Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup
Got the blues? Cold outside? Feeling not quite yourself? This is the soup for you. It is the soup I make for my husband every time he’s down with a cold, and the one I pack up and deliver to friends who are under the weather or in need of some nutritional comfort. It can take hours or minutes, depending on your choice of broth options and chicken selected. Still tastes just right, whichever route you take. This is a big, hearty soup, with big pieces of chicken, nice big cuts of vegetables, and thick noodles (I used regular lasagna noodles and cut them into strips when cooked). Another bonus: this soup can be gluten free – just substitute gluten free pasta for the regular noodles in this recipe and you are good to go.
Ingredients
- FOR THE BROTH
- 1 whole chicken a 5-6 pounder if you can find one quartered and skinned OR about the equivalent in chicken parts, either boneless/skinless or bone in. If you use boneless/skinless, try about 2-3 breast pieces and 4 thigh pieces since sometimes they tend to run a little small.
- 3-4 carrots washed and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 3-4 big ribs of celery washed and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 onion peeled, halved and quartered
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt and whole peppercorns to taste
- FOR THE SOUP
- Cooked cooled chicken from section above that have been cut into large bite-sized pieces. NOTE: If you skipped the step above, It’s fine to add raw, cut up boneless chicken pieces to this broth instead of the reserved cooked chicken – check for amounts in the step above.
- Approximately 8 cups of chicken broth. Use broth from section above. If you don’t have enough just used the store-bought brand of your choice to make up the difference. And if you haven’t made broth yet, just use all store-bought
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 4 large carrots peeled and sliced
- 5 large ribs of celery sliced diagonally
- 1 large onion roughly chopped
- 1 large yellow or orange pepper cut into ½ inch dice
- ½ pound lasagna noodles boiled in salted water until al dente, drained and rinsed. When cool enough to handle, cut each noodle in half, then cut each half into 4 pieces. NOTE: Feel free to substitute your favorite gluten-free pasta in this step.
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Approximately 4 Tablespoons Cornstarch optional
Instructions
- FOR THE BROTH
- Place the chicken in a large stockpot and fill with enough cold water to cover the chicken.
- Add vegetables, garlic, bay leaves, and salt and pepper.
- Bring to boil, and then reduce to simmer until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are soft.
- Remove chicken and set aside.
- Drain broth and discard vegetables. Cool both chicken and broth.
- When chicken has cooled, remove from bones and cut into nice big chunks.
- NOTE: It’s perfectly fine to use canned chicken broth. Just skip this step and proceed to the next section.
- FOR THE SOUPIn a large stockpot, sauté onion until softened and starting to caramelize
- Add chicken broth and bring to a low boil.
- Add carrots, celery, peppers, salt, pepper, and bay leaves. Reduce to simmer and cook until tender.
- Remove bay leaves or keep in for awhile but always remove before serving since they are very dangerous to eat whole.
- Stir in cooked chicken. (If using raw chicken pieces, add them now and cook until just cooked through)
- Stir in cooked and reserved lasagna noodles.
- If you prefer a more brothy soup, stop here. Check for seasoning and you are done.
- If you prefer a thicker soup with a heartier consistency, it’s time to add the Cornstarch Slurry. Add 4 Tablespoons Cornstarch to a small bowl. Slowly add and whisk in 1/4-cup cold water or broth. Stir until mixture is completely smooth.
- Gradually stir this slurry into the hot soup mixture (just start with half of it to make sure the soup doesn’t get too thick). Bring to boil and boil for one minute, then reduce to simmer. If soup is thick enough, you are done. If not, add the remaining slurry and repeat the steps above. NOTE: if you boil a cornstarch thickened soup for too long, the thickening will break down so keep to a simmer if you can.