Chicken Noodle Soup

Michael Eisenwasser

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Classic chicken noodle soup with homemade broth, gluten-free pasta, and scallion greens in place of onion.

Prep 15 min

Cook 30 min

Serves 6

Gluten-freeDairy-free

Ingredients

• 8 cups (1.9 L) low-FODMAP chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon garlic-infused olive oil (optional)
• 1 lb (450 g) boneless skinless chicken breast or thigh, or 3 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 2 medium carrots, sliced into thin coins
• 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced (spread across 6 servings)
• 1/2 cup scallion greens (~40 g), sliced thin, plus more to finish
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 6 oz (170 g) gluten-free pasta (brown-rice spaghetti broken in half, small GF shells, or GF elbows)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• Salt and black pepper, to taste
• Squeeze of lemon, to finish (optional)

Instructions

Build the Pot

1. Warm the garlic-infused oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, and scallion greens. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring, until the carrots start to soften.
2. Pour in the chicken broth. Add the bay leaf and thyme. Bring to a gentle simmer.

Simmer the Chicken

1. If using raw chicken, slide the pieces into the simmering broth. Cook at a low simmer for 15 to 18 minutes, until the thickest part reads 165°F (74°C).
2. Lift the chicken out onto a cutting board. Rest for 5 minutes, then shred or chop into bite-sized pieces.
3. If using pre-cooked shredded chicken, skip the poach. Simmer the broth with the vegetables for 10 minutes so the carrots are tender, then add the chicken back at the end.

Add the Noodles

1. Bring the broth back to a gentle simmer. Add the gluten-free pasta and cook per the package, usually 6 to 9 minutes, until just tender. Taste a piece. GF pasta goes from firm to mushy fast.
2. Return the shredded chicken to the pot. Warm through for 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Fish out the bay leaf and thyme stems. Season with salt and plenty of black pepper. Stir in the parsley and a squeeze of lemon if using. Top bowls with extra scallion greens.

Tips & Substitutions

• Use homemade broth. Most supermarket broths (Swanson, Pacific, Kitchen Basics, Better Than Bouillon) list onion powder, garlic powder, or both. Homemade low-FODMAP chicken broth is the cleanest base. Fody Low-FODMAP Chicken Soup Base and Gourmend Organic Chicken Broth are Monash-certified backups.
• Brown-rice, corn, or quinoa pasta all work. Tinkyada brown-rice, Jovial brown-rice, and Barilla Gluten Free are reliable at a 1-cup cooked serve. Skip lentil- or chickpea-based pasta; those legumes push the FODMAP load past the low-FODMAP serve.
• Rotisserie chicken shortcut. Store rotisserie birds are usually rubbed with onion and garlic powder, so they'll leach fructans into the pot. If you want the shortcut, poach a chicken breast in the broth for 15 minutes or use plain leftover roast chicken.
• Cook the noodles separately for leftovers. GF pasta keeps absorbing liquid in the fridge and turns mushy by day two. Boil the noodles in a second pot, add them to each bowl as you serve, and store the broth and noodles apart.
• Add a squeeze of lemon at the end. A teaspoon of fresh lemon juice per bowl brightens the broth without adding a FODMAP load. Ginger (1 tablespoon minced, simmered with the broth) gives a cold-weather version.
• If celery is a trigger for you, drop to 1 stalk across the pot or swap in an extra carrot. Celery is dose-dependent for mannitol.

Why This Works

The store-bought broth trap. Almost every supermarket chicken broth lists onion or garlic powder. A single cup can put a sensitive reader over the fructan threshold before the soup starts. Homemade broth is the only way to know exactly what's in the base.

Scallion greens in place of onion. Onion's fructans sit in the white bulb. The dark green tops of scallions carry the aromatic compounds that make soup taste like soup, and they stay low-FODMAP up to 75 g per serve.

Celery is fine when it's spread out. Celery's FODMAP load is mannitol, and Monash caps it at 1 stalk (about 15 g) per serve. Two stalks across 6 bowls is about 1/3 of a stalk per serving, well under the low-FODMAP line.

GF noodle brand matters. Tinkyada, Jovial, and Barilla Gluten Free pastas are brown-rice or corn-based and test low-FODMAP at 1 cup cooked. Legume pastas (red lentil, chickpea) look gluten-free on the label but are high-FODMAP at a soup serve.

Storage

Refrigerate in a sealed container at 40°F (4°C) or below for 3 to 4 days. Freeze the broth and chicken without the noodles for up to 3 months; GF pasta turns mushy on the thaw. When reheating, warm the broth and chicken in a pot, then boil fresh noodles and add them to each bowl.

Not sure about an ingredient? FODMAP Tracker includes a database of 1,000+ foods with FODMAP ratings to help you cook with confidence.