Classic Chicken Noodle Soup – with a Few Expert Tweaks 🍲✨

Instructions

1. 1

   Place all of the ingredients in the pot, add a pinch of salt, and pour stock or water over the chicken until it is almost completely submerged. You will need at least a 5-quart (4.7L) pot. Water works just fine; however, chicken stock results in a much more flavourful soup.

2. 2

   Bring the contents of your pot to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low to maintain a gentle simmer and cover the pot. As the soup comes to a boil, skim off some of the foam and impurities that rise to the top. You will need to cook this for 60–90 minutes until the chicken is very tender, cooked through, and falling off the bone.

3. 3

   This step is optional but highly recommended. After 18–25 minutes of simmering the soup, check the internal temperature of the chicken breast to ensure it has reached the safe internal temperature of 165°F (74°C). Then, carefully using forks, detach the breast from the carcass and remove it to a plate; set it aside for later. The reason for this is that the dark meat, which is full of connective tissue, can withstand prolonged simmering time; however, chicken breast cannot. As it cooks, even on a gentle simmer, the fibres will contract, squeeze out all of the juices, and become dry and tough. But if you remove this meat and set it aside, you will end up with exceptionally flavourful soup with tender breast meat. In my opinion, this extra effort pays off. If you do choose to make this extra effort, be sure to be very careful, as the stock and chicken will be very hot.

4. 4

   When your chicken is falling off the bone, strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve, removing all of the impurities. Set the chicken meat aside; you will shred it with forks after it cools down and add it back to the soup. Discard the bay leaves and the cooked vegetables (carrots and celery). Some people choose to keep those vegetables; however, they are too mushy. I personally snack on them but do not add them back to the soup. When the chicken is a bit cooler and easier to handle, shred the meat. Also shred the meat of the chicken breast that you set aside in Step 3. Add the chopped carrots, celery, and anything else you may wish (parsnips, onions). Bring to a simmer and cook for 10–15 minutes until tender. Season the soup well with salt and pepper. Towards the end of cooking, add the shredded chicken meat back in until heated through.

5. 5

   You can add noodles in Step 4; however, they will make the broth cloudy. As such, I recommend boiling them in a separate pot according to the package instructions and adding the cooked noodles at the same time as you add back the chicken meat, until heated through.

6. 6

   Remove the soup from the heat and add the fresh herbs of your choice. Serve and enjoy!