Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

Sometimes when you’re feeling under the weather, all you want is a hot steaming bowl of chicken noodle soup. Mike was feeling under the weather a couple weeks ago, so I prepared some chicken noodle soup for him. I opted for a slow cooker version because I find that it’s a no-fail method to get moist, tender chicken every time. And even better, it allows you to prepare the soup in advance while running errands for the day.

I have a 6-quart crock pot so I usually make a big batch at a time so we can have enough for leftovers, plus more to freeze for an easy meal on lazy weeknights – and I find homemade chicken noodle soup is much better than canned any day. You could easily half the recipe if you don’t need so much soup at a time. If you’re planning on freezing the soup like I do, you should cook the egg noodles separately so they don’t absorb too much liquid and get soggy or disintegrate into the soup. Personally, I prefer my egg noodles separate anyway because I can adjust how many noodles I want in my soup per bowl.

I also love my soups chock full of goodness, so I beefed my soup up with mushrooms, celery, carrots, and corn. It’s best to stick to at least the celery and carrots for a classic chicken noodle soup, bu you could leave out the mushrooms and corn if you don’t have any hand. Since I’m a corn lover, I love adding fresh corn kernels, especially when it’s in season, as they add more texture to the chicken noodle soup but frozen corn would work as well. It’s best to add the corn it near the end as usually you just need to heat it through but it’ll still keep its crunch.

Preparing the chicken noodle soup

I recommend a combination of bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts and thighs because it really helps deepen the chicken flavor, and adds a nice richness to the soup. To get started, place about 2lbs of chicken pieces on the bottom of the slow cooker, and then cover with the chopped vegetables. You’ll want to use about 3 diced carrots, 4 celery stalks, 1 yellow onion, 4 cloves of garlic, and 1 lb of button or crimini mushrooms. Add in 8 cups of chicken broth, 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp hot sauce, 1 parmesan rind, 2 bay leaves, 2 tsp thyme, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

Remove the bay leaves and parmesan rind from the soup; skim and discard the fat. Transfer chicken pieces to a cutting board and shred the meat with two forks, discarding the skin and bones. Add the meat back into the soup along with the corn kernels.

Mix cornstarch and water to form a slurry and add to the soup to thicken it a bit, which I find makes the soup stand up better to the noodles and a bit heartier. Cook for another 10 more minutes or so (on low or high). Stir in 1 tbsp lemon juice and 1/2 cup chopped parsley. Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste.

For the noodles

In the final cook time for the soup, bring a pot of water to boil. Once it boils, add in a tablespoon or two of kosher salt and 4 cups egg noodles. Cook for 8-9 minutes or until al dente and then drain in a colander and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. It’s best to keep the noodles just a tad under cooked as they tend to cook a bit in the hot soup. Alternatively, you could cook the egg noodles directly in the soup but be sure to add them after the soup finishes cooking, as they would be overcooked otherwise. All it takes is an extra 20 minutes in the hot soup to get the noodles to the right consistency. Be sure to use wide or extra wide egg noodles to ensure they can hold up to the soup.

For serving

To serve, add the egg noodles to a bowl, ladle in soup and top with additional chopped parsley and a dash of hot sauce and a sprinkle of fresh cracked black pepper.