Homemade Canned Chicken Noodle Soup
This is one of those recipes that turns all the work we've already done into true pantry convenience.
We start with our homemade chicken stock, add chunks of chicken thighs, carrots, peas and Reames frozen egg noodles, and preserve the soup in quart jars so there's a homemade meal waiting in the pantry.
## Before You Begin: A Canning Safety Note
**This is a “rebel canning” recipe and is NOT a USDA-tested or approved home-canning recipe.**
USDA/National Center for Home Food Preservation soup-canning recommendations specifically say **not to add noodles or other pasta to home-canned soup**. Pasta increases the density of the contents and can affect how quickly heat penetrates to the coldest part of the jar.
Because this particular combination and packing method has not been scientifically tested, **there is no established processing time that can be stated to make jars containing these noodles safe from botulism risk.**
The USDA-tested alternative is to pressure can the chicken-and-vegetable soup **without noodles**, following the tested NCHFP soup procedure, and add freshly cooked noodles after opening the jar.
The recipe below documents **our personal, non-tested method** for readers who understand that distinction and choose to use it.
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Canner
Ingredients
- - Homemade chicken stock
- - Boneless skinless chicken thighs, well trimmed
- - Carrots sliced
- - Frozen peas
- 2 bags - Reames frozen egg noodles
- - Salt to taste
- - Black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the Ingredients
- Trim the boneless, skinless chicken thighs well and cut the chicken into approximately **1-inch chunks**.
- Slice the carrots.
- Keep the peas and Reames noodles frozen until you're ready to assemble the jars.
- If you're using frozen homemade chicken stock, thaw it completely in a large stockpot.
- If you're using jars of our homemade chicken stock, open the jars and pour the stock into the pot.
- ## Fill the Jars
- This version uses a cold-pack style assembly.
- Into each quart jar, place approximately:
- **½ cup chicken**
- Then add carrots and peas according to preference, keeping the combined vegetables to **no more than about 1 cup per quart jar**.
- Add frozen Reames noodles.
- Don't pack the noodles tightly.
- We want plenty of open space throughout the jar for chicken stock.
- ## Add the Stock
- Fill each jar with chicken stock, leaving **1 inch of headspace**.
- Run a debubbling tool around the inside of the jar to release trapped air.
- Check the headspace again and add additional stock if necessary.
- Wipe the jar rims thoroughly. I use vinegar to help remove any grease that could interfere with the seal.
- Apply the lids and rings.
- ## Important Note About Processing
- Our household method has historically pressure canned this version, but because the jars contain pasta and use an untested cold-pack combination, **I can't give a processing time or pressure and represent it as a scientifically established safe process.**
- For readers who want to stay within USDA-tested home-canning recommendations, leave the Reames noodles out and use the NCHFP tested soup procedure instead.
- That procedure uses prepared ingredients and a hot pack, limits jars to **half solids and half liquid**, leaves 1-inch headspace, and processes quarts for **75 minutes**, using the appropriate pressure for your altitude and canner type.
- Then simply add the Reames noodles when you open the jar.
Notes
To Serve
When you're ready for chicken noodle soup, **empty the entire jar into a saucepan**.
The noodles will absorb some of the broth while they're stored, so add additional chicken stock as needed until the soup has the amount of broth you prefer.
Place the saucepan over the stove and **heat the soup to a full boil before serving**.
Adjust the salt and pepper to taste and add additional stock if the soup becomes thicker than you like.
If you've made the USDA-style version without noodles, add the Reames frozen egg noodles to the soup and cook them according to the package directions.
Serve hot with homemade bread, biscuits or crackers.
### An Important Safety Reminder
Bringing an improperly processed low-acid canned food to a boil **does not make an untested canning process equivalent to a USDA-tested one**. The serving instructions above are how we prepare the soup for eating; they shouldn't be interpreted as eliminating the risks associated with the non-tested canning method.
## Why We Make It
This recipe is really the second half of our homemade chicken-stock project.
First we saved chicken bones and vegetable scraps instead of throwing them away.
Then we turned them into a huge batch of homemade stock.
Now we're using that stock to preserve another complete meal for the pantry.
And someday when it's cold outside and nobody feels like cooking, we'll open a quart, add a little extra homemade stock, bring everything to a boil and have homemade chicken noodle soup ready for supper.
That's the kind of convenience food I want in my pantry.