Classic American Chicken Noodle Soup
A rich homemade broth from browned chicken thighs with onion and bay, chicken breasts poached in it and shredded, then onion, carrot, celery and thyme simmered in the strained broth with wide egg noodles and finished with parsley.
Wikipedia says modern American chicken soup, made with root vegetables, was a staple across Northern Europe and was brought to the United States by immigrants. What America added was the can. Campbell's chemist John T. Dorrance, who joined the company in 1897, developed a commercially workable way to condense soup by halving its water. Wikipedia's chicken soup article says the very term "chicken noodle soup" may have first been used in Campbell's advertising in the 1930s: one of its original 21 condensed soups was "chicken soup with noodles," and a slip of the tongue on the Amos 'n' Andy radio show is said to have produced the shorter name. By 1962 Andy Warhol was painting the cans.
This recipe goes back to the stove. America's Test Kitchen published it in Cook's Country in 2006 because, it says, canned broth lacks depth: the broth is made from browned chicken thighs, chicken breasts poach in it for the soup, and the vegetables and egg noodles cook in the finished broth.
🇺🇸 This one is American
A rich homemade broth from browned chicken thighs with onion and bay, chicken breasts poached in it and shredded, then onion, carrot, celery and thyme simmered in the strained broth with wide egg noodles and finished with parsley.
🕯️ The original
Ashkenazi Jewish kitchens simmered the same golden chicken broth for Friday night and served it with soft matzo balls, a soup so often given to the sick it earned the nickname Jewish penicillin. See the Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls recipe.
Why it works the kitchen science
Browned thighs for the broth
Searing dark meat before simmering builds the deep, roasted chicken flavor that ATK says canned broth lacks, and discarding the skin and fat keeps the broth from tasting greasy.
Noodles in the broth, at the end
Cooking the egg noodles right in the finished soup for just 5 minutes lets them soak up flavor without going soft.
Step by step
- Step 1
Pat the thighs dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until smoking. Brown half the thighs skin side down until deep golden, about 6 minutes, turn and brown lightly, about 2 minutes, and move them to a strainer set over a bowl. Repeat with the rest and discard the fat that drips out.
- Step 2
Pour off the fat in the pot, add the onion and cook over medium heat until just softened, about 3 minutes. Pull the skin off the thighs and discard it. Return the thighs to the pot with the water, bay leaves and 1 tbsp salt, cover and simmer 30 minutes.
- Step 3
Add the breasts and simmer about 15 minutes more, until they read 165°F and the broth tastes rich.
- Step 4
Strain the broth into a large container, let it stand at least 10 minutes and skim the fat off the top. Shred the breast meat for the soup; save the thigh meat for another meal.
- Step 5
Heat 1 tbsp oil in the empty Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook the onion, carrot and celery until the onion softens, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the thyme and the broth and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
- Step 6
Add the noodles and shredded breast and simmer until the noodles are just tender, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the parsley, season with salt and pepper and serve.
Classic American Chicken Noodle Soup
Serves 8 · about 3 quarts · 1 hr 55 min total
Broth
- 12 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 4 lb)
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 quarts water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 lb)
Soup
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped fine
- 1 carrot, sliced thin
- 1 celery rib, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
- 2 tsp minced fresh thyme
- 6 oz wide egg noodles
- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper
Method
- Pat the thighs dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until smoking. Brown half the thighs skin side down until deep golden, about 6 minutes, turn and brown lightly, about 2 minutes, and move them to a strainer set over a bowl. Repeat with the rest and discard the fat that drips out.
- Pour off the fat in the pot, add the onion and cook over medium heat until just softened, about 3 minutes. Pull the skin off the thighs and discard it. Return the thighs to the pot with the water, bay leaves and 1 tbsp salt, cover and simmer 30 minutes.
- Add the breasts and simmer about 15 minutes more, until they read 165°F and the broth tastes rich.
- Strain the broth into a large container, let it stand at least 10 minutes and skim the fat off the top. Shred the breast meat for the soup; save the thigh meat for another meal.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in the empty Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering. Cook the onion, carrot and celery until the onion softens, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the thyme and the broth and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.
- Add the noodles and shredded breast and simmer until the noodles are just tender, about 5 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the parsley, season with salt and pepper and serve.
Adapted from America's Test Kitchen, "Chicken Noodle Soup" (Cook's Country, April/May 2006; published online December 22, 2011), serves 8 to 10. We follow it as written: 12 bone-in, skin-on thighs browned in two batches about 6 and 2 minutes a side; an onion softened about 3 minutes; 3 quarts water, 2 bay leaves and 1 tbsp salt simmered covered 30 minutes; 2 boneless breasts added for about 15 minutes; the broth strained, rested 10 minutes and skimmed; onion, carrot and celery 3 to 4 minutes, thyme and broth about 15 minutes; 6 oz wide egg noodles and the shredded breast about 5 minutes; parsley off the heat. We use 8 servings. ATK gives no internal temperature for the breasts; the 165°F check is ours. ATK sets the thigh meat aside for another use, and so do we. America's Test Kitchen. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- ATK refrigerates the broth and shredded breast up to 2 days or freezes them up to 1 month, then finishes the soup just before serving so the noodles and vegetables don't go soggy.
- Cool the broth in shallow containers within 2 hours (USDA FSIS); a full pot cools too slowly.
- Use the reserved thigh meat in the 30-Minute Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup instead of a store-bought chicken, or in chicken salad.
- Leftover noodles keep swelling; add a splash of broth when you reheat, and bring it to 165°F.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Campbell's named it "chicken noodle" by accident. Disputed: Wikipedia says the term "may" have first been used in Campbell's 1930s advertising and that a slip of the tongue on Amos 'n' Andy produced it; we read no primary source for the broadcast.
- Chicken noodle soup is an American invention. Disputed: Wikipedia says the root-vegetable chicken soup came from Northern European immigrants; the canned "chicken noodle" name is American.
- Cook the noodles separately. Folklore: many cooks do, to keep them firm; ATK cooks them in the broth for flavor and finishes the soup just before serving.
- Canned chicken noodle soup is salty. Documented: Wikipedia cites 890 mg sodium per 1/2 cup of the condensed soup in 2011 and 2013 sources.
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