Homemade chicken noodle soup from scratch is one of my absolute favorite comfort foods. Not only is it incredibly easy, but even just the smell of it simmering away is soothing and totally gives me hygge vibes. This is the perfect winter Sunday recipe to have going while you tend to other chores or just catch up on Netflix. :)
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“Thank you very much for sharing this recipe. On a snowy New England day, by far this warms up the hearth and heart.”
AUDREY
While I’ve had a stove top version of this Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup for years, I thought it was high time to show just how easy and hands-off it is to make with a slow cooker (or crock pot). I use split chicken breasts, which is one whole chicken breast that has been split down the breast bone into two pieces (right and left breast) with the bones, rib meat, and skin still attached. Also known as bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, they give this soup the best flavor!
Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
Servings 8 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 3 cloves garlic ($0.24)
- 1/2 lb. carrots (about 4 medium) ($0.30)
- 4 ribs celery ($0.43)
- 2 split chicken breasts* (2-2.5 lbs. total) ($6.30)
- 1 tsp dried basil ($0.10)
- 1 Tbsp dried parsley ($0.30)
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme ($0.05)
- 1 bay leaf ($0.15)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.05)
- 8 cups water ($0.00)
- 6 oz. wide egg noodles ($0.68)
- 1 Tbsp salt (or to taste) ($0.10)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional) ($0.20)
Instructions
- Dice the onion, mince the garlic, peel and slice the carrots, and slice the celery. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery to a 6 quart slow cooker or crock pot.
- Remove the skin from the bone-in split chicken breasts, then place them on top of the vegetables in the slow cooker. Add the basil, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and pepper to the slow cooker.
- Pour 8 cups of water over the ingredients in the slow cooker. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.
- After cooking on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours, carefully remove the chicken to a cutting board and discard the bay leaf. Add the egg noodles to the slow cooker, stir to combine, and replace the lid, with the heat turned on to high.
- Use two forks to remove the chicken meat from the bones, shredding the meat as you go. Return the meat to the slow cooker and stir to combine with the soup. The noodles should be tender after about 8-10 minutes of being in the soup (this may take a few minutes longer if the slow cooker was previously set to low).
- Once the chicken has been returned to the soup and the noodles are tender, begin seasoning the soup with salt. The true flavor of the soup will not be pronounced until it is properly salted. Start with 1 tsp salt, adding more until the soup is bold and flavorful. I use about 1 Tbsp (3 tsp). Finally, stir in a handful of chopped parsley for garnish just before serving.
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Equipment
- Slow Cooker
- Chef’s Knife
- Tongs
- White Cutting Boards
Notes
- It’s not recommended to add frozen meat to slow cookers. It takes too much time for the meat to thaw and come up to a safe temperature, leaving it in the temperature “danger zone” where bacteria can flourish for too long. If you have frozen chicken that you’d like to use, make sure to thaw it fully using a safe method before adding it to the slow cooker.
- I suggest using a 6 quart slow cooker. I used a 5 quart slow cooker and it was filled dangerously close to the top.
Nutrition
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How to Make Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup in a Slow Cooker Step-by-Step Photos
Dice one yellow onion, peel and slice 1/2 lb. carrots (about four), slice four ribs of celery, and mince 3 cloves of garlic. Add all four to a 6 quart slow cooker or crock pot.
Remove the skin from two split chicken breasts (leave bones and rib meat attached). Place the chicken in the slow cooker along with 1 tsp dried basil, 1 Tbsp dried parsley, 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1 bay leaf, and some freshly cracked black pepper.
Add eight cups of water to the slow cooker, place the lid on top, and cook on high for four hours or low for eight hours.
After cooking on high for four hours or low for eight hours, remove the cooked chicken to a cutting board and discard the bay leaf (it usually floats on top).
Add 6 oz. wide egg noodles to the slow cooker, stir to combine, and replace the lid. Let the noodles continue to cook on high heat while you shred the chicken.
Use two forks to remove the chicken meat from the bones, shredding it as you go. Return the shredded meat to the slow cooker. The noodles will be tender after being in the pot for about 8-10 minutes (this may take a few minutes longer if your slow cooker had previously been set to low).
Once the noodles are tender and the shredded chicken returned to the pot, begin seasoning the soup with salt. Start with 1 tsp and keep adding more until the soup tastes vibrant and delicious. I use about 1 Tbsp (3 tsp). Finally, add 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley for garnish just before serving.
As with any soup or large batch recipe, it helps to divide the soup into smaller portions before cooling in the refrigerator. This helps the food cool faster, which is a better food safety practice.
Add some crackers on top and enjoy this totally from scratch homemade chicken noodle soup, just like grandma used to make. :)
HOW TO STORE AND REHEAT
This recipe makes a huge batch, so you’ll probably want to freeze half of it. Make sure to divide the soup into single portions just after cooking (so it cools quickly), cool it completely in the refrigerator over night, then transfer to the freezer the next day. You can freeze in quart-sized freezer bags or reusable freezer safe food storage containers.
I’ve made this a few times and a few things I’ve noticed are that if you are using an older slow cooker you might need to cook longer. Mine is from the 80’s and I’m trying this at 6 hours on high. Additionally 1 whole onion might be too much, half an onion or 1 very small onion might be better. A few times I’ve had the unfortunate situation where 1 onion was too over powering flavor wise.
Thank you very much for sharing this recipe. On a snowy New England day, by far this warms up the hearth and heart.
Thanks looks yummy
How is the recipe after freezing it? Planing on making for a dinner and freezing the leftovers.
If you know you’re going to freeze leftovers, I would maybe only cook enough noodles for your dinner and just freeze the chicken soup portion! Then when you go to serve it next time, you can just make fresh noodles. I just worry about the noodles getting too saturated and falling apart! But the soup freezes great sans noodles!
This recipe freezes great as long as you store the noodles drained and separate from the rest of the soup. I often meal prep it this way, and to simplify things I just cook the noodles in a separate pot, immediately drain them, and then freeze in portions.
I’ve never made really good chicken noodle soup before, until I tried this recipe! My husband would always say, “There’s something missing.”. I had to use frozen carrots, and I didn’t have any fresh parsley at the end. I’ll definitely be making this again! Thank you.
Hi, I just heard about your site. I am very excited to try out your recipes and meal plans. Thank you for such a nicely organized site!
I am going to try your slow cooker chicken noodle soup recipe. I enjoy using both white & dark meat. Do you think that if I used a rotisserie chicken, rather than raw chicken, it would turn out well?
All my best,
Jay
That would be just fine!
If you use rotisserie chicken cut way back or eliminate salt. Holy salty chicken soup!
Trying to fix recipes to freeze in individual servings will be trying chicken noodle soup first
hey beth, love this recipe. i’ve made the stovetop version a few times before but its a multitasking day so i thought slow cooker might be better. just wondering if this version would still be as flavorful and safe if i use leftover rotisserie chicken? thanks so much
It should be fine to use rotisserie chicken!
Nice flavorful and economical soup recipe! We will make this over and over! Thank you Beth, great site you have. :) Susan AZ
Unfortunately, this was not a winner for me. It came out very bland and the texture of the noodles was terrible. I agree with other posters that if cooking everything else in the slow cooker, then the noodles should be done separately. But ultimately it seems like this should remain a stovetop recipe in order to develop some flavor.
Did not like this soup, maybe if I would have listened to the reviews and cooked the noodles separately. I threw them in to cook and they basically dissolved and I was left with a very starchy base.
Needed to doctor this up quite a bit. And not a fan of cooking the noodles in the crock pot with the soup. Never works out well for me. Thanks tho!
Delicious!!!
I have never used basil in a chicken noodle soup before so that made me a bit nervous, but it was delicious! My only changes were using half chicken broth, half water and I boiled the noodles separately on the stove. Everyone in our family loved it and they were drinking the broth from the bottom of their bowls! Next time I will probably cut the veggies smaller because they were a little too firm for our liking.
Can I use chicken broth instead of water? Or maybe half broth, half water?
Yes, you definitely can. :) Just keep in mind that since the broth probably has a decent amount of salt, you won’t need to add as much, or any, at the end.