Quick and easy, this homemade chicken noodle soup recipe comes together in under 30-minutes. This delicious comfort food (with a secret special ingredient) has been a family favorite for many years.
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Hello, Hello, my friends.
How are you today?
Things are going well. My daughter is finally over her cold that she has seemed to pick up off and on all winter.
Thankfully the rest of us have managed to stay well this winter which is kind of unusual. I think it’s in part because of the warmer weather we’ve been having.
How about you? Is everybody well around your house?
The reason I ask is because today I want to share one of my favorite things to eat when I’m sick.
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup.
It is THE BEST.
Warm and comforting, it just makes you feel so loved and cared for. And it tastes so good.
This recipe that I’m sharing with you today is the best chicken noodle soup I have ever had thanks to a special ingredient that you maybe haven’t considered to be a part of chicken noodle soup before. Can you guess what it is?
Pumpkin puree.
That’s right. It is the secret to an amazingly delicious chicken noodle soup. And isn’t it great that it’s a healthy ingredient too? I’m sure that right there would qualify for “accidental awesomeness” status in the language of my 13-year-old.
You might be wondering to yourself “who uses pumpkin puree in February?” Maybe it sounds strange if you’re not used to it, but I use pumpkin or other winter squash purees in my cooking all year long. They are such a great way to add extra nutrition and flavor to dishes. Once you try them in your soups and sauces you will have a hard time going back. So, so yummy.
We usually cook and puree pumpkins in the fall and then freeze them in zip lock bags to use throughout the year, but this recipe will also work with canned pumpkin puree from the store. If you are using canned pumpkin, you may want to want to add a little extra water (maybe start with 1/4 cup), as it is often thicker than homemade pumpkin puree.
A few tips & ingredient preferences
I’ve adapted this recipe so you can easily whip it together in under 30 minutes. To do so requires that you have cooked chicken on hand. I love to buy the rotisserie chickens from Costco and then debone and freeze the meat in portions so I have it on hand for easy meals like this one. But any kind of cooked chicken will work. I’ve also included instructions if you want to use raw chicken instead.
This recipe adapts easily to be gluten free thanks to the fact that it is made with mostly wholesome ingredients. You will just need to thicken it with a gluten free flour blend and use gluten free egg noodles.
I love to use this homemade chicken bouillon substitute in this recipe, but it’s also delicious if you have chicken stock on hand. I’ve included the variations for chicken stock in the recipe notes.
If you’re not trying to make it gluten free, our favorite brand of egg noodles are the Country pasta brand (either the wide or narrow, aff. link). They are the closest thing to homemade I’ve had and they are so good. Of course if you want to make homemade egg noodles, they are delicious in this soup as well so go ahead and knock yourself out.
We make this soup all the time
In case you’re wondering no you don’t have to wait until somebody gets sick to make this soup. We eat this soup all year long and we love it, sick or not. It is the perfect, fast and easy weeknight dinner (but truly we eat it on the weekends too).
I love whipping up this soup as a quick take-in meal for a neighbor who is sick or just had a baby or needs a little extra comfort and cheer.
Over the holidays our family participated in the #LightTheWorld campaign to do an act of service every day for the 25 days of December leading up to Christmas. As part of that we brought this soup to a couple of widow ladies in our neighborhood who had just lost their husbands. It was such a neat experience to involve our kids in bringing cheer to those who maybe needed a little extra during that time of year.
This soup just spells L-O-V-E. So what a perfect thing to share on Valentine’s day.
What about you, my friend?
What are your must-have comfort foods to keep on hand when your family is sick? What comfort foods do you love to share with others? What foods to you spell L-O-V-E?
Hope you have a wonderful day.
Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup {30-minute meal}
Quick and easy, this homemade chicken noodle soup recipe comes together in under 30-minutes.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter
- ⅓ cup chopped onion
- ⅔ cup diced carrots 1 to 2 large carrots
- ⅔ cup diced celery 1 to 2 stalks celery
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour see note
- 4 ½ cups water
- 2 ½ teaspoons chicken bouillon see note
- ½ teaspoon celery seed
- ½ teaspoon onion salt
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ⅔ cup cooked pumpkin puree not pumpkin pie filling, see note
- 3 cups 5 ounces large egg noodles see note
- 2 cups 12 to 16 ounces cooked chicken see note
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
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In medium saucepan over medium heat melt butter and add chopped onion, carrots, and celery. Sauté until veggies start to get tender (about 8-10 minutes).
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Add flour and let cook for 1-2 minutes to develop the flavor. Then add water, chicken bouillon, celery seed, onion salt, dried parsley and pumpkin puree.
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Adjust the heat to medium high until mixture starts to come to a simmer. Then add large egg noodles and cooked chicken. Cook at a high simmer (adjusting the heat as needed to keep it just under a boil), stirring often, for 15-20 minutes until egg noodles are tender.
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Serve warm adding freshly ground pepper to taste, if desired.
Recipe Notes
1. This recipe is easy to adapt to be gluten free if you use a gluten free flour and gluten free egg noodles.
2. I normally use this homemade chicken bouillon substitute in this recipe, but you can also use 4 ½ cups low sodium chicken stock in place of the water and chicken bouillon.
3. If using canned pumpkin, you may want to want to add a little extra water (maybe start with ¼ cup), as it is often thicker than homemade pumpkin puree, which is what I usually use for this recipe.
3. For the egg noodles, my favorite are the wide or narrow egg noodles in the Country Pasta brand. They are the closest I’ve found to homemade and we have used (and loved) them for many years.
4. An easy option for the cooked chicken is a rotisserie chicken (I like to buy them from Costco and then debone and freeze meat into individual portions), but you can use whatever cooked chicken you have on hand. If you want to add raw chicken, I would cut up some boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts and sauté them with the veggies in the first step. You may want to simmer the soup for a few extra minutes in step 2 (so the chicken is tender) before adding the egg noodles.
Recipe Source: Heather @ The Cook’s Treat
All images and text ©The Cook’s Treat
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