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A quick and easy chicken noodle soup loaded with chicken flavor, perfectly tender vegetables, whole-wheat pasta and a dose of freshness from lemon and dill. Don’t let the simple ingredient list and easy method fool you—this soup is loaded with comfort, like every chicken noodle soup should be!
No question, I love a good chicken noodle soup. I love how cozy and comforting it is, how salty the broth is, and the spoonfuls of tender veg. I also love leftovers, and generally speaking, when it comes to soup they tend to age well. A few days in the fridge and the same soup can develop quite a bit more depth.
On the other end of the spectrum, the noodles in chicken noodle soup continue to soak up the precious salty broth leaving you with mushy noodles and barely any broth.
To side step this little issue (or annoyance) I came up with a way for you to cook the noods separately without using a second pot. Read that again. Without using a second pot!
Ya’ll this trick is genius. Drop a colander in the pot of boiling soup (you’ll need a colander that has handles which will hold the colander in the soup without fully submerging in it). Drop the pasta right in the boiling pot of soup IN THE COLANDER and cook until tender.
When they’re al dente, carefully pull the colander out of the pot and voila! Perfectly cooked noods and ample amount of broth no matter when you’re serving this! Boom, boom and boom again!
Ingredients in Ground Chicken Noodle Soup
- Lean ground chicken, I recommend using 85–95% lean ground chicken. Avoid 99% lean ground chicken as it will not be nearly as flavorful.
- Fresh Garlic
- Spices: Ground coriander and celery seeds
- Mirepoix: a combination of diced carrot, celery and onion.
- Chicken broth
- Pasta: regular or whole wheat works here
- Lemon: will be added to the soup in the form of both juice and zest. And make sure you top each serving with lemon zest, it really makes the soup!
- Dill: adds a delicious depth of flavor. There is truly no substitute! Though if you don’t like dill you can use fresh parsley, cilantro or chives.
Step-By-Step Instructions
- Cook the ground chicken in a large pot with garlic, coriander and celery seed. Transfer the chicken to a bowl and reserve the drippings in the pot.
- Add mirepoix (carrots, celery and onion) to pot, season with salt and pepper, and cook briefly.
- Add broth and bring to a boil.
- Set a colander in the pot (the handles need to rest against the pot edges) and stir in the pasta. Cook the pasta until al dente, then gently pull the colander out and set in a bowl.
- Stir cooked chicken, dill and lemon juice into the soup.
- Ladle soup over noodles in bowls and top with lemon zest.
Storage Tip: store the leftover soup and noodles (separately) in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
FAQs & Test Kitchen Tips
You can absolutely use regular pasta. Just make sure you follow the cook time instructions on the package.
I developed this trick so you could cook the noodles to al dente, then pull them out of the soup to stop their cooking. In most chicken noodle soup recipes the noodles end up over cooking as the soup sits and even continue to soak up the broth as leftovers are stored in the fridge.
This method allows the noodles to be cooked separately and to the perfect doneness without using a second pot.
For the best flavor, I find 85% lean ground chicken is best. Though I’ve also tested this with 96% lean ground chicken and it turns out great as well. Just avoid using any ground meat that’s leaner than that. You can substitute ground turkey or pork for chicken in this recipe.
Did you make this easy 30 minute chicken noodle soup? Let me know by leaving a comment and rating below, I love to hear what you’re cooking.
Ground Chicken Noodle Soup
Description
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 pound (85–96%) lean ground chicken*
- 4 large cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon celery seeds, optional
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes (1 ¾ cups)
- 3 stalks celery, halved lengthwise and sliced ½-inch thick (1 cup)
- 1 small white onion, diced
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth, stock, or bone broth
- 6 ounces dry rotini or penne (2 cups)
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 3 –4 tablespoons chopped fresh dill + more for serving
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high. Add chicken, garlic, coriander, celery seeds, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until crumbled into large chunks and cooked through, about 5 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken to a small bowl; set aside and reserve drippings in pot (some garlic pieces in pot are OK).
- Add carrot, celery and onion to drippings, season with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-high.
- Set a colander in pot, resting handles on pot’s edge so bowl of colander is submerged in soup. Stir in pasta and cook, according to package directions, until al dente.
- Using dry kitchen towels or pot holders, carefully lift colander out of pot and set in a bowl.
- Off heat, stir in reserved chicken and any accumulated juices, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons dil; season with salt, pepper and additional dill to taste.
- To serve, divide noodles between bowls then ladle soup over noodles and finish with a sprinkle of lemon zest and additional dill.
Made this for dinner tonight and loved it. So much better that using rotisserie chicken. Loved the addition of coriander. This will be my go to Chicken soup.
I am very put out that I have made it nearly half a century on this earth and this is the first time I am finding a chicken noodle soup that I really enjoy. Made this for the partner who’s recovering an illness and I think this soup will do the trick. Thanks!
Your comment made my week! I am put out for you!! So glad you found a chicken noodle soup you enjoy! 🙂 Thanks for trying this one.
This was very good! But I didn’t change the recipe up a little, I did not have ground chicken so I used 3 chicken legs. I have this beautiful recipe that I use for a roast chicken carcass so I used that for my base soup. I than added all of the veggies and spices you did, except for the lemon zest and juice. I also added 1 bay leaf, 1 teaspoon of thyme, basil, and oregano. I put 1/4 teaspoon of tumeric, paprika and cayenne pepper to give it a little kick. I cooked the 3 legs for 1 hour and 30 mins, than after the shredded the chicken and cut up the rest of the veggies and added the spices I cooked it for another 30 mins. Very good! Thank you so very much for the recipe! I will make again! 10/10!
So quick and easy! I never used ground chicken before for soup. It makes it so easy and fast to cook a chicken and noodle soup! It’s a family favorite!