Homemade Gluten Free Chicken Noodle Soup
Comforting gluten free chicken noodle soup made with rich and flavorful chicken broth, tender chicken and vegetables, & perfect gf noodles.
Yield: 4 servings
Equipment
- Instant pot optional
- 7-quart stock pot alternative
Ingredients
- 8 cups gluten free chicken stock (See Recipe Notes)
- 1.5 pounds chicken breasts skin on, bone in
For the soup
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or twice as much fresh
- 1 bay leaf fresh or dried
- 1 pound large carrots (about 2 large) washed, peeled and sliced thinly by cross-section
- ½ pound celery (about 4 medium stalks) washed and sliced thinly by cross-section
- 1 medium yellow onion peeled and diced
- 6 ounces button or baby portobello mushrooms cleaned and sliced
- 1.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
- Chopped fresh parsley for serving
For the noodles
- 14 ounces gluten free rice noodles (See Recipe Notes to use gluten free egg noodles)
Instructions
Cook the chicken breasts.
- In the bottom of a large, heavy-bottom stockpot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the breasts in a single layer, skin side down, and cook for 3 minutes without disturbing them.
- Flip the chicken breasts back skin-side up, sprinkle with the salt, pepper and thyme, and add the bay leaf, carrots, celery and onion.
- Pour in enough warm water just to cover the chicken by 1 inch, and bring the water to a simmer over medium heat.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low to allow it to continue to simmer. Do not boil
- Skim off and discard any white foam that forms at the top.
- Cover the pot and allow it to cook for about 15 minutes or until it is opaque throughout and registers 165°F on an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken. Thicker breasts will take longer than thinner ones.
- Remove just the chicken from the liquid, leaving behind the carrots, celery, onion, seasoning, and bay leaf.
- Place the chicken on a plate, and allow to rest, covered loosely with foil, for 10 minutes.
- Remove and discard any skin, bones, or cartilage, chop the meat into small chunks and set it aside.
- This is to serve with the soup, and can be made ahead and refrigerated, once cool, for up to 2 days.
Cook the noodles.
- Cook the noodles according to the package or recipe instructions.
- Rinse them thoroughly with warm water, and drain them completely. Toss them with a bit of oil and set them aside.
Assemble and finish preparing the soup.
- Add the chicken broth and mushrooms to the pot with the cooked carrots and celery.
- Bring the mixture to a rapid boil over medium-high heat, and allow to cook for about 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender but not overcooked.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low so the soup simmers.
- Add the chopped chicken and cook until it's heated through. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
Serve the soup.
- Set out 4 large soup bowls. Place servings of noodles and cooked chicken in each serving bowl.
- Ladle in the hot soup with cooked vegetables. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve hot.
Notes
For the chicken stock.
In place of homemade chicken stock in this recipe, you can use 12 cups (96 fluid ounces) low-sodium chicken broth (or a mixture of chicken broth and water mixed with 1 recipe homemade vegetable bouillon).
For the chicken breasts.
You can cook the breasts up to 3 days ahead of when you want to serve the soup, and just keep them in the refrigerator. The strained stock can be stored in the refrigerator in sealed containers for about 1 week, or frozen for longer storage.
For the noodles.
I like Thai Kitchen brand or Lotus Foods brand rice noodles in this recipe. You can, of course, use your favorite gluten free pasta, or our recipe for gluten free egg noodles.
Since we cook the pasta separately and only combine it with the soup on serving, don’t shave off any cooking time from the pasta. Cook it how you’d like to eat it.