Everything Is Optional Chicken Noodle Soup

Anything goes in this "Everything Is Optional" chicken noodle soup recipe! All you need is to fill in the blanks of this formula with your favorite ingredients, or simply with whatever you currently have on hand—no additional shopping trip required! 

Chicken broth: If you’re out of broth, just use water! We're flavoring our broth with dried shiitake mushrooms, but if you don't have those, no worries—you'll be just fine without 'em!

Any cut of chicken: Skin-on bone-in chicken is best, so that we can render the schmaltzy fat from the skin and plop the bone into our broth for extra flavor, but use whatever you have on hand or prefer! If using skinless chicken breasts, consider cooking with 2 additional tablespoons of oil or butter for added flavor and fat. 

3 aromatics: Use any combination of alliums (onions, leeks, garlic, scallion, chives), rhizomes (ginger, turmeric, galangal), and herbs (dill, cilantro, rosemary, thyme are my favorites).

3 vegetables: Any veggies will do! I’ll even count corn, potatoes, and beans as vegetables here (I see you, chowder lovers)! For an extra health boost, chuck a couple of cruciferous family members in there: cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, kale, bok choy, Brussels sprouts. For the fungi lovers out there, mushrooms can be a super meaty, flavorful addition. Just make sure you are searing all of these ingredients until deeply golden in your schmaltzy, buttery-oily pan first!

Any noodle: Use literally any noodle you’d like or have on hand. Any cut of pasta for an Italian touch, soba for a healthy and clean slurp, instant ramen if you want a nostalgic kick back to college days.

Optional toppings: Love it spicy? Can’t recommend Lao Gan Ma’s spicy chili crisp enough. A squiggle of Sriracha will do just fine, as will crunchy, vinegary pickled jalapeños! A fan of fresh herbs? Dill, cilantro, basil are all gregarious contenders. Or, a simple squeeze of lemon to brighten up all the flavors!

Made this recipe? We'd love to hear your thoughts! Leave us a comment and a rating down below to let us know how you liked it. For more easy weeknight meals, check out our lightning fast chicken dinner ideas.