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A white bowl of old fashioned chicken noodle soup made from scratch with fresh veggies on a bright counter next to farm fresh eggs and fresh parsley for garnish

Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup From Scratch

This hearty, belly-warming recipe will teach you how to make old-fashioned chicken noodle soup from scratch just in time for those cozy fall evenings. The time invested is well worth it for this healthy meal made from whole-food ingredients your entire family will love. 
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 20 minutes
Serving Size 12 bowls

Ingredients

  • 5 lb whole chicken or any similar sized chicken
  • 2 cups diced onion
  • 3 cups chopped celery
  • 4 cups carrots - chopped into coins
  • 6-10 cloves garlic I’m talking to you garlic lovers
  • 2-3 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 ½ tsp dried parsley
  • 1 tsp dried sage
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • Water
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • Fresh parsley for garnish optional, but well worth the extra step
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 4-8 TB whole milk add 1TB at a time

Instructions

How to make Old Fashioned Chicken Soup

  • Put chicken in a large stock pot, cover with water, & bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes. Lower the heat to medium-low & cook with the lid on for 2 hours. 
  • Remove chicken using tongs once it is tender & about to fall off the bone. 
  • While the chicken cools, skim any excess fat from the top. Leave behind as much as you’d like as it will continue to cook down & give your broth FLAVOR.
  • Remove as much meat from the bones as possible. - DO NOT cut/shred the meat. Allow the cooking to take care of that for you when it’s time.
  • Return only the bones to the pot & cook at medium-low. Cooking down the bones will draw out all of those nutrients we want & essentially create a fresh bone broth for your base.
  • Cook the bone broth for 4-24 hours. The longer the better, but sometimes dinner waits for no one, so do what feels right! 
  • Strain the bones from the broth and discard the bones. Return the broth to the pot to complete the soup.
  • Add  veggies, garlic, herbs, & the cooked chicken from earlier. Top off with water if everything isn’t still covered. 
  • Bring back to a rolling boil for 2-3 minutes.Lower heat to medium low, cover, and cook for 2 more hours. Here’s where your house starts to smell like a dream.
  • Stir periodically. Just before your veggies are finished cooking, add your noodles & return to a boil. Boil for 3-5 minutes.
  • Remove from heat when noodles are done.Give one final taste & add more salt & pepper if needed. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.


How to make from-scratch noodles

  • Combine the salt and flour.
  • Make a well in the center of your dry ingredients to add your eggs.
  • Whisk eggs in the center of the well as you slowly incorporate the flour.
  • Before the flour is completely incorporated into the whisked eggs, begin to add the milk 1 TB at a time while mixing.
  • The dough will seem dry at first, but don't add more than the first 4 TB of milk until all ingredients have been incorporated. You can always add more later if needed.
  • Allow the dough to rest for 15-30 minutes.
  • Using a rolling pin or a stand mixer attachment, roll the noodles to their desired thickness.
  • Cut sheets of noodles to your desired length before cutting out the individual noodles.
  • Put your noodles through your stand mixer noodle cutter, or use a pizza cutter or knife to cut them out.
  • Ensure noodles are well floured and either lay flat, or hang to dry for 30 more minutes up to a few hours.
  • Add noodles to soup & cook at a boil for 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness of the noodles.
  • Serve & enjoy!

Notes

This recipe can be shortened if using store-bought or pre-made broth instead of cooking down the bones after the chicken is removed.
If going this route, save the bones from your chicken for future broth making.
Any kind of whole chicken will work for this recipe, but a local pasture raised chicken will provide more flavor and nutrition benefits.
The noodles in this recipe are our favorite, but store bought egg noodles or homemade dumplings are also a delicious substitution.Ol