Cold Fighting Chicken Noodle Soup
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The most soothing, comforting soup for flu season! So easy to make, you’ll be feeling better in no time!
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As flu season is among us, this chicken soup has been an absolute god-send. The veggies and garlic, ginger, lemongrass, lemon juice combo here does absolute wonders and has you feeling better and back on your feet in no time. It’s just so darn cozy and soothing, and it just warms your soul in so many ways.
why i love cold fighting chicken noodle soup
- Best kind of shortcut chicken soup that doesn’t require an entire chicken or hours of simmering
- Nourishing, brothy, soothing and satisfying even when I’m not sick
- Packed with so many cozy, healing, anti-inflammatory ingredients
- Amazingly freezer-friendly, perfect to have it ready to go next time I’m feeling under the weather
tips and tricks for success
- 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.
- 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.
more chicken noodle soup recipes
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Cold Fighting Chicken Noodle Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, 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.
If you cannot find fresh lemongrass, lemongrass paste will do wonders here.
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent/concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. The correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon dried herbs.
Orzo, rotini or even elbow macaroni are great subs for the ditalini pasta.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers without the pasta (or else they will get mushy) in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop, adding freshly cooked pasta when serving.
Cold Fighting Chicken Noodle Soup
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
Equipment
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.
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Love!! Whole family loved it! And I finally got my sick 2 year old to eat. Great soup for a sick family on a cold night. Didn’t change a thing
Best soup ever!! This will be a go to soup for years to come.
This chicken noodle soup is like a warm hug for your immune system! The garlic, ginger, and lemon juice combo is a powerhouse of natural goodness. A must-try during flu season! By the way, if you’re looking for an extra boost, consider adding a sea moss supplement to your daily routine.
You have a typo above the recipe. You will be feeling better in time. …better in NO time it should read. I will make this tomorrow. Please delete this comment if you wish.
Suffering with Covid I googled some recipes to make me feel better and this one came up at the top, read the reviews and thought let’s give it a go. Genuinely didn’t expect it to be as good as it was but it’s the best soup I’ve ever tasted!! Made it exactly how the recipe says and it was incredible! Will be sharing the recipe with my friends and family ❤️
Partner and I absolutely love this recipe..second time making it. Best chicken noodle soup I have made. Thank you!
This chicken soup was so damn delicious. Definitely saving!
I did a few things differently:
– Used double the amount of chicken thigh and trimmed off the big bits of fat before cooking.
– Used 1/3 cup of risoni pasta instead of the ditalini pasta.
– Used lemongrass paste instead of fresh and dried rosemary instead of fresh (all I had access to).
– Added the celery leaves as well as ribs.
10/10 recipe! Thank you 🙂
Yet another amazing review for this recipe but it truly deserves all of it’s praise. One of the best soups I’ve ever eaten.
Delicious!
I’ve made this more than once and it hits out of the park every single time! Perfect for this seasons cold and flu blues.
Yummy …
It was mouth watering!!
I love it!!♥️
I usually hate chicken noodle soup but was desperate to try anything to feel better. I couldnt find any fresh lemongrass or paste anywhere so we didnt use it. I also used a rotisserie chicken and bone broth instead of chicken stock because we needed it out of our fridge. This was the best soup i have ever had and now I love chicken noodle. It would have been even more amazing if I had followed the recipe! Cant wait to make it again.
This was fabulous! I tend to always cook the pasta on the side and end up scooping way too much pasta in my bowl. This was the perfect ratio and perfect calorie count for me. The flavor was SO good and helped me feel better when I was sick. I didn’t add lemongrass because my store doesn’t carry any form of it. I’ll try to see if I can find the pasta on Amazon for the next time I make this. Thank you for sharing this!
This soup is our new go-to when we are sick! This was absolutely delicious and I really do believe it helped so much! I just added tumeric too because I saw a lot of people said that’s good for cold and flu too! Thank you for sharing this recipe!!
I have a similar recipe from my brother, which he’d make when I was suck and always seemed to fix a cold or flu. Tried this one, but made my own chicken stock first, with chicken frames & veges, my brother swears it’s all the marrow & goodness from the bones that cures a cold/flu. Couldn’t get fresh lemon grass, but the paste was just as good. The fresh herbs, ginger & garlic are so important, the lemon finished it off perfectly. Cracker of a dish. Thank you!
This is so good & honestly, i needed all the goodness in it so badly.
I changed nothing, your recipe is amazing. THANKYOU. oh except i dont own a dutch oven so used my big saucepan (its on my wanted list though haha)
Making this soup today for my sore throat, hope it helps.
I have now made this so many times that the one on the stovetop now is 14 quarts as I always freeze some of the broth. The first time I made this for a house full of covid family members. Let me tell you the entire house was better by the next day, and I never did catch it, likely due to the remarkable soup. Now days I don’t measure any ingredients and I absolutely love it with good old fashioned egg noodles. I would highly encourage any chicken noodle soup lovers to try this recipe. PS: My 4 year old grandson was under the weather the other day and asked for Nana’s soup.
I didn’t have lemongrass and omitted the lemon. I used chicken breasts and diced it into small bites instead of shredding. I used 8oz wide egg noodles because I prefer them. I also added a lot more liquid. Turned out delicious! The house smells so good! I served baguette slices with butter on the side. So glad there’s plenty of leftovers! I got 8 servings out of it.
A few changes: I forgot to buy the fresh thyme and rosemary, so I added in dried basil and oregano. The chicken stock only came in 32 or 48-oz cartons, so I used 48 oz/6 cups and didn’t use the cup of water. I don’t like the taste/oilyness of chicken cooked in soup, so I baked the chicken and added it fully cooked.
This is delicious! So flavorful. I ate mine with a loaf of crusty french bread and the broth was amazing. I chose this recipe because it used ditalini, one of my favorite pastas, and I was not disappointed.