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Warm and soothing! Flu-fighting chicken noodle soup is loaded with all your noodle soup favorites plus tons of ingredients that help you fight that cold or flu even faster! The perfect home remedy for flu season!
Soul healing. Flu-fighting chicken noodle soup.
This chicken noodle soup is the first recipe I make whenever either of us feels like we’re coming down with something.
It’s always the same, right? It all starts with a sneeze or a slight tickle in the back of your throat that you can’t kick. And before you know it, it’s the full-on flu. Fever, cold chills, no appetite, and congestion. You get the picture.
Nothing feels the way a warm bowl of soup does when you’re sick. Especially when it’s a comforting bowl of chicken noodle soup. Tons of al dente veggies cooked in olive oil, tender chunks of chicken, warm chicken stock and pasta spirals – the wider the noodle, the better.
To amp it up and make more of a ‘flu-fighting chicken noodle soup’ I used a ton of ingredients that help boost your immune system naturally.
Ingredients in flu-fighting chicken noodle soup:
- Olive oil: I use olive oil to sauté the veggies before adding in the fresh herbs and spices.
- Mirepoix: Mirepoix is just a combination of diced onions, carrots, and celery. We’ll give the onions a few minutes head starts before adding in the other veggies.
- Fresh ginger: sliced medallions of ginger go in with the carrots and celery so they start infusing the oil with all that goodness.
- Garlic cloves: Minced or pressed garlic goes in with the fresh herbs and seasonings to help flavor the soup.
- Fresh Herbs: I use fresh or dry bay leaf, fresh or dried thyme, and a handful of fresh parsley to give this soup tons of bright color and flavor. Feel free to add a sprig of rosemary or any other herbs you might have on hand!
- Seasonings: I use ground turmeric, adobo seasoning, as well as a salt-free all-purpose seasoning (such as Mrs. Dash) to help flavor the soup. Adobo seasoning in this case is a combination of garlic powder, onion powder, lots of black pepper, dried oregano, and more turmeric. If you don’t happen to have any on hand, there are tons of recipes on the internet where you can just make your own!
- Chicken Broth: If you’re using store-bought broth, I suggest using low sodium chicken broth to help control the amount of sodium in the soup. It’s easy to add more salt, but you can’t take it away! You can also make your own chicken broth at home easily, and then shred the chicken and use it for this recipe.
- Egg Noodles: I use regular wide egg noodles and cook them for 1-2 minutes less than what’s stated on the package. Feel free to add more or fewer noodles to your liking! You can also use extra-wide noodles if you like those better!
- Cooked chicken: I usually just poach chicken breasts with some onions, garlic cloves, salt, and a handful of black peppercorns. Then just shred with two forks before adding it to the soup. You can also use a store-bought rotisserie chicken and just shred that up!
- Lemons: I stir in both lemon zest and lemon juice into the stockpot right at the end to give this soup a little acid! It makes the soup experience even better!
I love this recipe, and so does my husband. I’ve made it several times to your exact recipe, and several more times with variations depending on what ingredients and spices I have on hand. It turns out good every time, but the most delicious version is the one you have right here.
A chicken noodle soup recipe that’ll make you feel better.
- Sauté the veggies. Add oil to a large Dutch oven or a large stock pot over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot add the onions and give them a few minutes head start before adding the celery, carrots, and ginger slices. Cook them for a few minutes before you add the garlic, along with bay leaves, turmeric, adobo, all-purpose herb seasoning, and thyme. Allow the herbs and spices to bloom in the oil before adding the chicken broth.
- Simmer.Simmer the soup until it just starts to boil. Then add the egg noodles and allow them to cook in the broth. This will help thicken your soup a bit. When the noodles are almost done, stir in the chicken and heat it through. Add more broth or a splash of water if the soup is getting too thick.
- Finish and serve. Turn the heat off. Fish out and discard the bay leaves (and thyme if it was fresh.) Stir in the lemon zest, a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice, and fresh parsley. Taste and adjust with more salt and pepper to your taste.
Why This Recipe Will Heal You
- Ground Turmeric: turmeric may have become trendy in recent years but its healing properties date way back. The anti-inflammatory properties of turmeric help combat the common symptoms of the flu.
- Black pepper: has antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Black pepper also contains an abundance of vitamins C which will help boost the body’s immune system.
- Ginger: helps reduce inflammation in the body and aids in soothing a sore throat.
- Garlic: If you’ve cooked one or more things from this blog, you know that we really love our garlic. And although garlic may not be an ingredient used commonly in chicken noodle, it’s something I always use as it helps regulate the guts flora which then helps rid the body of bacteria or viruses.
- Carrots and Onions: the beta-carotene in carrots help combat respiratory infections. The onions aid in riding the body of viruses. Some people believe leaving 1/2 an onion in each room of the house while you have the flu can help get rid of the virus entirely! I don’t know if it’s true, nor am I willing to let my house smell like a blooming onion. But adding it to soup, that’s easy enough.
- Chicken soup: Helps hydrate the body and the warming liquid helps soothe a sore throat And relieves blocked nasal passages. It’s a vitamin-loaded elixir for the body!
- Lemon: Vitamin C helps boost the body’s immune system and it also aids in soothing a sore throat.
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
- The slow cooker version of this soup
- Herb-Loaded Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
- Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Comforting Chicken Sweet Corn Soup
- Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
- Lemon Chicken Barley Soup
Flu-Fighting Chicken Noodle Soup
Warm and cozy, flu-fighting chicken noodle soup is loaded with all your noodle soup favorites plus tons of ingredients that help you fight that flu faster!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 stalks celery diced
- 2 medium carrots diced
- 4 (½-inch thick) fresh ginger slices optional
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoons adobo seasoning optional
- 1 tablespoon salt-free all purpose seasoning such as Mrs. Dash
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 8 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 5-6 ounce egg noodles to preference
- 2 cups shredded chicken
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice or more
- ¼ cup parsley chopped
Instructions
- SAUTÉ: Heat the oil in a 5-6 quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté for 3 minutes. Add celery, carrots, and ginger slices and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and let cook 30 seconds before adding bay leaves, turmeric, adobo seasoning, all-purpose seasoning, and thyme. Pour in the chicken broth.
- SIMMER: When the soup reaches a simmer, lower the heat to medium and add the egg noodles. Cook noodles 2 minutes less than package directions. Noodles should be al-dente. Stir in chicken and heat it through, about 1-2 minutes. Add more broth or a splash of water if you prefer a soupier soup.
- FINISH: Turn the heat off, discard bay leaves. Stir in lemon zest + lemon juice, and parsley. Taste and adjust with additional salt and pepper. Serve warm.
Nutrition
Calories: 220kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 8g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
Made this for my poor sick family that has the flu, even though I’m sick too. But as we all know Momma doesn’t get off that easy . I only used 1/2 the garlic, lemon & parsley which made it perfect for my family & it let the flavor of the veggies really shine. I also added 1 chopped zucchini & 1 chopped yellow squash.
just made and eating this, fantastic. Hoping it makes my daughter feel better, I just loved the taste
This is the bessst chicken noodle recipe!! I make it every time we get sick and I swear it helps. I like to add a shallot & a jalapeno in addition to everything else. Also have experimented with a teaspoon or two of chili pepper in adobo sauce, definitely changes it, but gives it a nice kick & smokiness.
I share this recipe with everyone!!!
Wow!! Amazing recipe!! I made this today and the flavors are so good. I did leave out the Odobo Seasoning but added everything else and added some extra of the veggies. So very good. Definitely will make this again.
DELICIOUS!!!
I was a little nervous about whether my family would like the soup and oh my!!! It IS the best chicken noodle soup I have ever made or tasted. I will be making this often as we transition to winter.
I’ve been keeping this recipe for a year because I love ginger and garlic and just had a reason to make this soup for my boyfriend who was feeling under the weather and all I can say is wow! I swear we both feel absolutely rejuvenated and this will be my go-to soup from now on! So heartwarming and delicious. I didn’t have any lemon but can’t wait to make it again and try it that way as well as I can see everyone swears by it. Thank you for this awesome recipe – 10/10!
Just made this,tasty but please remove the adobo seasoning and all spice. Will mess with those who have gerd and gerd and flu is a deadly combination. Plus there is already a lot of garlic and onion no need for addiitonal garlic and onion powder
Love love LOVVEEEE this soup!! I made this last night for a friend who was feeling super sick and they loved it too said it was the best chicken noodle soup they’ve ever had and I agree it was very delicious! Also my friend woke up this morning feeling better than ever so the ginger and tumeric definitely did something! I left out the Mrs. Dash seasoning and just used my own adobo spice mix but it was amazing thank you so much for this!
Is there a way to do this in the crock pot instead?
I’ve made this atleast 10 times while sick, and it’s not only comforting and tasty but delicious and it really helps! I pour it over rice as opposed to noodles. I also season chicken breasts with garlic powder, salt, and a bit of lemon pepper, sear the chicken on both sides in a separate pan (without fully cooking through just a sear) before adding to the soup to simmer until finished. Searing the chicken beforehand not only helps it cook faster in the soup but it adds another depth of flavor. I then take out the chicken breasts, shred it and it back to the soup. Delicious
Hi, I make this recipe at least a couple ties every year. We love it! I had not seen the updated post that included ginger until just now. I am adding it this time, I was just wondering if they should be taken out with the bay leaves? Thanks for all your wonderful recipes, I have never had one I don’t like.
Hi Cheryl! Yes you can remove the ginger slices with the bay leaves, if you prefer. We typically just discard afterwards, but either way would work here 🙂