Recipes

Easy Peasy Chicken Noodle Soup

If your mom isn't available to make you chicken noodle soup, this fast and easy corner-cutting version is a great alternative for a feel-good dinner

By Catherine RBarr /

Credit: Catherine Roscoe Barr

By cutting a few corners, you can have a homemade bowl of chicken noodle soup for dinner

If you’ve got a cold or just need a comforting boost, chicken noodle soup is the ultimate feel-better meal, and this version is a snap to make

I caught a nasty cold and since my mom lives almost 1,200 kilometres away I decided to take a break from my pity party and make myself some chicken noodle soup. I’ve barely left my bed, let alone my apartment, for the past few days so I didn’t get too fancy, and cut a few corners by buying organic, reduced-sodium chicken broth and a rotisserie chicken.

Everything else I already had at home. I was even able to use the uncooked noodles and fresh thyme I had left over from making beef stroganoff a couple of weeks ago, and I also had some carrots left over from my last batch of carrot cake. 

The Globe and Mail’s nutrition expert, Leslie Beck, says that garlic “appears to boost the immune system and fight viruses” but that “raw garlic seems to work better than cooked garlic.” So if you’re looking for some serious cold-fighting power (and you’re not concerned about your breath) add the garlic towards the end of cooking instead of at the beginning. 

This recipe serves 8.

Ingredients

  • 3 medium carrots, chopped
  • 4 baby potatoes, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt (I love the Vancouver Island Salt Co‘s Canadian sea salt)
  • 1/2 tsp cracked pepper
  • 1 litre chicken broth (I used organic, reduced-sodium broth)
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves removed and stalk discarded
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 cups egg noodles
  • meat from 1 rotisserie chicken, shredded (remove and discard skin)
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced

Instructions

  1. In large saucepan over medium heat, add carrots, potatoes, salt, pepper, stock and water.
  2. Cook for about 15 minutes and then add onion.
  3. Cook for another 10 minutes and then add noodles and thyme.
  4. After noodles have cooked for 5 minutes, add chicken, peas and garlic.
  5. Cook for another 2 minutes, or until pasta is cooked to desired doneness and peas and chicken are hot.

Catherine Roscoe Barr, BSc Neuroscience, is a Vancouver-based writer, editor, and fitness professional. Before settling on the west coast she lived in Sydney, Toronto, Oregon, Montana, and practically everywhere in Alberta. She can be found jogging with her adorable dog, dining with her fabulous husband or voraciously reading anywhere comfy.