If you love a good chicken noodle soup, then you will love this Afghan aush version! Aush is a dish made with ground chicken, noodles, beans, chickpeas, and warming spices that give it a unique flavor - perfect for a quick and comforting weeknight meal.
This recipe is simple to follow and results in a flavorful chicken soup that the whole family will love.
What is Aush?
Aush (or ash) means thick soup in Persian languages. It is a traditional Afghan dish and part of Iranian cuisine, known as Ash Reshteh.
With endless possibilities of chicken soup combinations, you can create a unique and savory bowl every time! From chicken to beef to lamb - all accompanied by noodles, legumes, and veggies. Plus, don't forget the final touch of creamy yogurt (chaka) for extra flavor. Bon appetit!
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
🥣 Why you'll love this Afghan soup
✔ It's quick and easy to make.
✔ It's an inexpensive dish with simple ingredients.
✔ It's packed with flavors and nourishing.
✔ It's the perfect dish if you love the prospect of eating traditional food around the world.
✔ It's kid-approved. My grandkids love slurping the noodles in this recipe!
Get ready to explore new flavors with Aush chicken noodle soup, an irresistible twist on American-style chili. In some ways, it even reminds me of the Italian pasta e fagioli!
Whether you need comforting soul food to cure winter blues or a powerful cold-fighting remedy, this chicken noodle recipe has us coming back time and again - it's always our go-to for any time of year, and we just can't get enough!
🛒 Ingredients
- Chicken - We are using ground chicken in this recipe to speed up the process. You can even use rotisserie chicken for a super fast meal. To get a different flavor, substitute chicken with ground lamb, beef, or turkey.
- Noodles - Traditionally, Afghans use eggless noodles. If you have a local Middle Eastern specialty store, look for thin Persian noodles called Reshteh or use any pasta you have on hand.
- Spices - Ground turmeric, coriander, and dried mint flakes take this chicken noodle soup to the next level. I highly recommend you don't skip them.
📝 NOTE: Looking for the FULL recipe to print? Find the complete list of ingredients and detailed instructions in the recipe card below.
Enjoy this exciting culinary experience that will make your taste buds sing.
🔪 Instructions
1. Sauté the onion in oil. Add ground chicken and garlic. Cook until meat is no longer pink.
2. Mix in turmeric, paprika, coriander, mint flakes, and tomato paste.
3. Dissolve chicken bullion in boiling water. Add noodles and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add the beans, chickpeas, and cooked chicken to the pot and cook until the pasta is done. Season with black pepper and salt to taste.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
- Add chopped greens to the soup, like spinach, chard, or kale, for even more nutrients.
- When reheating the soup, you might need to add more broth or water because the soup will thicken more as it cools.
🔄 Substitutions
- Beans - instead of kidney beans, you can use black-eyed peas, black beans, or cannellini beans. You can also add lentils if you prefer.
- Noodles - use gluten-free noodles to make this gluten-free dish. I recommend rice noodles that look like fettuccine, which you can usually find in the Asian aisle of grocery stores.
- Vegetarian/vegan - use vegetable broth and add a bag of frozen mixed vegetables to the soup instead of ground chicken (or replace it with plant-based meat or tofu) to make this vegetarian or vegan version.
💡 Top tip
Aush soup tastes better the next day, so it's a great make-ahead dish.
🍴 Equipment
Equipment can have a significant impact on how a recipe turns out. Stone and cast iron bakeware take longer to heat up than metal pans and retain heat for longer.
I made this noodle soup in my enameled Dutch oven. If you use stainless steel, non-stick, or aluminum pot, you might need to add a few minutes to the cooking time as they don't hold onto the heat for as long as cast iron does.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
This soup freezes very well before the noodles are added. When you're ready to serve, defrost and add freshly cooked noodles.
Store this chicken noodle soup in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Properly stored, the refrigerated soup will last 3-4 days.
More chicken soup recipes you'll love
- Peruvian Chicken Corn Chowder
- Polish Chicken Barley Soup
- Bosnian Chicken Bey's Soup
- Cajun Chicken Gumbo
- Mexican Chicken Soup
🧡 Liked this recipe? Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating and/or a review in the comments section. Your feedback is always appreciated! 👋 Stay in touch through Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok!
Afghan Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe (Aush)
EQUIPMENT
- Skillet
Ingredients
Soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium-size onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons dried mint flakes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
- 1 chicken bouillon
- 6 cups water, more as needed
- 6 ounces dried noodles, broken into pieces
- salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Topping
- 1 cup yogurt, optional
- dried or fresh mint and fresh cilantro, to garnish, optional
Instructions
- Sauté the onion in olive oil in a non-stick pan on low heat until tender and translucent.
- Add the garlic and ground chicken and use a wooden spoon to break it up as it cooks so it is loose and separated.
- Once the chicken is browned, add the turmeric, paprika, coriander, mint flakes, and tomato paste. Mix everything well and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes.
- While the meat is cooking, add water and chicken bouillon into a Dutch oven or a large pot and bring it to a boil. Add the noodles and boil for 5 minutes.
- Lower the heat to low. Add kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and cooked chicken to the pot with noodles and continue to cook until noodles are cooked al dente, for about five more minutes. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
- Remove the pot from the heat and spoon it into bowls. Top with yogurt and sprinkle with mint and cilantro leaves if desired.
Notes
- Do not overcook noodles. They will continue to cook once you remove the pot from the heat, and the soup will thicken even more.
- If the soup is too thick, add more water or chicken broth as needed.
- You can use ground beef, lamb, or turkey instead of chicken.
- Don't skip the spices - they make this soup so deliciously unique!
- For best results, See the substitution and FAQs section in the post above.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used.
Mikey says
Without a doubt, this soup is getting a thumbs-up from my end. I have cooked so many meals in my life, pretty much as a home cook, and to this day, I am still finding new, unexplored avenues. One of these is soup, and there is no reason not to expand the repertoire to include a few of them - particularly when the weather is cold. Afghani cuisine is also unusual since I don't have much experience with it (I have eaten at a restaurant in Hamburg and gotten local takeaway in my hometown). However it goes, I always like to build an arsenal of cooking recipes to sharpen my skills to the highest extent.
It is my second time trying this soup - this exact recipe - and I made it for my parents a few nights before flying out of the Gold Coast back to New Zealand. The thing with my level of cooking is how involved it is, the premium levels of the ingredients, and just how much washing up is left near the end. Like it was said, trying to expand the repertoire. I had this on the back burner and even proposed trying it across the ditch. With the reception I got, I think it just might.
The soup doesn't look too dissimilar to laksa or ramen, which already equals a plus in my book. While there are spices, the flavours are more there to enhance than to heat—and I am a big spice fiend with my cooking abilities. This time around, I used fettuccine as the noodles (my dad's thoughts), and while that didn't go too badly, this recipe certainly calls for a thinner noodle - those instant ramen packets come to mind. Nevertheless, all of it mixed well and was light and filling. In the strangest twist, it was my mom who got a second helping.
Whether it be for an upcoming pot luck, or to introduce my nephew to a new cuisine, the aush here is going to make an appearance sooner or later.
Jas says
Wow,thank you so much for such such a lovely and elaborate review! I am so happy you liked it and that you mom went for seconds.
Ron says
Jas, you are indeed the Master Chef of soups. This sound wonderfully tasty.
God Jul
Jas says
Thank you, Ron! Happy Holidays!