Once the weather starts to cool down, I begin to crave a delicious, comforting bowl of chicken noodle soup. It’s the ideal dish for large batch cooking or meal prepping.
Tips
- In my opinion, it’s worth the extra effort to simmer the chicken for two hours to create a homemade broth. However, if you’re short for time, you can instead pour in eight cups of chicken broth made using chicken bouillon rather than eight cups of water, and reduce the simmering time to 30 minutes.
- After cooking the macaroni directly in the soup, it will expand and absorb the chicken broth. I prefer my pasta on the softer side, so I usually add in a bit of water to loosen up the soup when heating leftovers. If you prefer more al dente pasta, I suggest cooking and storing the pasta separately, and then adding in a portion of the pasta when eating the soup.
- You can add more vegetables to this soup! I stuck with the classic carrots, but in the past, I’ve added in broccoli, spinach, or green onions. Fresh or frozen is fine.
- When heating up any leftovers, I recommend adding in additional salt and black pepper as the broth can sometimes lose some of its flavour due to the broth absorption from the pasta.
- Want a bit of a kick? Add in some chili flakes or a squirt of sriracha to your soup!
Chicken Noodle Soup
Nothing is more comforting on a cold day than a bowl of chicken noodle soup. It’s a bit of a labour of love to make, but so worth it in the end.
Servings: 6 servings
Equipment
- Dutch oven or large pot
- Cutting board
- Chef’s knife
- Vegetable peeler
- Wooden spoon
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 4 chicken legs1
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 2 carrots diced
- ½ cup macaroni2
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Mince the garlic cloves. Peel and dice the yellow onion and carrots. Set aside the diced carrots until later.
- Heat a dutch oven or a large pot with olive oil over medium heat. Once heated, add in the minced garlic and diced onion. Stir constantly for five minutes to prevent burning until onions are softened and translucent.
- Add in the chicken drumsticks and then pour in eight cups of water. Stir to dissolve brown bits at the bottom of the dutch oven.
- Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer. Simmer on low heat for two hours.
- After two hours, the broth should be a deep golden colour and the chicken will be cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pot, shred, and return to the pot. Discard the bones.
- Add in the diced carrots and the macaroni. Simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the macaroni is cooked through, around six minutes.
- Once the macaroni is cooked, stir in the salt and black pepper. Taste and adjust to your liking.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- I use chicken drumsticks in this recipe because they are a cheaper option and will stay juicy while cooking for a long period of time. However, you can also use other cuts of chicken including bone-in or boneless chicken thighs or chicken breast. A great timesaving option would be to use rotisserie chicken!
- You can use any small-shaped pasta such as baby shells or ditalini. Ensure to adjust the cooking time for the pasta based on package directions.
Serving Suggestions
Pair this chicken noodle soup with a classic side of crackers, toast, or garlic bread—perfect for dipping!