Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
Updated Apr 04, 2026
Homemade chicken noodle soup with boneless chicken thighs, diced vegetables, egg noodles, and bay leaves. A classic one-pot soup recipe for dinner.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Jump to Section
My Easy Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe is soo Good!
Chicken noodle soup is one of those things I make without really thinking about it. I’ve made this version so many times I pretty much know it by memory, and when I’m making chicken noodle soup, I’m usually not in the mood for anything complicated anyway.
This classic chicken noodle soup is just my regular go-to. Chicken, carrots, celery, noodles, broth. That’s really the whole point of it. I make it when somebody’s sick, when it’s cold, or when dinner just needs to be something warm and easy.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Chicken Noodle Soup Ingredients
- Chicken: I prefer thighs for this soup recipe because they’re extra juicy and packed with flavor (plus, they’re easier to shred than chicken breasts).
- Noodles: My Mom always uses vermicelli (which I love), but traditionally, a classic chicken noodle soup recipe is made with egg noodles.
- Vegetables: I like to use white onions, carrots, and celery for this chicken noodle soup, but feel free to add in any vegetables you like. Peppers, zucchini, or mushrooms will also taste great.
- Seasoning: You’ll need minced garlic, oregano, bay leaf, salt, and pepper to flavor this easy chicken noodle soup. I always prefer the taste of fresh garlic, but if you don’t have any on hand, you can sub in ⅛ teaspoon of powdered garlic for every teaspoon.
- Butter: I love the taste of veggies sautéed in butter, but you can use olive oil instead, if you like.
- Garnishes: I always finish off my chicken noodle soup with fresh parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice. Feel free to swap in a different herb like cilantro, if you like!
How to Make this Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
Easy Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 3 large carrots diced
- 3 celery stalks diced
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ 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, salt, and 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 and the bay leaves.
- 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.
- Remove the bay leaves. 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.
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 it in your freezer. It makes the chicken noodle soup even more rich and flavorful!
- Cook your 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.
- Chop your vegetables into bite sized pieces. They should be hearty but still easy to eat. This will also help them to cook evenly!
Serving Ideas
- Serve with fresh bread. Cozy winter soups always taste better with some fresh bread for dipping on the side! My go-tos are rosemary focaccia, French bread rolls, and simple air fryer bread.
- Add a side salad. For something fresh and crunchy on the side of this warming chicken noodle soup, I always serve a garden salad, a Lebanese fattoush salad, or classic Caesar salad.
- Pair with a sandwich. I always love a soup-and-sandwich combo in winter. My favorite pairings are a grilled cheese, a hummus sandwich, and a cottage cheese flatbread.
FAQs
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. Then, 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. And lastly, if you have any 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.
Comments
I’m out of egg noodles, but have elbow macaroni and vermicelli (used for Lebanese rice) on hand. Which would you recommend? Also, would you adjust anything else like when it’s added or cooking time? Thanks in advance!
Hi Amira, it’s up to you! Your question just brought back memories, because my Mom always uses vermicelli in this chicken noodle soup, so I’m partial to that. But you could use either. If you use vermicelli, add it at the very end, after you return the shredded chicken to the pot. Cook only until tender, usually about 3 to 5 minutes depending on the brand, instead of the 10 minutes listed for egg noodles. And if you use elbow macaroni, cook it only about 7–9 minutes. Hope this helps and hope you enjoy!
I always make this soup when me or my husband are feeling under the weather and it always tastes even better then I remember. Sooo good and hits the spot!!
Aww, thank you so much! So happy you love it! And I hope you’re both feeling better!!
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.