As the frosty grip of winter tightens, there's one culinary ritual that provides consistent comfort: whipping up a hearty batch of chicken noodle soup. This classic dish, a staple in households across the UK, is not only soul-warming but also a brilliantly versatile and nutritious meal.
The Ultimate Comfort Food for Chilly Evenings
Sophie Harris, a Senior Lifestyle Reporter, swears by her simple chicken noodle soup recipe, making it every single week throughout the colder months. She champions batch cooking, which yields several portions, ensuring a wholesome and filling meal is always on hand. The beauty of this particular recipe lies in its flexibility; it can be enjoyed with or without noodles, making it a substantial dish either way.
Gathering Your Ingredients
To create this winter warmer for four to five servings, you will need the following ingredients:
- Two cooked chicken breasts, seasoned to your liking and shredded
- Three carrots, finely diced
- Two celery sticks, finely diced
- One onion, finely diced
- Two garlic cloves, crushed
- 500ml of chicken broth
- One potato, peeled and roughly diced
- Juice of one lemon
- 150ml of double cream
- Fresh parsley
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Pasta shapes (optional)
A Step-by-Step Guide to the Perfect Soup
Begin by cooking your seasoned chicken breasts in a pan until they are fully cooked through. Once done, set them aside on a board to rest. Next, in a large, deep pan with a lid, add a little olive oil and cook the diced carrots, onion, and celery until they have softened. This is the perfect stage to add salt, pepper, and your favourite herbs.
Cook the crushed garlic for a couple of minutes before pouring in the 500ml of chicken broth. While chicken broth can be slightly harder to find in UK supermarkets, it is worth seeking out for its superior nutritional profile. Broth typically contains more collagen, gelatin, and minerals due to the long simmering of bones, resulting in a lighter and tastier base for a chunky soup.
Sophie Harris recommends Freja’s chicken bone broth, available for £5 per 500ml from Tesco and Holland & Barrett. After stirring the broth through the vegetables, add the diced potato and cook with the lid on for approximately 20 minutes.
While the soup is simmering, shred the rested chicken. Add it back into the pot along with the double cream, lemon juice, and a generous handful of fresh parsley. Check the seasoning and adjust with extra salt and pepper if needed.
This is the point where you can decide to boil some pasta separately to add to the soup, transforming it into the classic chicken noodle dish. Alternatively, for a lower-carb option, simply enjoy the soup as it is, perhaps with a slice of crusty bread for dipping.
Why This Soup is a Winter Winner
This recipe is more than just a meal; it's a practical solution for incorporating a variety of vegetables into your diet with ease. It’s a wholesome, nutrient-dense dish that provides warmth and comfort during the coldest time of the year. By batch cooking, you can ensure that a perfect, home-cooked lunch or dinner is never more than a few minutes away.
