Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

With temps dropping and snow on its way (at least here in the Northeast) I can’t think of a better time to put up a pot of this utterly comforting and delicious Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup. Just thinking about it makes you feel warmer!!

A few years ago, my daughter and I used to regularly get take-our containers of a creamy chicken noodle soup from a market near the rink she used to skate at for hockey practices that was over an hour away from our house and that always seemed to schedule practices just at dinnertime! Oh, the memories! Not sure why it’s taken me three+ years to re-create it, but the both of us are so happy I finally got around to it. YUM!!

Every bite is totally spoon-worthy! Creamy and soothing without being too rich or heavy.

That’s partly because instead of boiling the chicken in the broth, I roast a couple of chicken breasts, shred or cut them up and then add them to the soup in the last stages of cooking. I find that this really adds so much more flavor to the soup and you can even sub in a rotisserie chicken if you’re short on time.

The other big plus for this soup is how quickly and easily it comes together with pantry and fridge staples—just carrots, onions, garlic, peas, chicken stock, noodles and a little bit of heavy cream, which means you can pretty much make this any time you get the yen!

And that’s a really good thing, because after one bite, I think you’re going to be craving this all winter long—it might even become your new fav!! Stay warm, my friends!

---

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

Makes at least 6 servings

Prep Time: 40 minutes, plus time to cook chicken if you are not using leftover or rotisserie

Ingredients

For the chicken

• 2 large bone-in or boneless chicken breasts (you could also use rotisserie chicken and skip this step entirely)

• Olive oil

• Kosher salt and black pepper

For the soup

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 5 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

• 1 large onion, diced

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• Kosher salt

• 2 quarts, plus 1 cup chicken stock

• Black pepper

• 10 ounce bag frozen peas

• ½ cup heavy cream (you could sub in half-and-half or even whole milk too)

• Noodles, pasta or rice for serving (optional)

The Recipe

1. For the chicken: Preheat oven to 375ºF. Place chicken in a roasting pan and season with salt and pepper on both sides. Pour on a little olive oil and turn to coat, finishing with chicken skin-side up. Roast for about 1 hour or until well cooked through. Let chicken cool. Discard skin and bones if not using boneless breasts and cut or shred chicken. This can be done up to a day before or while you are preparing the rest of the soup.

2. For the soup: Heat the tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the carrots, onion and a generous pinch or two of the salt. Sauté for about 5-7 minutes, until veggies are tender, stirring every now and then. Add the garlic and stir for about 30 seconds—you don’t want it to get browned. Then pour in the stock and season with a couple of pinches of salt and pepper. Turn the heat high and bring to a boil.

3. While the soup is coming to boil, prepare the noodles or pasta according to the package directions—if you cook them in the soup, they’ll absorb all of the broth.

4. Once the soup has boiled, turn down the heat so that it comes to a simmer. Add in the shredded chicken, peas and cream. Let cook until the peas are soft and everything has melded together. Ladle into bowls and pass around the noodles.

Enjoy!