How To Add More Flavor To Chicken Noodle Soup (2024)

FAQs

How To Add More Flavor To Chicken Noodle Soup? ›

Seasoning the Soup: If you feel the soup is missing some zing, add a bit more salt. You can also add a pop of flavor with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a dash of fish sauce (we use this trick for store-bought stocks and broths often) or Worcestershire sauce.

Adding a splash of acid can brighten up the flavors in your soup. Consider squeezing some fresh lemon juice or adding a splash of vinegar, such as apple cider or white wine vinegar. The acidity will help balance out the richness of the broth and add a tangy note to the overall taste.

Add some acid

You can also stir a splash of acid—like lemon juice, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar—to brighten things up.

"Ground paprika, turmeric, nutmeg, ground ginger, and other powdered spices add a touch of color and spiciness to broths," she says. As a general rule, use fresh herbs at or near the end of cooking and dried herbs and spices early on. This helps you get the flavors you're looking for in the right balance.

I'd use a base of onions, celery, and garlic. Then I would use spices and herbs to give the soup a specific flavor: an Italian spice mix, or a Mexican mix, or even a curry mix. I'd put in fresh seasonal vegetables and plenty of fresh-ground pepper. I might add a small can of salt-free tomato sauce or some coconut milk.

Best Herbs and Spices For Chicken Noodle Soup

Herbs add a fresh note to a bland chicken soup. Add a sprig or two and let them steep as the soup simmers for 10 to 30 minutes, or chop the herbs and toss them in for near-immediate color and flavor.

Just a few drops of your favourite condiment will give your soup a new richness and bring the best out of the other ingredients. The saltiness of soy sauce goes especially well with meaty soups such as Campbell's Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup, while just a few drops of Tabasco provides a real kick and a fiery heat.

“Chicken is also high in tryptophan, which helps your body produce serotonin that can enhance your mood and give you the feeling of 'comfort' that helps make chicken noodle soup a true comfort food,” Allonen says.

Soy sauce, fish sauce, hot sauce, or chili paste can quickly and efficiently flavor store-bought broth — a little bit goes along way with these ingredients.

If your broth tastes like it lacks savory richness, you can pack in umami flavor by putting soy sauce, miso, roasted onion, mushrooms, tomato paste, or seaweed. These ingredients provide depth to the broth, but you must ensure that your chosen ingredients match the recipe.

What gives soup the best flavor? ›

Vinegar – A spoonful of vinegar is a quick fix when you find yourself with a bowl of dull, flat-tasting soup. Just a small amount of acid will brighten up the flavors. 2. Soy Sauce – Soy sauce is another item that's ideal for brightening up and adding depth of flavor to an otherwise dull soup.

Perk up a Bland Soup With Simple Pantry Staples

Add a splash of vinegar (any kind!), or a squeeze of citrus. Chances are, you could use a little more salt. Go ahead—it's ok. Salt perks up flat flavors and helps balance out bitter-tasting ingredients.

For a deeply flavorful chicken soup, get some boneless, skinless chicken thighs, season them, brown them in a skillet, then finish them in a 375 F oven. You can refrigerate them until you're ready to make the soup, then simply dice them up and add them to the soup at the very end.

Add Acid. Arazi likes adding a touch of preserved lemon paste to her chicken noodle soup, which she says adds “zesty flavor” as well as a punch of umami. Alternatively, just squeeze some lemon juice into your soup, which will brighten everything up and round out the flavors.

You see, without a generous sprinkling of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, your chicken is basically destined for blandness. After you've pulled your chicken out of its marinade (or even if you're not using a marinade), always sprinkle all sides of the breast with salt and pepper.

Throw In Extra Aromatics

The base of most stocks are flavorful aromatics, like onion, carrot, and celery. An easy way to punch up the lackluster flavor of boxed stocks is by adding more of those basics. An onion sliced in half, plus a few chunks of carrots and celery can go a long way in flavoring store-bought stocks.

Add a touch of spice to your chicken breast by combining paprika, cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, ginger, garlic and olive oil to create a paste. Then cover your chicken breast with the paste and pat down to secure.

Herbs and spices: Bay leaves, dried rosemary, dried thyme and peppercorns add subtle flavor to the broth. Before you choose a peppercorn blend, keep in mind that pink peppercorns aren't actually peppercorns.

Cayenne – For a deeper spice and heat. Cayenne can be used along with or in place of black or white pepper. Smoked Paprika – A great spice for adding an earthy, smoky flavor without a lot of heat to your soups and stews. Cinnamon – Yes, cinnamon.