Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

By norsegal8

Most slow-cooker chicken noodle soup recipes are watery graves for tough, stringy chicken. We wanted our Slow-Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup recipe to feature potent broth and tender meat. We found that keeping the skin on after browning our bone-in chicken thighs added valuable flavor to the broth. For a rich, full-bodied base, we used low-sodium chicken broth in place of the water favored in many slow-cooker chicken soup recipes. For moist, tender chicken breasts that cook in the same amount of time as the thighs, we omitted them from the browning step and wrapped them in foil to insulate against the heat of the slow cooker.

Ingredients

• 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 pounds)
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 6 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2-inch rounds
• 4 celery ribs, sliced
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 12 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 bone-in, skin-on split chicken breasts (about 3 pounds)
• 2 cups cooked egg noodle
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Details

Servings 8

Preparation

Step 1

You will need a 6-quart slow cooker for this recipe. Do not cook this soup on high power or the chicken will be too tough. Three 32-ounce cartons of chicken broth will yield 12 cups.

1. Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken thighs, skin-side down, and cook until skin is deep golden brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker.

2. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pot. Cook carrots, celery, and onions until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, thyme, and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add 1 cup broth to pot and scrape up any browned bits with wooden spoon. Transfer vegetable mixture, bay leaves, and remaining broth to slow cooker.

3. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper and wrap in foil according to photo at left. Place foil packet in slow cooker. Cover and cook on low until breasts are cooked through and thighs are tender, 4 to 4 1/2 hours.

4. Remove foil packet from slow cooker. Carefully open foil and transfer chicken breasts to plate. Remove chicken thighs from slow cooker and transfer to plate. When cool enough to handle, shred meat into bite-sized pieces, discarding skin, bones, and excess fat.

5. Stir shredded chicken, cooked noodles, peas, and parsley into slow cooker. Cover and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Serve.