Comforting Chicken Noodle Soup: Easy Recipe with Chicken Breasts and a Secret Ingredient!

For a quick and easy chicken noodle soup that’s packed with flavor, this recipe using boneless skinless chicken breasts and a special secret ingredient spice is a must-try. My mother-in-law’s Mennonite-inspired recipe brings both comfort and a cozy aroma to your kitchen, perfect for cold days or when you’re feeling under the weather.

I credit my mother-in-law for teaching me the fun art of soup making. I remember sitting at the counter of her fun orange wallpapered kitchen watching her whip up the most delicious soups – all without a recipe.

She never did have recipe cards on hand- as she rarely used a recipe anyway – so as I watched her, I’d take out a plain sheet of lined notebook paper and jot down what she was doing.

The other day I unearthed the recipe for her amazing Chicken Noodle Soup in a long forgotten binder in my recipe cupboard. I was so excited!!

Of course, making chicken noodle soup was an all day affair for her involving chicken on the bone and hours of simmering. So, I took her recipe, combined it with my friend Debra’s amazing Panera chicken noodle soup recipe, and adapted it for boneless, skinless chicken breasts – but didn’t leave out the “secret ingredient” she swore would cure all kinds of sickness – star anise.

As it simmered away in my kitchen today, my husband and I both commented that it smells just like Mom’s. I hope you love this soup as much as we do!

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

• Comforting and Nourishing: The warm, savory broth and tender noodles make this soup the ultimate comfort food, especially when you’re under the weather.
• Classic Homestyle Flavor: This recipe brings the taste of old-fashioned, homemade chicken noodle soup like grandma used to make, with simple, wholesome ingredients.
• Perfect for Cold Days: Nothing warms you up faster on a chilly day than a steaming bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup.
• Healing Benefits: The combination of tender chicken and soothing broth is known for its nourishing qualities, making it perfect when you’re feeling unwell. Adding in my mother-in-law’s special ingredient – star anise – makes it extra healthy (according to her, anyway!;))
• Easy to Make with Pantry Staples: Using basic ingredients like chicken, noodles, and broth, this recipe is both simple and budget-friendly, ideal for a quick homemade meal. If you don’t happen to have the “secret ingredient” (star anise) since it is unusual, it is still just as yummy and comforting without it.

Ingredients for Chicken Noodle Soup

(A printable recipe card is included at the bottom of this post for your convenience.)

• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut in 1 inch chunks
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 2 Tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 cup diced white onion
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• 1 large clove garlic, minced
• 5 cups good quality chicken stock (You can use homemade chicken stock, OXO chicken boullion powder mixed with water, or a carton of chicken stock. I prefer Campbell’s chicken stock with white wine. I bought it by mistake once and found it makes DELICIOUS soup! Unfortunately, one carton of chicken stock isn’t quite enough, so I added in the whole carton plus extra OXO chicken bouillion mixed with water to make 5 cups. If you want it to have more broth, add in extra.)
• 3/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 3 bay leaves
• 3 star anise pieces
• 1 cup egg noodles or any type of pasta noodle you’d like to use
• 1 cup frozen peas

Step by Step Instructions for Chicken Noodle Soup

1. Wash and dice all the vegetables. Cut up the chicken breasts.
2. In a large stockpot or dutch oven, heat up 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Once hot, add in the chicken chunks, salt and pepper to taste, and cook until no longer pink in the center. Remove from the pan and put on a platter. Set aside.
3. Into the hot pan, add the next tablespoon of olive oil and butter. Saute the onions, celery, and carrots for about 3 minutes, or until the onion is starting to turn transcluecent. Add salt and pepper to taste while sauteing. Then add in the minced garlic, italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Saute for 2 minutes more.

4. Break up the bay leaves and star anise pieces and place in a spice ball or tie up in a piece of cheesecloth. Add all the chicken stock and place the spice ball of spices into the pot of soup. Use the back of a spatula to scrape up all the tasty bits of flavor that might be stuck to the bottom of the pot. Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at at least 15 minutes (the more simmer time, the better!)- so the carrots become tender and the spices from the spice ball can infuse into the soup.

5. When ready to serve, bring the soup to a boil again and add in the dried noodles. Cook according to package directions. In the last minute, stir in the frozen peas. (Remove the spice ball from the pot before serving.)

What is Star Anise?

I had never heard of star anise until my mother in law introduced me to it. At the time (34 years ago!) it was kind of difficult to find to buy. However, I quickly found star anise on Amazon! (affilate link)

Star anise is a star shaped spice that is actually very pretty. To use it in this soup, you simple break apart the star and use 3 star pieces.

A quick online search gives this more in depth description of star anise:

Star anise is used in culinary applications for its distinct flavor but is also employed for its medicinal benefits. It is grown in China, Indo-China, and Japan and sometimes referred to as Chinese star anise…The star anise pod is picked before it ripens and then dried in the sun, turning it a deep brown or rust color. The distinctive flavor is derived from anethol, the same oil found in anise seed giving both a licorice taste. – from The Spruce Eats

What to serve with Chicken Noodle Soup

We love to have soup with some sort of yummy bread – like dutch oven sour dough bread, honey oat sourdough sandwich bread, or Mom’s fluffy baking powder biscuits.

How to Freeze Chicken Noodle Soup

This soup freezes beautifully without the noodles. If you want to make this and freeze it ahead, complete all the steps except adding the noodles and peas. (Do that step right before serving.)

To save space when freezing soup, let the soup cool completely and then ladle it into a large heavy duty zipper top bag. Lay it down flat, squeeze out the air and seal it completely. Place it on a metal cookie sheet and put it in the freezer until it freezes completely. Then you will have a nice flat bag that stacks easily into your freezer space.

Other Soup Recipes You Will Enjoy

• Bring the restaurant to your home kitchen with this Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup.
• This creamy tortellini soup with sausage and spinach is so very delicious!
• This old fashioned potato soup recipe is one of our family favorites and even more special with this special dumpling recipe.

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