The Pioneer Woman's Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe is Missing 1 Major Ingredient (On Purpose)

“Yup, everything is going to be okay.” 

As soon as I heard Ree Drummond utter those words—right after she took her first bite of this recipe and had a massive smile spread across her face—I knew I wanted to try it.  

On a recent chilly late winter day, I was tuned in to a recent episode of The Pioneer Woman to study up on dishes that spoke to a very timely theme: Childhood Comfort Classics. That sounded like just the prescription to keep me cozy and warm until spring, and one dish in particular from the show’s menu was calling my name.

When I was a child, one comfort food was omnipresent. Whether I had just kicked off my wet snow boots from constructing snow forts in the yard or was home sick from school, Mom knew what my heart needed: Chicken Noodle Soup. If I was lucky, it would be her homemade version, complete with Grandma’s chewy egg noodles; it reminds me a lot of the winner of our popular chicken noodle soup taste test. 

When Mom was busy, the runner-up option—canned chicken noodle soup—was still a warm hug in a bowl. Add a side of saltine crackers and all felt right with the world. 

The Missing Ingredient in Ree Drummond’s Chicken Noodle Soup

Turns out, I have good company with that memory: “As a girl, Ree used to love canned chicken noodle soup, but she would always leave behind the chicken,” the Food Network team says to introduce her official recipe for Retro Noodle Soup. “This homemade soup has the flavor of chicken from the bouillon cube, but no meat. With the addition of linguine, it’s Ree’s perfect comfort food.”

No chicken? Well, now that I think about it, that was never the draw of the canned chicken soup I remember. It was more about the slurpy noodles, steaming savory broth, and the buttery-textured carrot coins (those were my favorite!). 

Fans seem to agree that going sans-chicken is actually a great thing. Ree’s Retro Noodle Soup has a five-star rating, and is raking in reviews like, “Perfect!!! I loved it so much and [it’s] so easy to make! I got sick, and it was truly healing.” another home cook added, “This was the best no-chicken chicken noodle soup ever. It reminded me and my husband of the canned soup we grew up on. Making it again today.”

I was quite tempted to follow their lead, and after spying the fact that this soup recipe only took 25 minutes, I was heading to the pantry to see if I had any saltines to help me decide if I should try or save this for another day. Once I spied the fact that Ree’s chicken-free soup was designed to make 2 servings, my solo household heart was sold—saltines or not, I was in.

How to Make Ree Drummond’s Copycat Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ small white onion, diced
• 2 small stalks celery, thinly sliced
• One 8 ¼-ounce can sliced carrots (which “really speeds up the soup” since “carrots are such a hard vegetable, and they really do take quite a while to soften,” according to Drummond)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 6 ounces linguine
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or more as needed
• Kosher salt
• 1 lemon, juiced (“to brighten things up,” Drummond says)
• 2 tablespoons salted butter, cold (“to add a little bit of richness,” she adds)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. Stir and let cook to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. 
2. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the bouillon cube, lightly breaking it up as you add it. 
3. Add the pasta and cook, stirring, until the noodles are al dente, 7 to 8 minutes. 
4. Remove from the heat. Add the pepper, salt, lemon juice and butter, then stir to incorporate. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. Garnish with the parsley to serve.

Recipe courtesy of The Pioneer Woman

Ree Drummond's Chicken Noodle Soup Review

The finished product might make you wonder, “‘is this soup, or is this a pasta dish?’” because there are so many noodles in it,” Drummond says.

After tasting it myself with the saltines I was able to dig up, I’d say it checks both of those boxes beautifully—while making my inner child very happy.

To patch us through until spring, I highly recommend giving Drummond’s Retro Noodle Soup recipe a shot. If you, too, have a soft spot for savory noodle soups, you might also like Grandma's Chicken Noodle Soup and this spot-on Copycat Chicken Noodle-O Soup.