There’s something about a classic bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup on a cold day that just fills you with comfort from the inside out. I’m excited to share this tasty version featuring a flavorful broth seasoned with bouillon, ginger, rosemary, thyme, and a bit of lemon. I like using tiny pasta in soups because it fits nicely on the spoon while leaving room for chicken and vegetables. This time I decided to use a whole wheat pearl couscous (also labeled Isreali couscous). Alternatively, you could certainly use the non-wheat variety of pearl couscous, or another small pasta like orzo or ditalini. It will be delicious either way! I find this Chicken Noodle Soup to be hearty, filling, and a real bargain at just 280 calories or 3 WW Points for a 1 & 1/3 cups serving! To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!
This Chicken Noodle Soup is great to take for lunches or for dinner at home. I love making my own “lunch combos” with a salad or half a sandwich like I’m at a restaurant. Honestly though, soup fills me up a lot so I don’t always get to the sandwich! It’s also awesome served with crackers. Since cold and flu season is upon us, this soup is also the perfect meal for when you’re under the weather, with the added health benefits of ginger! Just an FYI: all soups with pasta or rice will lose some liquid when you store them – the pasta just soaks it up! Feel free to add more broth as needed when you reheat leftovers.
This classic Chicken Noodle Soup features a flavorful seasoned broth and tasty Isreali coucous!
Yield: 6(1 1/3 cups) servings
Ingredients
2teaspoonsolive oil
1medium onion, diced
2medium carrots, sliced
2medium celery ribs, sliced
2garlic cloves, minced
1tablespoonfreshly grated ginger
8cupsfat free reduced sodium chicken broth
1teaspoonBetter Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base, or another bouillon paste, powder, or a cube
20ozuncooked boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½teaspoondried rosemary
½teaspoondried thyme
½teaspoonsalt
¼teaspoonblack pepper
1cupuncooked whole wheat pearl couscous, also called Isreali couscous, you could alternatively use another small pasta such as orzo or ditalini (use wheat pasta if following the myWW Purple plan)
1tablespoonlemon juice
Instructions
Heat the oil in a dutch oven or soup pot to medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery and stir to coat. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the onions are softened. Add the garlic and ginger and stir. Cook for another 30 seconds to a minute until fragrant. Add the broth and stir in the bouillon. Add the chicken breasts, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper and increase the heat to bring the contents to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes until the chicken breasts are cooked through.
Remove the chicken breasts to a cutting board and add the couscous to the simmering pot. Simmer the contents for another 10 minutes. While the couscous is cooking, shred the chicken breasts using two forks or your preferred method.
When the couscous is cooked, add the chicken back to the pot and add the lemon juice. Taste and add additional salt or pepper if desired, and parsley as an optional garnish. Serve hot.
Notes
To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!WW Points per (1 & 1/3 cup) serving: 3 (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)Nutrition Information per (1 1/3 cups) serving: 280 calories, 29 g carbs, 5 g sugars, 5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 29 g protein, 5 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)MyWW SmartPoints per (1 1/3 cups) serving:(SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)Green: 5 SmartPoints/ Blue: 3 SmartPoints/ Purple: 1 SmartPoints (if using wheat pasta/couscous...if not, use blue points)Weight Watchers Points Plus: 7 per (1 1/3 cups) serving (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers brand PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition information below)Adapted using recipes from Ambitious Kitchen and Soup Addict