Freeze the broth, add noodles at seven.
A kid with a cough and forty minutes before pickup wants a bowl of something warm, not a science project. Frozen noodles turn to swollen mush the second they thaw, so the noodles never go in the bag at all.
Pull a quart bag of broth, shredded chicken, carrots, and celery from the freezer and let it simmer while you set the table. Drop in egg noodles for the last six minutes, and a preheated thermos keeps the bowl hot until the final whistle blows.
Ingredients
The batch makes about 10 cups (serves 6). Plan on about 35 minutes to cook, then freeze.
- 3 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups sliced carrots and celery
- 1 diced onion and 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon thyme, salt, and pepper
- Egg noodles (cooked separately and added at serving, not frozen)
How to Make It
- Saute the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic until softened.
- Add the broth, chicken, and thyme; simmer 20 minutes.
- Season to taste and cool completely.
- Important: do not add noodles before freezing. They turn to mush. Freeze the broth-and-chicken base only.
Freeze It
Freeze the soup base without noodles. Frozen-then-reheated noodles fall apart, so you add fresh ones (or pour the hot soup over them) at serving.
- Freeze the noodle-free base flat in labeled bags or quart containers (best within 3 months)
- Leave headroom for expansion
- Note on the label: add noodles fresh when reheating
Thaw and reheat on practice night
Reheat the base, then add quick-cooking noodles right at the end so they stay tender.
- Stovetop from frozen: covered pot, medium heat, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring
- Stir in dry egg noodles for the last 6 to 8 minutes, or add already-cooked noodles to bowls
- For a thermos lunch, pack hot soup over cooked noodles
- Serve with: crackers or a roll, a grilled cheese, apple slices
Parent Tip
Pour the hot soup into a preheated thermos over a small scoop of cooked noodles for a sideline dinner.
Make it fit tonight
Small changes that make this one fit your night
Swap in wide egg noodles for classic ramen strands
Wide noodles hold up longer in a thermos without turning limp by lunchtime.
Stir cheese tortellini in instead of noodles
Tortellini turns the same broth into a heavier bowl for a bigger appetite.
Thicken it with a spoon of flour and butter
A quick roux turns the broth into a chicken and dumpling base.
Add a fistful of spinach right before serving
Spinach wilts in under a minute and nobody notices it in the bowl.
Squeeze in lemon and a pinch of dill for a brighter bowl
Cuts the richness on nights the soup is the whole dinner.
Plan the next step
Freeze the base
Add a soup-base batch to the planner and keep noodle-free packs on hand.