This ginger lime chicken noodle soup is a twist on a classic that's brightly flavored enough to be springy, and warming enough to be wintery. Perfect for cold winter nights or transitional seasons. Flavored with ginger, garlic, limes, and cilantro, this soup is so nourishing!
This simple twist on a classic homemade soup is HERE for you this winter, whether you need healing soup powers for sick days, or just a simple and nourishing weeknight meal that will warm you up.
As written, this recipe involves making your own homemade chicken broth by gently simmering chicken in water. It's a basic cooking technique that my mom always used when making homemade chicken soup or even homemade white chicken enchiladas.
While this part is hands-off (you get it simmering, sit and relax while your house smells incredible), you can totally take shortcuts, which I'll note below. Either way, enjoy homemade ginger lime chicken soup when you need nourishment during the week, or to feel better when you're under the weather!
The Ingredients
- A whole chicken - We'll make our own simple broth easily by simmering a whole chicken.
- Water - For simmering fresh chicken for a homemade broth.
- Onion, garlic, celery, carrots
- Fresh ginger or ginger paste - I actually prefer a store bought ginger paste or partially dried ginger here for convenience, but grating fresh ginger will work perfectly, or even powdered ginger in a pinch. Not to mention, ginger health benefits are amazing!
- Lime & Cilantro
- Brown rice noodles
Homemade Chicken Broth vs. Shortcuts
The recipe as written involves making your own chicken broth, which is incredibly nourishing and can be wonderful if you need to slow down and be present. It's hands-off, meaning your chicken just simmers while you do other things.
That said, if it's a weeknight and you just need a quick dinner on the table, that's totally doable here. You could use rotisserie chicken or leftover cooked chicken (maybe even from a previous night's whole roasted chicken!).
Or, you could gently simmer some boneless, skinless chicken thighs right in with your sautéed aromatics and store bought chicken broth as your other veggies cook. Remove, shred, then add them back in. I use this method in my chicken tortilla soup, so feel free to check that out as an example!
Substitutions & Variations
There are always shortcut and substitution options to make these recipes work for you. For this ginger lime chicken noodle soup, here are some I suggest:
- Powdered ginger: In a pinch, hit your spice cabinet for ginger if you don't have anything fresh.
- Other noodles - I used brown rice noodles for a whole grain, gluten free option, but classic egg noodles or other kinds of noodles are always delicious.
- Grains - You can also skip the noodles and add in barley, rice, farro, or any other grain -- they all taste delicious in soup!
How to Make This Soup
- Step 1: Place chicken in a large pot and cover with water by 2-3 inches. Add salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer. Cover and simmer until cooked through.
- Step 2: Take the chicken out carefully and let it cool. Once cool enough, remove skin and shred. Set aside. Carefully transfer the liquid in the pot to separate jar or container.
- Step 3: In the same soup pot, sauté aromatics in olive oil until soft, about 5-7 minutes.
- Step 4: Add chicken and broth, then cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add rice noodles and simmer for another 5 minutes. Finish with cilantro and squeezes of fresh lime juice. You could also top with homemade sourdough croutons!
Optional: If you want to skim fat off the broth you can use a fat separator (affiliate link). My mom used to take this step for all her homemade soups, but sometimes I skip this step or just do it partially. It's helpful if the amount of fat is so much that it changes the texture.
Chicken Noodle Soup FAQs
After allowing the soup to cool completely, you can freeze ginger lime chicken noodle soup in an airtight container for up to three months.
Nope! You can use leftover chicken and save some time, if needed. Start with sautéing the aromatics as your first step, in this case.
For sure! Add other veggies at the same step as the carrots and celery and cook for a few minutes to bring out their flavor. If adding greens like spinach or kale, toss them in at the end and serve once they're wilted.
Other Cozy Soup Recipes
Did you make this ginger lime chicken soup with rice noodles? I'd love to hear how it turned out! Leave a ⭐️ rating and comment below, and follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and my newsletter for more everyday seasonal recipes.
Print📖 Recipe
Ginger Lime Chicken Noodle Soup
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Description
A simple twist on the classic, this ginger lime chicken soup features ginger, garlic, lime, and cilantro for added flavor and health benefits. With rice noodles, this soup is also gluten-free!
Ingredients
- 1 3.5-4 lb. chicken, giblets removed
- 8-10 cups water
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 1 cup carrots, chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 inch fresh ginger*, peeled and grated
- 1 8-ounce package rice noodles
- 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for serving
- 2 juicy limes, plus more limes for serving
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
- Cook the chicken. In a large stock pot or dutch oven, place the chicken, water, and salt. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook the chicken for about 1 hour.
- Shred chicken. When the chicken is cooked through, remove it from the stock pot and shred it. Discard the bones, and set aside. Reserve at least 6 cups of the water you cooked the chicken in to use as homemade chicken broth! If there is more broth left, save it for later or just in case more is needed for the soup.
- Sauté aromatics. In the same stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Reduce heat slightly to med-low, then add onion, celery, and carrots, and sauté for 5-7 minutes until softened. Add garlic and ginger, and sauté for another 1-2 minutes.
- Add broth and chicken: Add the shredded chicken and broth. Bring entire soup to a boil, then reduce to a gentle simmer over low heat. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add noodles. Add rice noodles to the soup and cover for 5 minutes to let the noodles cook.
- Lime, cilantro, and serve. Remove the soup from heat and squeeze in lime juice, add cilantro, and sprinkle with pepper. Taste and add salt, if necessary. Serve soup with plenty of lime wedges for squeezing into each bowl, chopped fresh cilantro, and a good, crusty bread.
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
- Broth: You can always use store bought broth and discard the water used for cooking the chicken. You can also use a combination of water and broth if you want more control over the saltiness of the soup.
- Ginger: Grating fresh ginger will taste delicious, but I have found that ginger paste is a HUGE time saver... and way easier than grating ginger. Plus, it cooks evenly into the soup and provides that same wonderful, gingery flavor.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 1 hour 20 min
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 503
- Sugar: 2.7 g
- Sodium: 910.2 mg
- Fat: 9.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 66.6 g
- Fiber: 2.7 g
- Protein: 34.9 g
- Cholesterol: 142 mg
Aaron Piper says
Whoooo-Hoooooo!!
Norma Hogan says
Looks delicious. How much ginger paste and noodles do you add?
Tera Gigot says
Hi Norma, I usually do 1 tablespoon of ginger paste (add another 1/2-1 tablespoon if you love a gingery flavor), and I typically use one 8-ounce package of brown rice noodles. I hope you enjoy it, and definitely let me know how it goes!
Gina says
With temperatures dropping this will definitely be one of my go-to recipes. Love it!
Tera says
Thanks, Gina - so glad you like it!