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How To Make Chicken Noodle Soup

posted in Soups, Salads, Sides and Sauces by Kathy Maister
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There are lots of different things you can make for dinner with leftover (cooked) chicken. My favorite, particularly on a cold night, is a hot bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup. This is one of those soups for which you can find really complicated, time-consuming recipes or – just use this quick version for beginners!

All of the ingredients you will need for this recipe are pretty standard food items:

  • 2 teaspoons of butter
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 stalk of celery
  • 4-6 cups of chicken broth
  • 1 cup of noodles
  • 1 1/2 cups of chicken, cooked and shredded
  • Salt and Pepper, to taste

Broth is the strained liquid left from cooking vegetables, meat, or fish in water. It is often used as a synonym for bullion.

Stock is basically the same thing but cooked more slowly and has a more intense flavor than broth.

Bullion cubes or granules are compressed stock that needs to be dissolved before using.

For the broth, I’m using a product called “Better than Bullion.” It needs to get dissolved in hot water before adding it to the soup. A can or box of chicken broth or bullion cubes or granules could be used here as well.

My grocery store sometimes has what they call a “Soup Green Mix”. They bundle together everything you might need to make soup.

This mix included a turnip, an onion, a potato, 3 stalks of celery, 1 GIANT carrot, 1 leek, 1 parsnip, some dill and some parsley.

If you like all the vegetables in one of these “starter packs”, great! But I prefer to pick out my own vegetables.

To make startcooking.com’s Chicken Noodle Soup, start by chopping the onion, and slicing the carrot and celery.

Melt the butter in a big pot, on medium-high heat, and add the onions, carrots and celery.

Cook these three vegetables until lightly browned – about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken broth and bring the pot to a boil.

Turn the soup down to simmer.

Cover the pot and let the soup cook for about 10-15 minutes.

While the soup is cooking, chop the parsley and shred the chicken by just pulling it apart with your fingers. You could cut it into chunks but shredding it gives the soup a nice homemade texture.

(You can buy a roasted chicken at the grocery store or roast one yourself. Click here to review how to carve a chicken.)

Add the noodles to the pot and simmer the soup, uncovered, until the noodles are tender. The amount of time will depend on what size noodle you added to the soup. Check the label on the noodle package for cooking times.

Taste the soup to see if it needs any salt and pepper. (Different chicken broth brands have different levels of salt in them, so a taste test is essential to determine how much salt your soup needs.)

Add the shredded chicken and simmer until chicken is warm.

Mix the parsley in the soup or use it to garnish the top.

Dinner’s ready!

P.S.: If you’re a soup lover, you’ll probably enjoy our French onion soup recipe too!

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20 Comments

Trish Maher said:

Graspr is also thrilled to have you as a Producer on our site. Your content is great and has been a meaningful addition to our instructional cooking videos. Thank you for contributing to our success!

katzes said:

if it is good as it looks you have some great soup

Kathy Maister said:

Trish, thanks! The pleasure is all mine!

Katzes, it really was delicious :)

bella said:

So glad I found this website. It helps me a lot. Keep up the good work and keep posting, Kathy!

Kathy Maister said:

Thanks Bella, I’ll do my best!

Adam said:

Wow, I made this soup tonight, and it was delicious! Thanks for putting this recipe.

Kathy Maister said:

That’s great Adam! You might want to have a look at some of the other soup recipes in the index! Cheers!

flac0 said:

Hey Kathy, just stumbled on your site and this place rocks!!! Looking forward to cooking up some of this soup for my sick girlfriend tonight..

Dennis said:

Thanks, I found this very useful but when do you add the chicken. You say shred the chicken, but there is nothing about adding to the mix.

Christina said:

OMG!! I made this during the Bear’s game this Sunday and it was a HUGE success with my friends and boyfriend! I love this website! There are SO many soups I want to try! Next up: French Onion!

Also, would you look into a hearty beer and cheese soup? I have been craving it!

Love this site :D

Christina

Kathy Maister said:

Good catch Dennis!

Add the chicken just after the noodles are cooked and just heat the soup until the chicken is warm. (The full directions are actually in the printable recipe card!)

Christina a hearty Beer and Cheese soups sounds perfect on a cold winter’s day. I will start testing some recipes to find the perfect one for everyone here at startcooking.com!

Thanks for the suggestion!

Joy said:

I make chicken soup once in a while because I love a nice bowl of hot soup and my boyfriend likes when I make it. When I make it, I usually use bullion cubes and I add potatoes as well. I am going to try this recipe, using the chicken broth.

Kathy Maister said:

Potatoes instead of noodles sounds great!

(When adding potatoes instead of noodles, be sure to buy the “waxy” type of spuds so they will hold their shape in the soup.)

Both broth from a can or reconstituted from a cube work well in this recipe. Different brands do have different levels of salt. Try to buy it un-salted and then you can add as much or as little salt as you like.

Roy said:

Just wondering what kind of noodles you use in your recipe? I do most of the cooking at home. I have two young kids. You have been a great help to me in the kitchen. Thanks.

startcooking said:

Hi Roy,
I use any noodles that happen to be in the cupboard!

Usually kids like small noodles that will fit on a spoon – like elbow macaroni.

Cheers!
Kathy

faye said:

umm..im happy i like this soup so much, its perfect combination, simple and im sure my fam will love it too.

Josephine said:

I tryed it, it is awesome!!

Keep it up Kathy!

Katrin said:

I love chicken noodle soup. When i need comforting, I play some christian music and have soup. I’ve been using the canned ones but I want to try your recipe. Thanks!

startcooking said:

Making your own soup is so much more satisfying than opening a can. I often buy an already roasted chicken at the grocery store rather than roasting it myself. It is great for soup and chicken salad!

lesia said:

cool i like it a lot mmmmm yum

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