Chicken Noodle Soup

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup: Comfort, Love, and a Little Bit of Healing

I don’t know if it’s just an old wives’ tale, but when you’re battling a cold, chicken noodle soup really does seem to work magic. Maybe it’s the warmth, the comfort, or just the fact that it tastes so good when everything else feels off. Whatever the reason, it’s the best way to get some nutritious food into your system when you’re feeling under the weather.

Now, sure, there are plenty of places to get chicken noodle soup—canned, boxed, deli-style—but nothing, nothing, beats homemade. The good news? This recipe has a couple of clever workarounds that make it super easy to whip up, even when you’re feeling less than 100%. It’s so simple, in fact, that when I was out of town and my husband was stuck at home with a nasty cold, I was able to talk him through it over the phone. He managed to make a steaming bowl of comfort, love, and healing all by himself.

The Two Time-Saving Secrets

1. Rotisserie Chicken: Pick up a roasted chicken from the supermarket. This saves you the hassle and time of roasting one at home. Plus, it’s tender, flavorful, and ready to go.

2. Good Store-Bought Chicken Stock: While homemade chicken stock can be delicious, it takes time and a lot of produce to get it right. Sometimes, it’s just not worth the effort (especially when you’re sniffling and sneezing). A quality store-bought stock is the key to making this recipe easy and still packed with flavor. In my neck of the woods, I swear by classic Campbell’s Chicken Stock. It never lets me down.

The Result? Pure Comfort in a Bowl

This soup is everything you want it to be: warm, nourishing, and oh-so-satisfying. It’s proof that homemade doesn’t have to be complicated to be wonderful. The tender chicken, the slurp-worthy noodles, the rich broth—it’s like a hug in a bowl.

Whether you’re making it for yourself, a sick loved one, or just because you need a little extra comfort, this recipe delivers every time. It’s not just soup; it’s a bowlful of love, care, and healing.

So grab a pot, a roasted chicken, and some stock you love, and let the magic happen. ❤️🥣

Chicken Noodle Soup

Special Note: The noodles - choose your favourite. Over the years, I’ve discovered I prefer to use linguine which I break up into chunks. And I still have a tough time getting the amount right, tending to have too many noodles but, personally, if I had to choose, I would err on the side of ‘too many’.

Ingredients:

• 1 Rotisserie Chicken (store Bought)

• 3tbsp olive oil

• 4 or 5 carrots (they bring the sweetness)

• 4 stalks celery

• 2 Medium sweet yellow onions

• 8c chicken broth (I prefer store bought, specifically Campbell’s)

• 4 bay leaves

• salt and pepper to taste

• approx 1/2c dried noodles, see Special note on quantitiy)

Instructions:

1. In a large soup pot, add olive oil and diced onion.

2. While onion sauté over medium heat, peel carrots and then dice carrots and celery.

3. Once onions have just started to become translucent, add diced carrots and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook.

4. While cooking, pull chicken apart and dice up meat.

5. As the carrots are likely now just beginning to soften, add diced chicken, chicken stock and bay leaves.

6. Gather noodles together and add to soup.

7. Simmer over low heat until noodles are just cooked.

8. Either enjoy immediately or turn off. The flavours are ready but you want to try and avoid the carrots, especially, becoming too mushy. (The carrots need to be cooked through, not crunchy and not mushy…or to your preference…I prefer to err on the side of ‘crunchy’ and my husband prefers ‘mushy’ ;))