Families often have their own unique culinary traditions during the holidays. In our family, we make homemade egg noodles with chicken. This recipe, passed down through many generations, can be made on a shoestring budget to feed a large group people. It’s sort of like a thicker and creamier version of chicken noodle soup (though it contains no cream).
When I was growing up, it was an annual tradition for the women in our family to gather for a Chicken and Noodles party. It was a very social event that usually occurred during the holidays. The women would meet in the morning, make the dough and cut the noodles. As the noodle dough dried, they would go shopping at the local drugstore to check out the new Christmas decorations and displays. When they came back, the noodles would be dry and ready to cut. Then they would cook up a big batch of chicken and noodles, along with a pot of mashed potatoes to stretch out the dish. That way, there would be enough for the hungry men in the family, who would inevitably show up later in the day to feast on the finished product.
Me and my mom making homemade chicken and noodles together, December 2010
My Grandma Carolyn taught us this recipe; she learned it from her mother, who learned it from her mother, and so on as far back as we can remember. On that side of the family we descend from Swedish immigrants to Nebraska (you can learn more about my maternal ancestry here). This simple recipe has been handed down by our Swedish matriarchs, and is still beloved in our family today.
Grandma Carolyn and Great Grandma Arnold, Nebraska
We make these noodles the old fashioned way—rolling, drying, and cutting them with a knife. You can use a pasta cutting tool, if you want, but my mom prefers cutting them by hand. In her words, “I like cutting the noodles. It takes time, but that’s the point. Making chicken and noodles is all about getting together with the girls and gabbing while you cook. If you used a pasta cutter, it would go too fast. Where’s the fun in that?”
One word of warning: this is a somewhat messy project. Flour will get everywhere. Your fingers will be coated in dough. You’ll want to wear an apron.
We consider chicken and noodles the ultimate comfort food. This recipe has been a staple in my family since I was born. It’s an economical and delicious dinner option. You can stretch it even further by serving over mashed potatoes; doing this will nearly double the amount of servings. It’s a fun family-friendly cooking project, and I’m delighted to share it with you.
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Food Photography and Styling by Kelly Jaggers
Swedish Chicken and Noodles
Ingredients
- 4 cups flour
- 6 large eggs
- 4 pounds whole chicken
- 4 stalks of celery, roughly chopped including leaves
- 1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
- Salt and pepper
Optional Ingredients
- Frozen green peas
- Mashed potatoes
NOTES
Instructions
- Beat 6 eggs in a small bowl till frothy. Reserve.Sift 2 cups of flour with 1 heaping tbsp of salt into your mixing bowl. Reserve 2 more cups of flour in another bowl.
- In your mixing bowl, make a “well” in the center of the sifted flour and pour the beaten eggs in. Use a fork to mix the eggs into the flour until it is evenly moistened.
- Sift more flour into the bowl, a couple of tablespoons at a time, and continue to stir until a soft dough forms.
- When the dough gets too thick to stir, use your hands to knead. Stop adding flour when the dough holds together and is only slightly sticky to the touch (it will be soft). Let the dough rest uncovered for 15 minutes.Coat your rolling surface generously with sifted flour. Scoop up a small handful of dough from the bowl (a little more than ½ cup of dough). Dip it in the flour on the board and pat it down to flatten it.
- Flour your rolling pin and roll out the dough till it’s very thin.
- Fold the rolled dough into quarters and move it to a sheet of parchment paper.Unfold it and leave it to dry.
- Repeat this process until all of the dough has been rolled out.Let the noodle dough dry for about 2 hours, flipping the dough pieces over once halfway through drying. This amount of time can vary based on the weather—if it’s hot outside, the drying may go faster. Check the dough’s texture periodically by touching it with clean fingers. The dough is ready to cut when it is dry to the touch, but not hard. If you’re in a hurry you can cut the dough when it is half-dry, but it won’t be as easy to cut or manage.
- Slice each flattened piece of dough into three long strips. Cut those strips into noodles. We usually cut them about a centimeter wide, but you can cut them thicker or thinner depending on your personal preference.
- Scoop up the noodles and scatter them on a piece of parchment paper to finish drying.Once you have cut the noodles, you can immediately proceed with making the chicken and noodles. If you’d rather store the noodles for future use, let them dry completely (this can take 24-48 hours depending on the weather). Once the noodles are totally dry, place them in an airtight container or sealing bag (reusable or disposable) bag and store them in a dark, cool place. They will last about 1 month; discard them if they start to darken or turn black.
- Rinse your whole chicken (giblets removed) and place it into a large stockpot. Cover the chicken with water by about 2 inches. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes. Skim the foam that rises to the top. Add chopped celery, onions, and black pepper to the broth. You do not need to add any salt, the noodles contain a lot of salt so it’s best to hold off adding more at this point.
- Let the chicken simmer for 1 ½ to 2 hours until the meat softens and begins to fall off the bone. Remove the chicken from the pot and place it on a roasting pan or platter. Strain the chicken broth, removing all the celery and onions. Return broth to the stockpot.If you want to cut down on fat, you can let the broth cool completely and skim the fat that collects on the surface. Pull meat from the chicken in bite-sized pieces and return it to the broth; discard bones. Bring broth back to a slow boil.
- Add noodles to the broth. Let them boil gently, stirring frequently, until tender. For an al dente texture, cook for 10-12 minutes. For a softer texture (which I prefer), cook 15-16 minutes. The noodles will soak up most of the broth and produce a thick, starchy, salty sauce.If you want to add some frozen green peas, put them in during the last 10 minutes of cooking. Taste the noodles when they are completely cooked and season with additional salt and pepper, if desired.
- Serve in bowls plain or over mashed potatoes (if you’re keeping kosher, make sure the mashed potatoes are parve). This, as my mother says, is the ultimate comfort food. Yum!
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
Is it possible to reduce the salt in the noodles? Some of my family is on a limited sodium diet, and I was hoping they would also be able to enjoy the soup.
Hi Rose– no problem, you can cut the salt. A lot of the flavor in this dish comes from the salt, so I wouldn’t omit it completely, but you can cut it in half and then salt the finished product to taste.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! All four us liked it. Mine definitely had more liquid than yours but we ate it in bowls and there is plenty left over for lunch tomorrow
I haven’t made this recipe in so long. I am craving it now!
i LOVE swedish egg noodles with chicken! one of my favorite comfort foods. I’ve never tried making the noodles myself, but I think i just might have to give it a try now. My family will be so impressed!
This recipe needs to be tried by all! Some labor of love involved but so simple and delicious!
Just happened on your blog and will now be checking it out regularly. Had to click on the Swedish Chicken & Noodles — a childhood favorite (minus the Swedish) that has continued to be a special treat throughout my life (now 71 years). BUT I’ve never made noodles from scratch, and now I want to! My mother made them until she discovered “convenience food” sometime in the 60s, I think. After that, forget anything truly homemade! Ha! Now of course I do just the opposite. Anyway . . . what I wanted to share is my childhood memory of her noodle drying process: Once the dough was rolled out, she would hang flour-sack dish towels over the backs of all the dining room chairs, and the sheets of noodle dough would be hung carefully over the towels. Picture it! I still can, more than six decades later, as clear as a photograph. As a child, I thought this was just the “normal” way to make noodles! And I assure you that IF I follow through with my plan to make your noodles, that is exactly how I will dry mine! Thanks so much for your stories; I, too, am a convert — not due to marriage, but just because it felt like the best fit for me. The only down sit to this path is that I have no Jewish family, and thus no food heritage. So I use books (and now, blogs) to try to create my own.
Norma, your comment warms my heart. Thank you for sharing your childhood memory with us, I will try drying them that way next time! It might speed the process up a bit, because the noodles are more exposed to the air. Welcome to our cooking community! 🙂
I just love your reciepes. But the history and your journey make it so special. I keep telling my friends about you as well. Happy Mother’s Day.
Great recipe, beautiful presentation. I really love the plate; it looks good enough to eat also! Thanks for your site and I’m wishing you many more years in your endeavors!
2-6-2011
I love your web site because it is so nice to see that someone really cares about the jewish tradition and culture. You bring the greatest recipes on this web site and go step by step to make sure you do not miss anything.
I thoroughly enjoy all the recipes you post and also give a history of each recipe you prepare and the origin of where it came from.
I also enjoy the step by step pictures and the colorful pictures you also attach with your recipes.
Even though I am not jewish you bring a sense of culture and organility to the recipe.
Much continued success to your web site.
Sincerely,
Sandra Geraci
Chicken soup with matzo balls
Because the recipes that i have made have been delicious.
I like your commentary.
Just made the noodles to go into my Homemade Chicken soup, they are amazing. My husband and I loved them, I even had two bowls of the soup. My Grandmother made these noodles when I was a child and I remember helping her make them and now I finally found a good recipe I can make on my own, they remind me of helping her in the kitchen.