Frugal Feasts: Comforting Chicken Noodle Soup

In Frugal Feasts, our culinary creators will be sharing their favorite affordable and fulfilling meals from their own family cookbooks and home kitchens. These recipes will use SNAP-friendly ingredients and use dependable culinary tips and tricks so you can adopt and adapt a new staple into your weekly meals!

Chicken noodle soup is one of the most comforting meals, in my opinion. Every time I eat it, I have what I can only describe as “the Anton Ego moment” (Ratatouille reference) – where my first bite of Chicken Noodle Soup takes me back to the days of childhood & my grandma making an extra-large pot of her soup. Nostalgia at it finest. Sick day, chicken noodle! Cold weather, chicken noodle! Can’t figure out what to make for dinner, pull out the chicken noodle from the freezer. I made a large batch just last year as my husband and I were going through fertility treatment & between side effects of meds and various procedures – there were nights I just didn’t feel like cooking. Cue the standby soup! I hope you enjoy this delicious, hearty yet affordable to make, soup!

Nothing’s better than a hearty pot of chicken noodle soup!

Chicken Noodle Soup

• 1 package Boneless, Skinless Chicken Thighs

• 1 32oz container of Chicken Broth

• 2 cups of water (add more as desired)

• 2 Tbsp olive oil, to sauté vegetables

• ½ sweet yellow onion, finely chopped

• 2 celery sticks, finely chopped

• 4 carrots, peeled and chopped

• 1 package of egg noodles

• 1 -2 cloves of garlic, minced

• 1 Tbsp Kosher Salt

• 1 Tbsp Black Pepper

• 2 tsp Italian Seasoning

1. Mise en place – Everything has its place. Chop your veggies and get everything you might need ready before your start to cook. It will make your cooking experience loads easier; I promise! It was one of the first lessons in culinary school and I have never looked back.

2. Get a large soup pot and add the Chicken Broth, Water and Kosher Salt and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat to medium/low and carefully add the chicken thighs then partially cover for about 20 minutes.

3. While chicken is cooking get a large skillet, add 2 Tbsp of Olive Oil and sauté celery and onion until softened (about 5 minutes or so). Once vegetables are softened, add to your soup pot along with sliced carrots. You’ve got about 15 minutes to sit down, drink some water or dance around your kitchen. *Hey Siri – play Taylor Swift “shake it off” *

4. Once those 15 minutes are up, take your chicken out and shred it. You have options to shred your chicken!

   1. Two forks – a classic method!

   2. Hand mixer – put the chicken in bowl and use your hand mixer. Start on low speed and increase as you go.

   3. Kitchen aid stand mixer (if you’re feeling fancy) – same as above

5. Once all the chicken is shredded, add it back to the soup along with the minced garlic, black pepper, Italian seasoning and noodles. Add salt to taste. Let simmer for about 10 more minutes or until noodles are cooked to desired doneness. At this point, if the noodles have absorbed too much liquid, go ahead and add more water. If you add more water, let simmer for another 5 or so minutes.

6. Serve with crackers, or bread and enjoy!