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This homemade chicken noodle soup recipe is so quick and easy to make, you’ll be saying goodbye to the canned stuff for good. Made with homemade chicken broth and filled with healthy vegetables, shredded chicken, and loads of noodles, this comforting chicken noodle soup is hearty, yet healthy and perfect on a cold winter night.
There are, quite literally, hundreds of different ways to make Chicken Noodle Soup. Like a big hug from mom (or grandma…or the dog), this is my version of the quintessential get well soon soup that is essential to surviving childhood…and the winter.
What You Need to Make Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Broth or stock: Although they are slightly different, both chicken broth and chicken stock work in most soup recipes. You may use either homemade or store-bought, however, the key to any good chicken noodle soup is having a delicious broth. Typically made by simmering chicken in water with fresh herbs or spices, traditional chicken broth for chicken noodle soup is clear and light.
- Vegetables: The most common vegetables included in classic chicken noodle soup here in the US include a mixture of onion, celery, and carrots (or mirepoix).
- Herbs: In this version, I left things super simple and only added a touch of fresh chopped parsley after the soup was finished cooking. Other popular herbs, dried or fresh, include oregano, rosemary, and thyme.
- Noodles: Traditionally egg noodles are added as they have a higher egg to wheat ratio and, typically, hold up a little better in steaming bowls of hot chicken soup.
- Chicken: In this recipe, bone-in chicken pieces will be simmered in water until cooked. This will make the base chicken stock. The cooked chicken will be removed, the meat will be shredded from the bones, and the meat will be added back to the soup toward the end of cooking.
How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup
Prepare some quality chicken stock: there are two processes you can choose from when making homemade chicken stock, the long version or the short version. The long version, which you can learn all about my post about making homemade chicken stock, is certainly worth it if you have a few extra hours on your hands, as it is somewhat similar to making bone broth. Fortunately, there’s a simplified version that takes just 45 minutes. The end result is a comforting broth and poached chicken perfect for shredding.
Use a mix of light and dark meat with the bone-in and skin-on. The bones and the skin will add flavor and depth to the broth while dark meat, naturally higher in fat when compared to breast meat, will withstand drying out in the boiling water. You could even use a whole chicken.
If you’re short on time, purchase good-quality store-bought broth. If you don’t have the time to make your own stock, try using store-bought chicken bone-broth or chicken stock. Storebought chicken broth is typically less flavorful.
Allow the veggies time to cook slowly before adding broth. Remember that jambalaya recipe I made where I talked all about this thing a mirepoix? Well, chicken noodle soup has its own mirepoix, a simple vegetable base made from finely diced vegetables (the mix of vegetables will vary by country and cuisine). When cooking these vegetables the key is to cook them low and slow. This sweetens, rather than caramelizes, and creates that brothy flavor we love.
Season as you go. I start seasoning with salt from the very beginning until the very end. I salt the stock, the vegetables, and of course, the final result. Salt is your friend here. With that said, everyone will crave or require differing amounts of salt, so be conservative with each addition. As for black pepper, I wait to add black pepper until the vegetables have started softening.
Don’t forget about herbs. You’ll notice that I didn’t add a whole lot of fresh or dried herbs. That’s because this is a very simple chicken noodle soup recipe and the way I prefer my soup most of the time. With that said, I always add a couple of bay leaves to the broth and top each bowl with fresh parsley. Don’t be afraid to get creative – fresh thyme and fresh chives are also great additions.
Cook the egg noodles in a separate pot of salted water. Here’s why, if the noodles are cooked directly in the soup, they will continue to absorb stock even after they’ve finished cooking.
Is Chicken Noodle Soup Healthy?
Chicken noodle soup is hydrating, soothing, easy to digest, and full of nutrients. But how healthy one batch of chicken noodle soup is from another comes down to how it’s made.
Homemade soup will always be healthier than store-bought soup. Often, store-bought soups will pack in sodium and noodles, and fall short on what our body really needs – vegetables!
Can you Freeze Chicken Noodle Soup?
Chicken noodle soup freezes perfectly without noodles as freezing and reheating noodles make them extra mushy.
To freeze, allow the soup (just the soup, not the noodles) to cool in the refrigerator completely before transferring to freezer-safe containers or freezer-friendly zip-lock bags.
To reheat, allow the soup to thaw in the fridge overnight before transferring to a pot to reheat. Add noodles to the simmering soup or cook them separately.
Chicken noodle soup is best enjoyed within 5 days, thoroughly reheating each time.
What Goes With Chicken Noodle Soup
Carbs are usually my go-to, but a salad is also a good idea.
- Buttered bread
- Croutons
- Grilled cheese
- Buttermilk biscuits
- Cornbread
- Saltine crackers
- Quiche
- Garden salad
Try these other yummy soup recipes,
- Leek and Potato Soup
- Vegetarian Butternut Squash Black Bean Soup
- Easy Six Onion Soup with Baked Parmesan Crisps
- Garden Vegetable Soup
- Minestrone Soup
- Navy Bean Soup with Ham
- Easy Chicken Tortellini Soup Recipe
- Chicken and Rice Soup Recipe
Have you tried making this chicken noodle soup recipe?
Tell me about it in the comments below! I always love to hear your thoughts. And tag me #theforkedspoon on Instagram if you’ve made any of my recipes, I always love to see what you’re cooking in the kitchen.
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 3 quarts water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 large yellow onions, peeled and chopped
- 6 large carrots, peeled and chopped
- 5 ribs celery, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- Juice from one lemon
- 2 bay leaves
- 12 ounces wide egg noodles, or other favorite noodles or pasta
- fresh chopped parsley, to garnish
Instructions
- Prepare the broth. Add the chicken thighs and chicken breasts to a large stockpot. Add approximately 3 quarts of water to the pot and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for approximately 30-45 minutes.
- Cook the vegetables. As the broth simmers, chop and cook the vegetables. Heat one tablespoon olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, for 4-5 minutes or until the onions turn translucent. Add the carrots and celery to the onions and mix well to combine. Continue to cook over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring often. In the last two minutes stir in the minced garlic, mixing well to combine.
- Strain the broth. After the broth has finished simmering and the chicken has finished cooking, remove from heat. Carefully remove the chicken from the pot to a clean cutting board and strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer into the same pot as the vegetables. Shred the chicken.
- Simmer the soup. Add the shredded chicken, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and bay leaves to the pot and return soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are fully cooked.
- Cook the noodles. As the soup simmers bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook noodles according to package instructions. Drain, rinse and toss with olive oil. Set aside.
- Serve. Add approximately 1 cup of prepared egg noodles to each bowl and ladle soup directly on top of the noodles. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley, if desired.
Notes
- Cut back on cook time and use store-bought low-sodium chicken stock with shredded rotisserie chicken. Adjust seasoning as needed.
- For a low carb version, serve this chicken noodle soup with spiralized zucchini noodles instead of egg noodles.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Excellent although the first time I made it, I accidentally left out the garlic and lemon and as it turns out, I prefer it without the garlic and lemon. It is my standard chicken soup recipe now. Thank you!
This recipe is awesome for two college students who meal prep real food– a pot is like, nine bowls of soup for us, and costs less than a dollar a bowl in western North Carolina.
I enjoyed reading your recipe for a refresher on how I make chicken noodle. I haven’t cooked for a while, but a friend is sick that is inspiring me to venture into the kitchen. I fully agree with you on soggy noodles. They’ve lost their crunch to clear a gloomy day. Kind of reminds me of reading The Princess Bride. Giggles were a bonus! (Garlic. I think I add lots of garlic for flavor and medicinal purposes.Thanks for the light on the path back to soup making!!!)
Excellent recipe. Thank you! I made this for my sick daughter and had enough left for my wife and I. Good, hearty soup- lots of solids and great broth taste. I added a little thyme and some salt- my personal preference- but it was really good as is. My son in law asked for the recipe and he is quite the cook! I’m not- but it was easy to do even for a beginner like me. I’d give it five stars.
Thank you for the in details describtion . Yes country wise the ingredients may differ. The homemade broth preparation is really helpful for me. I am sure to make it to night . And hope it come out as nice as yours.
Delicious and thoroughly enjoyed by my sick daughter. She needed some good comfort food. The buttered bread is a must I agree! Thanks for sharing
Thanks for sharing was wonderful, we really enjoyed the soup. I made it because I was sick and I really think it helped me recover!!! I’ll be making this again for sure!!
My wife made this for our family of 4 , hands down one of the best recipes I have seen in a while. Thanks!
5 stars for me! Love this recipe! It’s simple yet delicious and can be modified to any particular dietary needs/issues. It was ALMOST a little too salty for MY personal taste but my daughter loved it and didn’t need to add anything. Only thing I didn’t do was add the lemon juice (not sure why I didn’t so can’t say whether it makes a difference). I was feeling poorly for over a week and doc/nurse both said “eat some chicken soup”… well I decided to make it fresh (to control the ingredients) and while it took me a little longer than the stated time, it was definitely worth the effort. I will definitely be making this on a regular basis just because I like it so much!
That was great, we loved the garlic!