I started making homemade chicken noodle soup last year when I was pregnant with Zephaniah. It is ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! I don’t know why I waited so long to make my own chicken noodle soup. It’s pretty easy to make and it tastes way better than canned soup.
Seriously, stop buying canned stop right now and start making homemade soup at home! I promise you will notice a BIG difference between your soup recipe and canned soup.
After I made my first batch of Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, I immediately stopped buying canned soup. I refuse to eat soup from a can now, and after you try my Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe, you will stop eating canned soup, too!
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup is Perfect for When You’re Sick.
If the delicious taste of homemade soup doesn’t convince you enough to start making your own chicken noodle soup, then check out these amazing health benefits of homemade chicken noodle soup.
I chatted with Dr. Gustavo Ferrer, an accomplished pulmonologist trained in both Cuba and the United States, and asked him if it’s true you should eat chicken noodle soup when you are sick. Dr. Ferrer’s answer: YES!
Discussing the benefits of eating chicken noodle soup is one of Dr. Ferrer’s favorite topics. He has written several articles on this very topic. In fact, Dr. Ferrer’s mother often made chicken noodle soup for him when he was a young child because of the health benefits.
The award-winning doctor laughed as he told me, “I hated chicken soup growing up in Cuba.” He said his mother cooked chicken soup “all day every day.” Now a strong believer in the health benefits of chicken soup, Dr. Ferrer dedicated his chicken soup recipe in his book to his mom.
Chicken Noodle Soup vs. Canned Soup
Dr. Ferrer also shared with me his research on the benefits of eating homemade chicken noodle soup. According to the Florida-based doctor, the American College of Chest Physicians conducted a study of chicken soup to determine if there are any benefits to a person eating the soup when they are sick.
“[In the study,] they found that chicken soup, [when] given at the beginning of the symptoms, it actually mitigates and improves and cuts down the number of days of transmission of infection,” Dr. Ferrer told me. He went on to say homemade chicken noodle soup also helps improve the defense mechanism of our bodies.
“The beauty of the study is that they compared homemade [chicken soup] with canned chicken soup and homemade was the winner.” So if you’re not feeling well, don’t buy the canned stuff. Whip up a pot of homemade chicken noodle soup! It will help you start to feel better.
Learn more about natural remedies and over-the-counter drugs for acute and chronic coughs in Dr. Ferrer’s book Cough Cures, The Complete Guide to the Best Natural Remedies and Over-the-Counter Drugs for Acute and Chronic Coughs.
Got Leftover Chicken and Veggies? Turn It Into a Chicken Noodle Soup!
I always like to use leftover chicken from a meal to make chicken noodle soup. If I cook a whole chicken in the Crockpot, for instance, I like to use the leftover chicken we end up not eating for my chicken noodle soup.
The soup you see in the photograph below is a chicken noodle soup I made with leftover chicken and broccoli. (That’s why it’s a little green. Haha!) I added leftover broccoli to the soup and it was really good!
If you cook chicken and have a little leftover, you can easily turn your leftover chicken into homemade chicken noodle soup. Just follow my cooking directions below and don’t be afraid to add some leftover veggies, too! Broccoli, carrots, corn…the possibilities are endless!
My Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Ingredients
2- cooked chicken breasts
2- 32 oz. chicken broth
1 lb. bag of Essenhaus Wide Homestyle Noodles
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup celery
1 tbsp lemon pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
4 dashes pepper
4 dashes cayenne pepper (optional)
*Note: This recipe feeds my big family of six (not counting the baby)! You may need to make adjustments to fit your family size.)
Cooking Directions
1. Turn stove on medium-high. Pour about a tablespoon of olive oil into your saute pan. Once the pan is hot, saute carrots, celery, and onion until the vegetables are soft (but not mushy). Once you are finished cooking the vegetables, place them in a separate bowl. You will add this to your soup.
2. Pour chicken broth into a 6-quart stew pot. Boil the broth on low heat. (You’re going to gradually add soup ingredients to the soup while it is cooking on low heat. Once all of the ingredients are added to the soup, you will then turn up the heat.)
3. Pour the carrots, celery, and onions into the broth, and let the vegetables cook in the broth.
4. Next, add your seasonings to the broth: lemon pepper, garlic powder, pepper, and cayenne pepper. Stir the broth a few times after adding the seasonings.
5. While the broth and vegetables are cooking, cut cooked chicken breasts into 1/2 inch cubes. (You can also shred your chicken if you prefer it this way.)
6. Next, turn the heat up to medium-high and bring the soup to a roaring boil.
7. Once the soup is at a roaring boil, add half a bag of the Essenhaus Wide Homestyle Noodles to the soup.
8. Stir the noodles in the soup and let it cook until the noodles are soft or the desired texture you like.
9. Reduce the temperature to low heat and your homemade chicken noodle soup is ready to serve!
BONUS TIP: A chicken caesar salad or a simple side salad with breadsticks pair well together with my homemade chicken noodle soup. Delicious! If you try my recipe, let me know what you think of it.
Special thanks to Dr. Ferrer for taking the time to share his insight on the benefits of eating homemade chicken noodle soup!
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All photographs are courtesy of Jennifer Hamra for Good Life Detroit. This post was updated on April 29, 2020.