When my body is tired and achy, or I’m feeling a bit under the weather, I always throw together this Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup recipe. The aroma that fills my house as it cooks is absolutely soothing to the soul, and the “from scratch” chicken soup flavor makes it the ultimate comfort food. There’s no bouillon or canned broth here folks, because this chicken soup is the real deal. But don’t worry, despite being made from scratch, this surprisingly simple and easy recipe makes the BEST homemade chicken noodle soup with very little hands-on time!
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Ingredients for Chicken Noodle Soup
Making chicken noodle soup from scratch doesn’t require a lot of complicated ingredients. All you need is chicken, a few simple vegetables, herbs, and spices, and you’re good to go! Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this easy chicken noodle soup recipe:
- Vegetables: I use a simple mirepoix (onion, carrot, and celery), plus a little garlic for extra depth. This medley of vegetables simmers with the chicken to create an incredible homemade broth for the soup. The vegetables also add a lot of color and texture to the soup.
- Bone-in Chicken: Using bone-in chicken is critical to creating the most flavorful chicken noodle soup. I use skinless chicken breast (bone-in) so my soup has delicious pieces of white meat throughout. If you’re more of a dark-meat person, feel free to use thighs or drumsticks. I like to remove the skin to reduce the extra fat, but you can leave the skin on while simmering and remove it later if you want an extra-rich soup.
- Herbs and Spices: A combination of basil, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and pepper give this soup its classic warm flavor. And of course, we add some salt to really help the natural flavors pop!
- Water: The chicken, vegetables, and seasoning simmer in water to create a truly amazing homemade broth.
- Noodles: I use wide egg noodles for chicken noodle soup because I love their light texture, but you can use just about any pasta shape you like! Try using stars, alphabet pasta, fideo, or ditalini.
Can I Use Rotisserie Chicken?
You can make this homemade chicken noodle soup recipe even faster by swapping out the raw chicken with shredded rotisserie chicken. Pull the chicken meat from the bones before you begin making the soup, then add the leftover carcass to the soup pot and simmer that with the vegetables instead of the whole chicken breast. Remove the bones before adding the shredded chicken back at the end.
Or, instead of simmering the bones, you can use a pre-made chicken broth and simply add the shredded rotisserie chicken at the end. This is a super fast method for making chicken soup, but the flavor won’t be quite as amazing as making your own broth!
Tips for Making Chicken Noodle Soup More Flavorful
To make sure your homemade chicken noodle soup has the most flavor possible, follow these easy tips:
- Use bone-in chicken, not boneless. The bones give the broth a TON of flavor.
- Make sure your dried herbs are fresh. Dried herbs lose flavor over time, so check those expiration dates!
- Don’t rush it. This soup needs to simmer for quite a while to get the most flavor out of the chicken, vegetables, and herbs. But don’t worry, it doesn’t require much attention as it simmers away.
- Don’t forget the salt. Salt doesn’t just make food taste “salty,” it actually helps our tongue distinguish different flavors. So make sure you salt the soup to taste at the end to get the full effect of all of those delicious flavors.
Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
This recipe adapts very easily to the slow cooker. Click here for our Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup recipe (with step-by-step photos).
Freeze the Leftovers!
This recipe makes a big batch, so I always freeze about half of it for days when I’m really under the weather. A quick reheat in the microwave or in a pot and this soup instantly makes me feel better. To freeze this soup, first divide it into single portions, make sure it is chilled completely in the refrigerator, then transfer it to the freezer, for up to about three months.
Pairs perfectly with homemade No-Knead Focaccia Rolls!
The Best Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Servings 8 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 1 medium yellow onion ($0.37)
- 3 cloves garlic ($0.24)
- 1/2 lb. carrots ($0.49)
- 1/2 bunch celery ($0.83)
- 2 split chicken breasts, bone-in ($6.64)
- 1 tsp dried basil ($0.10)
- 1 Tbsp dried parsley ($0.15)
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme ($0.05)
- 1 bay leaf ($0.15)
- 1/4 tsp Freshly cracked pepper ($0.05)
- 2-3 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 6 oz. egg noodles ($1.00)
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add the onion, garlic, and olive oil to a large pot and sauté over medium heat for about 5 minutes, or until the onions are soft and transparent.
- While the onion and garlic are sautéing, wash and slice the carrots and celery. Add them to the pot and continue to sauté for a few minutes more.
- Pull the skin and any excess fat from the chicken breasts. Add the breasts to the pot along with the bay leaf, basil, parsley, thyme, some freshly cracked pepper, and 8 cups of water. Cover the pot, bring it to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for one hour. Make sure the pot continues to simmer for the whole hour. If the heat is turned down too low and it is not bubbling away, the chicken will not shred easily.
- After an hour of simmering, remove the chicken from the pot. Using two forks, pull the meat from the bone and shred it slightly. Season the broth with salt. Begin with one teaspoon and add more to your liking. I used 2-3 teaspoons. The flavor of the broth will really pop once the salt is added.
- Add the noodles to the pot, turn the heat up to high, and boil the noodles until tender (about 7 minutes). Return the shredded chicken to the pot. Taste and season again with salt if needed (I didn’t need to). Serve hot!
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Nutrition
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Love chicken soup? Then you’ll LOVE my Chicken Stew. It’s like chicken noodle soup’s heartier, more rustic cousin!
How to Make Easy Chicken Noodle Soup – Step By Step Photos
Begin by dicing one onion and mincing three cloves of garlic. Place them in a large pot with 2 Tbsp olive oil and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent.
While the onion and garlic are cooking, clean and slice 1/2 lb. carrots and 1/2 bunch celery (3-4 stalks). Add them to the pot. Continue to sauté the onions, carrots, and celery together. You’ll only use half of a one-pound bag of carrots and half of a bunch of celery, but the rest doesn’t need to go to waste. You can clean and slice the rest and freeze them to make another batch of soup later. I do it every (other) time. It takes just a few more minutes and is super convenient later!
Remove the skin from two split chicken breasts (2.5-3 lbs. total). Split chicken breasts come with bones and rib meat, both of which add a LOT of flavor to the broth. They will also sometimes be labeled “bone-in chicken breast with rib meat”.
Add the chicken breasts to the pot along with 1 tsp dried basil, 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1 Tbsp dried or fresh parsley, 1 bay leaf, and about ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper.
Add eight cups of water, cover, and bring up to a boil over high heat. As soon as it reaches a boil, reduce the heat to low and let simmer for one hour. Make sure that you don’t turn the heat down so low that it stops simmering. It needs to simmer the whole time.
After an hour, it will look something like this. Pull the chicken out of the pot…
Use two forks to pull the chicken from the bone and shred it into bite-sized pieces.
Add 6oz. egg noodles to the pot while you’re working on the chicken, turn the heat up to a boil, and cook until tender (about 7-10 minutes). You can use any noodle that you like, but I really like egg noodles for this soup. They have a nice firm texture and they don’t disintegrate in the soup. Season the broth with salt, beginning with one teaspoon and adding more until the flavor of the broth really pops (2-3 teaspoons).
Add the shredded chicken back to the chicken soup, stir to combine, and you’re ready to eat! It’s never a bad idea to give it one last taste and adjust the salt if needed.
This chicken noodle soup recipe makes about 12 cups, so it’s not a bad idea to freeze some for later. Always refrigerate the chicken noodle soup fully before transferring it to the freezer. When making big batches, it’s a good idea to divide it up into smaller portions before refrigerating. This helps the hot liquid to cool down faster once in the refrigerator.
Great recipe, whole family loved it. I made the following substitutes: used a whole chicken instead of split breasts, added 1 1/2 – 2 cups more water to cover the chicken & little bit more of the spices to make up for the extra water, also subbed 1/2 zucchini for the celery since my family doesn’t like celery. I cooked linguine noodles (egg allergies so no egg noodles here) on the side so my family could add as much as they wanted to their bowls and I used rice since I’m gluten free.
How would I make this in an instant pot?
Sorry Micaela we haven’t tested this recipe with an instant pot.
I’ve made this a few times now and it’s always turned out good. The only thing I do differently is use fresh parsley and add it right after the noodles are done.
I also like to add potatoes sometimes.
Question: I have a whole small roaster chicken, can this be used instead of the chicken breasts?
Oh yes that would be delicious!
Delicious! I just made it, and added some potatoes cause I had some left in the fridge, and some sour cream and it turned out fabulous!
Can you use frozen chicken breast? I began the recipe and didnt have as much chicken in the fridge as I thought. Is it ok to use frozen/semi frozen? Thanks!
Yes, I’d try to defrost it in the microwave if you can for a bit. But it should be okay.
I love this recipe. I’ve made it probably a dozen times. Simple and fast. The only thing I sometimes add is chicken bullion, I taste the broth after I pull the chicken out to cool and adjust it to my taste. Depends on what type of chicken used, the broth will be stronger/ weaker. I like using chicken thighs with the skin pulled off. Like others have said, I also cook the noodles separate and add to the bowl. Otherwise the noodles will suck up all the broth.
A delicious recipe and so easy to follow. I add two cups broth, 6 cups water. I garnish with fresh grated parmesan reggiano and a touch of lemon. I will be making this again very soon!
Hi,
I loved this soup, it was delicious! Just one question: I noticed when I made the soup, a lot of the liquid got absorbed by the noodles, so after a few servings there wasn’t enough liquid compared to the amount of noodles/veggies left. Would you recommend making the noodles separately and just putting the broth in? Or is there some other way to avoid this issue?
Yes you can do that for sure. I find it stays longer in my house if I do that.
I always cook my noodles separate and store separately as well. When I serve reheated, I dunk the noodles in boiling water for moment and then spoon the hot soup over top of them.
I usually add a little extra water to start because of this. I still cook the noodles in the soup, but once they’re done cooking, I take the noodles out first to put into a storage container and let them cool separate from the rest of the soup. Then I store everything together once it’s all cooled, so that the noodles don’t absorb any more liquid.
Made this last night!! This was one of the easiest, yummiest recipes I have ever made. The chicken fell right off the bone to shred! (although mine took a little under an hour to fully cook because it simmered on a higher heat than I had intended) , so I would suggest to make sure to check it regularly during the hour it is simmering.
I used fresh basil for the heck of it and 1 cup of chicken broth in addition to 7 cups water (instead of the 8 cups just water). SO SO SO GOOD. I am going to make this on a regular basis now! :)
(I also now feel like the one cup of chicken broth may have been unnecessary and that water would’ve worked just fine)
I’ve made this quite a few times and it’s always such a hit :) thank you! I’m making it now and accidentally put the salt in with all the other seasonings before I simmered, will it still turn out ok?!
Sorry for the delay! But yes you’ll be okay just may be on the saltier side.
This is my go-to chicken noodle soup recipe. I make it every few months and freeze it so that I can have delicious, nutritious soup whenever I’m feeling under the weather.
I’ve added things like kale, peas, red pepper flakes, or jalapeno before, and it has been perfect every time.
Thanks for making such an easy, lovely recipe!
I have made this soup dozens of times! I use 1/2 chicken broth 1/2 water and then dilute as needed.
I love this soup – I have been using this recipe for years and it is delicious.
Love this recipe. Have made it probably a dozen times. I end up needing a bit more of salt and sometimes I add fresh dill.
I do have a question, could you use this same method (chicken breast on the bone boiled in the soup) to make this like a lemon chicken orzo soup?
Thanks!
You could certainly give it a try but just make sure you cook it long enough. Not a soup, but we’ve got a delicious Lemon Chicken Orzo recipe here.