Whenever I get that scratchy throat- stuffy head feeling, I want two things: really expensive orange juice and homemade Feel Better Chicken Noodle Soup. I trek to the store in a ridiculous outfit and seek out a chicken. Usually, when I make soups it’s about finishing off the dregs of the veggie drawer but I’m a bit of a purist when I make Feel Better Chicken Noodle Soup. This is one of the few standards I make that truly happens the same way almost every time. I do have a few shortcuts I take now and then. I’ve shared them with you below. And occasionally I change up the pasta, or use up some leftover rice in the soup, rather than making new pasta, but the base stays the same, and I always make the homemade stock. That’s really important. I think it’s possible that it’s the act of making the soup itself that heals me more than eating the soup, though that’s good too. It’s probably the equivalent of an onion poultice or something, but standing over the sautéeing onions, celery, carrots and garlic works wonders. I also foist Feel Better Chicken Noodle Soup upon others when they’re unwell. Not that anyone has ever complained. Sadly, it’s that time of year. I haven’t been struck down yet, but I’m sure my days are numbered since I just had to make this for Marc. At least there’s plenty of Feel Better Chicken Noodle Soup in the freezer for when a trek to the store in pjs isn’t happening; it makes eight quarts after all.
- 2 cups onion, diced
- 2 cups celery, diced
- 2 cups carrots, large dice (so they don’t break down as fast)
- 4 pound whole chicken*
- egg noodles- I like extra wide
- parsley
- thyme
- whole peppercorns
- salt
- olive oil
- Preheat the oven to 400° F.
- Remove the chicken parts from its cavity and reserve for the stock.
- Place the chicken in a baking dish.
- Rub the chicken down liberally with salt, pepper, and olive oil (1 tablespoon of each).
- Bake for 50 – 60 minutes or until the chicken registers 160° F in the thick part of the breast.
- Let cool.
- Meanwhile, sauté the vegetables in a little olive oil over medium low heat until just starting to tenderize.
- Add a cup of white wine and allow it to cook until wine is absorbed (optional).
- Salt and pepper.
- Pull chicken meat from bone (reserve bones, skin, etc.) once it's cool enough that you can handle it.
- Rough chop it.
- You need 2 cups for the soup and can use the rest for dinner, Ladies Lunching Chicken Salad, buffalo chicken dip, etc.
- Place skin, bones, etc. in a large stockpot and cover with water. Add the chicken organs, scraps from the vegetables, a bayleaf or two, salt (a tablespoon or so), peppercorns, any fresh herbs you have on hand (I like parsley, oregano and thyme), 5ish garlic cloves and bring to a boil.
- Reduce temperature to simmer and let cook 15 minutes or as long as you like.
- Strain the stock to remove the skin and bones.
- Add vegetables and chopped chicken to the stock.
- Here's where you need to make a strategic decision about adding the noodles. How many and when to add them? How much is fairly simple: add about 1 cup of noodles per 2 cups of soup but don’t do it just yet! I like to store the soup in 4 cup containers and add the noodles to only the soup I’m eating in that meal. This keeps the noodles from absorbing all the stock, bloating into a disgusting texture, and breaking down into a gooey mess. But that’s just me. You can add them all now. Really. No judgment.
- So at this point, I recommend packaging all of the soup except what you're going to eat, as is, without noodles.
- Then, add the 1 cup dry, uncooked noodles per 2 cups of soup directly to the soup that you are planning on eating and follow your noodle package directions.
- The extra wide egg noodles I like need about 5 minutes (again, that's dry noodles directly in the soup).
- Thrifty alteration:
- Short on time, long on sick? Buy a rotisserie chicken at the Grocery store. Strip the meat away and reserve. Follow the Stock steps with the skin and bones from the grocery store chicken.
- *You’ll only need two cups of meat, but you should have a roast chicken dinner the night you’re making the soup, or freeze the extra, or make chicken salad. It’s too much work to not bother roasting a biggish bird.
Do you add the noodles after you cook them or cook them in the soup? I have typically cooked them first and then added to the soup at the last minute , curious if you can cook them in the soup and not let them get too mushy.
Sorry to be unclear. I heat the soup to medium high and then add the noodles right to the soup while they’re still dry and uncooked. 3 minutes while it’s almost boiling covered, then remove from heat and let it sit for 3 more does the trick. You could also do as you mention and pre-cook the noodles in a large quantity. I’d do a minute or two less than the package recommends and store them in a ziploc bag in the refrigerator. Then heat the soup and add the noodles just to warm them for a minute before serving. That method adds and extra step and they absorb water instead of broth so I don’t think they taste quite as good. But both methods work well.
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Major thankies for the article.Thanks Again. Much obliged.
I made this soup right after you posted because we needed it. Not only was the timing perfect, so was the wonderful homemade soup. Love it!
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