The popular chicken fast-food chain, Chick-fil-A is not only known for their chicken sandwiches, waffle fries and the fact that they are closed on Sundays. They are also known for their amazing, yet simple, chicken noodle soup. Just make sure to brine the chicken, first, to keep it juicy and flavorful. This should take about 2 hours, but after that, it’s an easy recipe. In fact, I made the entire soup in my Dutch oven. Everything from boiling the pasta, browning the chicken and finishing the soup. This makes for easy cleanup and less time in the kitchen.
Chick-fil-A uses an interesting pasta shape in their chicken noodle soup. They use baby Mafalda pasta, otherwise known as mini lasagna because the edges are ridged. According to Chick-fil-A, they began using this pasta shape several years back and moved away from the long, flat egg noodles that they used prior. They claim that the Mafalda pasta stays on their (shallow) black, plastic spoons better and so you get a noodle in every bite. I agree!! I remember the days with the long, flat noodle shape and it DID slide off my spoon. Thanks for always thinking of us, CFA!
But the Mafalda can be tricky to find and it is expensive. You may have luck at Whole Foods, Fresh Market or anything other higher-end grocery chains. Those stores usually carry the funkier pasta shapes. But you can definitely find it on Amazon. It will cost you, though. I paid $9 for a 8 oz. bag. If you don’t want to spend that kind of cabbage on a particular pasta shape, I get it. You can substitute it out with your favorite small fancy pasta shape like, bowtie (farfalle), fusilli (corkscrew) or whatever floats your boat.
But make sure to cook the pasta separately, drain, set aside and add at the very end. Whenever I make a soup that calls for pasta, I always cook the pasta separately. I find that when you cook the pasta in the soup, the pasta gets mushy and makes the soup “gummy”. No, thanks.
Enjoy this soup recipe, friends. It takes exactly like the real deal. Ok, no it doesn’t. It’s BETTER!
For more amazing soup recipes, check out Panera’s Thai Chicken Soup or the Olive Garden’s Minestrone.
Ingredients
- 12 oz. chicken breast
- 1 cup cold water
- 2 TBL + 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 TBL sugar
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 ½ cups carrots, 1/4” dice
- 1 ½ cups celery, 1/8” slice
- 2 TBL fresh, Italian parsley, minced
- 3 TBL EVOO
- 4 oz. Mafalda pasta noodles (baby lasagna)
- 3 TBL unsalted butter
- ¼ cup flour
- ½ tsp. onion powder
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
Instructions
Begin by brining the chicken for 2 hours, to keep the chicken juicy and flavorful. In a Ziploc bag, place whole chicken breasts, 1 cup cold water, 1 TBL kosher salt and 1 TBL sugar. Zip and shake bag and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Once chicken has brined, boil 4 quarts of water and 1 TBL kosher salt in a Dutch oven or large stock pot. Once water is boiling, add the Mafalda pasta and cook according to al dente instructions. Once pasta is cooked, drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Set aside.
Pat dry the chicken breasts with paper towel. Dry, completely, the Dutch oven and on a med-high heat, add 2 TBL EVOO. Once oil shimmers, add the chicken breasts and sauté on each side 5-6 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove the chicken breasts and set aside on a clean cutting board. Allow the chicken to rest.
Drain excess oil from the Dutch oven and wipe clean with paper towel. Return the Dutch oven to the med-high heat and add 1 TBL EVOO. Once the oil shimmers, add the carrots and celery and sauté until slightly tender.
Reduce the heat to med-low. Add butter to carrots/celery and melt. Sprinkle flour into the mixture and stir vigorously to make a Roux. A paste will form, and the flour will begin to have a nutty smell. Do not allow the Roux to burn. Once this happens, whisk 4 cups of chicken broth into the pot. Whisk vigorously to incorporate the Roux into the broth and prevent clumping.
Once the Roux has dissolved into the broth and the soup has thickened, slightly, add 4 more cups of broth, the onion powder, garlic powder and parsley and simmer for 15 minutes.
While the soup is simmering, and after the chicken has rested, cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Add the chicken into the soup and simmer for 20 more minutes. Add the pasta at the very end and serve.
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