Easily adapt this recipe to make enough for one or two, or enough for a crowd. Make some servings vegetarian and others for meat eaters with just a few simple swaps.
Cool, damp autumn evenings call for comforting, simple meals. This quick chicken-and-noodles dish is one of the easiest and most adaptable recipes to keep in your rotation. It scales from a single portion to enough for a crowd, and you can easily convert portions to vegetarian by swapping the chicken and broth. It’s also forgiving, so feel free to adjust vegetables, herbs, and the amount of sour cream to suit your taste.
On the night pictured, these were the choices I made:
- Homemade vegan chicken-style broth powder for a flavorful base
- Pre-cooked turkey breast instead of chicken
- No-Yolks style dumpling noodles, which hold their texture and resist overcooking
- Quorn-style vegetarian chicken tenders for the meatless portions
- Olive oil
- Chopped onion or leek
- Minced garlic, to taste
- Chicken or vegan chicken-style broth
- Chopped carrots
- Chopped celery
- Frozen peas
- Frozen green beans
- Dried basil
- Egg noodles or dumpling-style noodles
- Cooked chicken, turkey, or vegetarian chicken substitute
- Cornstarch
- Low-fat sour cream (not non-fat)
- Heat a little olive oil in a saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Add the chopped onion or leek and minced garlic, and sauté until soft and fragrant.
- Pour in the broth. Allow about 1 cup of broth per serving as a guideline.
- Bring to a boil, then add about 1/4 cup chopped carrots and 1 tablespoon chopped celery per serving, or adjust to taste.
- Reduce heat and simmer until the vegetables are nearly tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the noodles—roughly 1 cup of uncooked noodles per serving—and about 1/4 teaspoon dried basil per serving. Stir in frozen peas and green beans.
- Bring back to a gentle boil and cook until the noodles are almost tender.
- Stir in chopped cooked chicken (about 1/3 cup per serving). For a vegetarian portion, remove some of the noodle mixture into a separate pan and add a vegetarian chicken substitute instead.
- Warm the added protein through until heated.
- Mix a small amount of cornstarch into cold water to make a slurry, then stir it into the bubbling pot to thicken slightly.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and gently stir in sour cream to taste. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve hot in soup bowls or pasta bowls.
This dish is very versatile—every batch can be a little different. Variations I’ve tried over the years include:
- Using frozen mixed vegetables instead of fresh carrots for convenience
- Adding corn and a pinch of chili powder for a Tex‑Mex twist
- Boosting the herb mix with summer savory, thyme, or rosemary
- Using a modest amount of sour cream (about 3/4 cup for eight hearty servings)
- Using more sour cream for a richer finish (about 3/4 cup for three hearty servings)
The recipe is forgiving, so experiment and make it your own.