Comforting gluten free chicken noodle soup made with rich and flavorful chicken broth, tender chicken and vegetables, & perfect gf noodles.
Warm up from the inside with this recipe for homemade gluten free chicken noodle soup from scratch. Make it with rich homemade stock or the most delicious store-bought gluten free broth.
The secret to the best chicken soup
There’s a secret to making really good gluten free chicken noodle soup, and it’s simple. Cook each element of the soup with only those ingredients that are essential to its success, and only when you need them.
I used to make homemade chicken soup by cooking everything together in the same pot, removing impurities and whole pieces by straining, and then serving all the cooked vegetables and chicken meat.
I added as much liquid as I wanted to serve. Then, I would boil the noodles in the stock, add back in the vegetables and meat, and serve.
Now, I make the stock as much as 1 week ahead of time by only boiling skin-on, bone-in dark meat parts with large chunks of vegetables. I assume that everything in that pot is going to end up without a ton of flavor, so I don’t add anything that I plan to count on for serving, other than some surviving dark meat.
The white meat chicken is cooked separately. The gluten free noodles are boiled separately and only added to the soup on serving. Everything retains its flavor and texture.
What kind of broth is best?
This recipe is best, of course, when you make it with rich homemade chicken stock by boiling dark meat chicken including skin and bones with carrots, celery and onions. It takes time, though, and that’s not often an option.
Does that mean that you can’t make delicious chicken soup unless you make your own stock? Of course not!
There are so many brands that sell boxed chicken stock that is gluten free. Always use the stock that tastes best to you, because it’s the most plentiful ingredient in the soup.
I really like Pacific brand low sodium chicken stock and buy it when it goes on sale. There are many other brands that are also gluten free, but read labels even when it’s a brand you’ve purchased before. They do change formulas from time to time.
Which noodles make the best soup?
I like rice noodles best for this recipe. I’ve used Thai Kitchen brand and Lotus Foods brand rice noodles, and I love them both.
You can use any sort of gluten free pasta noodle you like, but when I think “noodles,” I think something flat. I bet Barilla brand gluten free fettuccine would be great.
You can also take longer noodles and break them into smaller pieces before boiling. My family loves long rice noodles.
The brand of gluten free egg noodles is Manischewitz. They’re super expensive, and they taste awful. They’re either tough, or mealy, and I paid nearly $7 for 12 ounces. Save yourself.
We now have a recipe for gluten free egg noodles that really make this recipe special. If you make every element of this recipe in stages, and make extra stock and extra noodles, you can eat well for days!
How to make chicken soup with spaetzle
Rather than cooking noodles separately to make chicken noodle soup, you can also make homemade spaetzle dough and cook it right in the soup.
In a large bowl, prepare the gluten free spaetzle dough according to the recipe instructions, but without the nutmeg. Cover and refrigerate it while you prepare the soup (and for up to 2 days).
Do not prepare any other noodles! After adding the chicken broth and mushrooms in the recipe below, and before returning the chicken to the pot, bring the mixture to a rapid boil over medium-high heat.
Remove the spaetzle batter from the refrigerator, uncover, and add the dough to the boiling liquid either through a spaetzle maker, large box grater or by the teaspoonful.
Boil, stirring occasionally, until the dumplings are cooked through (about 5 minutes). Reduce the soup to a simmer, add the chopped chicken and cook until the chicken is heated through. Remove and discard the bay leaf, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve piping hot!
Storage instructions
Chicken soup can be made in stages, and individual ingredients, like the cooked chicken or the cooked vegetables in stock, can be frozen until you’re ready to use them.
Once everything is combined into noodle soup, including the noodles, it can become harder (but not impossible!) to store leftovers. When you store noodles in liquid, the noodles tend to absorb as much liquid as possible, making swollen noodles and less liquid.
But if you follow the instructions in this gluten free chicken noodle soup recipe, you cook the noodles separately and only add them as you’re serving the dish.
You can easily store the broth with the cooked vegetables and chicken in a sealed container in the refrigerator for at least 3 days, or up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container. Whether refrigerated or defrosted, place the soup in a pot and warm until heated through over low heat (so you don’t cook the chicken).
FAQs
Yes! This recipe calls for skin-on, bone-in chicken breasts because they have the most flavor when you cook them. Boneless white meat chicken has a tendency to be dry, so we are trying to lock in more flavor—especially important when you’re using store-bought stock.
No, chicken noodle soup is only gluten free if it’s made to be by using gluten free noodles, and all other ingredients that are free of gluten.
If you can find rotisserie chicken that does not contain any gluten ingredients and is made without contamination with gluten, you can definitely use the meat from a rotisserie chicken instead of cooking your own chicken breasts here.
Homemade Gluten Free Chicken Noodle Soup
Comforting gluten free chicken noodle soup made with rich and flavorful chicken broth, tender chicken and vegetables, & perfect gf noodles.
Yield: 4 servings
Prevent your screen from going dark
Ingredients
For the soup
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or twice as much fresh
- 1 bay leaf fresh or dried
- 1 pound large carrots (about 2 large) washed, peeled and sliced thinly by cross-section
- ½ pound celery (about 4 medium stalks) washed and sliced thinly by cross-section
- 1 medium yellow onion peeled and diced
- 6 ounces button or baby portobello mushrooms cleaned and sliced
- 1.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
- Chopped fresh parsley for serving
Instructions
Cook the chicken breasts.
-
In the bottom of a large, heavy-bottom stockpot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
-
Add the breasts in a single layer, skin side down, and cook for 3 minutes without disturbing them.
-
Flip the chicken breasts back skin-side up, sprinkle with the salt, pepper and thyme, and add the bay leaf, carrots, celery and onion.
-
Pour in enough warm water just to cover the chicken by 1 inch, and bring the water to a simmer over medium heat.
-
Reduce the heat to medium-low to allow it to continue to simmer. Do not boil
-
Skim off and discard any white foam that forms at the top.
-
Cover the pot and allow it to cook for about 15 minutes or until it is opaque throughout and registers 165°F on an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken. Thicker breasts will take longer than thinner ones.
-
Remove just the chicken from the liquid, leaving behind the carrots, celery, onion, seasoning, and bay leaf.
-
Place the chicken on a plate, and allow to rest, covered loosely with foil, for 10 minutes.
-
Remove and discard any skin, bones, or cartilage, chop the meat into small chunks and set it aside.
-
This is to serve with the soup, and can be made ahead and refrigerated, once cool, for up to 2 days.
Cook the noodles.
-
Cook the noodles according to the package or recipe instructions.
-
Rinse them thoroughly with warm water, and drain them completely. Toss them with a bit of oil and set them aside.
Assemble and finish preparing the soup.
-
Add the chicken broth and mushrooms to the pot with the cooked carrots and celery.
-
Bring the mixture to a rapid boil over medium-high heat, and allow to cook for about 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender but not overcooked.
-
Reduce the heat to medium-low so the soup simmers.
-
Add the chopped chicken and cook until it’s heated through. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
Notes
In place of homemade chicken stock in this recipe, you can use 12 cups (96 fluid ounces) low-sodium chicken broth (or a mixture of chicken broth and water mixed with 1 recipe homemade vegetable bouillon).
For the chicken breasts.
You can cook the breasts up to 3 days ahead of when you want to serve the soup, and just keep them in the refrigerator. The strained stock can be stored in the refrigerator in sealed containers for about 1 week, or frozen for longer storage.
For the noodles.
I like Thai Kitchen brand or Lotus Foods brand rice noodles in this recipe. You can, of course, use your favorite gluten free pasta, or our recipe for gluten free egg noodles.
Since we cook the pasta separately and only combine it with the soup on serving, don’t shave off any cooking time from the pasta. Cook it how you’d like to eat it.
Homemade Gluten Free Chicken Noodle Soup
Comforting gluten free chicken noodle soup made with rich and flavorful chicken broth, tender chicken and vegetables, & perfect gf noodles.
Yield: 4 servings
Prevent your screen from going dark
Ingredients
For the soup
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or twice as much fresh
- 1 bay leaf fresh or dried
- 1 pound large carrots (about 2 large) washed, peeled and sliced thinly by cross-section
- ½ pound celery (about 4 medium stalks) washed and sliced thinly by cross-section
- 1 medium yellow onion peeled and diced
- 6 ounces button or baby portobello mushrooms cleaned and sliced
- 1.5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
- Chopped fresh parsley for serving
Instructions
Cook the chicken breasts.
-
In the bottom of a large, heavy-bottom stockpot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
-
Add the breasts in a single layer, skin side down, and cook for 3 minutes without disturbing them.
-
Flip the chicken breasts back skin-side up, sprinkle with the salt, pepper and thyme, and add the bay leaf, carrots, celery and onion.
-
Pour in enough warm water just to cover the chicken by 1 inch, and bring the water to a simmer over medium heat.
-
Reduce the heat to medium-low to allow it to continue to simmer. Do not boil
-
Skim off and discard any white foam that forms at the top.
-
Cover the pot and allow it to cook for about 15 minutes or until it is opaque throughout and registers 165°F on an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken. Thicker breasts will take longer than thinner ones.
-
Remove just the chicken from the liquid, leaving behind the carrots, celery, onion, seasoning, and bay leaf.
-
Place the chicken on a plate, and allow to rest, covered loosely with foil, for 10 minutes.
-
Remove and discard any skin, bones, or cartilage, chop the meat into small chunks and set it aside.
-
This is to serve with the soup, and can be made ahead and refrigerated, once cool, for up to 2 days.
Cook the noodles.
-
Cook the noodles according to the package or recipe instructions.
-
Rinse them thoroughly with warm water, and drain them completely. Toss them with a bit of oil and set them aside.
Assemble and finish preparing the soup.
-
Add the chicken broth and mushrooms to the pot with the cooked carrots and celery.
-
Bring the mixture to a rapid boil over medium-high heat, and allow to cook for about 5 minutes or until the mushrooms are tender but not overcooked.
-
Reduce the heat to medium-low so the soup simmers.
-
Add the chopped chicken and cook until it’s heated through. Remove and discard the bay leaf.
Notes
In place of homemade chicken stock in this recipe, you can use 12 cups (96 fluid ounces) low-sodium chicken broth (or a mixture of chicken broth and water mixed with 1 recipe homemade vegetable bouillon).
For the chicken breasts.
You can cook the breasts up to 3 days ahead of when you want to serve the soup, and just keep them in the refrigerator. The strained stock can be stored in the refrigerator in sealed containers for about 1 week, or frozen for longer storage.
For the noodles.
I like Thai Kitchen brand or Lotus Foods brand rice noodles in this recipe. You can, of course, use your favorite gluten free pasta, or our recipe for gluten free egg noodles.
Since we cook the pasta separately and only combine it with the soup on serving, don’t shave off any cooking time from the pasta. Cook it how you’d like to eat it.
