Chicken Soup Recipes From Noodle to Tortilla to Gnocchi

Chicken soup earned its place on the counter because a bowl could be simple and still feel like a full meal. Clear broth and egg noodles do one job; a creamy gnocchi soup or a bowl of gumbo does another. I want the chicken to stay tender and the starch to keep its shape, whether that means cooking noodles separately or letting barley have the pot to itself for a while. The bright soups need their lemon or lime near the end, and the creamy ones need gentler heat once the dairy goes in. A good pot leaves room for broth around the solid ingredients. Choose a bowl for the appetite in front of you, and save the extra noodles separately if tomorrow’s lunch is part of the plan.

Classic Chicken Noodle Soup

A clear broth, tender chicken and noodles with some bite are enough for this bowl. Keep the simmer gentle so the chicken stays moist and the broth doesn’t turn cloudy from a hard boil. The noodles go in after the meat comes out to be shredded. If you’re saving half the pot, cook only the noodles you plan to eat now and keep the rest separate from the broth.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Bake the tortilla strips while the soup simmers so they arrive at the bowl crisp rather than turning soft on a waiting plate. This broth gets its body from blended tomatoes and onion, with a little chipotle for smoke. There are no beans or cream hiding the chicken here. Add the strips at the table, where the first few stay crunchy and the lower ones soften into the hot broth.

Creamy Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Leeks and kale give this creamy bowl a mellow vegetable base, while the gnocchi need only a short simmer after the chicken has cooked through. Add those soft potato dumplings near the end and serve promptly, because leaving them to bubble while you finish another job can turn a light soup thick and heavy.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Cut the potatoes small enough to cook before the chicken dries out, and keep the pastry separate until the soup reaches the bowl. The filling should coat a spoon while still pouring easily, so it feels like soup rather than a pie filling that lost its crust. A crisp puff-pastry square on each portion gives you the flaky bite without asking a whole lid to bake over a pot of liquid.

Chicken and Rice Soup

Long-grain rice gives this soup a soft, familiar texture without thickening it as heavily as a short-grain variety. Rinse it first. The grains should stay separate in the broth, and the chicken can be shredded while they finish cooking. Don’t leave the pot simmering after the rice is tender. It keeps drinking broth as it sits, so leftovers will need an extra splash when you warm them.

Chicken and Dumplings Soup

Drop dumplings need a gentle simmer and a closed lid so steam can cook their tops. Peeking every few minutes lets that heat escape and stretches the cooking time. Keep the dough rough and spoon it in small mounds rather than stirring it smooth. The broth underneath stays loose enough to qualify as soup, with tender chicken and vegetables around the fluffy dumplings instead of a thick gravy holding everything still.

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Lemon belongs at the end, where its sharpness stays clear instead of fading through a long simmer. The orzo cooks in the broth after the chicken comes out, giving you time to shred the meat while the pasta softens. A little chopped dill stirred through is enough. This stays a clear, brothy soup, with no eggs or cream smoothing over the lemon or changing its texture.

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Masa harina gives the broth a gentle corn flavor and more body than a plain tomato soup. Whisk it in carefully so dry pockets don’t hide at the bottom of the pot. The cheese goes in after the chicken has cooked through, over low heat. This is the creamy, spoon-coating bowl in the red-soup group, with the enchilada flavor built in the pot rather than borrowed from a jar of finished sauce.

Buffalo Chicken Soup

Celery, chicken and cayenne sauce give this soup the flavor of a wing plate without making you pick around bones. The cream cheese needs to soften into the hot broth before the sharp sauce goes in. Stir it smooth. Small potato cubes make the bowl more substantial while keeping the chicken in charge, and the final broth should be creamy enough to soften the heat without becoming a heavy cheese dip.

Thai Coconut Chicken Soup

Bruised lemongrass needs a short steep in the broth, then it comes out before the chicken goes in. Its tough stalks aren’t something to chew through at the table. Coconut milk gives the soup body without flour, and the lime juice goes in after cooking so it stays bright. Keep the heat gentle once the chicken and mushrooms are simmering. The broth should taste savory and sharp as well as rich, with fish sauce doing the salty work.

Chicken Wild Rice Soup

Pure wild rice needs a head start before the chicken goes in, with enough time for the grains to open slightly and lose their hard centers. Mushrooms deepen the clear broth without cream, leaving the rice pleasantly chewy and easy to see instead of burying it under a thickened dairy base.

Italian Chicken Soup

Tomatoes, white beans and spinach make this a brothy dinner without needing pasta to fill the bowl. Crush a few beans against the side of the pot if you want a little more body, but leave most whole. Oregano and a measured spoonful of Parmesan season the broth rather than turning it into a thick cheese soup. The spinach goes in last so it stays green and soft instead of cooking down into threads.

Chicken Taco Soup

Ground chicken makes small crumbles that share each spoonful with black beans and corn. Brown it before adding liquid. Stir the spices through the meat while the pan is still fairly dry so they don’t float on the broth in dusty patches. Serve it while the cheddar is soft enough to melt into the red broth, leaving the beans and corn easy to see in the bowl.

Chicken and Vegetable Soup

Give the carrots and celery time to soften before the quick-cooking vegetables join them. Zucchini can go from tender to collapsing while you’re still waiting for a thick carrot chunk, so cut the pieces thoughtfully and add them in stages. Chicken thighs hold up well in this brothy pot. A few tomato pieces give the stock some color without turning the soup into a heavy tomato base.

Greek Avgolemono Chicken Soup

Eggs and lemon turn hot broth silky without a drop of cream. Temper the eggs slowly. Pouring them straight into the pot is how you get little cooked strands instead of a smooth soup. Rice gives the bowl a gentle body, and the chicken stays in small shreds so nothing feels heavy against the lemon. Once the egg mixture goes in, use low heat and keep the soup below a boil.

Roasted Veggie and Chicken Soup

There is nothing quite as comforting as chicken soup on a brisk evening. I've added roasted fall vegetables to this classic and served it alongside thin bread crisps for the a delicious, hearty meal.

Courtesy of Catherine Pappas and Living the Gourmet

Get the full recipe at Living the Gourmet.

Chicken Pho

Charred onion and ginger give this broth depth before the spices have much time to steep. Toast the whole spices briefly and remove them with the aromatics before serving, so the bowl is clear and easy to eat. Rice noodles cook separately because they soften quickly and can cloud the pot if they sit in it. This is a practical chicken pho made with a stock head start, with the chicken poached gently in the spiced broth.

Chicken Ramen Soup

Brown the chicken first, then let it finish gently in the soy-seasoned broth while the mushrooms soften and you cook the eggs. The ramen goes into the bowls just before serving, with two hard-cooked egg halves in each and bok choy simmered only long enough to soften its stems. Keep the noodles separate from any leftover broth so the next bowl isn’t a tangle of swollen pasta with very little soup around it.

Chicken Matzo Ball Soup

Chill the matzo mixture before shaping so the meal can absorb the egg and liquid. Give the balls room to expand. They cook in a separate pot of gently simmering water, which keeps the chicken broth clear. Wet hands help you shape them without squeezing the mixture dense. Two tender balls in a bowl are enough, with chicken and sliced carrots around them rather than a crowded mound of dough.

Chicken Sopas

Evaporated milk gives this Filipino-style macaroni soup a creamy broth without a flour-thickened base. Small hot-dog slices add a familiar savory note, and cabbage goes in late so it softens without disappearing. The macaroni keeps absorbing liquid after the pot leaves the stove. Serve it while the broth still moves freely around the chicken and vegetables, and keep an extra splash of broth for any leftovers you plan to reheat.

Chicken Pastina Soup

This chicken pastina soup is a soul-warming, homemade soup that's as delicious as any traditional chicken noodle soup! The fine pasta combines perfectly with rich broth, tender chicken, and vegetables!

Angela Latimer, Bake It With Love

Get the full Chicken Pastina Soup recipe at Bake It With Love.

Chicken Pozole Verde

Tomatillos give the green broth a tart edge that holds up to the chicken and hominy. Char them with the onion before blending so the soup has more depth than a pot of boiled green vegetables. The cabbage and radish are modest toppings added at the bowl, where their crunch meets the soft corn kernels. Keep enough broth in the pot that the hominy can move freely around the shredded chicken.

Chicken Lentil Soup

Brown lentils keep their shape long enough to share a pot with chicken thighs, while red lentils would break down into a much thicker soup. Toast the cumin and coriander with the vegetables, then finish with lemon so the earthy grains taste rounded and bright instead of needing more salt to wake them up.

Chicken Barley Soup

Brown the chicken lightly and use the same pot for mushrooms so the broth picks up their toasted edges, then give the pearl barley a head start before the meat returns. Check a grain from the center of the pot before serving: it should be tender all the way through with a little chew, and the soup should still have enough broth to move easily around the chicken and vegetables.

Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

The roux is the part that asks for your attention. Stir it until it turns a deep nut brown, then add the vegetables before it slips from toasted to burned. Chicken and a modest amount of andouille make this a full bowl, with okra and plenty of broth around them. Cook the rice separately and spoon it into each serving so the whole pot doesn’t thicken while you’re waiting for everyone to sit down.

Homemade chicken stock in an hour vs buying it

An hour is enough to improve a soup with a cooked chicken carcass, even if it won’t produce the same stock as a long simmer with plenty of raw bones. Break the bones from one three- to four-pound cooked chicken into pieces that fit a pot. Add one quartered onion, one chopped carrot, one chopped celery rib and eight cups water. Bring just to a simmer, skim the surface and cook gently for forty-five to fifty minutes, then strain. Expect roughly six to seven cups, depending on how much evaporates.

Keep the simmer quiet so the fat and loose protein don’t churn through the liquid. Don’t press the vegetables hard through the strainer unless you want a cloudy broth with a stronger cooked-vegetable flavor. This quick stock is useful for noodle soup, rice soup and a leftover-chicken pot because it gives the broth more body without requiring a whole day. Cool any portion you aren’t using promptly in shallow containers, then refrigerate within two hours; an ice bath helps a large batch lose heat faster.

Bought low-sodium broth is a sound choice when the chicken is going to cook directly in it or the soup has strong seasonings such as tomatoes, coconut milk or a dark roux. Low sodium gives you room for fish sauce, cheese or a measured amount of salt later. Taste the broth warm before committing the whole carton to a delicate soup. If it tastes mostly salty, adding more seasonings won’t create the chicken flavor that’s missing underneath.

Adding noodles so they don’t swell into mush

Decide whether the whole pot will be eaten before the noodles go in. For dinner now, cooking pasta directly in the soup is convenient and gives the broth a little starch. For several lunches, cook the noodles separately in water, drain them and portion them into containers apart from the soup. Ladle reheated broth over each serving when you’re ready to eat. The extra container is less trouble than trying to turn a pot of swollen pasta back into soup.

Use the dry weight in the recipe, not a casual handful that grows every time you reach into the bag. Small shapes such as pastina and orzo absorb broth quickly, while wide egg noodles take up space even before they become very soft. Pull pasta just as it turns tender if it’s staying in hot broth. Rice and barley also keep absorbing liquid, so reserve a little plain stock for reheating those soups and add it gradually rather than thinning the whole batch at once.

Rice noodles and fresh ramen deserve separate cooking unless the recipe specifically builds its timing around them. Their texture changes quickly, and leftover broth can turn them heavy or fragile. Gnocchi go into a nearly finished soup and need only their package cooking time; a long simmer doesn’t make them more comforting. Reheat the soup itself thoroughly, then combine with the starch for the shortest practical time. A bowl should still have enough broth to sip after the first few spoonfuls of chicken and noodles are gone.

Keep reading

• 20 Easy Weeknight Soups Ready in Under an Hour
• Crockpot Soups That Beat the Diner Special
• Fall Soup Recipes for the First Cold Week of the Year