Cold Fighting Chicken Noodle Soup
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This cold fighting chicken noodle soup is the most soothing, nourishing soup for cold and flu season. It’s easy to make and freezer-friendly!
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why you’ll love this cold fighting chicken noodle soup
- Shortcut chicken noodle soup. This is the best kind of time-saving shortcut chicken soup that doesn’t require an entire chicken or hours of simmering, perfect for those busy weeknights or when you’re short on time.
- Soothing and reduces inflammation. Even when you’re not sick, the warm broth is incredibly nourishing, soothing and so satisfying, especially when your appetite is low, packed with so many cozy, healing, anti-inflammatory ingredients.
- Amazingly freezer-friendly. This soup is perfect to have stashed in the freezer ready for the next time you’re feeling under the weather, giving you the necessary fuel to fight off the virus and get you on your feet in no time!
What is cold fighting chicken noodle soup?
This is a version of chicken noodle soup made with extra immune-boosting, anti-inflammatory ingredients to help relieve cold and flu symptoms. It’s a fast, one-pot comfort meal providing warm hydration and congestion relief, all while calming a sore throat with a soothing broth.
How to make cold fighting chicken noodle soup
- Sauté the vegetables. Cook the onion, carrots, and celery in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat, until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Add the aromatics. Stir in the garlic, ginger, lemongrass, thyme, and rosemary until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the liquids. Stir in the chicken stock, water and bay leaves.
- Simmer. Add the chicken and let it simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. Carefully remove the chicken and shred using two forks.
- Add the pasta. Stir in the pasta and cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Pro tip: if you are planning for leftovers or freezing for later, cook and store the noodles separately.
- Return the chicken. Stir in the shredded chicken until the chicken is warmed through. Then add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
- Serve. Garnish with chives (or parsley) and serve warm with crusty bread.
Tools For This Recipe
Cold Fighting Chicken Noodle Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
Chicken breasts can absolutely be used here but chicken thighs have more dark meat and a higher fat content which will yield juicier, more flavorful chicken.
Leftover rotisserie chicken is a huge time-saver! Add the shredded chicken towards the end of cooking time, simmering just until the chicken is heated through.
Lemongrass paste will do wonders here.
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent and concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. For example, the correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh thyme = 1 teaspoon dried thyme.
Orzo, rotini or even elbow macaroni are excellent substitutes for the ditalini pasta.
Yes! Freeze the leftovers without the pasta (or else they will get mushy) in individual freezer bags. Label, date, and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight and reheat gently on the stovetop, stirring in freshly cooked pasta until warmed through.
Cold Fighting Chicken Noodle Soup
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon minced lemongrass
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
- 5 cups chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- ¾ cup ditalini pasta
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in garlic, ginger, lemongrass, thyme and rosemary until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in chicken stock, bay leaves and 1 cup water. Add chicken and bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. Remove chicken and shred, using two forks; set aside.
- Stir in pasta and cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes.
- Stir in chicken and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately, garnished with chives, if desired.
Equipment
Notes
- Use good-quality stock. The better quality your stock, the better your soup. Many brands love to pack in the salt so always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety. Homemade stock is even better.
- Use ginger and lemongrass. Ginger and lemongrass are a powerhouse for colds. Both have anti-inflammatory properties, soothing sore throats and alleviating cold symptoms.
- Fresh herbs are best. Although you can certainly substitute dried herbs, fresh herbs are ideal here, delivering the best kind of flavor.
- Repurpose leftover rotisserie chicken. Leftover rotisserie chicken is one of the best shortcut hacks to speed up prep time and maximize leftovers. Shred or dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces, adding the chicken to the soup at the very end of cooking just until warmed through. Pro tip: save the carcass of the rotisserie chicken for homemade chicken stock!
- Add freshly squeezed lemon juice. Lemon juice will elevate your chicken noodle soup, adding a fresh, bright flavor and balancing out all the saltiness and richness of the soup.
- Freeze without the pasta. Freeze the leftover soup without the ditalini pasta in individual freezer bags for portioning and easy thawing overnight, reheating gently on the stovetop until warmed through and stirring in freshly cooked pasta just before serving.
Did you make this recipe?
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Made this for a sick friend, with the remainder for our dinner. It was good, and I like the idea of it being extra immune-boosting, but I’m not sure the extra work and special ingredients made that much of a difference over my regular recipe. (I don’t typically have lemongrass or fresh herbs on hand.) I give this a pretty darn delicious. 🙂
Looks delicious! Am I able to use whole grain pasta or gluten-free pasta? Would I still add it at the same time as the regular pasta?
Yes, I used red lentil pasta and followed the directions on the box. It had 6-8 minutes.
amazing! really helps rejuvenate you if you are feeling under the weather! highly recommend
I hate chunky soup usually but this is beyond delicious! I make it all the time in winter and everyone is always raving about it! Thank you
Best tasting broth, soup is damn delicious.
So good. I will say it was a bit messy trying to grind/chop the garlic/ginger/lemon grass but it was worth it. I am currently under the weather and this soup was just what my body needed. I was sweating from the worth/heat of the soup and the broth taste was DELICIOUS. Great recipe-
My favorite chicken soup for a cold or no cold! Has anyone tried a GF noodle or rice as pasta sub?
Quite labor intensive but very good. Lemon was a little much though. Next time I may cut it down or leave it out.
Lovely and easy, thanks so much for the recipe. I didn’t have a cold but I was struggling to hold down food today, this was the first meal that had filled and stayed in my belly! Thank you.
I was very sick the other day, my spouse and I. I automatically thought we have COVID… I made this soup along with a immunity boosting tea!!!!! I FEEL 93% better, and so does he!!! Thanks for this recipe!!!
A big thank you from Australia for this recipe! I was really sick one weekend and craving a hearty chicken noodle soup – this has so many amazing flavours and really hit the spot. I didn’t manage to get the lemongrass or bay leaves, and just used dried thyme and rosemary from jars but still turned out incredible. Can’t wait to make this again (adding all the proper ingredients)!!
1st time making a chicken soup that wasn’t a cream base. This was lovely.
My husband said it was the best chicken noodle soup I have made before, thanks for the recipe!
So delicious,
Have been trying to find something aromatic hearty and warming for the past few weeks and this hit the spot! Can’t wait until I have it again. I found the inclusion of lemongrass and ginger added so much flavour without overpowering the rest of the subtle soup and made me feel like I could fight off any cold or flu. I hadn’t read this blog before but look forward to finding more recipes in future.
This soup was a total lifesaver. Both kids became sick the day my husband was scheduled for surgery. We couldn’t cancel it. So I had to drag them to the hospital. Thankfully it was a small short procedure. When we got home I made this chicken noodle soup, it was a big hit. The most my kids had eaten in a few days. Then, two days afterward, once my children were better, I was still caring for my husband post-op. And I caught my kids illness. I was in tears I was so mad. Two sick kids for a week. One temporarily disabled husband. And now I am sick while my husband is still in recovery. If there was ever a time to be ill, not was NOT the time. Thankfully, I had plenty of this soup leftover and I almost cried when I remembered it in the fridge. So I’m currently banished to my bed, cup of soup in hand (I put mine in a mug for easy eating), and watching National Geographic. I hate being sick with ever fiber of my being, what mother doesn’t?! But this soup has made a very very long week/weekend a bit less horrible. I’ve sent the recipe to everyone I know. And Pinterest. Thank you for this recipe!
I made this recipe as written except I substituted chicken breast for the chicken thighs. It was absolutely delicious. My favorite chicken noodle soup ever.
Amazing! The lemon makes it perfect! Whole family loved it!!
I was so skeptical about ginger and lemon in chicken noodle soup but I’m so glad I tried it! My bf is so sick and I know ginger helps so much with colds. It’s awesome! I left out the salt and used low-sodium broth. But put more garlic in it. There are so many flavors in this that it really doesn’t need the salt. I also used those frozen egg noodles and they thickened it up a little on their own. I’m def saving this recipe!
Delicious! I didn’t add the lemon and bought the chives but forgot to add them haha. This soup is really simple, but a nice spin on chicken soup due to the grated ginger. Very yummy!
I made this for my husband who has come down with a cold and having a loss of appetite. He loved it! (We both did). I doubled the recipe to have leftovers, but used elbow pasta. We also dipped torn pieces of a sourdough bread, which enhanced the delightful lemon flavor. The fresh herbs from our garden made this soup wonderfully aromatic and healing. Thank you for the recipe!
So yummy!
I’ve made this for my sick girlfriend. Typically, she’s picky, but she loved this chicken noodle recipe. She was sick, I was bored, and love to cook. So win, win chicken dinner. I would definitely rate this a five star rating. Thank you for sharing your recipe. Hope the rest of you enjoy it too. Cheers!
This a good receipt. I would highly advice not to put in a full amount of lemon. For me it was great tasting Proerty to the lemon add. With the lemon it become over powered with lemon taste. Next time I will for go the lemon.
Good luck.
Ken