Some of the best recipes are the simplest ones. Grandma's chicken soup has just a handful of ingredients — a whole chicken, carrots, celery, onion, salt and pepper — and a little love. Simmering the whole bird makes a golden, rich broth no carton can match.
Why a whole chicken?
Bones, skin and dark meat release collagen and flavour as they simmer, giving you a broth with real body. You also get tender shredded meat for the soup — two jobs, one pot.
Grandma's recipe card
- 1 whole chicken
- 4 carrots
- 3 celery stalks
- 1 onion
- Salt & pepper
- A little love
Never let the soup boil hard. Keep it at a lazy simmer and skim off any foam in the first 20 minutes for a beautifully clear broth.
Make it your own
Add a bay leaf and a few peppercorns to the pot, swap egg noodles for rice, or finish each bowl with a squeeze of lemon and fresh dill. The soup freezes well for up to 3 months — just freeze it without the noodles and cook them fresh when reheating.
Grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
Tap to tick off as you go.
- 1 whole chicken (about 1.6 kg)
- 4 carrots, peeled (2 whole, 2 sliced)
- 3 celery stalks (1 whole, 2 sliced)
- 1 onion, halved
- 2.5 litres cold water
- 1 bay leaf
- 200 g wide egg noodles
- Salt and black pepper
- Fresh parsley, chopped
- A little love
Method
- Place the chicken, 2 whole carrots, 1 celery stalk, onion, bay leaf and water in a large pot with 2 tsp salt.
- Bring slowly to a simmer, skim off any foam, then simmer gently, partly covered, for 1 hour.
- Lift out the chicken, let cool slightly, then shred the meat, discarding skin and bones.
- Strain the broth and discard the cooked vegetables. Return broth to the pot.
- Add the sliced carrots and celery and simmer 10 minutes, then add noodles and cook 6–8 minutes.
- Stir in the shredded chicken, season generously with salt and pepper, and finish with parsley.