This classic chicken noodle soup is dressed up with jalapenos, ginger, and lots of extra garlic for a cozy, comforting soup that's perfect to help you kick your winter cold! I love making this chicken soup whenever I'm feeling under the weather and need a sick day or just whenever it's cold outside.
Since this soup is packed with sinus clearing aromatics like ginger and garlic, it might not be the best if you have picky kids who don't like spicy food. So use your judgement and feel free to reduce the quantities of certain ingredients if desired.
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Ingredient Notes
You just need a few simple ingredients to make the best ever chicken noodle soup!
Chicken - I love using my easy poached chicken for this soup. But you can also use leftover rotisserie chicken or just cook the chicken in the soup itself!
Noodles - You can use any flat egg noodles you like! Or just use wild rice if you want to make the soup gluten free!
Vegetable Stock - I always use homemade vegetable stock because that's what I have on hand. But you can also use store-bought vegetable stock or chicken stock! Just note, if using store-bought stock you may need to reduce the salt content of the soup.
White Wine - This is completely optional, I just love the extra flavor it adds to the broth.
Jalapenos - For a less spicy soup, just remove the seeds. For an extra spicy soup, use 4 jalapenos with the seeds instead of 2.
Ginger - I prefer to use fresh ginger, but ginger paste works just as well!
Garlic - I'm a big garlic lover, so feel free to reduce the amount if you prefer.
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup
Thinly slice the carrots and celery; finely chop the onion, jalapenos, and garlic; and grate the ginger.
Add all the prepared veggies and olive oil to a large stock pot over medium high heat.
Lightly sauté for about 5 minutes or until tender and aromatic.
Deglaze the pan with with wine, making sure to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Then add in the vegetable stock and reduce the heat to medium.
Add in the shredded chicken, thyme, sage, bay leaves, salt, and pepper and bring the soup to a simmer.
Note: If using raw chicken, simmer until the chicken is fully cooked through (10-15 minutes). Then remove and shred.
Add in the noodles and simmer until tender, 8-10 minutes.
Stir in the lemon juice, taste and adjust seasonings if desired.
Serve immediately!
Recipe Notes
Since the noodles will absorb the broth, I suggest straining out the broth to store separately! Then just combining again before reheating! This is the easiest way to prevent soggy, bloated noodles!
This chicken soup also freezes great! But if freezing, I recommend waiting to add the noodles. Simply portion out the soup you want to freeze. Then add the noodles to the portion you're planning to eat immediately.
Recipe FAQ's
Store the broth and inclusions separately in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Yes! I've also made this soup with rice or diced potatoes and both options are delicious!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Sick Day Chicken Soup
Special Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 large carrots, sliced
- 3 stalks celery, sliced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 jalapenos , diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
- ½ cup white cooking wine, optional
- 5 cups vegetable stock
- 2 large poached chicken breasts, shredded
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh sage
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 6 ounces egg noodles
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, optional
Instructions
- Thinly slice the carrots and celery; finely chop the onion, jalapenos, and garlic; and grate the ginger.
- Add all the prepared veggies and olive oil to a large stock pot over medium high heat.
- Lightly sauté for about 5 minutes or until tender and aromatic.
- Deglaze the pan with with wine, making sure to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Then add in the vegetable stock and reduce the heat to medium.
- Add in the shredded chicken, thyme, sage, bay leaves, salt, and pepper and bring the soup to a simmer. Note: If using raw chicken, simmer until the chicken is fully cooked through (10-15 minutes). Then remove and shred.
- Add in the noodles and simmer until tender, 8-10 minutes.
- Stir in the lemon juice, taste and adjust seasonings if desired.
- Serve immediately!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Jayne Holgate says
Since finding this recipe it is the only chicken soup I make now. I use dried herbs, no jalapenos or wine. I can't do spice or wine. I cook the noodles separately. Chicken soup was just about the only thing I couldn't get right. The flavours are great!!
sarah says
This was so yummy. I was feeling sick and this recipe was like a hug from the inside. I doubled the recipe for my family but kept the jalapeños count at two instead of four. It was super spicy but in a good way. I didn’t have any egg noodles so I substituted little shell noodles instead, and my family liked it because the noodle size matched the size of chicken pieces. I also used dried herbs, and the soup was still delicious. Looking forward to making this again.
Michelle says
My kiddos and I are getting a cold. I am thinking of trying this, is it too spicy for littles?
Kyleigh Sage says
It’s pretty spicy with the jalapeños so I’d just leave those out!
Jess says
Love! Felt a cold coming on, so whipped up a big batch of this soup. I honestly think it gets better the next day! The jalapeno is such a nice touch.
Leigha says
This soup is so so good! I made this when I had a cold, and it was just the thing I needed!! 1000/10
Jaryd says
Probably the best chicken noodle soup I’ve had in my life
Stephany says
Ok wow…..GOOD SOUPPPPP!!!! 10/10