My Mom’s Chicken and Noodles Is a Bowl of Comfort

If I could transport myself back in time, it would be to the nights when my mom made her chicken and noodles for dinner. Out of all of the foods she made, this was my favorite. It isn’t a fussy or fancy meal. It’s pure comfort.

It turns out her mom made a similar dish. My grandmother would place bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts in a pressure cooker—the old-school kind of the 1950s—and cook them with water, salt, and pepper. Once the family got home from church, she would serve the chicken over noodles and that would be the meal.

My mom didn’t care for my grandmother’s version. The chicken was dry and the meal, she claims, was flavorless. So she skipped the pressure cooker and instead put the chicken in a big pot. She covered the chicken with chicken broth and a healthy knob of butter, and let it simmer, low and slow, until the meat was tender.

She shredded the chicken and instead of discarding the flavorful broth like my grandmother did, she cooked the noodles in it. Then she added the chicken back to the pot along with more butter. The result was a bowl of creamy goodness.

The Secret to My Mom’s Chicken and Noodles

How did my mom create my favorite dish from one of her least favorite dishes? It was a chance encounter with a bag of noodles at the Amish market. She picked up the bag thinking they looked good, but didn’t have a plan for them. One afternoon, she found them in the pantry while trying to figure out dinner. She had chicken, so she decided to re-create her mom’s chicken and noodles.

These are the Amish noodles my mom used. Especially when cooked in the chicken broth, they are what makes my mom’s chicken and noodles the absolute best—the key to this recipe! If you have access to Amish noodles, use those. I have found that spaetzle noodles work well too. Find them at specialty grocery stores or farmers markets.

I am a Registered Dietitian and trained chef, so I use the tools in my belt to make my own version of my mom’s chicken and noodles. That’s the recipe you’ll find below—they bring back memories of my childhood. Now it’s a dish that my daughter loves and asks for, and that is what good cooking is all about.

Tips for Making My Mom’s Chicken and Noodles

• Use bone-in chicken: You may be tempted to use boneless skinless chicken breasts, but you won’t get the same richness and depth you’ll get from using bone-in, skin-on breasts. For even more flavor, consider using a few bone-in, skin-on thighs instead of one of the breasts.
• Eat it the next day: Of course you can eat the chicken and noodles right away, but this dish improves with time. Enjoy a bowl, then cool the rest and refrigerate. Simply reheat in the pot and you’ll enjoy it again even more!
• Finish with lemon: For a touch of brightness, consider squeezing a tablespoon or so of fresh lemon juice into the soup. The acid adds a little punch and a hint of lightness.