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.
This is my go to starter. I have made it several times now and tweek it a bit for different nights. I use only chicken broth as my base to add flavor.
I used 3 split with bone in chicken breasts with extra 2 c of water and a few more veggies, we love our chiken in soup and extra veggies, it smells wonderfully good…ive made it with 2 chicken breasts and it was excellent..
My family and I love this chicken and noodle soup! YUM-YUM! I would like to share I have celiac disease, I do use GF noodles. I would encourage you to prepare you noodles in a separate pot, once al-dente, drain and add to your soup. I find this works better, than adding uncooked GF noodles to the soup. Hope this helps for GF diets!
Thank you! I was thinking of using rice instead of GF noodles. Maybe I’ll try this instead!
I used this recipe for my first time making chicken noodle soup and it was super easy and delicious! The only thing I would suggest is to put more than 8 cups of water (I had leftover chicken, veggies, and noodles with no more broth).
I’ll definitely be making this again because it’s seriously tasty!
Thank you for the recipe :)
Wow, excellent recipe. I used Spaetzle noodles from Aldi and this was incredible. My whole family loves it.
Can this be done in an instant pot to speed up the cooking time?
Yes, this would probably work very well in the IP. :) I’d try the soup button or check the manual for the suggested cooking time for boneless chicken breasts and use that.
I just made this and it was delicious! I have a gluten allergy/celiac disease, so I substituted noodles with rice and it was just as good! :)
I have been following your recipes for years and I love almost every single one, but this is by far the one I make the most. Even when I’m sick, I prefer to make this soup myself than buy a can of the bland stuff. My boyfriend isn’t a big soup person but has requested this be on our weekly rotation. I add my “secret ingredient” which in reality is just a dash of tumeric for color and a boost of flavor. I will NEVER go back to canned soup after making this. If I don’t have bone-in chicken on hand, I will just substitute boneless breasts and use stock instead of water. I love your recipes and I even have an entire pinterest board dedicated to your site.
A dash of tumeric in any kind of chicken soup is magical! My husbands favourite is a chicken and dumplings recipe that always ends up being super thick and hearty and more stew like but it’s a fantastic wintertime dinner.
This is the best chicken noodle soup recipe!! My husband and I love it. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
I tried this and failed entirely….everything was good up until I added my egg noodles…..the egg noodles ruined the whole thing….the soup is nothing but starch now. I feel it would have absolutely been amazing….maybe next time I’ll cook the noodles before adding.
First time making chicken noodle soup and I have to say it was very easy and tasty !! This will now be a recipie I’ll be making a lot !
Any cooking suggestions for using rotisserie chicken instead?
Hmm, I don’t think that will quite work the same since the chicken is already cooked and you really need to cook the chicken in the soup to get that nice broth.
I do this by removing the chicken from the bones and keep refrigerated while you make stock with the bones. You’ll get a lovely broth to use in your soup. You can use the 8 cups of water called for in the recipe. All those bones will make it delicious. Strain into the celery carrot mixture and cook the noodles, then add the chicken chunks you saved.
Just made this and I have to say.. it is so good!!! Such a simple recipe to follow. I will say, I put the lid on while it simmered for the hour and I still had to add 2 cups of water when I added the noodles but it wasn’t a big deal. I am very proud of how this turned out!
Made this soup.; it was very good and a hit with my girlfriend’s family (scored some points, thanks). I used half water half chicken stock. Had to add a decent amount of salt and pepper but I made twice the original serving size. I did not leave the skin on the breast, but I would probably do this next time for added flavor. I usually do not sauté my veggies, but I loved the outcome and will definitely be doing this in future recipes. I also added leeks to my soup, as I love my soups filled to the brim with veggies for heartiness. Tomatoes would probably be good in this as well. Thanks!!
I LOVE this recipe. My husband, Mom and sister all do too. I always end up giving some away when I make it. I’m just making it again as the cold weather is returning and I could have SWORN that in the past I added two cups of water at the end to account for evaporation. Am I totally off?! It seems like I could use more water at the end. I tend to add an extra ounce of noodles because I like it extra noodley so maybe that’s the issue.
I don’t recall that being in the recipe, but you certainly could add more water at the end if you feel it needs it. :)
Thank you for the reply! I’m 30 weeks pregnant and probably just confusing the addition of water for another recipe. Love you blog and thank you for the response!
Hi Jen,
I’m so glad you remember being told to add water too! I remember being told to add extra water at the end of simmering the soup but before the addition of the noodles too. I even remember the explanation being to account for evaporation. I’ve made this a half dozen times and but needed to check back for the exact measurements of the seasonings. When I looked tonight and didn’t see the extra water I was confused. I was going to leave a comment asking about it but then I saw yours. Maybe it was edited at some point?
Also, I just realized there is another Lisa who commented right before me. I’m a different Lisa haha