A homemade Chicken Noodle Soup recipe made from scratch using a whole chicken. With a beautifully flavoured golden chicken broth, this is a classic everyone should know!.
Made the old fashioned way by boiling a whole chicken, you can toss in any vegetables, noodles or pasta and it’s going to be amazing. And everybody knowns Chicken Soup is the best soup for a cold!.
Canning homemade chicken noodle soup is a great way to have a hot, nourishing meal ready in minutes. With a jar of your own canned soup waiting on the pantry shelf, you can skip the sodium-loaded canned soup aisle and make a wholesome dinner on even the busiest weeknights.
A pressure canner makes it safe and easy to can chicken noodle soup at home. Follow this simple step-by-step guide to make tasty home-canned soup that you can heat up and eat whenever you want.
Benefits of Canning Your Own Chicken Noodle Soup
Canning chicken noodle soup has many advantages over store-bought canned soups
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It saves money because making soup at home costs less per serving than buying soup in a can. When you can your own food, you can make a lot of soup when the ingredients are cheap or in season.
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Control ingredients – By making your own soup, you control exactly what goes into it. No questionable thickeners, stabilizers or preservatives.
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Nutrition: Making your own soup with chicken, vegetables, and noodles is much better for you than buying canned soups that are full of salt and chemicals that keep them fresh.
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Convenience—Store-bought canned soups need more time to cook. Since self-canned soups are already fully cooked, you can eat them right out of the jar.
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Customize flavors – Adjust herbs, seasonings and ingredients to suit your family’s tastes.
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Food safety – Following proper pressure canning guidelines, self-canned soups are shelf-stable and safe to eat for 1+ years.
Step-by-Step Instructions for Canning Chicken Noodle Soup
Follow these simple steps for delicious homemade canned chicken noodle soup:
1. Prepare Soup
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Dice and sauté aromatics like onions, carrots, celery in butter or oil.
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Add chicken pieces, water or broth, seasonings and bring to a boil.
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Simmer until chicken is fully cooked, about 20 minutes.
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Remove chicken pieces and shred or dice meat, returning to soup.
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Add noodles and cook until al dente.
2. Fill Jars
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Ladle hot soup into clean canning jars, leaving 1-inch headspace. Use a bubble tool or rubber spatula to release any trapped air bubbles.
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Wipe jar rims clean. Center lids and screw bands on fingertip tight.
3. Process Jars
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Place filled jars in pressure canner with 2-3 inches of water.
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Follow manufacturer’s instructions to reach required pressure (10-11 PSI) and set timer for desired processing time (75 minutes for pints, 90 minutes for quarts).
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When complete, turn off heat and allow canner to depressurize naturally.
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Carefully remove jars and set aside to cool completely. Check lids have sealed.
4. Store and Enjoy!
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Wipe down and label sealed jars before storing in a cool, dark place up to 1 year.
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To serve, simply empty contents into a saucepan and gently reheat. Enjoy a nourishing homemade meal in minutes!
Tips for Delicious Home-Canned Chicken Noodle Soup
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Choose bones-in chicken pieces for rich broth flavor when simmering the soup.
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Opt for wide noodles that won’t overcook and turn mushy during canning. Hearty egg noodles are ideal.
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Avoid dairy and thickening agents like milk, cream or roux which can cause consistency issues when canned.
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Season lightly before canning and adjust to taste when reheating servings. Canned soup concentrates flavors.
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Add delicate herbs and greens like parsley or spinach right before serving reheated soup to preserve color and texture.
Safety Tips for Canning Chicken Noodle Soup
To ensure safely canned homemade soups:
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Always use an approved pressure canner and follow manufacturer’s instructions.
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Carefully check jar seals after cooling. Refrigerate any unsealed jars promptly.
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Look for signs of spoilage before eating like jar leakage, mold, unnatural odors or spurting liquid. Safely discard any potentially contaminated jars.
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Boil home-canned soup for 10-15 minutes before tasting or serving as an added precaution against unlikely botulism risk.
Recommended Processing Times
For best results, adhere to these USDA-approved pressure canning processing times for chicken noodle soup:
Jar Size | Processing Time
How to ensure your soup broth is clear
We all love how clear the broth is in a good chicken noodle soup. Transparent – yet full of flavour! There’s a few tricks to the clear broth:
- Simmer the chicken really gently. Harder boil gets the chicken jiggling around = murkier broth.
- Scoop the scum off the surface (#2 in photo below);
- Let the broth settle (or refrigerate overnight). As “stuff” settles to the bottom of the pot, the broth will get darker at the bottom. Then slowly pour the broth into the soup pot, making sure to leave the darker broth at the bottom of the pot.
- Don’t brown the sautéed onion, carrots and celery. Brown veggies = brown broth!.
- Don’t stir the pasta while it boils. That turns on the pasta’s starch, which makes the broth cloudier.
What to do with leftover chicken
You probably won’t even use half the meat on the chicken for this Chicken Noodle Soup. So here’s a few ideas for things to make with the leftover cooked chicken:
I kept the veggies in the soup fairly classic, using just onion, carrots and celery. But don’t let my lack of imagination deter you – add whatever you want! – Nagi xx.
Canning THE BEST Homemade Chicken Soup | Meal in a Jar | Long Time Food Storage
FAQ
How to safely can chicken soup?
Pressure CanWhile the soup is simmering, collect quart-sized jars, lids, and rings. Ladle hot soup into jars, leaving 1-inch of head space. Put the jars on a rack inside the pressure canner in the simmering water. Secure the lid and vent steam for 10 minutes.
How long does home canned chicken noodle soup last?
Home canning is also quite effective for preserving soup for an extended period. With most homemade soups, unopened cans will remain safe for consumption for up to one year. Soup should only be eaten within two years of being canned at the earliest. After that, the risk of getting sick from food increases.
Can homemade soup be pressure canned?
Soups need to be pressure canned. They can’t be water bath canned. You need to use a tried-and-true recipe from a reliable source, like Ball, NCHFP, or a university extension office.
How to can soup in mason jars without a pressure?
Soup cannot be safely canned in a boiling water bath. It requires a pressure canner. Soups are considered low-acid foods, and boiling water bath canning is only suitable for high-acid foods.