Simple Brothy Zoodle Soup {w/Homemade Chicken Broth}

Fact: there’s nothing more comforting than a warm brothy soup. Whether super simple or piled high with substance, a good broth is tough to beat. That’s why I love this dish. It starts with a high-quality flavorful broth, then with just the addition of two raw veggies, instantly becomes a little meal. Of course you can add all the veggies and/or meat you want. But sometimes, I just want simple. Straight-forward easy to make goodness.

Making a good broth takes some time… like 10 hours of time. I know- sounds rough, BUT, it’s workless time. You just throw stuff in a pot and let it do all the work. It’s well well worth it. If you’re gonna make a broth, you may as well do it right. And once you learn how to make broth once, you’ll be set to go for all your broth-needs in the future. It’s versatile, easy, and healthy. Jar it up or use it all right away. I often get a hankering for soup, so it’s super nice to have this stuff made up and ready to go in the fridge.

I usually throw everything in the pot in the evening and then wake up to a lovely broth ready to go in the morning. From there, you’re pretty much done. Throw in some zoodles and coodles (Natalie-talk for zucchini and carrot noodles) and get to devouring. 🙂

The beauty of spiralizing is that it takes such little effort, yet makes things look so very pretty. Take a zuke for example- just 10 seconds through a spiralizer and you’ll have beautiful little ribbony noodles, just like that. Best part- they’re ready to eat right from there. No cooking needed. Some people saute them in oil, or salt them and squeeze out the moisture, but not me. I like them raw, just as is. And for something like a soup, you can just throw them in and they’ll settle right into the broth perfectly, keeping just a bit of crunch in all that warmth. If you want, you can surely cook your veggies first, but I like ease. Ease and crunch. 😉

Don’t have a spiralizer? Or want an upgrade? I use and love THIS one. It makes thin noodles, thick noodles, and wide ribbons. It’s easy clean up and super simple to use. If you don’t have a spiralizer and want to get right to cooking, you could use a veggie peeler for now- just peel that zuke and carrot into ultra thin little strips. Not exactly the same, but good enough. 🙂

makes enough broth for a few bowls of soup

INGREDIENTS

for broth…

bones from a 4-5 lb chicken (see my roasted chicken recipe HERE)

2 large carrots

2 celery stalks

3 garlic cloves

1 onion (any color)

1 small bunch parsley

1 large bay leaf

few sprigs fresh thyme

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp salt, plus more to taste

1/2 tsp black pepper, plus more to taste

approx 10-12 cups water

the extras…

1 zucchini, spiralized

1 carrot, spiralized

fresh parsley leaves, for garnish

* a note on salt: always start small, then add more later- you never know how much flavor a broth will pick up during cooking, so it’s best to taste and adjust at the end.

**here’s the spiralizer I use… it’s by far the fave amongst all my blogger and cooking friends.

*** don’t have a slow-cooker? no biggie- see my stovetop version HERE!