I’m only telling you about this soup today because…

Easy Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup I howsweeteats.com

…the taste buds on my tongue are still non-existent given my impatient spoonfuls of testing, and I hate to be alone. I’m secretly hoping you’ll hurry up and make this then burn the bejesus out of your mouth. Sorry. I cannot tell a lie.

But anyway. Enough with the awkward silence.

 

The best part of making this soup? You’re gonna roast a chicken. I loooove to do that and talked about it non-stop for like four months while you probably just wished I showed you a picture of a cupcake and shut my trap. But a roasted chicken is almost as good as chocolate. I mean it.

Easy Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup I howsweeteats.com

Here comes the awesome thing: You really need to discard the skin because it will just get gross in the broth… which means you need to eat it. Seriously. Eat it. If you throw it in the trash I will hunt you down and do… something bad. If you don’t want to eat it all can I suggest making a chicken skin crostini or a chicken skin omelet or something chicken skinish? Just find a way to ingest it.

 

And while we are busy talking about chicken skin, don’t you dare discard the dark meat either. It flavors the soup like nothing else. So, so good. I know, I know… you’re scared of dark meat/don’t want the fat/want to keep this a white meat only soup. Uh, enough with the excuses. I also used to be timid around dark meat, but then I came to my senses. Use it and no one will get hurt.

Easy Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup I howsweeteats.com

I am not ashamed to admit that my dinner on Monday night consisted of chicken skin and chicken skin only. Word to the wise: don’t roast a chicken that you aren’t planning on eating for dinner when you haven’t even considered dinner yet.

 

Oh! Another word to the wise? When you go to drain your chicken stock (which you’re going to do cause, uh… it’s in the recipe), it would be smart to actually HAVE A POT UNDERNEATH the strainer and not dump 92 ounces of unbelievable flavor down your drain. Live and learn, folks. Live and learn.

Easy Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup I howsweeteats.com

Would you believe me when I tell you that this incredible chicken soup only really has six ingredients? Now… I’m really annoyed with myself because a huge pet peeve of mine is when a “5-ingredient recipe” has five ingredients, plus salt and pepper, plus olive oil, plus herbs and spices and a bunch of other stuff that for some reason doesn’t count as a proper ingredient. But I’m playing that card here. All you need is a chicken, noodles, stock, carrots, onions and celery… and a bunch of flavoring stuff that is already hiding in your kitchen somewhere. And for the record, if celery is ever mentioned in another recipe I make, I will have surely been abducted by aliens.

Since this was my very first time making chicken noodle soup (where have I been?!), I consulted our good friend Barb who thankfully gave me all of her secrets. If it wasn’t for her, I’m pretty sure I would be eating a cloudy bowl of broth flavored by flavorless chicken. This recipe takes a bit of time but is totally worth it… just ask my taste buds, whom I may punish today by surviving on vegetables alone since I can’t taste a darn thing.

Easy Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup I howsweeteats.com

Easy Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup

makes one giant pot, serving at least 8

1 6-pound roasting chicken + fresh thyme, olive oil, salt and pepper for your chicken

96 ounces low-sodium chicken stock

2 cups of chopped carrots

2 cups of chopped celery

2 medium sweet onions, chopped

1 1/4 pounds (about 20 ounces) of egg noodles

2 teaspoons black pepper

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

for additional flavor, add: minced garlic, fresh rosemary, thyme and parsley

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Remove chicken from packing and clean if necessary. [See a full tutorial for roasting a chicken HERE.] Rub chicken with olive oil, then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Set in a roasting pan or baking dish breast-side up, and roast for about 90 minutes, or until juices run clear when sliced near the thigh. Remove chicken from oven and let cool completely. Once cool, remove skin (i.e. eat it) and remove all white and dark meat, setting aside in a bowl.

Fill a large stock pot with chicken stock. Add the chicken carcass into the pot, then add a few sprigs of fresh thyme (I used 5 sprigs). Bring the stock to a simmer and let bubble and cook for about an hour and a half, removing any fat from the top with a small mesh strainer. Place a very fine strainer over another large pot, and drain stock to get rid of thyme and the bones. I actually drained mine twice just to get it very clear.

Once the stock is ready, add it back to the large stock pot (I simply wiped mine out with a paper towel to remove some bits/grease) and add carrots, celery and onion. Bring to a simmer and let cook for 20 minutes. While the vegetables are cooking, prepare a separate pot of water for the pasta and cook according to directions. Mine called for 12 minutes of cooking, and I cooked them for 9. Once pasta is finished, drain and then rinse well with cold water. This simply removes the starch and helps the broth remain clear.

Add chicken into the stock and turn down to low. Stir in 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt (or as much as you’d like) and 2 teaspoons of pepper. I cooked mine on low for about 2 hours, but it was easily ready to eat and flavorful after 30 minutes. Add noodles about 15 minutes before serving. Serve hot with crackers and a garnish of fresh herbs.

Easy Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup I howsweeteats.com

While crackers will suffice, I believe what really belongs next to this bowl is a toasted piece of talonica bread glowing with butter. Gah! Why isn’t that in my life right now?!