Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup - Easy and Healthy Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes chicken noodle soup so healthy? ›

All those bits of carrot, celery, and onion commonly found in chicken noodle soup are a great source of vitamins C and K, as well as other antioxidants and minerals. “Not only does this help build a healthy immune system to fight off viruses, it also helps your body recover from illness more quickly,” Allonen says.

Japanese researchers have found that collagen proteins found in chicken may actually lower blood pressure. These collagens appear to act like the blood pressure medications called ACE inhibitors. One caveat, though: it's the chicken, not the rest of the stuff in the soup, that may be medicinal.

The broth, which contains water and electrolytes, helps with rehydration. So, to maximize the health benefits of chicken soup, I recommend a homemade variety, which can be prepared with carrots, celery, fresh garlic, herbs and spices, to name a few ingredients.

The chicken soup diet is a 7-day weight loss diet that involves eating chicken soup for every meal except breakfast. For your morning meal, you can pick from five low calorie options, which include foods like nonfat milk and yogurt, fat-free cheese, whole-grain cereal or bread, and fresh fruit.

We recommend finding a good paleo chicken soup recipe (our Pasturebird blog posts are full of them!) and making a weekly pot of soup so that you always have some on hand. Eating chicken soup every day for better health is an easy and delicious way to lower inflammation, boost immunity, and improve digestion.

For clear, brothy soups, stock is your most important ingredient. If you want to make a good soup, you need to use an excellently flavored stock — otherwise, the entire pot could be tasteless.

"Use fresh or dried basil in tomato-based recipes or fresh parsley to add freshness to clear broth soups," says Sofia Norton, RD. You can also go with more heat and spices. "Ground paprika, turmeric, nutmeg, ground ginger, and other powdered spices add a touch of color and spiciness to broths," she says.

Instead, whisk together sesame oil, peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, and ginger and pour it over the hot noodles. Add chopped scallions and sesame seeds for even more flavor.

Chicken is especially rich in a compound called carnosine, and it's this that studies suggest helps reduce that stuffy, congested feeling in your nose and throat. It's thought that carnosine minimises inflammation in the upper respiratory tract by stopping the migration of white blood cells.

Do doctors recommend chicken soup? ›

Some scientific evidence indicates that the soup could be anti-inflammatory. Though research is scant, experts say chicken soup is worth a try when you're sick.

And interestingly, research shows that chicken soup can in fact lower the number of white blood cells traveling to inflamed tissues. It does this by directly inhibiting the ability of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell, to travel to the inflamed tissue.

Why? They brighten up and balance the salty, rich flavors of the dish, and make all of the ingredients come into line.

"The best and healthiest chicken soup is usually the one you make yourself. The key is ingredients. All the vegetables and herbs are great sources of vitamins and minerals, so that's a huge advantage." (Our Classic Chicken Soup recipe, pictured above, fits the bill.)

It should be preferred that soups should be taken as early as possible in the evenings, latest by 7:00pm, if at home and 8:00pm if having dinner out as it has salt content which can lead to water retention in the body if consumed too late.

Compared with hot water alone, studies show chicken soup is more effective at loosening mucus. The herbs and spices sometimes used in chicken soup, such as pepper and garlic, also loosen mucus. The broth, which contains water and electrolytes, helps with rehydration.

Rich in nutrients

Chicken also delivers zinc, a key immunity nutrient. Most chicken soup recipes starts with onion, carrots, celery; but any vegetables you add will deliver fiber, vitamins and minerals.

This soup is rich in nutrients which helps strengthen the bones. For those who don't know, Chicken Soup is rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus. It also helps in relieving arthritis pain.

“In particular, chicken is an excellent source of the amino acid cysteine, which has been shown to help thin mucus and help you manage cold and flu symptoms.” The broth that serves as the base of chicken soup can also provide fluids and electrolytes that help the body fight off infections, Collier noted.