Homestyle Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup
Nothing beats the chill of autumn’s arrival more than warm homestyle hearty chicken noodle soup. It’s one of the quintessential comfort foods that I love to cook in the fall. I have my staple fall cooking list that I do every year such as this delicious 3lb Beef Chili and Homemade Dutch Apple Pie. The best part of both the chili and this soup is I always make extra so I can freeze some up for quick dinners on busy weeks.
It just so happened that days after making this stock pot of soup, one by one, my family came down with a cold (including myself). Let me tell you, pulling out this already made soup and heating it up made life so much easier when we all felt yucky. There’s just something about chicken soup that warms your soul and makes you feel better. Even as I type this post I am enjoying a warm bowl of this chicken soup for lunch. Truth be told, I’d eat it all if I could -it’s that good!
This year my recipe was really given a treat when I picked up these extra large carrots when we picked out our pumpkins. I’ve never tasted a carrot that had a hint of sweetness. It made this chicken soup batch taste a little unique this year but just as delicious as always. I’m hoping to be able to find these extra large carrots again next year.
Making this hearty chicken noodle soup is a two step process. First you need to make the broth which is the base of the soup. I don’t take any shortcuts with the broth, such as using pre-made chicken stock as I feel that would really detract from the delicious taste that only homemade broth can provide. Lastly you’ll add in all your ingredients to the broth to simmer for the final soup that is best served warm.
Chicken Broth
- 3-1/2 to 4 pounds broiler chicken (bone-in)
- 24 cups (6 quarts) water
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt (I don’t use a lot of salt in my cooking or baking, so if you like it saltier, just add more to taste)
- 1/2-3/4 teaspoon of pepper
- Stalk of celery with leaves, cut up
- Medium carrot, cut up
- 1 small onion, cut up
- 1 sprig fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley
Instructions for Broth
Remove any excess fat from the chicken, place in stock pot (I used an 8 quart stock pot). Add remaining ingredients; heat to boiling. Skim foam and reduce heat. Cover and simmer until the thickest pieces of chicken have cooked through; approximately 45 minutes.
Remove chicken from broth, set aside and cool enough so you can handle it (about 10 minutes). While the chicken is cooling, strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer and return the broth to the stock pot. Remove the skin from the chicken and pull apart into editable bites (or cut up if you desire) in a separate bowl. Toss out the chicken skin and bones.
The quantity of chicken I used and pulled apart just about filled a 25 quart bowl. That’s a lot of chicken! But that’s how my family likes it too.
Instructions for Chicken Soup
- Chicken broth (that you just made)
- 4 medium carrots, sliced
- 4 stalks celery, sliced
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 3-5-1/2 tablespoons chicken bouillon (this is the part where you will add based on your own tastes)
- Cooked egg noodles
Add enough water to broth to make sure you are at 24 cups (6 quarts). Heat the broth, carrots, celery, onion and bouillon to boiling. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until carrots are tender, about 15 minutes or so. Stir in chicken and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and cook separately the noodles.
When your chicken soup is ready, add the amount of noodles you prefer and serve this soup warm with dinner buns.
Recipe Notes
Skin on/Skin off: Typically when I cook this soup I leave the skin on the chicken. This time around I didn’t. I took off the skin and boiled to create the broth. I wouldn’t say that it made much of a difference for me. But, just throwing it out there in case you want to cook without the skin.
Bouillon: It can also seem like I listed a lot of bouillon but again, add the amount you prefer to your liking. When I cook chicken noodle soup I like it to taste semi-salty with a clear chicken taste. You may not like that. I taste test all my cooking as I’m doing it, especially with this part of the recipe.
Vegetables: Since I was using these extra large carrots I’ve estimated the number you’d need if using regular store bought carrots. Again, this is an area where you can add in as much or as little as you’d like.
Noodles: I don’t cook my noodles right in the chicken soup. I prefer to cook separately and add in what I need. I do this because egg noodles are pretty soft once cooked. So if you have extra soup and plan to freeze it, when you take it back out and reheat, the noodles will loss their firmness. Our family doesn’t like soggy noodles. So do your noodles your way.
My chicken soup recipe is so hearty, it’s a meal all in itself! Although I do serve it with warm dinner buns, it really isn’t necessary.
Did You Make This Recipe?
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