into the soup once the broth has been added. In this recipe I added whole chicken thighs that were uncooked to the soup to allow as much hands off time and the least amount of prep time as possible.
If you want to make your own broth (which I highly encourage), make it the night before. I throw everything into the instant pot right before going to bed and it changes to the keep warm setting until I am up early the next morning.
If you don’t have a food processor, get one! It’s a game changer for cutting down on food prep. I throw all the vegetables in mine and then pulse it into small pieces. Another option would be to use the slicing disc for the carrots and celery and the chopping blade for the onion. My kids prefer seeing small pieces of vegetables instead of larger slices so that’s the route I take when prepping this meal.
Let’s Make Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup:
As I mentioned above, purchase a food processor and chop the vegetables in seconds instead of hand cutting with a knife.
Heat a stock pot over medium heat. Add about one tablespoon of avocado oil or unsalted butter to the stock pot. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add all of the vegetables to the pot. Stir everything together. Stirring every couple of minutes.
Cook the vegetables for approximately 5-7 minutes until they begin to soften. The vegetables don’t need to be cooked all the way as they will simmer in the broth and finish cooking through.
Next, add minced garlic, Italian seasoning, ground fennel, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Stir well and sauté for about two minutes.
Add the chicken stock to the pot of vegetables and gently place the uncooked chicken thighs in the pot as well. Add about ½ of a cup of finely chopped parsley and ¼ cup finely chopped dill. Bring to a simmer (this took about 20 minutes on a gas stove over medium heat for me). Lower the heat and allow the soup to simmer for about 30 minutes covered with a lid.
While the soup is simmering, cook some smaller noodles in a medium sized saucepan until they are al dente. Drain, rinse under cold water, and set aside.
After 30 minutes, uncover the soup pot. Remove the cooked chicken thighs from the pot with tongs. Shred the chicken with forks or chop into bite sized pieces. I remove any pieces of fat if using chicken thighs as well. Add the shredded or chopped meat back into the pot, along with the cooked pasta.
Lastly, serve into bowls and add additional chopped parsley or dill to the top of the soup. Enjoy!
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Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon avocado oil or butter
- 1 large yellow onion chopped of cut into quarters
- 3 celery stalks cut into 3 inch pieces or thinly sliced
- 6 medium carrots peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon ground fennel
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2-3 teaspoons sea salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- 9 cups chicken stock
- 9 uncooked whole chicken thighs*
- ½ cup finely chopped parsley
- ¼ finely chopped dill*
- 8 oz cooked al dente small pasta of choice
- 2-3 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- First, add quartered onion, 3 inch pieces of celery stalks, and carrots cut into 2 inch pieces to a food processor. Pulse until the vegetables are bite size pieces.
- Add 1 tablespoon avocado oil to a large stock pot. Once shimmering add chopped or sliced vegetables and mix. Sauté for 5-7 minutes until softened.
- Add minced garlic, Italian seasoning, ground fennel, ground turmeric, sea salt, and pepper to the vegetables and sauté for two minutes.
- Next, add the chicken stock, chicken thighs, parley, and dill to the stock pot. Bring to a simmer and cover for about 30 minutes.
- Remove the cooked chicken and shred with forks or chop into bite size pieces with a knife. Add back to the pot along with cooked pasta and fresh lemon juice.
- Serve in bowls adding additional fresh herbs (parsley or dill) if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
*A whole cooked chicken can be used, a mix of cooked chicken thighs and breasts, or whatever you have on hand will work.
*When cutting fresh dill do not chop the stem and add to the soup. The taste of the stems are overpowering and will take over the other flavors in the soup.
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