Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup

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Whether you need a warm comfort food meal or want to bring your sick friend something to lift her spirits, this completely homemade savory and hearty chicken noodle soup is what you’re looking for.

And yes, when I say completely homemade, that’s exactly what I mean.

From boiling a whole chicken to making my own egg noodles, this soup takes a little time, but the rustic appearance and savory flavor made it worth it. Plus, last time I made it, I took it to my sister and her family who weren’t feeling well so that made it extra worth it!

Here are the ingredients

• Whole chicken
• 2-3 whole carrots
• 2-3 stalks of celery
• 1 small sweet onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 bay leaves
• 1/2 t dried ground thyme
• 2 T butter
• 4 C egg noodles (I made these from iambaker.net, and they made this soup over the top! But you could use store-bought, too, if you’re pressed for time or energy.)

How to make the soup

Boil the chicken

The first step is to boil your chicken and make your own chicken broth. It’s simple to do.

Use a large stockpot and put your whole chicken in it. Be sure to remove any inner pieces – giblets, neck, or any of that yucky stuff. The packaging should tell you if you should expect to find those pieces or not, but I always check.

I also rinse the bird well. I don’t know if those are still the instructions when using a whole bird, but I know that’s what my grandmothers did so I do it, too.

With the chicken in the large stockpot, fill the pot with water to cover the bird plus a few inches. Season the water with salt, a couple of bay leaves, and some veggies for extra flavor. (I added the tops of my celery stalks.)

Bring it to a boil and then reduce to a good simmer for quite some time. I get started on the rest of the soup, and after 30-45, I check the tenderness of the meat. If it’s falling off the bone, the chicken is done.

Take the chicken out of the pot. It may take some maneuvering because when it’s falling off the bone, it doesn’t want to come out of the hot broth-y bath.

I put mine in a large casserole dish to avoid a mess. (If you put it on a cutting board, you may end cleaning broth off the counter and the floor and whatever else.)

Pull the meat off the bird, cut any really large chunks into smaller, spoon-sized, bite-sized pieces, and place all of it into a large bowl to use in the soup later.

I used both dark and light meat, and I used most of the chicken in this soup. But be sure to pull all the meat off the bone. You can use it in other dishes later – casseroles, chicken salad, dressing, paninis, lots of things. Refrigerate for a few days or freeze for a few months. Don’t waste good food!

Please, please, please. Do not discard of the chicken broth you have. You will need that for the soup! Just leave it in the stockpot for now.

Veggies & Soup

Time to chop! Dice the onion, carrots, and celery, and mince the garlic.

Melt the butter in a separate large pot. I use one a little smaller than my big chicken-boiling pot, but big enough to make a lot of soup!

Add the onion, carrots, and celery to the butter and saute for several minutes until the onions begin to soften. Add the garlic and stir. You’ll start to smell that heavenly garlic aroma amongst the rest of the gorgeous smells you’ve created with the chicken and the butter and the veggies.

Now it’s time to add that broth. I added 8 cups to mine, and you’ll want about the same amount.

Throw in a bay leaf, stir in the dried thyme, and plop in the chicken. Let that goodness simmer for at least 30 minutes to let the veggies soften and the flavors meld and the aroma fill your kitchen.

And the finale…

Last thing to do before you burn your tongue taking a bite while it’s still way to hot for human consumption (anyone else do that every. single. time?) – drop in those egg noodles. Store-bought will be fine, but if you can do it, make homemade. They taste so great, and the make the soup look truly homemade.

Do you eat with your eyes like I do? The better it looks, the yummier it tastes!

Doesn’t that look amazing? Savory and hearty chicken noodle soup ready to warm you from the inside. Time to eat!