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An Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken noodle soup – it’s one of those recipes that everyone seems to have a version of. Mine is about keeping things uncomplicated but ultra comforting. Think of this chicken noodle soup recipe as your go-to on those days when you need something for the soul that’s nourishing, delicious and easy-to-make.
This is a timeless recipe that I’ve made so many times I’ve got it memorized. So, here’s to a bowl of easy chicken noodle soup that’s less about being fancy and more about being exactly what you need: a simple, hearty meal that just hits the spot.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Chicken Noodle Soup Ingredients
- Chicken: I prefer thighs because they’re just juicier and packed with flavor. Plus I think they are easier to shred than chicken breast.
- Vegetables: I just use onions, carrots, and celery. If I have extra vegetables at the end of the week like peppers, zucchini or mushrooms (with their meaty texture), I’ll throw them in there.
- Noodles: My Mom always uses vermicelli, which I love; but traditionally, a classic chicken noodle soup recipe is made with egg noodles.
- Seasonings: Minced garlic, oregano, bay leaf, salt and pepper.
- Butter: I use it to sautéing the veggies because it’s more rich in flavor and comforting, but you can also use olive oil or avocado oil.
- Finishing touches: Fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice. I will sometimes also add some lemon zest in there!
How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken Noodle Soup
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 3 large carrots diced
- 3 celery stalks diced
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt divided
- 1 teaspoon black pepper divided
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 ¼ pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 8 cups water
- 3 ounces egg noodles or 2 cups
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Heat the butter in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, 1 teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic and oregano. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken, the bay leaves and the remaining salt and pepper.
- Add the water, and bring everything to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes.
- Transfer the cooked chicken to a cutting board. Using two forks, shred the chicken into bite-size pieces. Return the shredded chicken to the soup along with the egg noodles. Continue to cook the soup over medium-low heat until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the parsley and lemon juice.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
If you try this Easy Chicken Noodle Soup recipe or any other recipe on Feel Good Foodie, please rate the recipe and leave a comment below! It helps others who are thinking of making the recipe.
Recipe Tips
- Use chicken broth instead of water. If you want to make homemade chicken broth, you can meal prep some in advance and store in your freezer. It makes the chicken noodle soup even more rich and flavorful.
- Use chicken thighs or drumsticks for best flavor. While it’s fine to use chicken breast like I did in the video above (and often do based on what I have on hand) , they don’t tenderize in the soup and instead stay pretty firm. The thighs, on the other hand, get more juicy and tender in the broth.
- Cook the pasta separately and add when serving. To avoid soggy pasta, keep the cooked pasta separate and add as needed when serving your chicken noodle soup. Check the FAQ section below for more tips to avoid soggy pasta.
- Chop the vegetables into bite sized pieces. They should be hearty but still easy to eat. This will also help them to cook evenly.
Serving Ideas
FAQs
Once the chicken noodle soup has cooled completely, transfer it to an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. If you’re anticipating longer storage, consider keeping the noodles separate to prevent them from becoming soggy. For the best texture, reheat the soup on the stovetop. Pour as much as you want into a pot and heat over medium until simmering. If you’ve stored the noodles separately, add them in the last few minutes to warm through without overcooking.
Absolutely! For the best results, consider freezing the soup without the noodles, as they can turn mushy upon reheating. Once the soup has cooled, pour it into freezer-safe containers, leaving about an inch for expansion. Label with the date and freeze for up to 2-3 months. When ready to enjoy, thaw in the fridge overnight and make fresh noodles to add on top.
Cook Noodles Separately: Instead of cooking the noodles directly in the broth, boil them in a separate pot of water. This ensures that the starch from the noodles doesn’t thicken your soup and make it cloudy.
Rinse the Noodles: Once the noodles are cooked to al dente, drain them and rinse under cold water. This stops the cooking process and washes off excess starch, preventing them from absorbing more liquid and becoming mushy.
Add Noodles at the Last Moment: Add the cooked noodles to the individual bowls and ladle the hot soup over them. This way the noodles stay al dente and don’t continue to cook in the hot broth.
Store Separately: If you have leftovers, store the noodles and soup separately in the fridge. When you’re ready to serve, reheat the soup and add the noodles to individual bowls before ladling the soup over them.
Yes, you can adapt this recipe for a slow cooker. Begin by sautéing the vegetables, then add everything but the egg noodles to the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Shred the chicken and add the noodles towards the end of cooking.
Cloudy broth is usually result of boiling the soup too much. For a clearer broth, make sure to simmer the soup gently and to skim off any foam or impurities that rise to the surface during the early stages of cooking.
I used chicken broth instead of water and soup was so delicious!! Definitely will make again and again!
Yum, that’s a great way to add even more flavor!! So glad you loved the soup, May! Thank you!
SO good! Just used half the pepper. Thanks for another great recipe!
You’re welcome! So happy you liked it, Amira!!
I was looking for a soup recipe to use up some extra Mediterranean chicken I had prepped for the week so that I could freeze it. This soup was amazing! I love how with soups you can make them your own based off of what you have and personal preference. I didn’t add an oregano since my chicken thighs were already seasoned with it. I used 4 cups of chicken bone broth and 4 cups of pasta water, zest and juice of 1 lemon. So good!! This will be another soup staple for me!
Aww yay, so happy to hear you liked the soup!! I love how easy and adaptable soup recipes are too—especially chicken soup. I bet your seasoned Mediterranean chicken provided amazing flavor!!
The recipe does come together pretty quickly once you get started so I suggest having everything prepped. A couple minutes delay between steps can cause timing issues. Maybe the chicken is cooking too long or the broth is evaporating…ahem.
After you add the chicken note where the recipe says to bring to a boil over MEDIUM HIGH heat. In other words, not too fast. I have a professional gas range (!) which will POWER boil. This is important because when the dish came to a boil moments later, my chicken was fully cooked so I did not need to “cook for 25 minutes until chicken is cooked through.” Also because my chicken was finely shredded I only added it back in the last few minutes to avoid overcooking. This was a good call since I had these really thick, like tradition egg noodles that didn’t cook in the 10 minutes. I had to cook an extra couple of minutes to get them cooked through, al dente. It was also a bit challenging to get my noodles cooked because of insufficient broth – between it being absorbed into the veggies and likely some evaporation bringing everything to a boil on powerboil.
I substituted half the quantity of water with chicken bone broth. And, per the extras suggestion added 2 parsnips.
In hindsight, I would bring to a boil on medium high per the directions.
I would also use thin egg noodles…
And for my taste, skip the root veggie -a nutritious add on but I prefer chicken traditional chicken noodle soup.
I weighed 6 oz of egg noodles on my kitchen scale gizmo and it’s a perfect amount. So we all enjoyed actual egg noodles (very exciting around here, ha) instead of a healthier variation.
If adding extra root veggies, I suggest adding a little extra water or broth. Final texture for us was a bit more like a stew.
This healthy homemade chicken noodle soup recipe is nice to have on hand for the cold season. Just noticed it’s 6 servings, my family of 2 adults and a 5 year old ate nearly all of it. But that’s because my husband had 3 big bowls!!!
I just made the soup with small portions of noodles I had in my pantry, and I would say it was the best in rainy day ✨️💝 it is a chefs kiss 😋😋😋
Aww so glad!
I’m so confused by this recipe, the ingredients don’t include any chicken broth but it’s mentioned in the comments. It only says to add water. Do I add chicken broth??
Sorry for any confusion. The part where chicken broth is mentioned is just an optional step to add more flavor. The basic recipe just calls for water. You could swap this for either homemade stock, or stock in a box if you prefer.
This was okay . Next time I use chicken stock
So easy and delicious. I cut the recipe in half as I didn’t need 6 servings. I was going to use boxed chicken broth but after reading the ingredients in it I changed my mind. So glad I followed the recipe. Very affordable dinner at home. Will make again!
So good! Used turkey stock from Thanksgiving and it definitely upped the flavor.
Cooking this for about 6 years for everyone – including myself – who’s feeling ill or needs some comfort food … best recipe ever! 🥰
Aww so glad this recipe has been a comfort when you are not feeling well!
Sooo good! Love your recipes so easy and so tasty !
Made this today and O.M.G. Absolutely amazing. Simple ingredients and simple recipe. JUST WHAT I LIKE!
Thank you so much!
For sure will try as I’m a lover of soups. So tempting
Can’t wait for you to try it!
Very nice soup!!
Especially with the lemon at the end!!❣
Thank you !!
Thank you! The lemon really really makes a difference.
Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum. Best chicken noodle soup I’ve ever made!!!
That’s amazing! Thank you!!
Made ur chicken noodle recipe. Omgeee.. so yum.thanks!!! Easy to make and perfect for autumn dinner .
Yay!! Thank you!
One of the best and easiest chicken noodle soup recipe i’ve made.
It tastes amazing, highly recommended
Thank you so much! That makes me so happy to hear!
Thank you, merci and shukran!
Your recipes are always inspiring to me and you are such a great teacher. This marvellous soup was made in about 1/2 an hour by me after arriving home from work in the dark. Family nourished and happy, soup delicious.
Thank you again.
You’re welcome! I love that!!
Hello!! How do you do it with the Instant Pot? Thanks
I have not tried it in the Instant Pot yet.
Looks amazing cant wait to try! I do have question did you ever use chicken broth instead of water?
Thank you! Yes, I did use chicken broth in this recipe.
Was in the mood to cook a soup and I came across your recipe. Not only does my kitchen smells good, this well blended soup hit home with the men in my home. Perfect soup for a cool rainy day.
That’s amazing! Thank you so much!
Made this soup today for my husband. We’re both in quarantine right now as he tested positive for covid-19 a couple days ago. I can’t wait for him to wake up so he can try it. It’s delicious!
Thank you so much! Hope he enjoys it and gets better soon!
Does this soup freeze well??
This chicken soup freezes really well, so it’s great to batch cook it. However, if you’re doing so, make sure not to freeze it with the vermicelli noodles or any pasta as they will get soggy when frozen. It will also keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
Absolutely delicious! Thank you for sharing.
Greetings from The Netherlands xx
Yay! Most welcome.
Tried this chicken noodle soup recipe today omg it turned our great. I added pumpkin and potatoes, its a Caribbean thing to have those in soup. The soup was so delicious.
I love that idea! Thanks for sharing!!
Growing up in a Palestinian/Lebanese household, my grandma would always make us chicken noodle soup with cinnamon, nutmeg etc and when serving, our favourite thing was to drench it with lemon juice and parsley! It was so good. I am so excited to try this recipe, it looks great! Thanks!
Aww that’s amazing…the best soup the way we had it too and always with vermicelli noodles!
Easy to make and turns out great. Flavours all balanced very well together. Was a hit with the family, they all say 5 stars as well!
Made this in the instant pot, super easy and delicious! Would have not thought to use vermicelli
Love that you tried it in the Instant Pot. Thank you for sharing!!
Thank you so much for this fabulous recipe. So easy and simple. Video was easy to follow. Best tasting chicken soup I’ve ever made hands down!!!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback!!
I haven’t had chicken noodle soup with vermicelli before! I’ll have to try it!
Yay! I hope you like it!
hi yumna, I just subscribed to your blog last month and I’m enjoying every bit of it. Your basbousa Recipe was awesome.
I can’t wait to try this
Thanks so much Jumai! So happy to hear that!
So yummy! It turned out so well! I don’t cook at all and this was fantastic! Thank you!!
So glad to hear it! Thanks for sharing!!
I’m in the midst of making this- i made my own mirepoix (inadvertently). What happened to step 3 ? Watched your video. It doesn’t show that step. I’m guessing I am sautéing the onions, carrots and celery and adding in the broth.
Either way, it smells great right now. I’ve never made my own homemade chicken broth.
I’m sure it’ll work out in the end and will be amazing !
Ann
Hi Ann – You’re right, there are actually two methods for making the chicken broth, the one pictured and in the instructions, and the one in the video. I updated the instructions to match the video (since that’s the easier method) and I’m going to update the photos to match the video too. Both ways work great but the video method is just faster. Hope you enjoyed it!
Made your soup today and it’s lovely .
So glad to hear that! Thanks for sharing 🙂
when do i add the bay leaf?
It helps to create a base flavor for the chicken broth we’re making.
Made this chicken soup and it is delicious
Yay! So glad to hear that you enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I made this the other day when I was feeling a bit sick and totally changed my mood. Such a comforting and nutritious recipe. Thank a lot!!
Aww so glad to hear it! And hope you’re feeling better!
“started learning to cook 2 weeks after I got married over the phone
God Bless our great lebanese mam.
Hahaha…yes!
Yay! That makes me so happy to hear! And look at you, you’re cooking now!! 🙂
I thought this was really tasty and healthy, especially for this cold season
Looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it.