Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

About This Recipe

There's a reason chicken noodle soup is called the ultimate comfort food — a properly made broth, rich with collagen from chicken bones, has genuine restorative properties. The key is not to rush the stock. Even a 45-minute simmer extracts remarkable flavour from a whole chicken. Classic mirepoix (onion, carrot, celery) forms the aromatic base.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 1whole chicken(about 1.5kg, or 6 bone-in thighs)
• 3carrots(peeled, 2 halved for stock, 1 sliced for serving)
• 3 stalkscelery(2 halved for stock, 1 sliced for serving)
• 1large onion(halved)
• 4 clovesgarlic(smashed)
• 2bay leaves
• 6 sprigsfresh thyme
• 1 tspblack peppercorns
• 200 gwide egg noodles
• 2 litrescold water
• 2 tspsalt(plus more to taste)
• 3 tbspfresh parsley(chopped, to serve)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the broth

   Place whole chicken in a large pot with halved carrots, halved celery, onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and peppercorns. Cover with 2 litres cold water. Bring to a boil, skim any foam, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cook 45 minutes.

   Starting with cold water extracts more flavour from the chicken than starting hot.

2. 2

   Remove and shred chicken

   Lift the chicken onto a board and set aside to cool slightly. Strain the broth through a fine sieve into a clean pot — discard the cooked vegetables (they've given their all).

3. 3

   Shred the meat

   Once cool enough to handle, pull the chicken meat from the bones, discarding skin and bones. Shred into bite-sized pieces.

4. 4

   Build the soup

   Bring strained broth to a boil. Add sliced carrot and celery. Simmer 8 minutes until tender. Season generously with salt.

5. 5

   Cook noodles and serve

   Add egg noodles and simmer 5–6 minutes until al dente. Return shredded chicken to the pot. Adjust seasoning. Serve topped with fresh parsley.

Variations

• •

  Matzo ball soup: replace egg noodles with matzo balls for the Jewish-American classic.

• •

  Chicken rice soup: swap noodles for 150g long-grain white rice.

Storage

Refrigerate for up to 5 days. The noodles absorb broth when stored — add a splash of water when reheating. Freeze broth (without noodles) for up to 3 months.

Frequently Asked Questions