What to Do With Leftover Chicken Noodle Soup

April 02, 2022 Post a Comment

My favorite (and I think the all-time) chicken noodle soup! No food blog would exist complete without a recipe for chicken noodle soup. Our version is healthy, satisfying, and tastes incredible. Bonus, you can make this soup from scratch in under 40 minutes! Jump to the Homemade Craven Noodle Soup Recipe

This Chicken Noodle Soup Is Easy

Every time I outset to think about this soup, I want to brand information technology. Classic chicken noodle soup is pure comfort food. Thankfully, our recipe is so easy you can even make it tonight! Chicken noodle soup is i of the easiest soups to make. The ingredients are uncomplicated and inexpensive. Y'all are looking at about 40 minutes from start to terminate for this soup. Not too bad, particularly when twenty minutes of that time is hands-off!

For a creamier soup, take a await at our favorite flossy chicken noodle soup recipe (it's inspired by this one).

How to Make the Best Chicken Noodle Soup

We've made craven soup for years and take tried it various means. We've even started from a whole craven before.

I'll accept a bowl of satisfying craven soup whatsoever day, but this version is the 1 we circle back to. It's straight-forward and quick to make.

It's important to apply skilful-quality craven broth. While I wish nosotros had homemade craven broth in our freezer all the time, we don't. When reaching for store-bought broth, we become for low-sodium. We also wait for a store-bought broth that's darker in color (usually ways more flavor) and since I know information technology usually has more of a backbone, I like to buy boxed bone broth (we use homemade bone broth sometimes, too).

In case you are wondering, we use Pacific Foods Os Broth and too like the stock sold at Trader Joe's.

Don't exist afraid to season your soup. When it comes to soups, flavour early and bank check the seasoning often. Earlier we add the chicken thighs to the soup, nosotros ever check the seasoning level of the broth. If the flavor doesn't popular, add a bit more salt.

Some other option is to use fish sauce. It may seem odd, but whenever we're tasting something and it'southward merely missing that something something, a small nuance of fish sauce fixes it. Fish sauce is a major ingredient in our Pho soup recipe.

For the best chicken soup, I use chicken thighs. Craven soup is better when made with darker meat. Chicken thighs become tender and soft in the soup — similar to how the craven turns out in our recipe for shredded chicken. Chicken chest doesn't tenderize and stays business firm in the soup. You can use both cuts of craven, merely thighs will produce ameliorate soup.

Herbs are a must in this soup — we add thyme and bay leaves at the get-go, which help to add a herby backbone to the broth. For a pop freshness, stir in a handful of chopped fresh parsley at the end. Other herbs volition work, besides. Instead of (or in add-on to) the thyme and bay leaves, try rosemary. For the herbs at the end, try fresh chives for a mild onion flavor.

Every bit for the noodles, you can use whatever you love. We dear the lightness of egg noodles, but you can throw just about whatever pasta into the pot. For another recipe that uses egg noodles, see our easy parmesan buttered noodles.

Brand Ahead and Storing Tips

The soup can be fabricated and refrigerated for three to 4 days and frozen for up to 3 months.

If you are not planning on enjoying the soup direct away or plan to freeze it, you might desire to agree off on adding the noodles. As the soup sits, the noodles soak up the broth. You lot tin deal with this in two ways:

When reheating the soup, add a flake more goop/stock to the pot. I've even been known to add a splash of plain h2o to the soup when reheating. Equally long as you don't need to add together a lot, it won't thin the season of the soup as well much.

When making the soup ahead of time, for the freshest, least soggy noodles, leave the noodles out then air-condition or freeze the soup. When you are ready to reheat, bring the soup to a low simmer and add dried noodles. Melt until they are washed and relish.

Quick Recap

Let'southward recap, for the best chicken noodle soup from scratch, keep the following in mind:

Apply high-quality stock/broth
Season the soup early on and check information technology often
Chicken thighs brand a better soup and are far more tender than chicken breast
Add together extra flavor with herbs, both at the beginning and at the end

Serving chicken noodle soup — Craven thighs brand a better chicken noodle soup and are far more tender than chicken breast.

What Can I Add to Soup for More Flavor

Our recipe sticks to classic ingredients and flavors, but that doesn't mean there aren't things you can add to make it your own:

For a creamy chicken noodle soup, add 2 to 4 tablespoons of heavy cream or half-and-half. We do this when making our creamy craven soup.

Add three to four lemon slices for a lemon chicken soup — similar to this Lemony Chicken and Vegetable Soup.

Add three or four slices of lime, swap the parsley for fresh cilantro, and then add diced tomatoes and cubed avocado for Mexican-fashion craven soup. Y'all tin can even add diced corn tortillas as we practise for this tortilla chicken soup.

Add together a teaspoon of toasted sesame oil and a few dashes of fish sauce for an ultra-satisfying, umami-packed soup.

Swirl in fresh spinach or kale at the end of cooking for more of a vegetable-heavy soup.

Swap the noodles for potatoes, winter squash, rice, quinoa or grains. Add together hearty veggies (like potatoes) to the pot along with the onions and carrots. When information technology comes to rice and grains, add them already cooked. (Take a look at our sausage and tater soup or our homemade creamy potato soup for some inspiration)

Swap the noodles for tortellini — I beloved using cheese-filled pasta when making this veggie tortellini soup.

Relieve Time and Use Rotisserie Chicken or Leftover Chicken

For the easiest chicken noodle soup, if you lot take a rotisserie or leftover craven, instead of calculation chicken thighs to the pot, add two to three cups of shredded or diced cooked chicken to the soup at the same time as adding the dried noodles.

Since in that location is no need to melt the chicken thighs anymore, reduce the simmer time by 10 minutes. Nosotros utilise this method whenever we've roasted a whole craven the dark before.

For fifty-fifty more tips, y'all tin can also accept a read through our commodity for How to Brand the Best Leftover Chicken Soup.

What Our Readers Are Saying

If you don't believe that our recipe helps you achieve amazing chicken noodle soup at domicile, accept a look at what our readers are proverb about the recipe! More reviews are in the comments department below.

"My showtime fourth dimension ever making chicken noodle soup and it came out amazing!!" – Sharon

"My new go to recipe for Chicken Noodle Soup! I made this while visiting family unit a few weeks ago. Half-dozen adults and four kids, anybody LOVED it…. twenty thumbs upward!" – Haley

"This soup is so flavorful! Reminds Me of great chicken noodle soups y'all can only get at a NYC deli. This combination of herbs is what I have been missing in my recipes." – Amanda

Recipe updated, originally posted in 2018. Since posting this, nosotros have tweaked the recipe to exist more than clear and added a quick recipe video. – Adam and Joanne

Ultra-Satisfying Chicken Noodle Soup

PREP 5mins
Melt 35mins
Full 40mins

This quicker version of homemade chicken noodle soup skips cooking a whole craven and calls on boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead. The soup withal tastes incredible, satisfying, and classic. The significantly reduced melt time makes this craven soup from scratch possible on a weeknight. We highly recommend chicken thighs for this because of their flavor and soft texture when cooked, but if you lot prefer them, chicken breasts will work.

Makes 6 servings

Watch Us Make the Recipe

You Will Need

2 tablespoons butter, chicken fatty or olive oil

i big onion, chopped

2 large carrots, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped (optional)

Heaped tablespoon minced garlic (4 cloves)

2 bay leaves

iii sprigs fresh thyme or use ane/2 teaspoon dried thyme

one pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs (iv or 5 thighs)

8 cups chicken stock or broth, low sodium or use homemade stock

five ounces egg noodles (or pasta of selection)

Salt and pepper, to taste

1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

Water or more stock, equally needed

Directions

Melt butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium estrus. Add the onions, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring every few minutes until the vegetables begin to soften; 5 to six minutes.

Stir in the garlic, bay leaves, and thyme. Cook, while stirring the garlic around the pan, for about 1 minute.

Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a low simmer. Taste the soup then adjust the seasoning with table salt and pepper. Depending on the stock used, yous might need to add together one or more teaspoons of salt.

Submerge the craven thighs into the soup so that the broth covers them. Bring the soup dorsum to a low simmer then partially cover the pot with a lid and melt, stirring a few times until the chicken thighs are cooked through; about twenty minutes.

If, during this fourth dimension, the broth seems low, add a splash more stock or a flake of water. Turn the heat to medium-low.

Transfer the cooked craven to a plate. Stir the noodles into the soup and cook until done, 6 to x minutes depending on the type of noodles used.

While the noodles cook, shred the chicken into strips or die into cubes. Slide the chicken dorsum into the pot and and then gustatory modality the soup once more for seasoning. Adjust with more common salt and pepper, as needed. Stir in the parsley and serve.

Adam and Joanne'south Tips

Refrigerating Chicken Noodle Soup: Equally the soup sits, the noodles soak upwardly the soup goop. When reheating, add together a splash of extra chicken stock or if you don't accept whatsoever, h2o.
Freezing Chicken Noodle Soup: The noodles don't fare as well well when frozen. If you programme on freezing the soup, remove the portion of soup you plan to freeze earlier adding the noodles. Freeze the broth, craven, and vegetables. When you are ready to reheat the soup, add dried noodles to the soup and simmer until washed.
Seasoning the Soup: If you experience the soup is missing some zing, add a bit more salt. You lot tin also add a pop of flavor with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a dash of fish sauce (we use this trick for shop-bought stocks and broths frequently) or Worcestershire sauce.
Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate judge values.

If you brand this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag information technology #inspiredtaste — Nosotros dear to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find usa: @inspiredtaste

Nutrition Per Serving: Serving Size one/6 of the recipe / Calories 298 / Total Fat 11.4g / Saturated Fat 4.4g / Cholesterol 97.7mg / Sodium 748.7mg / Carbohydrate 22.9g / Dietary Fiber i.7g / Full Sugars vii.5g / Poly peptide 24.8g