Hearty Pasta Soup with Chicken and Lemon

When it's chilly outside (and where I live, it is darn chilly already!), I love cooking a big pot of soup inside. One of my favorites is my hearty Pasta Soup with Chicken and Lemon.

While I love me a solid bacon, corn, and potato chowder or pasta fagioli, sometimes I just need a bowl of some simple, soul-soothing chicken soup.

Everybody has their own way of making chicken soup, but I like to add a little lemon and a lot of pasta to my version.

Make it your own

PASTA VARIATIONS: You can easily make this with more or less pasta. I like a lot of pasta in mine, so I used a larger egg noodle. I have also made this same soup with orzo and also with ditalini pastas.

PARSLEY VARIATIONS: You'll notice there's no fresh parsley in the photo, and while it was totally fine without it on this occasion when I made it, I do recommend it for both the chicken stock creation and for a hit of flavor at the end along with the lemon rind and juice.

VEGGIE VARIATIONS: I've also made this a handful of loosely torn kale, as well as with a handful of spinach. Both were delicious! If you do this, I recommend adding an extra cup of water to the final pot.

Pasta Soup with Chicken and Lemon

Pasta Soup with Chicken Recipe

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Ingredients

• 1 4-5 pound whole chicken
• 2 carrots peeled, sliced into thick pieces (1-2 inches is fine)
• 2 celery stalks sliced into thick, 1-inch pieces
• 1 medium onion peeled and sliced
• 4 garlic cloves crushed
• 2 Bay leaves
• Handful of chopped parsley
• 7 cups water
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 8-10 ounces uncooked pasta I used egg noodles in the photo above, but have also used ditalini and orzo
• 1-½ cups cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 ½ teaspoons grated lemon rind
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• Handful of finely chopped fresh parsley optional

Instructions

• Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken. Place chicken in a large Dutch oven. Add 2 chopped carrots, 2 chopped celery stalks, onion, garlic, bay leaves, and parsley to pan. Add water; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, and simmer 45 minutes.
• Remove chicken and place it in a large bowl. Chill the chicken for about 15 minutes. Discard skin, then remove chicken from the bones and discard the bones. Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces, then cover and chill.
• Strain the remaining broth mixture through a sieve into a large bowl. Discard the solids. Allow the broth mixture to cool to room temperature. Then cover and chill for at least four hours (can chill overnight or up to 24 hours).
• Add enough water to the broth mixture to equal 9 cups. Place broth mixture in a large Dutch oven. Add the pasta, the second batch of chopped carrots, celery, and onion, along with salt, to the water in the pot and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
• Once vegetables are tender, add reserved chopped chicken, and simmer 3-4 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Stir in the lemon rind, lemon juice, and parsley.

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