Description
This creamy chicken noodle soup with mini croutons is a comforting and hearty dish perfect for any season. Featuring tender chicken breast cooked in flavorful bacon fat, fresh vegetables, sweet corn, and angel hair pasta, all simmered in a rich milk-based broth. Crispy bacon bits and homemade mini croutons add delightful texture and savory flavor, making this soup both satisfying and delicious.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken
- 400g/10oz chicken breast (2 small), cut in half horizontally to form 2 thin steaks (boneless thighs can be substituted)
- 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
- 1/4 tbsp black pepper
Bacon and Croutons
- 4 strips streaky bacon (enough to cover base of pot)
- 1 cup bread (crustless, cut into 7mm / 1/4″ cubes – sourdough or regular sandwich bread)
- 2 tsp olive oil
- Pinch cooking salt / kosher salt
Vegetables and Herbs
- 1/2 onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 2 sprigs thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme (optional)
- 2 celery stalks, chopped (~0.5 x 1.2 cm / 1/5 x 1/2″ pieces)
- 1 carrot, chopped (0.5 x 1 cm / 1/5 x 1/2″ pieces)
- 3/4 cup corn kernels (frozen thawed or canned drained)
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 tsp finely chopped parsley (optional)
Soup Base and Pasta
- 30g / 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 tbsp flour
- 3 cups milk (full fat preferred, low fat or non-dairy acceptable)
- 2 cups low sodium chicken stock / broth
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp cooking salt
- 1 1/3 cups (100g) broken angel hair pasta (or angel hair pasta / spaghetti broken into 6 pieces, or other small, spoon-able pasta)
Instructions
- Prepare Croutons and Bacon: Preheat your oven to 180°C/345°F (160°C fan-forced). Toss the bread cubes with olive oil and a pinch of salt. Spread on a baking tray and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, tossing halfway through, until golden and crispy. Remove and cool on the tray. For the bacon, place strips in a single layer in a cold large pot. Turn heat to medium-high and cook until golden on both sides (about 2-3 minutes on the first side and around 1.5 minutes on the second side). Remove bacon, leaving the fat in the pot, drain on paper towels, let crisp while cooling, then finely chop for garnish.
- Season Chicken: Sprinkle both sides of the chicken breasts with salt and black pepper evenly.
- Cook Chicken: Using the same pot with reserved bacon fat over medium-high heat, cook chicken for 1.5 minutes on each side until light golden. Remove chicken to a plate and allow to cool slightly, then chop into small 8 mm (1/3 inch) cubes.
- Make Soup Base: Lower heat to medium-high and melt butter in the same pot. Add diced onion, minced garlic, chopped celery, chopped carrot, and thyme sprigs. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly until vegetables are softened but onion hasn’t browned. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute to form a roux. Slowly pour in milk while stirring continuously to dissolve flour without lumps. Then add chicken stock, water, and 1 tsp salt, stirring to combine.
- Simmer Soup: Increase heat to high and bring the soup to a gentle simmer. Then reduce heat to low and let it simmer gently for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. The soup may appear thin at this stage but will thicken as pasta cooks.
- Cook Pasta and Finish Soup: Turn heat back to high, add broken angel hair pasta and corn kernels. Cook for about 5 minutes until pasta is tender. Add frozen peas and chopped chicken (including any juices) during the last 2 minutes of cooking to heat through.
- Serve: Ladle hot soup into bowls. Garnish with chopped crispy bacon, freshly baked mini croutons, and a sprinkle of chopped parsley if using. Enjoy immediately.
Notes
- For croutons, sourdough bread may take a bit longer to crisp fully compared to regular sandwich bread.
- Leaving bacon fat in the pot after cooking adds deep flavor to the soup base.
- Make sure not to brown the onions when cooking the vegetables to keep soup flavor delicate.
- The soup thickens naturally as the pasta cooks, so don’t worry if it seems thin initially.
- Substitute boneless chicken thighs for breast if preferred; cook times remain similar.
- Non-dairy milk can be used to accommodate dietary preferences, but it affects creaminess slightly.
