Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup

There is nothing better than the feeling of a warm bowl full of homemade roasted chicken noodle soup cupped in your hands. It’s one of my favorite ways to beat the winter chills (be still my southern heart!).

I love making this with big chunks of shredded chicken and fresh veggies and herbs. I used carrots and celery as my main veggies in this recipe, but I’ve also made this with chickpeas and leeks or butternut squash and corn. It really depends on what kind of mood your in, what’s in season, or what you feel like eating. There’s always ways to tweak recipes and make them more of your own.

As always, if you decide to make this, I’d love to see how it turns out for you. Tag me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter so I can see what you end up with 🙂

INGREDIENTS

• Chicken Thighs, 2 lbs (with or without bone)
• Salt, 2 tsp
• Pepper, 2 tsp
• Cayenne, 1 tsp
• Butter, 2 tbsp
• Yellow Onion, 1, diced
• Garlic Cloves, 3, minced
• Chicken Broth, 10 cups
• Water, 2 cups
• Olive Oil, 3 tbsp
• Celery Stalks, 4, chopped
• Carrots, 4, peeled, diced
• Bay Leaves, 2
• Thyme, 1/2 tsp
• Dry Egg Noodles, 3 cups
• Parsley, 1/2 cup chopped
• Lemon Juice, 1 tbsp
• Salt, 1 tsp *add more to taste

HOW TO MAKE IT

1. Take your chicken thighs are remove any moisture by taking a paper towel and drying them off. Once dry, toss them with salt, pepper, and cayenne.
2. In a stockpot or dutch oven, heat the butter on medium high heat. Once the butter melts, place the chicken in and cook until the side facing down turns a nice crusted, golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside.
3. With the butter and chicken fat still in the pan, add the onions and cook until soft. Once soft, add the garlic and cook until lightly roasted.
4. Now, add the broth, water, and olive oil. Stir this while loosening up any remnants on the bottom of the pan.
5. Bring this to a rolling boil and then add the chicken back in to the pot along with the celery, carrots, bay leaves, and thyme. Once added in, stir everything together, then reduce the heat to medium low and let simmer covered for about 25 minutes.
6. After 25 minutes, remove the chicken again and set aside in a mixing bowl.
7. Add the dry egg noodles to the broth and let cook covered for about 20 minutes.
8. While the noodles are cooking, shred the chicken into small pieces (or as big as small as you like to eat it).
9. Add the shredded chicken back in to the pot along with the parsley, lemon juice, and any additional salt and pepper (according to your taste). Find and remove the bay leaves. Enjoy!