The Starchy Ingredient To Elevate And Thicken Chicken Noodle Soup

Unless you're the type to love watery chicken noodle soup from a can (which, to be fair, is precisely the thing to cure some nostalgia-driven cravings every once in a while), then you've likely wished your chicken noodle soup was slightly elevated and on the thicker, creamier side. If you're throwing together the standard chicken noodle soup ingredients — shredded chicken, broth, noodles, and maybe some carrots and celery — in a pot and calling it a day, the end product can feel a little lackluster.

The next time you want to take your chicken noodle soup recipe to the next level with lots of thick, creamy, comforting goodness, add a surprise ingredient you've probably been relegating to your vegetable soup thus far: potatoes. Whether you go the from-scratch route and dice and cook potatoes right in the broth or add leftover mashed potatoes or potato flakes to your broth base, the results will be spectacular.

Don't pick just any potatoes for your chicken soup. If you want something capable of breaking down as it cooks to make your soup thicker and creamier, choose a high-in-starch potato variety. Good options include russet potatoes and Idaho potatoes. Conversely, if your goal is for the potatoes to hold their shape as they cook in your soup, starchy varieties are not the best option. Instead, go for a waxy potato, such as red or fingerling potatoes. 

As previously mentioned, if you don't have fresh potatoes on hand — but still want to try this thickening trick — you can repurpose leftovers or use the instant stuff. Leftover mashed potatoes, potato flakes, and even frozen hash browns can all be used to thicken up potato soup in a pinch – and they'll work similarly in your chicken soup.

For a more substantial chicken noodle soup, why stop with potatoes? Plenty of other easy add-ins will give your tired chicken noodle soup recipe new life, like corn, mushrooms, kidney beans (or whatever canned beans you like best), and baby spinach.