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★ Why You’ll Love this Recipe ★
This quick and easy recipe for homemade chicken noodle soup is our family's go-to comfort food. It's made with parsnips, eggs noodles, and fresh rosemary.
It's a recipe we make when someone's feeling under the weather. When you start with rotisserie chicken, it only takes about 35 minutes of prep and cook time.
Chicken soup heals. It's science!
Everyone knows that chicken noodle soup is the best when you're sick. But did you know that there's actually a scientific reason why chicken noodle soup is good for you when you're sick?
Doctors say that "Chicken soup inhibits inflammation of the cells in the nasal passage, reducing the symptoms of a cold. The hot soup also promotes mucus secretions that soothe sore throats and coughs and trap bacteria."
Extra Flavorful Chicken Broth
My mother-in-law likes to add parsnips to her chicken noodle soup and a little extra chicken bouillon. This gives the broth a hint of sweetness and rich chicken flavor. So good you can sip the broth by itself and its delicious!
So that's how we always make our soup now and what you'll enjoy about this recipe compared to some others than may taste a little bland in comparison.
★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
Our special ingredients for the best flavor include parsnips, egg noodles, and fresh rosemary.
Here's everything you'll need:
- Rotisserie chicken. You can use a fresh, warm one or a chilled one. Warm is easier to pick. Be sure to save the juices, those will add great flavor to your broth!
- Butter. Or you can use any kind of cooking oil to sauté your veggies.
- Carrots. Use fresh or frozen. Fresh always taste a bit better in my opinion.
- Parsnips. These are optional but add a really nice, very subtle sweetness.
- Celery. In a pinch, you can also use celery seed but chopped, fresh celery is best.
- Onion. Yellow or white onions are best. Caramelize them if you want a sweeter soup. Just "sweat them" over low heat if you do not want to caramelize them.
- Garlic. My go-to is minced garlic or garlic paste because it's easy. But you can use fresh or even garlic powder. Sometimes I leave the garlic out all together honestly because it can overpower the other flavors.
- Chicken broth. You can mix your own using bouillon and water, make your own from scratch, or get the cartons or cans. Totally up to you. I use the cartons of bone broth.
- Chicken bouillon. Powder or paste I add this to my chicken broth to get it a boost in flavor. You also typically don't need to salt your soup if using extra chicken bouillon.
- Bay leaf. This herb has a very subtle hint of pine which just really adds a nice aroma and flavor to your soup. It's not mandatory but it does add a little something special.
- Egg noodles. I find these hold up better than pasta or rice but you could also use these. Or even dumplings or Amish noodles.
- Fresh parsley or rosemary. These are optional for garnish and flavor. Fun but not necessary.
★ How to Prepare this Recipe ★
This is a simple recipe starting with cooked rotisserie chicken. You can, but you do not need to cook the vegetables first. See below for more details about that.
Here's a snapshot of the steps to make this easy yet homemade soup:
- Pick the chicken meat, removing bones.
- Add chicken, chicken broth, bouillon and bay leaf to a large pot.
- Cut up vegetables and add to pot.
- Cover and boil softly until vegetables are tender.
- Add egg noodles and cook until noodles are soft.
- Season then serve. Garnish if desired.
Simple!
★ Tips & FAQs ★
No you don't need to. You can let everything slowly cook together in one pot which makes this recipe super easy.
However, if you want to speed up the cooking process, you can cook the vegetables separately before you add them to your soup.
Sweat Your Vegetables
Cooking the vegetables (carrots, onions, parsnips, and celery) first will soften them so they have a nice texture and aren't crunchy when you go to serve your soup. When you cook them over low heat, this is known as "sweating" since you are essentially releasing their moisture.
Using a dutch oven, you can cook the veggies on low with a little butter so they don't stick to the pan. Cook the vegetables just enough to soften them, then add chicken, broth, and other ingredients. Stir frequently so prevent browning.
Caramelize Your Vegetables
If you prefer a sweeter flavor to your soup, you can cook the vegetable over medium heat so that they lightly brown as they soften. Be sure to stir so you don't burn the vegetables which will produce more of a charcoal flavor.
Remember, you don't need to pre-cook your vegetables.
Follow the same directions, just use a slow cooker set to low and cook for 4 hours. Wait to add noodles 30 minutes prior to serving.
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There are many health benefits to bone broth that you may interested in. Roasted bones can also add a nice flavor to your soup.
You can use easily incorporate the benefits of bone broth into your chicken noodle soup by simply buying chicken broth that has been cooked with bones. These packages are typically labeled "bone broth" and from what I've notice tend to be a little pricier that your traditional chicken broth.
It pretty easy to make your own bone broth too, especially when you're starting with a rotisserie chicken because you also get the full carcass of bones along with that.
Simply add several of the larger bones to your soup and let those simmer with your soup as it cooks. Remove the bones before serving.
For extra flavor you can roast your bones in the oven at 400˚F for 20 minutes before adding them to your soup.
★ More Chicken Soup Recipes ★
Soups are perfect for the cooler months. Want more ideas so you can mix up your rotation?
Browse all my easy soup recipes and be sure to Pin your favorites.
This easy homemade chicken noodle soup recipe was featured on South Your Mouth!
Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lb rotisserie chicken, reserve juices
- ¼ cup butter
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 parsnip, peeled and sliced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon
- 16 oz egg noodles
Garnish
- 4 sprigs rosemary
- fresh cracked black pepper
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Instructions
- Prepare chicken. Strain chicken juices into a bowl and set aside. Separate all rotisserie chicken meat from the carcass. Shred or cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Set aside 4 large bones to add to the broth then discard the rest of the carcass.
- Prepare veggies. Melt butter in a dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots, parsnips, and onion. Cook until softened about 5 minutes. Stir to cook evenly. Add garlic then cook for an additional minute.
- Create broth. To the pot with vegetables, add bay leaves then chicken broth and chicken bouillon. Add reserved chicken juices. Add chicken bones. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil then reduce to a low boil.
- Add noodles. Add egg noodles to pot. Cook for about 8 minutes or until noodles are soft.
- Garnish and serve. Remove bones and bay leaves. Spoon soup into serving bowls and top with fresh cracked pepper and a small sprig of fresh rosemary for garnish.
Video
Notes
- If you are working with a cold, cooked rotisserie chicken, you will likely have gelatin instead of juices.
- You can leave out the bones if you prefer not to include them when making your broth. I like to include them for the health benefits.
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