Lightened-Up Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

By gtbalm

During the last few minutes of cook time, try adding a squeeze of fresh lemon. It is so good!

I prefer fresh thyme in this soup. To get the thyme leaves off the sprigs, I hold the tip of the twig with one hand and then slide my thumb and pointer finger of my other hand along the sprig. Ground thyme works too. Use 1/2 teaspoon.
I use regular chicken broth. If using low sodium, make sure you are tasting the soup as it cooks to make sure there is enough salt in the soup.
I recommend using rotisserie chicken. Pick up a small rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, shred it - both white and dark meat- and throw it into the soup. Or you can roast some chicken breasts yourself. Rub with a little minced garlic and rosemary, roast in the oven under tender, then shred it. Or use leftover roasted chicken in this soup. To save yourself some time, you can shred the chicken ahead of time.
Calorie count is for fat-free half-and-half. If you'd rather something else, regular half-and-half works too! As does whole milk or 2% milk.
Any shape noodle works here. I prefer wide egg noodles in chicken soup.
Update: I've gotten a lot of questions about preparing this soup in a crockpot. I’ve never prepared it this way, but I'm sure it would work. Add everything to the cooker except the noodles and cook on low for a few hours. Then, add the noodles and cook until tender.

Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup chopped yellow onion (1/2 of a medium onion)
• 1 cup sliced carrots (1 and 1/2 large carrots)
• 1 cup sliced celery (2-3 stalks)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 7 cups chicken broth
• 1 medium potato, peeled and diced (around 1 and 1/2 cups)
• 2 cups shredded roasted chicken
• 1 cup fat free half-and-half or whole milk
• 4 cups uncooked wide egg noodles

Details

Servings 10
Cooking time 75mins
Adapted from sallysbakingaddiction.com

Preparation

Step 1

Heat the butter in a 4 quart or larger large pot or dutch oven (4 quart or larger) over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Sauté for around 7 minutes as the veggies let off some juices and become soft. Add flour, oregano, pepper, thyme, and salt. Stir and cook for 3 minutes.

Next, add the broth and potato. Give everything a quick stir, then increase the heat to medium-high. Bring the soup to a boil, without stirring, and allow to boil for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover the pot, and allow to simmer for 25 minutes or until the potatoes have softened. Taste the soup. Does it need more seasoning like salt, pepper, etc? Add some. Add the chicken, half-and-half, and noodles. Cook for 10 minutes until the noodles are tender and the soup has thickened. Once again, taste the soup. Does it need more seasoning like salt, pepper, etc? Add some. Sometimes I add a pinch more of pepper. Serve the soup warm.

Make ahead tip: Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for 1 week. To reheat, simply pour into a pot over medium heat and cook until warm. Feel free to add more chicken broth to the leftovers as it cooks if it is too thick-- I always do. (It thickens in the refrigerator as the noodles and potatoes soak up the liquid.) Soup freezes well, up to 3 months.