Description
This Cacio e Pepe Chicken Noodle Soup is a delicious twist on the classic! Broth is simmered with a parmesan cheese rind and then served with cracked black pepper and a grating of pecorino romano cheese. It’s reminiscent of childhood comfort food but with the flavors cranked up!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs (see NOTE)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1½ cups diced yellow onion (about 1 large or 2 medium)
- 1 cup diced celery (about 4 stalks)
- 1 cup sliced carrots (about 4 medium carrots)
- 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric (or 1 teaspoon freshly grated)
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken bone broth (see NOTE)
- 1 cup water
- 1 (3-inch) piece of parmesan cheese rind (see NOTE)
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 6 oz uncooked egg noodles
- Juice of half a lemon
- Fresh parsley, chopped
- Cracked black pepper, for serving
- Grated pecorino romano cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot set over medium-high heat.
- Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper.
- Add the chicken to the hot oil and cook for 5 minutes per side, until golden brown and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium and then add in the butter. Once the butter is melted, add in the onion, celery, carrots, and a pinch of salt. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently, until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Add in the garlic, dried thyme, and turmeric and cook for another minute.
- Add in the broth, water, parmesan cheese rind, bay leaves, and fresh thyme sprigs. Bring to a simmer.
- Meanwhile, shred or dice the cooked chicken. Add it to the simmering broth. Allow the broth to simmer for 20-30 minutes, tasting and seasoning as you go.
- Reduce the heat so that the broth is barely simmering. Add in the noodles and let cook for 10-12 minutes (or as directed on the package) until they are puffed and tender.
- Stir in the lemon juice and chopped parsley and season, to taste, with more salt and pepper as needed. Discard the parmesan cheese rind, bay leaves, and thyme sprigs before serving.
- Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with a generous sprinkling of coarsely cracked black pepper and grated pecorino romano cheese. Serve hot.
Notes
- To save time, you could also use the shredded meat from a rotisserie chicken. I do this all the time for soups. Make the broth as directed and stir in the shredded chicken with the noodles.
- For the parmesan cheese rind, I simply save the rinds of my parmesan hunks and freeze them. They add amazing flavor to soups and sauces! A lot of stores now sell parmesan cheese rinds in the gourmet foods/cheese section. You can also use an unwaxed pecorino romano cheese rind – but I have had a hard time finding one without wax on the outside. I use parmesan just to be safe. The parmesan will still impart that amazing salty, cheesy flavor to the broth.
- I highly recommend using a good quality bone broth for the best flavor since we are not making chicken broth from scratch for this recipe.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Category: soup