Classic Chicken Noodle Soup with Lemon and Pesto. It’s January and it seems everyone I know is sick, or taking care of someone else who is down for the count. We need this soup right now!
Chicken soup is more than just a cliche for curing the common cold, flu or whatever you’ve got going on. Super health benefits range from hydration, added electrolytes, nutritious vitamins, boosted collagen and even increased anti-inflammatory benefits from white blood cell reactions to the magic elixir. And this one – it’s delicious too!
I made one change to the recipe which was to use bone-in, skin on chicken breasts instead of boneless tenders. You can use whatever you have on hand, but I like the idea of the added boost of collagen and nutrients you’ll get from using the bones in the cooking process. Don’t skip the pesto or lemon – I also love the dill at the end.
Lemony Pesto Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 2 shallots sliced
- 6 cloves garlic chopped
- 4 ribs celery chopped
- 6 carrots chopped
- 2 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp crushed fennel
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 8 cups chicken bone broth
- 3-4 split chicken breasts, bone-in and skin on
- 2 cups chopped broccoli florets (I used frozen)
- 1/2 cup prepared basil pesto (I buy mine at Costco)
- 2 cups baby spinach chopped
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2-3 cups egg noodles
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- grated parmesan and fresh dill for serving
Instructions
- Melt together the olive oil and butter In a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook 3-5 minutes. Add the shallots, garlic, celery, carrots, thyme, rosemary, and fennel. Season with salt and pepper. Cook another 5 minutes.
- Pour in the broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in the chicken and broccoli, and if you have one – a parmesan rind. Cover and cook for 20 - 30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. At this point, the soup can also simmer on low for up to 4-6 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the pot, discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat. If you used a parmesan rind, remove that and discard. Stir in the pesto, spinach, and lemon. Taste, and season with salt and pepper. Bring the soup back to a boil, then add the noodles and cook 6-8 minutes, until soft. Stir in the parsley. (Note - if making ahead, read below notes)
- Serve the soup with parmesan and dill, if desired.
Notes
