Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

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This is my mom’s classic chicken noodle soup recipe, and I hope you love it as much as I do!

Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (or four chicken breasts or chicken thighs)
• 1-2 tablespoons salt (see notes)
• pinch of black pepper
• 1 -2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
• 1/2 white onion, roughly chopped
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, with stems, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves (or garlic powder)
• 6-8 cups water, chicken stock, or low sodium chicken broth (see notes)
• 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into rounds
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 box of bow tie pasta

Instructions

First, cook your chicken in the Instant Post as directed here: Traditional Costa Rican Shredded Chicken Recipe. Shred the chicken and strain the broth.

Thoroughly wash your vegetables, then roughly chop them. Place all the ingredients (except for the pasta) into the pressure cooker. (I normally use an electric pressure cooker like the Instant Pot).

You can pop in a few bay leaves before cooking if you like– they won’t add much flavor, but do help break things down nicely. Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes or up to to 30 minutes.

When finished cooking, remove the cooked chicken from the pressure cooker and set aside to cool slightly. While the chicken is cooling, begin preparing the pasta according to the box’s instructions.

Boil the carrots and celery in water until just tender.

Once cooled, finely shred the chicken using two forks or your hands. Add the chicken to the broth leftover in the pressure cooker, seasoning with extra salt and pepper if desired. When the pasta has finished boiling, drain, and add noodles and vegetables. Heat everything thoroughly.

Serve your soup warm or store it for up to a week in an airtight container. 

Notes

1. Seasoning ratios can get a little tricky when it comes to using salt. As a general rule of thumb, I do about a tablespoon of salt per 3 cups of water and cover the meat with 3-4 inches of water before cooking.
2. I cook the noodle separately so that they don’t get too big and mushy in the soup. If you are making this a day ahead, just add the noodles right before serving.

About This Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

In my (totally objective) opinion, there’s nothing better for the flu or a long, cold day than a pot of chicken noodle soup! Seriously, good chicken noodle soup is the best comfort food out there.

I know everyone has their own version of chicken noodle soup, and mine comes straight from the best cook I know- my mom.

This recipe requires minimal prep work, and if you opt to use an instant pot, everything should be ready in under 40 minutes. ¡Buen provecho!

Related Recipes You’ll Love:

• Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
• Easy Taco Soup Recipe
• Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe
• Sweet Italian Sausage and White Bean Soup Recipe

Substitutions

Instead of a whole chicken, you can substitute four chicken breasts and prepare them according to the recipe above. 

If you want to swap in a rotisserie chicken for the whole chicken, just debone and shred it.

You’re welcome to use whatever kind of pasta you like best– I just chose the bow tie variety because I think they’re festive! 🙂 Anything from egg noodles to rotini will be delicious!

Variations

This soup is also delicious when slow-cooked. Just place all the ingredients in a slow cooker or crockpot and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 6-8 hours. 

When I make this in the slow cooker, I generally just cook the soup overnight and then shred the chicken in the morning. You won’t have quite as much broth with this method, but the meat itself will pull apart really nicely.  

To release more of their flavor, you can chop and fry your onion and garlic in a bit of vegetable oil before adding them to the pressure cooker. 

Serving Suggestions

Serve your soup warm with a bit of cilantro as a garnish. I like a squeeze of lemon juice for a little acidity, and a bit of extra salt never hurts! A fresh loaf of bread or some salad would make perfect sides. 

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