The Secret Ingredient For Extra Nutritious Chicken Noodle Soup

When you're feeling unwell, a warm bowl of chicken soup can help set you back on the track to good health. For thousands of years, folks have been turning fowl into soup; Even ancient Greeks recognized the healing potential of a comforting bowl of chicken broth (via The Oxford Student). While different chicken soup recipes deliver varying servings of nutrition and protein, the right assortment of ingredients can boost your immune system, nourish your body, and give you the energy you need to get well soon (via Insider).

To ensure your bowl of chicken soup is carrying the maximum load of vitamins and other health-supporting benefits, make your own chicken soup at home. This easy chicken noodle soup recipe is packed with flavor and contains minimal salt to keep sodium levels in check. In addition to choosing which vegetables and herbs you crave, there's another addition you can consider if you're looking to insert even more health benefits to your recipe.

Bone broth, according to Healthline, is thought to reduce inflammation and support joints. In our chicken noodle soup tutorial, bone broth is added to the soup stock, giving a basic recipe a nutritional boost.

"In this recipe I swapped in some bone broth for a portion of the stock needed. Bone broth packs more of a nutritious punch adding essential vitamins and minerals," the easy chicken noodle soup recipe's creator, Jaime Bachtell-Shelbert, explains.

Making your own immunity-boosting bone broth at home is fairly straightforward: Simply place ingredients into a large pot, boil (the longer, the better), strain, cool, and serve or store for later use. Healthline advises that adding vinegar to the pot can help coax nutrients from the bones into the water, and bone broth can be made from just about any part of an animal: Hungry people have been boiling hooves and bones since prehistoric times. 

While it's tempting to make bone broth in massive batches, broth has a limited shelf life when kept in the fridge (per Insider). If you're wanting to keep broth to use next week, consider freezing small containers to add easily to your next batch of chicken soup.