Your New Favorite (Creamy!) Chicken Noodle Soup
According to the noses of my two toddlers, we’ve just kicked off cold & flu season. While there are a number of home remedies I jump to as soon as the sniffles start, this recipe is one of my favorites (and the silver lining to any dreary day).
Why you should make it:
The chicken gets cooked right in the pot, so there’s no need to pick a rotisserie chicken or make sure you have leftover chicken to make it. A favorite technique of mine also used in my chicken and rice soup. Not too rich with a subtly creamy, velvety base. It’s not anywhere near as thick as my potato soup, so technically it doesn’t have to be cold weather food. Think of it like classic chicken noodle, just a splash more rich. Includes lots of fresh veggies, but you can always add more! I include a few suggestions below. Filling and protein packed, thanks to the chicken, but feel free to add some biscuits or crescent rolls on the side if you want to make it even heartier. One-pot dinner! This makes it a great weekday option, especially if you prep your veggies in advance.
Sniffles or not, this is truly just a great cold-weather option to keep on hand.
What You Need
Most of these ingredients are pretty standard, but let’s go over a few before we get into the recipe.
Chicken. Raw chicken breasts or chicken thighs may be used here, but I personally recommend a blend of both. Chicken breasts are a leaner/less fatty meat, while the thighs have a lot of flavor, so tossing a few into the pot helps the flavor immensely. Once they are cooked, we’ll remove them from the pot, shred them (an electric mixer works well for this!), and return them to the pot. Veggies. Including the classic mirepoix veggies, aka celery, carrots, and onions. Frozen corn or peas or even small diced potatoes would also be good here; you can add them when you remove the chicken from the pot. Chicken stock. I recommend using homemade chicken stock if you have it, but of course you can always use store-bought if that’s all you have on hand. Egg noodles. Use your favorite brand or make my homemade egg noodles. If you make your own, note that you will likely need to increase the amount of chicken broth/stock in the recipe (and perhaps the salt and pepper as well, always taste-test), since homemade egg noodles usually retain more flour than the store-bought version. Spices. Including black pepper, paprika, thyme, and parsley.
SAM’S TIP: The noodles will soak up the broth quite quickly, so if you have any leftover soup, you will likely need to add more broth (and salt and pepper) when reheating. Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
I started my favorite basic chicken noodle soup base (handed down to me from my mom) and gently enhanced it to make it subtly creamy. The end result is hearty and satisfying without being too heavy. Here’s how you do it (and in one pot, at that!): SAM’S TIP: Always, ALWAYS taste test before serving! Your soup shouldn’t taste at all bland, but if it does, it just needs some more salt. I can’t give a precise amount to add here, since different chicken broths have different sodium levels. So just start small and add more as needed until the soup tastes good to you. Give my creamy chicken pasta a try next! It’s a bit richer and creamier than this soup, but still so flavorful and comforting on a cold night. Enjoy! –Sam Let’s cook together! Subscribe to my newsletter and make sure to follow along on Instagram, YouTube and Facebook 💜
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