I love me the soups. Nourishing, comforting, satisfying and life-simplifying, a bowl of soup really hits the spot. Unlike baking, soup making is so forgiving – just throw in what you’ve got! Plus, leftovers never get stale, in fact, they get better! My recipe for Lemon Ginger Chicken Noodle Soup makes a great meal for lunch, a light dinner or even on-the-go! 
In addition to the directions for making a big pot full at once, I’ve also shared bonus instructions and hacks on how to shortcut the process if you are meal-prepping for enjoyment later. You don’t even have to cook the noodles!
Tender pieces of chicken breast and vitamin-packed veggies simmer in a refreshing, lemony chicken broth. I’ve used rice noodles to keep the recipe gluten-free. Ginger adds to the zippy flavor (and amazing health benefits) without making it spicy hot. I love bold, spicy flavors yet sadly can’t eat them at night – the ginger helps me get my flavor game on without provoking my GERD.
In fact, ginger is great for digestion, reducing inflammation and irritation of the esophagus and has helped me tremendously in small doses at night. If I don’t have fresh ginger in my produce bin, a rely on Instantly Fresh Ginger from Litehouse Foods (dehydrated and amazing in recipes).
Make a double batch of this soup, the leftovers are fantastic! You can easily freeze what you and your family have not eaten or keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. OR, if you are into meal prepping and want to speedy make soup to help you stick to your clean-eating goals at lunch, I’ve included those steps in the directions as well. If you’re not meal prepping, you should be – not only does it help you ditch the drive-thru when you don’t have dinner planned, it’s also very economical!
Also, I’ve used Salted Preserved Lemons in my soup, the salt-brining and preserving process makes the peel super soft and magnifies the flavor. I just pull a preserved lemon out of my jar and dice the whole thing up finely (peel, pulp and all) and toss in the soup. You can get my easy Salted Preserved Lemons recipe HERE, but it’s also fine just to substitute lemon zest in the recipe.
It is so easy to meal prep a batch of this Lemon Ginger Chicken Noodle Soup – no need to even cook the noodles! 
Are you in the middle of snow or sunshine, it seems to be the two extremes this week?! Are an any-time-of-year soup eater, or only in winter? Do you meal prep? What’s on your meal prep menu this week? Please share in the comments below – XOXO, Jennifer
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 lb carrots, coarsely chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 tbsp minced fresh ginger root or Instantly Fresh ginger
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 5 oz package fresh baby spinach
- 3 cups shredded boneless, chicken breast (pre-cooked)
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 2 tbsp lemon zest (or chopped preserved lemon)
- 48 oz chicken broth
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 6 bundles rice noodle (rice vermicelli) about 7 ounces
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In large pot, add olive oil and bring to medium-high heat. Add carrots, onions and red bell pepper, sautéing for 3 to 4 minutes until crisp-soft. Add ginger and garlic for last 30 seconds of sautéing.
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Add broth, lemon juice, lemon zest, chicken and pepper to pot and bring to a simmer, simmering on medium-low for 5 minutes. Add spinach and rice noodles and simmer for an additional 5 minutes or until noodles have softened.
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Divide among 6 bowls and enjoy!
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For meal prep instructions, see "recipe notes" below.
Meal prep Instructions:
- Sautee vegetables, ginger and garlic in olive oil as directed in main recipe, set aside.
- Line up 6 freezer-proof, microwave-safe bowls able to hold approximately 16 ounces with 1” to 2” of additional headroom.
- Place large handful of uncooked fresh spinach in bottom of container. Add 1/6 of vegetable mixture and 1/2 cup chicken (okay if cold)) in each container.
- Add broth, lemon juice, lemon zest (or preserved lemons), and pepper to large spouted mixing bowl. Does not need to be heated up. Pour broth mixture over ingredients in containers, leaving at least 2” of headroom for freezing/reheating.
- Add uncooked rice vermicelli bundle in the center of each container. Securely fasten lid and keep in refrigerator for up to 3 days or freezer for 6 months.
- To serve, defrost overnight in in refrigerator and reheat in microwave for approximately 3 to 4 minutes or until heated through and noodles softened.
This looks so good! Going to make it this week.
Jen, seriously, this was so good and so easy. My husband loved it too, we fought over the last container!
This looks so good and perfect for cold winter days!
yes, and so easy to make — always a plus in my book!
Oh wow, this looks fantastic! I love the combo of lemon and ginger but have never used them in a soup before!
lemon in soup, I was not sure how the idea would play out . . . but it was soooooooo good. I used my salted preserved lemons from a few posts back but zest works too.
I did the meal prep version and ate the first one today. It was delicious! I had tried a similar meal prep chicken soup from another web site, but yours is much better. Thank you!
Aww thanks Becky! I wasn’t sure about the strong lemon flavor was going to go over at first, but Dean loved it. And, I liked how you don’t even need to cook the noodles if just prepping!