This quick and easy chicken noodle soup recipe uses leftovers from last night’s chicken dinner to become today’s delicious meal, all in just about 30 minutes.
30-minute ultra-satisfying chicken noodle soup with leftover
chicken
If you have chicken scraps of any kind, a Dutch oven and about 30 minutes, let me introduce you to my classic fail-safe chicken noodle soup. It’s packed with all the good stuff, including tender chicken and a tasty broth, and it’s hard to beat on those days when the weather overtakes us.
My family and I enjoyed a whole roast chicken almost weekly. My local big box store makes it REALLY HARD to walk alongside them without placing one in my stroller.
Previously, I shared what to do with what’s left of that grill. Along with vegetable scraps, fresh parsley and other fresh herbs, and a bay leaf, that leftover steakhouse (or leftover turkey) is a great way to produce livestock.
This easy noodle chicken soup recipe uses homemade broth and leftover ground chicken meat. Chicken soup is 101 comfort food, folks, so let’s cook…
Do you have what you need to put together my chicken noodle soup with leftover chicken? Check out the list!
- unsalted butter or olive oil
- onion
- carrots large
- celery stalks
- bay leaves bouquet garni of fresh parsley, fresh thyme and a branch of fresh rosemary
- light or dark meat
- homemade if you have
- chicken soup cream
- noodles, orzo or other macaroni product
- Kosher salt
- black
- fresh
a large
fresh garlic cloves
chicken leftovers,
chicken broth,
egg
pepper
parsley
How this recipe came about…
This is a gimmick versus a recipe really, at least in my mind. My former housekeeper brought me a tub of these things once when I was sick along with a sleeve of Saltines.
I
remember coming out of what seemed like three whole days of agony and I was very hungry. I heated Stephanie’s creamy chicken noodle soup and toasted the last slice of homemade bread I had.
WHAT A MEAL! Great taste with super tasty broth, an unusually extra wide type of noodles, and lots of chicken breast meat. I absolutely knew at the time and there that I needed that homemade chicken soup recipe with noodles from it.
Recycling leftover chicken into fresh recipes
I
look forward to what I call Thanksgiving sandwiches the day after a turkey dinner. Slices of white bread dipped in mayonnaise and piles of black pepper house chunks of turkey meat, a layer of cold filling, and thin slices of cranberry sauce.
And with a dinner of roast chicken, the next day brings at least, homemade chicken broth. I pick up the clean chicken, discard the skin and place the chicken carcass in a pot with fresh vegetable and herb scraps and let it tear over medium heat until it is reduced and very aromatic.
What will become of that chicken broth in my kitchen is anyone’s guess. I freeze it for later use as it saves me from having to spend on canned or boxed broth and is much richer than anything bought at the local grocery store.
I make chicken one way or another at least twice a week. If I’m baking chicken breasts or even smoking legs in the smoker, I always make an extra point so I can make chicken, chicken and meatball salad, or this recipe, my ONLY, my BEST noodle chicken soup recipe.
What are the best packaged noodles for chicken noodle soup?
The type of noodles you choose to use in this wonderful recipe for comforting chicken noodle soup is up to you. I have two German brands of dried noodles that I like and a fresh frozen egg noodle that I like.
Use what you have on hand or buy the selection at your grocery store. A piece of advice I always offer; Examine the frozen food island for fresh frozen noodles or dumplings, or the foreign food island for a variety of “real” dry noodles.
Most are imported from Germany or handmade in the Dutch country of Pennsylvania. In my opinion, no brand that also makes a trillion other pasta varieties matches something cut and frozen or dried by hand. It’s worth poking around to see what’s available to you.
Is this recipe really 30 minutes?
yes. With the use of leftover chopped chicken, homemade or store-bought chicken broth, and my secret weapon for instant flavor and creaminess, canned chicken soup cream, this is an accelerated version of a simple noodle chicken soup recipe.
If you need to save more free time on the prep side of this recipe, look for a pre-chopped mirepoix (celery, carrot, and onion) in the refrigerated section of your grocery store. I love it when the work is done for me and I adopt shortcuts like this whenever I can justify taking them.
Also, and if you’re a member of a large box store, look for your fully cooked, pre-chopped/pre-pulled white meat roast chicken meat. It comes vacuum-packed and clean of bones. I like to separate the package, separate it into 1-cup increments, and vacuum repack it for my freezer.
This makes any soup, casserole or salad that requires chicken much faster because it’s right in the freezer and already chopped/shredded and ready to go. The best part is just having to pull the number of bags equivalent to the number of cups you need to put the recipe together.
How to make chicken soup with noodles with leftover chicken?
Great meals start in the kitchen of the house, and this delicious recipe is one that your whole family will embrace.
Sauté the Mirepoix
to the bottom of a large Dutch oven, melt some butter over medium-high heat. I don’t go with salt, but you can use salted or even olive oil instead of butter if you prefer.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the carrots first. Sauté for 1 to 2 minutes before adding onion and celery. The vegetables will soften after about 3 minutes.
Add the aromatics
With the side of your knife, strongly crush each of the garlic cloves. Move the garlic to the pot along with two bay leaves and the bouquet garni, tying the end to a mango in the pot. Cook, while stirring the garlic around the pan, for about 1 minute.
Add chicken broth
and chicken soup cream
It is not necessary, but a really amazing addition to this dish is the use of homemade broth. Really, if you have it, use it.
Add 6 cups of broth to the pot and stir by scraping any of the golden pieces that may be stuck to the bottom of your Dutch oven. Then add the contents of a can of condensed cream of chicken soup and whisk to incorporate.
Cook over medium heat and under the liquid of the soup, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes. How does your kitchen smell right now, a bit like grandma’s?
ProTip: Try the broth at this point. If you feel the liquid requires extra richness, consider adding EITHER an extra can of condensed chicken cream OR 1 extra cup of chicken broth. I tend to go more can of condensed soup, one can regulate and the other low sodium, and I add broth at the end only if I feel it is necessary. Keep in mind that noodles will usurp a lot of the liquid, so you’ll need to look at it for extra stock if you seem to need it. Add salt and pepper to taste if needed.
Add the noodles
Stir the noodles in the soup. Depending on the type of noodles used, their cooking time can be 6 to 10 minutes, so simmer for at least that time before adding the chopped chicken.
Simmer with chicken for an additional 3 to 5 minutes. Remove bay leaves and bouquet garni with a slotted spoon and adjust with salt and pepper as needed. Add some chopped fresh parsley and ladle in wide serving bowls.
