The Best Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

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00:00 Intro
00:20 Stock
01:54 Flavor Enhancers
03:30 Noodles
05:20 Let’s Start Cooking

Warm up with Tasty 101’s Chicken Noodle Soup! Learn how to make this classic comfort dish, perfect for any day!

Executive Producer: Katie Aubin
Supervising Producer, Production: Devon Joralmon
Director: Ivanna Lopez Guajardo
Featuring: Kelly Paige
Written By: Ivanna Lopez Guajardo
Executive Culinary Producer: Kelly Paige
Producer: Ivanna Lopez Guajardo
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Chicken noodle soup is one of those recipes that instantly feels like home. It’s warm, rich, filling, and perfectly cozy for every season. We tested multiple variations at TC, from the stock to the noodles. And after spending hours in the kitchen, we have come up with the best chicken noodle soup recipe. The secret to the richest and most comforting spoonful starts with the stock. The first step was to figure out what would give us the richest and most flavorful base. We tried rotisserie chicken bones to make a quick and easy stock. And even though the roasted chicken added complexity, not cooking the meat in the stock lost the depth of flavor and made it less clear. We also tested the stock with chicken backs, wings, and feet. And while this added collagen to the stock, after cooking for 2 hours, the base had body, but it was cloudy and lacked up the flavor. It just didn’t taste like chicken. We then went in with just chicken wings and it added a thick layer of fat on top that we just didn’t like. And although the stock was well balanced, it was still missing that meaty and hearty chicken noodle soup flavor. So, our pick is using a whole raw chicken. This gives us a clean and balanced base with good body and clarity. Because the chicken meat cooks at the same time, its juices and collagen enrich the stock as well, giving it a more pronounced chicken flavor. And although the chicken is the star of the stock, we recommend adding a few more ingredients to enrich the flavor. We start with some of the basics like onions, celery, and carrots, but to add complexity, you want to add aromatics like garlic, thyme, parsley, bay leaves, and peppercorns. And of course, we’re going to add salt. We recommend cooking the stock with a pressure cooker. The pressure helps extract more from the ingredients in less time, which results in a stock with a richer and deeper chicken flavor. If you only have a stove top, that still works. The cooking time will just double. This should already give you a pretty good base for a chicken noodle soup, but we wanted to test a few ingredients and methods to try to achieve the ultimate chicken stock. We started with adding a little bit of miso. This provided a delicious, savory, and slightly sweet taste, but it clouded the stock and gave us an opaque look. Because we enjoyed the umami flavor of the miso, we tried dried shiakei mushrooms. This made the stock taste a little bit woodsy and earthy, which took away the brightness that a chicken noodle soup gives. Here’s where I went a little out of the box and tried adding fish sauce. Don’t get me wrong, it tasted amazing, but the flavor lean more towards fur and it shifted the character of the stock entirely. I also tested adding a small amount of MSG and sugar, aiming for a flavor boost. But it tasted a little bit off, like it was trying too hard to be chicken stock, and it it just wasn’t. So, we opted for simplicity. Here’s the trick. You have to get as much flavor from the chicken bones as possible. Once the first 45 minutes are up, remove the chicken from the stock so you can take the meat from the bones. The next step will make all of the difference in your soup. Carefully chop the chicken bones into smaller pieces and add them back to the pot with any leftover skin and cook again for another 45 minutes. This will give the stock a better mouth feel by making it velvety and silky. Trust me, this is the key to getting rich, fullbodied flavor in your final chicken noodle soup. Once the stock is done cooking, pour the mixture through a fine strainer. You can toss away the salads, and if you want, you can save some of the chicken stock for later. Simply store it in an airtight container and freeze for up to 6 months. Now that we’ve got a hearty and rich stock, let’s move on to the noodles. The noodle is the second most important component of a chicken noodle soup. You can use multiple types of pasta for this recipe, but our goal was to find the best one. Sometimes convenience is key, so we tested some storebought options. Our first test was fresh lasagna sheets. However, it ended up getting mushy and soft in the stock, completely falling apart. We also tried orzo. This was our second favorite pick. It held its shape, had no mushiness, and it kept the stock clear, but it’s not traditional. A classic chicken noodle soup contains egg noodles because their tender texture soaks up the stock perfectly. Storebought dried egg noodles were floppy and sad. Like, they were just so bad. They’re still a good option, but you might need to store them separately because they became very chewy and soggy the next day. Hopefully, we don’t lose you here, but we opted for a homemade version of egg noodles. I promise you, it’s worth the effort. All you need is four ingredients: allpurpose flour, eggs, salt, and a little bit of water. For this recipe, we’re adding an extra egg yolk for structure. This will help our noodles hold up the next day. The easiest and fastest way to make noodles is with a stand mixer, but if you don’t have one, you can always make it by hand. If your dough starts to look shaggy, just add a little bit more water and keep beating until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Once the dough bounces back, it’s done. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 to 30 minutes to let the gluten relax. The thickness of the noodle can be a personal preference. However, we found that the thicker the noodle, the better. A level of four to five thickness noodle turns out perfectly al dente. If you roll it out by hand, make sure you can’t see your hand through the pasta. It has a satisfying chew and holds its shape well, even after leaving in the soup overnight. Once you roll and cut your noodles, dust them with just a little bit of flour so they don’t stick together while we make our soup. Now, this is where things go quickly. In a large pot over medium heat, start sautéing onions, celery, and carrots with olive oil. Season with salt and cook until the vegetables are softened. Add your aromatics. Again, we’re using garlic, and thyme, and cook until fragrant. Pour in eight cups of the chicken stock and three cups of shredded chicken. Remember, you can store the leftover stock in the freezer and use the rest of the chicken for another meal. Bring the soup to a gentle boil until all the flavors melt together. At this point, your entire home will smell amazing. I think it should be a candle, but others disagree. Then add the noodles and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes. You’ll know they’re ready when they float to the top. Remove the pot from the heat to avoid overcooking the chicken and noodles. And we are almost done. We did it. Adding a little bit of fresh lemon juice will brighten the soup. And to finish it off, add some parsley and freshly ground black pepper. And that’s it. It’s ready to serve. I personally love adding a little more lemon juice and serving it with a side of crusty bread. We hope you love this recipe as much as we do because nothing can soup or seed the comfort of a good bowl of chicken noodle soup. You can find the full recipe for free on the Chasey app. And of course, leave any tips and tricks of your own.