Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
This is an easy, proven, cozy soup with deep, rich flavor. It’s perfect for a cold night or even a slightly cool fall one.
CREAMY CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts OR a store rotisserie chicken Chicken broth – 4 cups
3 pieces of bacon – chopped Half a white onion – diced
2 medium carrots – sliced ½ packet of ranch seasoning
¼ cup mascarpone cheese or cream cheese ½ cup milk
8 oz. thin spaghetti (roughly) ½ cup Monterrey Jack cheese
Salt and pepper Onion and garlic powder (optional)
Paprika (optional) Oil – not olive (optional)
Dried Parsley for garnish (optional)
1. If using a store-bought rotisserie chicken, pick the meat off. Depending on the size of chicken, you might use all of it or only half.
~ If roasting your own, sprinkle salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika liberally over chicken. Don’t COAT it but give it some good flavor. Then drizzle oil over the top.
~ Roast for 15-20 minutes at 350◦. If the chicken isn’t completely cooked through at that time, it’s okay. A little pink or even raw in the very center is okay. It’ll keep cooking as it sits and when you put it back into the very hot pan.
2. In your soup pot, cook the bacon till it’s crispy. (Not burnt, but crispy. It’ll soften up when it goes back into the soup, but you want it to be fully cooked for flavor as well as for a better texture.) Take bacon out and save drippings.
3. Over medium heat cook onions and carrots in grease BUT give onions a few minutes head start. (Don’t let the onions brown but they can keep cooking and are fine mushy, carrots are NOT)
4. While the veggies are cooking, chop your chicken into chunks that will fit onto a spoon. Then add to the pot. If you roasted the chicken at home, add the pan juices as well.
5. Stir in the half packet of ranch seasoning.
6. Add milk and mascarpone cheese and gently stir till totally incorporated.
~ If you don’t have mascarpone cheese (or don’t want to spend the money), you can use cream cheese. I like mascarpone because there’s no chance of getting a sweet flavor.
7. Now add the chicken broth. Make sure to stir up all the goodness on the bottom of the pan. Gently, of course.
~ Now you have a decision to make. If you like a lot of broth with your soup and noodles, add 2-3 cups of water. If you’re worrying about diluting the flavor, add two water and one more of broth. If you like a lot of ‘stuff’ more than broth, then only add 1-1.5 cups of water.
8. Give the bacon a rough chop and add it to the pot. Then bring everything to a boil.
9. Break the pasta in half or into thirds and add the pasta to the pot. Make sure you stir it in, not just let it sit on top.
10. Once the pasta is al dente, mix in the cheese. (If you don’t have Monterrey jack, cheddar will work. It’s just a little stronger flavor than I was going for. But it must be shredded. Not cubed. You want it to melt away and join the flavor, not have lumps of it in the pan.)
11. Serve up with a little parsley for garnish (dried or even fresh) and enjoy!
One of the great things about this soup is that it doesn’t have to sit and come together. Once everything is cooked, it’s ready!
Check out my story on Instagram for a step by step of this recipe!
I made this the other night and an interesting thing happened that hadn’t happened yet. It all got eaten. Like all of it. ZERO leftovers. Apparently in the year since I last made it my boys decided to eat like grown men. I have no problem with this but next time I make it, I’ll probably be doubling the recipe. That way they all an have their fill and we have leftovers for lunch the next day. Which makes my life easier. :)
