Sick Day Chicken Soup Recipe ~ Barley & Sage (2024)

This classic chicken noodle soup is dressed up with jalapenos, ginger, and lots of extra garlic for a cozy, comforting soup that's perfect to help you kick your winter cold! I love making this chicken soup whenever I'm feeling under the weather and need a sick day or just whenever it's cold outside.

Since this soup is packed with sinus clearing aromatics like ginger and garlic, it might not be the best if you have picky kids who don't like spicy food. So use your judgement and feel free to reduce the quantities of certain ingredients if desired.

Ingredient Notes

You just need a few simple ingredients to make the best ever chicken noodle soup!

• Chicken - I love using my easy poached chicken for this soup. But you can also use leftover rotisserie chicken or just cook the chicken in the soup itself!
• Noodles - You can use any flat egg noodles you like! Or just use wild rice if you want to make the soup gluten free!
• Vegetable Stock - I always use homemade vegetable stock because that's what I have on hand. But you can also use store-bought vegetable stock or chicken stock! Just note, if using store-bought stock you may need to reduce the salt content of the soup.
• White Wine - This is completely optional, I just love the extra flavor it adds to the broth.
• Jalapenos - For a less spicy soup, just remove the seeds. For an extra spicy soup, use 4 jalapenos with the seeds instead of 2.
• Ginger - I prefer to use fresh ginger, but ginger paste works just as well!
• Garlic - I'm a big garlic lover, so feel free to reduce the amount if you prefer.

How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup

Thinly slice the carrots and celery; finely chop the onion, jalapenos, and garlic; and grate the ginger.

Add all the prepared veggies and olive oil to a large stock pot over medium high heat.

Lightly sauté for about 5 minutes or until tender and aromatic.

Deglaze the pan with with wine, making sure to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Then add in the vegetable stock and reduce the heat to medium.

Add in the shredded chicken, thyme, sage, bay leaves, salt, and pepper and bring the soup to a simmer.

Note: If using raw chicken, simmer until the chicken is fully cooked through (10-15 minutes). Then remove and shred.

Add in the noodles and simmer until tender, 8-10 minutes.

Stir in the lemon juice, taste and adjust seasonings if desired.

Serve immediately!

Recipe Notes

Since the noodles will absorb the broth, I suggest straining out the broth to store separately! Then just combining again before reheating! This is the easiest way to prevent soggy, bloated noodles!

This chicken soup also freezes great! But if freezing, I recommend waiting to add the noodles. Simply portion out the soup you want to freeze. Then add the noodles to the portion you're planning to eat immediately.

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