Soup is one of my favorite dinner recipes because it comes together so easily and I can make a big steaming pot of it full of everything a good dinner should have – protein, a vegetable, and sometimes even a carbohydrate. Soup recipes are like the original one pot meal and this Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup recipe is no exception. My kids have grown up on soup, coming to expect it and love it. We love making warm dinner rolls with soup recipes, pulling them hot out of the oven and putting them in the middle of the table. Everyone dips their rolls and slurps their soup as we talk about our day. This creamy cousin to my Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup is an adaptation of my Crock Pot Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup. The creamy broth and simple flavors make it a delicious dinner that everyone in the family will love.
How to Make Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
The most important part of this soup is the roux – the mixture of a fat and flour to create a thickening agent. It is what makes this soup so creamy.
A Note on Salt and Pepper
The salt content in chicken stock varies greatly between brands. Therefore, this recipe is purposefully under-salted. At the end of the recipe, gradually add more salt (you may need up to a full teaspoon more), until you reach the taste that you like. Make life easier for yourself. If you use the same brand of stock all the time, make a note of how much salt you had to add for the next time you make this.
Make This Recipe Faster
This from scratch recipe is absolutely delicious, but it does take an hour to make. To make it easier, reduce the chicken stock to 6 cups and use shredded rotisserie chicken. Follow the instructions as written, but when it tells you to add the raw chicken breasts, skip to cooking the noodles. When the noodles are done, stir in the 3 cups of cooked shredded chicken. Then add in the heavy cream. This will cut about 20 minutes from the cooking time.
Storing Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
This soup recipe will keep in your refrigerator for three days. When reheating, reheat only the portion you want to eat. Put it in a small sauce pan over low heat, stirring until warm. Alternatively, place in a microwave safe bowl, and cover cooking for 3 minutes on half power. Stir and cook for an additional minute on half power if not warm enough. Only reheat the left overs one time. This is the reason for only pulling out the portion you want to eat.
Freezing
You can freeze this recipe by allowing it to first cool and then putting it in an airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to three months. Either allow it to thaw in the refrigerator and then reheat as listed above or reheat slowly over low heat on the stove top, stirring regularly.
Nutritional Information
This soup is hearty enough to have for dinner on its own. It will keep you full all evening. A bowl (which is one and a half cups) has 430 calories. If you want to lower the calorie count in this recipe, replace the heavy cream with half and half. It will make the soup just slightly less creamy, but will cut the calories by 100 calories per bowl. Get the full nutritional information at the very bottom of the recipe card.
Make this Recipe Gluten Free
If you are cooking for someone with a gluten allergy, make this soup with gluten free noodles and gluten free flour. We’ve made this with almond flour, and it was just slightly less creamy but still absolutely delicious. There are so many great varieties of gluten free noodles on the market, and they will work perfect in this soup.
What to Serve with Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
As mentioned above, we normally just make some dinner rolls to go with soup, but if you are looking to bulk out dinner a little bit, here are some great sides: This Arugula Salad is a really simple recipe that would compliment this soup perfectly. My Brussel Sprouts with Bacon would come together quickly while the soup is cooking. Finally, my Brown Sugar Roasted Sweet Potatoes are a very popular recipe that come together fast.
Other Great Soup Recipes
If you are like me and just can’t get enough soup, here are some other recipes we make regularly in our house:
Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla SoupSausage and Kale SoupSlow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup
If you make this soup or any of my other recipes, leave me a comment and let me know what you think! I love hearing about your family dinners.
