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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!
I really enjoyed this soup, made it for my husband who had a stress cold. I seasoned with my heart and used 4 C of chicken broth, 4 C water with Knorr chicken bouillon powder. I think getting reduced sodium broth was a good move. I also let it simmer with a few chicken bones I had in the freezer for extra nutrients. I also used more noodles than called for and poached the chicken how you suggested—yum! Didn’t have a lemon (why are they so pricey!) so a good splash of vinegar did the trick. Made a LOT of soup for the two of us. Thanks for sharing!
I love this soup! We make it both when we’re sick and just for those chilly days when we want something cozy.
This soup was a hit for my very picky 5year old, sick husband & sick toddler!! We LOVED it!
I had to use ground ginger & turmeric that I had on hand. We used thin egg noodles & would probably double up what it calls for if we use thin again.
Soo delicious!
I found your recipe three years ago when my family had Covid. It’s my go-to chicken noodle soup recipe now. Everyone loves it. I was looking for it again today since my daughter had surgery yesterday, and decided it was time to leave a review. It’s so good!
I made this 3 times in the past year & my Granny just got a pot because she’s not feeling well. This is an amazing soup with great flavor. I never would have thought the lemon zest & juice would make such a impact. They complimented the soup very well. Excellent recipe. Thank you.
So delicious and pretty easy to make 🙂
This is the best chicken soup recipe I ever made!! Who knew Mrs. Dash was that amazing. I made it for my husband who has the man-flu (let’s all pray for him) and he loved it, too. LOL
Literally the best chicken noodle soup I’ve ever had. I did cook my chicken in the stock for about 10 minutes, removed it and shredded it. I added some peppercorns, and just added some subs for the adobo like garlic powder, oregano, etc. I also cook and keep my noodles separate so I get to savor every ounce of the broth.
Look, this is the best chicken soup. I made this for my dad who is feeling under the weather.
I am from South Africa so I used different seasoning but it still came out amazing.
Thank youz
I made this when my fiancé had Covid. It’s all he would eat, so I had to make another batch! My mom and I aren’t “soup people”, but we loved it! So much so, we keep servings frozen for when we’re craving it! Now I make it every time someone has a cold, flu, or Covid. My sister can’t stop raving about it! She lives 3 hours away, and she’s had me ship it to her FIVE times! I can’t say enough about this recipe, it’s that delicious! I use the ginger paste in the tube, and organic, low-sodium bone broth. I do find that the noodles absorb a lot of broth, so I add more after the noodles cook. I add about a teaspoon of Mrs. Dash, Adobo, ginger, and lots of lemon pepper, and even extra fresh lemon juice (we all LOVE that ingredient)! If I could give 10⭐, I would!
I meant to say I add these at the end, after tasting (of course) about a teaspoon of Mrs. Dash, Adobo, ginger, and lots of lemon pepper, and even extra fresh lemon juice (we all LOVE that ingredient)!
So delicious! My toddlers haven’t eaten much since getting sick, but they devoured this soup.
So goodddd! Daughter got sick so I just googled soup for flu and this popped up. It is so so good.
Hahaha. That’s what I did. Can’t wait to make it tonight
This recipe is amazing! I never imagined how wonderful the soup would taste with the addition of lemon zest and lemon juice. Oh my! This is a keeper. Thank you!!
If I wanted to cook this in a crock pot would I just throw everything in and add the noodles last?
Wonderful soup. I make it once a month. Have a teen that packs soup every day for lunch.
My husband said this was the best chicken noodle soup he’s EVER had and I agree. This was pretty easy to make. I added about 12 oz of noodles and more chicken broth. But I left out the Adabo seasoning due to not having it on hand.
I love this recipe! I keep coming back to it.
I just made this for my 4 year old son who has been sick for the last 24 hours and hasn’t eaten anything but bananas and crackers. We both loved it! I didn’t have adobo but found a recipe for that and was able to make it as the recipe stated. The turmeric and lemon zest and juice make this amazing! My son ate 4 bowls and gives it 10,000 thumbs up!
This soup is so delicious!! 100% favorite chicken noodle soup ever! I did substitute chicken bone broth instead and I also used rotisserie chicken seasoned with beer can chicken seasoning and emerald Lagasse’s rustic rub. But I absolutely love this recipe and the lemon and turmeric additions!!
I live in Australia and am having trouble finding Adobo seasoning and Mrs Dash’s seasoning. Is there an alternative? Thanks!
If you go to your local grocery and look at the ingredients for each item you can make your own. That’s what I do. I know it’s a pain but i9t works. Hope this hel-ps. Or better yet go online and find the ingredients