Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup
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Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup will keep you warm, satisfied, and your taste buds happy. Every spoonful of this delectable soup is filled with juicy chicken, veggies, egg noodles, and seasonings that will keep you coming back for more.
After you taste this chicken soup, you are going to realize you will want to keep it handy! It’s one that you are going to begin to crave and want all the time.
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Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup
This hearty chicken noodle soup is great any time of year, but especially during cold and flu season and the cold winter months. Chock full of hearty vegetables and egg noodles, this soup is sure to make anyone that is feeling under the weather feel much better. You can use store-bought egg noodles for this soup, but I highly recommend you try your hand at making some homemade egg noodles. The noodles soak up some of the broth and taste incredible.
This hearty full-flavored chicken noodle soup can be on your dinner table in under 90 minutes. Instead of simmering chicken bones, vegetables, and herbs for hours, the chicken is cut into small pieces and sautéed before being added to the vegetables. Cutting the chicken into small parts is the only hard step in this hearty chicken soup recipe.
Use a meat cleaver, a heavy-duty chef’s knife, or a pair of heavy-duty kitchen shears to cut the chicken.
Can I Use a Rotisserie Chicken and Broth Instead?
Yes, sometimes you can find an amazing deal on rotisserie chicken, so it’s worth adding to this amazing chicken noodle soup. Most rotisserie chickens are seasoned, so you will want to keep that in mind when you are picking one out. You want something that will complement the other flavors in the soup. I find that lemon pepper is typically a great option! It gives a little bit of zesty flavor, but it’s still super moist and allows the chicken itself to steal the show.
If you want a deeper flavor, you can swap the boiling water for boiling broth instead. It’s a great way to add some nutrients and enhance the flavor too. Keep in mind that broth tends to have a little bit of salty flavor, so you may need to adjust how much salt you add to the soup. Just add enough salt to taste, so it is what you are looking for.
What Vegetables Go in Chicken Noodle Soup?
I have chosen to add onions, carrots, and celery to my soup recipe. You can add in extra veggies if you want and I am sure it will be lovely. Some vegetables that would be great in this soup are diced bell peppers, potatoes, mushrooms, corn, zucchini, cabbage, and anything else you see fit. Go as wild as you want or keep it as simple as you want.
Ingredients
I am pretty much drooling as I sit and think about this incredible chicken noodle soup. I have broken down the ingredients for you so you can see what you need to throw together a batch or two.
- Vegetable oil
- Whole chicken (about 4 pounds), breast removed and split, remaining chicken cut into 2-inch pieces
- Medium onions, cut into medium dice
- Boiling water
- Table salt
- Bay leaves
- Large carrot, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
- Medium rib celery, sliced 1/4-inch thick
- Minced garlic
- Dried thyme
- Egg Noodles (homemade or store-bought)
- Minced fresh parsley leaves
- Ground black pepper
How to Make Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken noodle soup has been warming bellies and helping cure illness for years and years. Once you find the perfect recipe for your family, you are going to want to hang onto it to use time and time again. I feel like you have finally found your go-to recipe. Take a look:
First Step: Start off by heating oil in large Dutch Oven using medium-high heat. Once the oil shimmers and begins to smoke, place the chicken breast halves in the pan; sauté until it’s brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Remove the chicken pieces and set aside. Then add half of the chopped onions to the pot; sauté until colored and softened slightly for about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl then set aside. Place half of the chicken pieces to the pot and sauté until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer cooked chicken to bowl with onions. Then begin to sauté remaining chicken pieces. Return onions and chicken pieces (excluding breasts) to the pot. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until chicken releases its juices, which is about 20 minutes.
Second Step: Adjust the heat to high then add boiling water along with both breast halves. Mix in 2 teaspoons salt, and bay leaves then return to simmer. Cover and barely simmer until chicken breasts are cooked, and the broth is rich and flavorful, which is around 20 minutes.
Third Step: Remove chicken breasts from pot and set aside. When it’s cool enough to handle, then remove the skin from chicken breasts, then remove meat from bones and shred into bite-size pieces; discard skin and bone. Strain broth; discard bones. Skim fat from broth, making sure to reserve two tablespoons. (Broth and meat can be refrigerated and covered up to 2 days.)
Fourth Step: Return Dutch oven to medium-high heat. Then add the reserved chicken fat. Mix in the remaining onions, along with carrot, celery, and garlic, then sauté until softened, which takes about 5 minutes. Add thyme, along with broth and chicken; simmer until vegetables are tender and flavors meld, 10 to 15 minutes. Add noodles and cook until al dente. Adjust seasonings, stir in parsley, and serve hot.
Enjoy!
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Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds, breast removed and split, remaining chicken cut into 2-inch pieces
- 2 medium onions, cut into medium dice
- 2 quarts boiling water
- Table salt
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 1 medium rib celery, sliced 1/4-inch thick
- 1 tablespoon garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
- Ground black pepper
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Instructions
- Heat oil in large Dutch Oven over medium-high heat. When oil shimmers and starts to smoke, add chicken breast halves; sauté until brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Remove and set aside. Add half of chopped onions to the pot; sauté until colored and softened slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to medium bowl; set aside. Add half of chicken pieces to the pot and sauté until no longer pink, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to bowl with onions. Sauté remaining chicken pieces. Return onions and chicken pieces (excluding breasts) to the pot. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until chicken releases its juices, about 20 minutes.
- Increase heat to high; add boiling water along with both breast halves, 2 teaspoons salt, and bay leaves. Return to simmer, then cover and barely simmer until chicken breasts are cooked and broth is rich and flavorful, about 20 minutes.
- Remove chicken breasts from pot; set aside. When cool enough to handle, remove skin from breasts, then remove meat from bones and shred into bite-size pieces; discard skin and bone. Strain broth; discard bones. Skim fat from broth, reserving 2 tablespoons. (Broth and meat can be covered and refrigerated up to 2 days.)
- Return Dutch oven to medium-high heat. Add reserved chicken fat. Add remaining onions, along with carrot, celery, and garlic; sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add thyme, along with broth and chicken; simmer until vegetables are tender and flavors meld, 10 to 15 minutes. Add noodles and cook until al dente. Adjust seasonings, stir in parsley, and serve.
Notes
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If you love this hearty chicken noodle soup recipe, take a look at these other filling soups:
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup – Don’t do all the work, put your Instant Pot to good use instead! So yummy too.
- Best Ever Vegetable Beef Soup – If you love lots of yummy beef and veggies, then you should dig into a hot bowl of this soup.
- Instant Pot Smoked Sausage And Bean Soup – This is a soup that will keep you full and make your taste buds do a happy dance!
- The Best French Onion Soup – If you love french onion, this one is going to be a new favorite. It’s packed with lots of flavors and has cheese croutons that you can munch on too.
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