Flu Fighter Chicken Noodle Soup
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This Flu Fighter Chicken Noodle Soup is loaded with good for you ingredients, it’s cozy and the epitome of comfort food. Perfect for when you’re feeling congested or experiencing flu-like symptoms.
It’s officially flu season here and it seems like everywhere I go, someone is sick with the flu. We’ve had one of the coldest weeks here in Alberta so it’s officially soup season, and I love making lots of soups, especially easy soups like this flu fighter chicken noodle soup.
This soup is loaded with anti-oxidant rich vegetables, loads of chicken and noodles. I made this soup with already cooked chicken to speed it up, but if you have the time, I strongly recommend cooking your own chicken and using that broth.
But does it really fight the flu?
Ever wonder why chicken soup is so commonly eaten when sick? Well this soup is chock full of nutrients, especially when the broth is homemade. All that bone marrow packed with white blood cells releases into your soup and makes for a hearty broth.
My recipe is also teeming with those classic veggies, like carrot and celery. Lots of hot soup can also help clear out congestion, meaning it’s a great option for allergy season too!
Not your soup next door
You’ll find a few different ingredients in this soup, like the hot sauce, soy sauce and herbs de Provence but trust me when I say you will not want to skip those ingredients. It’s what makes this soup special and gives it that wonderful flavor. A bowl of this soup and you’ll feel so much better! I used some egg noodles I had, but feel free to use the pasta of your choice.
- Veggies – Just the classic 3 today: carrot, celery, and onion.
- Chicken – Cooked or roasted chicken all chopped up, don’t worry about holding onto the bones or skin today.
- Spices – Herbs de Provence is what we’re using for extra dimension today. It’s a blend of herbs that typically include marjoram, savory, oregano, thyme, and rosemary.
- Herbs – Fresh dill, green onion, and parsley – believe me these herbs were invented to be put in chicken soup!
- Garlic – Use as much or little as you like.
- Broth – We want low sodium today – super important as we want to control the sodium content off our soup! Remember you can always add more salt but it’s hard to take away once it’s been incorporated!
- Sauces – Just a bit of hot sauce and some soy sauce.
- Noodles – Some egg noodles, I like something that cooks up super quick and doesn’t overpower some of those simpler flavors we have going on.
- Seasoning – Just a bit of salt and pepper.
- Red pepper flakes – Totally optional but they will lend a bit more heat to your soup.
How to make Flu Fighter Chicken Noodle Soup
- Saute the sauteables: In a large Dutch oven or soup pot heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots, garlic, red pepper flakes, herbs de Provence and stir. Cook for about 3 to 5 minutes until the onion softens a bit and becomes translucent.
- Combine the soup: Add the hot sauce, soy sauce, salt, pepper, cooked chicken, dill, parsley and stir. Add the chicken broth and stir. Add the noodles, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Garnish with more parsley and serve.
Other cooking methods
You don’t just have to make this hearty, good for the soul flu fighter soup on the stove top, you can most definitely make it with some of the other kitchen gadgets you’ve been itching to use.
Slow cooker
Set it and forget it! This recipe is super minimal effort required and can be made while you’re busy at work, just follow my recipe right here on the blog for chicken noodle soup in the crock pot.
Pressure cooker
Chicken noodle soup in under 15 minutes? And I’m not talking any of that pre made stuff, no I mean the real illness fighting deal. Whip it up in my flash with my recipe here.
Want to make your own stock?
Well I won’t fault you for it, and neither will your taste buds after they’ve tried the deliciousness that is homemade broth! Here’s how to make your own very own home made chicken stock.
- Roast your bones with a touch of olive oil in a deep pot till they’ve browned. Add 2 roughly chopped carrots, 2 roughly chopped celery stalks, and an onion cut in half. Allow these to get a bit of color as well.
- Add 8 cups of water – or more if your pot is deep enough!
- Bring this mixture to a gentle boil before turning the heat down to a high simmer, allow this to cook away for 2 hours covered. Skim the fat off the top as needed.
- Strain out the solid bits and allow the stock to cool before storing! I like to keep home made stock in my freezer till needed for soups or any variety of dishes.
Some tips
- Keep in mind that your fresh herbs are delicate! Keep an eye on them after incorporating them into your soup, especially the dill. If you notice your dill is wilting too quickly feel free to save it for the end.
- If you use dried herbs keep in mind that they are more flavor concentrated than fresh, one tablespoon of fresh equals one teaspoon of dried.
- Reserve some of the rich broth separately and freeze for illness fighting power whenever you need it!
Leftovers
Homemade chicken noodle soup will last 3 – 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
This flu fighter chicken noodle soup freezes amazingly as well! Just be sure to pack up to store before adding any noodles as they tend to turn mushy when thawed. Stored in an airtight container this soup will stay fresh frozen for 4 – 6 months. Just thaw it overnight in it’s container in the fridge before reheating on the stove.
Craving more delicious soup? Try these recipes:
- Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
- Chicken and Dumplings
- Red Lentil and Chicken Soup
- Lasagna Soup
- Broccoli Cheese Soup
- Italian Wedding Soup
- Chicken Potato Soup
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup
- Mulligatawny Soup
- Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
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Flu Fighter Chicken Noodle Soup
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion (chopped)
- 2 stalks celery (chopped)
- 2 medium carrots (chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 teaspoon herbs de Provence
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce (I used Sriracha)
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce (low sodium)
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ½ teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
- 3 cups cooked chicken (shredded or chopped)
- 2 tablespoon fresh dill (chopped)
- ¼ cup fresh parsley (chopped)
- 8 cups chicken broth (low sodium, 2 32 oz boxes)
- 3 cups dry egg noodles
- 2 green onions (chopped for garnish)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven or soup pot heat the olive oil over medium high heat.
- Add the onion, celery, carrots, garlic, red pepper flakes, herbs de Provence and stir. Cook for about 3 to 5 minutes until the onion softens a bit and becomes translucent.
- Add the hot sauce, soy sauce, salt, pepper, cooked chicken, dill, parsley and stir. Add the chicken broth and stir. Add the noodles, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Garnish with more parsley and chopped green onions.
Equipment
Notes
- Herbs de Provence is a common herb blend including rosemary, marjoram, thyme, sage, savory, and lavender. If you can’t find it, you can replace it with other herbaceous blends such as Italian seasoning.
- If you find the soup is too thick for your preference, feel free to add more chicken broth as needed.
- Refrigerate soup in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Chicken soup or broth goes bad quicker than cooked chicken by itself.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
This was amazing! I subbed the hot sauce with 1 TBSP vinegar, a jalepeno split in half, and a whole habenero in the boiling broth
Wow, love the creative twist! It must have added a nice kick to the soup. Glad you enjoyed it!
I used El Yucateco hot sauce, the green one. I really liked this recipe and was surprised by the hot sauce at first then realized it made so much sense. As the only healthy one in the house I made this my whole Saturday. Thank you for posting all the extras, like how to make the broth and details about herbs etc. Very helpful. I did add a little bullion mix at the end and turmeric, because it’s anti inflammatory and I can’t imagine chicken soup without it.
So glad you found the recipe helpful and enjoyed the flavor! Adding turmeric is a great idea for that extra health kick. Hope everyone in your house feels better soon, and kudos to you for taking care of them!
I made this recipe a while back and I’m so happy I found it again! It’s simple, hearty, so good, so comforting, AND healthy! My kids love it and requested it be our go-to for when we’re sick. I agree, and I usually don’t even like soup!
Wow! Just awesome. Made this soup for my sick hubbie and we both loved it. Highly recommend.
I made this soup for hubby who was in a ‘poor me’ state of mind with the flu; did this do the magic to pick him up or not.
I omitted the chilli and adjusted pepper to taste.
It was Tasty !!!! Left over soup – here I come.
Thank you from A-Girl
My pleasure, hopefully he’ll feel better soon.
I’ve made this recipe several times and it is our absolute favorite! I’m planning on making it tonight for my Flu B positive self🥴 I’m out of noodles, could I substitute rice? Any tips if so.
A very, very, thankful customer,
Maggie
I’m so glad to hear that you love this soup, it’s perfect for those under-the-weather days! Absolutely, you can substitute rice for the noodles. If you’re using white rice, you can add it directly to the soup in the last 20 minutes of cooking. For brown rice, I would suggest cooking it separately and then adding it to your individual bowls, as it takes longer to cook and can absorb a lot of the broth. Either way, it will be delicious! Feel better soon. 🍲😊
Amazing soup , this recipe is a must , literally felt 10x better after a bowl , taste is a 10/10
So glad you enjoyed it!
This has been my go-to chicken soup for a while now. I LOVE making it! Everyone eats it, and it’s easy to double to save for a couple days. Making it again tonight!!
So glad you like it!
Amazing soup, but knocking 1 star off for the recipe being misleading and lie about the total time it takes to prep/cook. You can’t say add cooked chicken as if cooked chicken is an ingredient. We need to cook the chicken as well, which adds another 20-25 minutes.
I wish people would stop doing this misleading us. It’s disingenuous. But, again, amazing soup.
Cooked chicken can be an ingredient, you can buy a rotisserie chicken at the store, which sometimes is much cheaper, and use that.
Couldn’t you just put the chicken breasts into the soup before pressure cooking? That is what your recipe for regular chicken soup says I can do, and I did. Works great! Love your regular chicken soup recipe. I think it is the best I’ve ever tasted. In fact, it’s in my instant pot right now. My granddaughter requested it. I will try the Flu Fighter one as well. Thank you so much for the great recipe!
You certainly can.
I’m always hesitant to make certain recipes online because they just don’t have the flavor you’re looking for you know? I made this soup and was put off by the soy sauce and hot sauce, but when I tell you this is the best soup recipe!!!!! My boyfriend who’s a chef rated it a 10/10 and the best soup he’s ever had. I’m keeping this recipe for my books, MAKE THIS SOUP you will not regret it!
Thanks for the best compliment of the day! So happy you guys enjoyed it!
I can always trust Jo to have a good recipe. Made this last night since I and my baby have colds. Didn’t add hot sauce. And cooked the two chicken thighs in my air fryer while prepping the rest of the soup (380 degrees for 15 minutes, flip halfway through) — saved me a lot of time. Otherwise everything else had good proportions! Added a squeeze of lemon before serving. Hit the spot!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Delicious! Doubled the recipe and will definitely make again. Kid friendly. I made it with 75 percent regular chicken broth and 25 percent bone broth
After having the flu this past week, my daughter made this soup for me!…….it relieved me of all the symptoms, feel so much better!…,,making some at home tomorrow……love this!
I’m so happy to hear it helped you!!
After 36 years of marriage, I have a wonderful collection of family favorite recipes. The majority of them come from family, friends, old Taste of Home magazines, and you! Adding this one – love the combination of flavors – the perfect Chicken Noodle Soup – thank you!
So glad you like the soup. 🙂
I just made this for dinner tonight. Perfect for a cold evening. Even though we don’t have the flu we enjoyed this soup immensely. Just the right amount of heat that would definitely help a sore throat.
So glad you liked it, Roddy!