There is nothing more comforting than a bowl of homemade soup.
This shortcut recipe makes a homemade chicken noodle soup in less than 30 minutes that tastes like it’s been simmering all day!
Healthy and hearty, homemade soup is hands-down better than canned! A rich, flavorful broth and tender chunks of chicken are mixed with loads of fresh vegetables and finished off with egg noodles.
An Easy Take on Chicken Noodle Soup
- This recipe is a shortcut 30-minute meal that tastes like you’ve been cooking it all day long.
- With just a few simple ingredients it doesn’t take long to make. Adjust the ingredients based on what you have on hand.
- Use raw or cooked chicken, homemade or boxed broth, fresh or frozen veggies. Anything goes!
- This easy favorite recipe comes together in just minutes for a fresh and healthy weeknight meal.
Chicken Noodle Soup Ingredients
Chicken
Use leftover chicken (or turkey), or rotisserie chicken!
You can use raw chicken breasts or chicken thighs in this recipe and let them simmer in the broth (we use this method with our chicken rice soup and tortilla soup too).
Vegetables
In this chicken soup, I add carrots, yellow onions, and celery but you can also use frozen veggies. Kale, mushrooms, diced potatoes, a couple of minced cloves of garlic, broccoli, or cauliflower are also great additions.
Noodles for Soup
Chicken noodle soup is most often made with egg noodles. You can use homemade, frozen, or dried. The simmering time will vary based on the noodle you use so check the package.
Tip: If you plan on leftovers cook the noodles separately and add them to each bowl. Store them separately so they don’t soak up the broth.
Broth
Use homemade broth if you have some and if not, then boxed low sodium broth works great in this recipe, the addition of poultry seasoning and fresh herbs adds a homemade taste.
You can add a small squeeze of lemon juice, other herbs like dried or fresh thyme, oregano, or basil. We prefer the simple sage flavors found in poultry seasoning for a classic flavor.
Other Cooking Options
If you have a whole chicken, it can be simmered to make the broth and cooked chicken meat for a from-scratch chicken noodle soup. Follow the directions in our Classic Chicken Soup recipe to use a whole chicken.
Chicken noodle soup can also be cooked in the Instant Pot or slow cooker.
How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup
This soup is full of flavor and is ready in just minutes!
- Cook onions, carrots, and celery in a dutch oven with butter (or olive oil). Add flour & poultry seasoning per recipe below.
- Add broth, stir in noodles, & simmer until tender.
- Add chicken, remove bay leaf, & serve hot!
PRO TIP: If using raw chicken, add chicken breasts to the broth 10 minutes before adding the noodles. Shred before serving.
What to Serve with Chicken Noodle Soup
This homemade chicken noodle soup recipe is a hearty meal in one pot!
Serve with 30 Minute Dinner Rolls, Homemade White Bread, and a side of Coleslaw or fresh, crisp salad! Or, just serve this easy soup with crackers and let everyone dig in!
Feeling under the weather? The steam from a hot bowl of chicken noodle soup is a great decongestant, the salt in the soup will help your body retain water while you rehydrate, & chicken noodle soup contains Selenium, which helps to fight common cold symptoms! Turns out Grandma was right!
Tips for Storing
Chicken noodle soup can be kept in the fridge for 2 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave until heated through.
Freeze this soup for up to 2 months. Leave out the egg noodles and add them when the soup is to be reheated.
More Easy Soup Recipes
- Chicken Stew – hearty and comforting
- Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup
- Chicken Rice Soup – a 5 star fave
- Easy Chicken Taco Soup – Mexican-inspired
- Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Lemon Chicken Soup – perfect for a cold day
- Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup – a family favorite
Did your family love this Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium onion
- 2 large carrots
- 2 ribs celery
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 teaspoon flour
- salt to taste
- pepper to taste
- 6 cups chicken broth homemade or low sodium
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 ounces uncooked dry egg noodles
- 2 cups cooked chicken chopped into ½" pieces
- 2-3 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Dice the onion. Heat butter in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until it begins to soften, 2-3 minutes.
- While the onion is cooking, slice the carrot and celery ¼" thick. Add to the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the onion is soft.
- Stir in the poultry seasoning, flour, salt and pepper to taste, and cook for 1 minute more.
- Add the broth and bay leaf, turn the heat up to medium-high and bring to a boil. Stir in noodles* and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until noodles are tender (this can vary by brand), approximately 7 minutes.
- Add chicken and cook 1 minute more or until heated through.
- Stir in parsley and remove bay leaf before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Chicken, Dinner, Lunch, Soup
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Can this be frozen?
If freezing, I would leave the noodles out until ready to reheat and serve. Otherwise the noodles will get mushy. We would love to hear how it turns out for you!
OH MY GOODNESS…… This soup is soooooo good. I have been making chicken noodle soup all wrong for years. Thank you for this recipe.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Dianne!
So this is an excellent recipe if you follow it. I made some mistakes used regular chicken broth not low sodium, and added chicken bouillon that was salty too :(
So googled how to break up saltiness in soup so they said add macaroni but accidentally added egg noodles @12 oz instead of 6 oz!!! Whoops! Then I decided to throw in some light splashes of half and half too to break down saltiness. I want to make your recipe again the right way. Will see what the family says when they get home.
This soup was SO quick to make and so flavorful. It was a hit with the whole family and I’m happy to add it into our meal rotation.
That is awesome, Ayla! Glad you enjoyed it as much as we do :)
Please send all your great recipes to my email
Welcome Lois! To receive emails with new recipes, you can click here to sign up to receive emails. Look forward to sending you recipes!