Elevate A Boring Can Of Chicken Noodle Soup With This Easy Addition

Is there anything more satisfying than a warm bowl of chicken noodle soup? When you're not in the mood to make an entire meal from scratch, the comfort food staple isn't necessarily bad straight from the can — but it can definitely get a little boring. Luckily, if you're willing to spend just a few extra minutes on prep (the horror), you can elevate it to truly gourmet status by adding a choice aromatic or two.

Onions, garlic, and shallots — oh my! Give any of these ingredients a quick saute before dumping your soup into the pot, and suddenly the entire dish is infused with an extra dash of umami, adding a feeling of homemade complexity and care. What's more, you can play around with the type of fat you cook your ingredients with; olive oil will make the aromatics shine and complement the flavors already present in your canned soup. Butter will infuse the broth with a silky richness, and something like peanut or cold-pressed sesame oil (skip the toasted stuff, which is better for finishing dishes) will add a nutty, Asian-inspired twist.

If you want to experiment beyond a quick flash in the pan and you're willing to prep a bit ahead of time, you could also roast some garlic for a more mellow, slightly sweet flavor, or use a slow cooker to caramelize onions without the fuss. You'll end up with rich, jammy lusciousness without having to babysit a stove.

Maybe you're satisfied with how your canned soup tastes on its own, but occasionally find yourself craving a slightly different flavor profile. In that case, take inspo from chicken noodle soups around the world. Toss in some star anise, fish sauce, and a handful of fresh basil (though a squeeze of lime wouldn't be unwelcome) to make your soup more reminiscent of chicken pho from Vietnam. Alternatively, coconut milk and curry or shrimp paste will give it a Malaysian chicken laksa vibe, while adding turmeric, lemongrass, and makrut lime leaves will veer it into the territory of an Indonesian chicken soup called soto ayam.

In Mexico, caldo de pollo, a stick-to-your-ribs chicken soup, doesn't typically include noodles, but it's absolutely loaded with veggies, so feel free to swap out the aromatics and saute some zucchini, corn, and chayote instead (extra points if you serve it with warm corn tortillas on the side). Mexican sopa de pollo con fideos, on the other hand, is a hearty chicken noodle soup that's made with fideo pasta, which is texturally similar to angel hair but shorter. Toast the pasta and toss it into your soup along with some spicy crushed tomatoes to enliven the broth, and garnish with some queso fresco and cilantro. Your new favorite comfort dinner? Served.