This Chicken Noodle Soup recipe is exactly what you need on a cool day to warm you from the inside out. Filled with juicy chicken and tender noodles, this easy chicken noodle only takes about 30 minutes to make.
P.S. Our secret to seasoning the soup at the end is worth discovering.
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Sometimes the best recipes are the simplest. You’ll love the easy prep with this classic chicken noodle soup. There’s no need to trim the chicken ahead of time since the fat comes off easily after it’s boiled.
Chicken Noodle Soup Video Tutorial
This simple Chicken Noodle Soup is nutritious, hearty, and makes the perfect dish for busy families. My sister Anna came up with this recipe and first introduced me to it when she sent me a pot of soup after our first child was born over 10 years ago. We’ve been making it ever since and even made a Creamy Chicken Soup version!
Chicken Noodle Soup Ingredients
This Chicken Noodle Soup calls for traditional ingredients and a slight twist on the seasonings.
- Chicken: The secret to super tender chicken without crazy long cooking times is using chicken thighs! You can use boneless or bone-in chicken. Thighs also provide extra flavor and don’t dry out like chicken breast does.
- Broth: Our Homemade Chicken Broth is a delicious addition to this soup and provides a rich flavor. However, if you are in a pinch a low-sodium store-bought broth can work.
- Vegetables: Onions and celery sauteed together provide the traditional base for chicken noodle soup flavor. Diced carrots are another traditional vegetable. You can also add any other fresh or frozen veggies you would like.
- Seasonings: Dill and freshly-pressed garlic brighten the flavor palette and I love adding Mrs. Dash (no-salt seasoning).
Pro Tip: When sauteing ingredients for soups, use oil in the pan instead of butter. Butter will solidify when you refrigerate the soup.
The Best Noodles for Soup
I love using nice spiral noodles or egg noodles in my chicken noodle soup. These noodles plump up nicely and make the soup feel really hearty compared to other noodle varieties. Make sure you don’t overcook your noodles, especially if storing the soup or they will get mushy.
For Gluten-Free Chicken Noodle Soup
This soup is so simple and easy to modify for different food intolerances. To make it gluten-free, just sub your favorite gluten-free noodles.
The Benefits of Homemade Broth
Homemade Chicken Broth adds rich flavor to any soup or recipe that calls for chicken stock or broth. According to Medical News Today (2023), bone broth is highly nutritious and may help reduce inflammation and improve gut health.
When you cook the homemade broth in an instant pot – you can have it ready in about 2 hours. It also makes all the difference in how good your soup tastes.
How to Make Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
This easy chicken soup takes about 30 minutes to make. The SECRET to amping up the flavor happens in the last 2 minutes of cooking. Adding dill and a pressed clove of garlic is what my Mother does for nearly all of her soups and I have adopted this in my own kitchen. It is a brilliant and easy way to make your chicken soup taste fantastic!
- Cook the Chicken: In a large soup pot, combine water, Chicken Broth, and salt. Bring to a boil then add chicken thighs and cook uncovered 20 minutes.
- Saute Veggies: In a large skillet saute onion and celery in oil until golden then add to the soup pot
- Add Noodles and Veggies: Add 1/2 lb pasta and sliced carrots to the pot and cook 15 min at a low boil.
- Shred Chicken: As the pasta cooks, remove thighs from the pot and shred with forks (discarding bones and fat), then add the chicken back to the pot.
- Season: In the last 2 minutes of cooking, add Mrs. Dash, dill, and press in 1 garlic clove, and add salt to taste. Simmer another minute then turn off the heat.
Storing Leftover Chicken Noodle Soup
We love making a big pot of chicken soup and enjoying it throughout the week. Keep in mind, if the soup is stored too long, the noodles will turn mushy. If storing longer than 1-2 days, it’s best to store the soup and the noodles separately and recombine right before serving.
- Refrigerated: Cool the soup completely and store covered in the refrigerator. Once noodles are in, the soup should be enjoyed within 2 days. The soup will keep up to a week if you store the noodles separately and combine when reheated.
- To Freeze: If you plan to freeze the soup, wait to add the noodles when you reheat the soup. Chicken soup can be frozen up to 3 months.
- Reheating: Recombine noodles and soup in a pot or microwave-safe bowl and heat to the desired temperature on the stovetop or in the microwave. If using uncooked noodles, reheat on the stove until the mixture boils and noodles are tender.
More Delicious Soup Recipes:
We love soups, for the ease in preparation and their fun variety. Be sure to give some of our other popular soups a try. P.S. If you love chicken soup, our Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup is a must-try!
- Zuppa Toscana: popular Olive Garden copycat!
- Beef Stew: delicious slow-roasted flavor
- Potato Soup: cheesy, creamy base with bacon
- Broccoli Cheese Soup: quick and easy comfort food
- Chicken and Rice Soup: packed with flavor
Easy Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 chicken thighs, skins removed (bone-in or boneless)
- 8 cups chicken broth, we used low sodium
- 6 cups water
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, to saute vegetables
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 medium celery sticks, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, sliced into rings
- 6 oz rotini pasta
- 3 Tbsp fresh or frozen dill
- 1 tsp Mrs. Dash, or your favorite salt-free seasoning
- 1 Tbsp sea salt, or to taste
- 1 garlic clove, pressed
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, combine 6 cups water with 8 cups chicken broth and 1 Tbsp sea salt. Bring to a boil then add chicken thighs and boil partially covered 20 min while you prep the vegetables, skimming off any foam that rises to the top.
- In a large skillet over medium/high heat, add 2 Tbsp olive oil and sauté onion and celery until softened then transfer to the pot.
- Add pasta and sliced carrots to the soup pot and continue cooking for 15 min at a low boil or until pasta is at the desired softness.
- While pasta is cooking, remove chicken thighs from the pot and use either forks or your hands to shred the chicken, discarding any bones and fat which should come off easily. Return shredded chicken to the pot.
- Season soup with 1 tsp Mrs. Dash (or your favorite seasoning) and more salt to taste if needed. Press in 1 garlic clove. Finally, add 3 Tbsp dill and remove from heat. Enjoy!
Nutrition Per Serving
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When I change the number of people to feed it doesn’t change the amounts in the written recipe
Hi Jeanie! That’s correct, it will only change it in the ingredient list.
I love this recipe! I would love to have it ready after work. A question.. is it possible to make in the crockpot?
Hi Peggy! I’m glad you love the recipe. I think you could but I have not tested it in a crockpot to advise or give instructions. Let us know if you experiment with it.
Delicious!!! Made it today for lunch and everyone loved it. I lightly seasoned the vegetables but other than that, no additional salt needed.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Angela!
Very Difficult to use the website with all of the ads and pop-up windows. Great Recipe, thanks.
Thank you for sharing your concerns and feedback. The only way we can continue providing free recipes is by having ads on our site so we are not able to remove those at this time. We find that most people would rather see the ads than pay to see the recipes. You may also click close to exit to the ads after a while. I appreciate your feedback and I hope you love every recipe you try.
This is my go-to recipe for chicken noodle soup ever since I found it! I’ve made this many times, including the time my mum had COVID, and it never fails! I haven’t been able to get my hands on any dill but even without the dill and Mrs Dash seasoning it’s good! Definitely recommend using chicken thighs and rotini pasta, always makes the soup tastes better.
I’m so glad to hear that, Ingrid. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Natasha, Thanks so much in sharing your recipes. Makes life so much easier. In the written recipe it states to use 4 cups of broth to 3 cups water but in instructions it states to use 6 cups water to 8 cups broth. Please help, I’m making this now & would surely help since im under the weather but not sure which is correct. Appreciate it.
Hi Donna! You can follow the instructions in the recipe card above. Sometimes we make updates to the recipe but cannot edit the video since it has already been filmed. I hope you love the recipe!
I made this tonight and immediately after tidying up I had to come here and leave a comment.
This recipe is FANTASTIC! I’ve always been fussy with how I like chicken soup, and the only real winner up until now has been my best friend’s mom’s soup (which is handed down from their Polish grandma and I’m not privy to the actual recipe,) so I’m very happy to say that this will be my go-to recipe from now on!
I followed the recipe exactly; the only thing I added was a couple sprigs of fresh thyme and parsley, as well as a small bay leaf (removed when chicken was added back in.) I also used dried dill and cut the amount to 1 tsp. I didn’t have rotini pasta on hand so I used pennette which was just fine.
I loved it, my husband loved it, and I’m excited to share leftovers with family!
Hi Sari! That’s awesome. I’m so glad to hear that. Thank you for the wonderful feedback and review.
Very good soup, in fact I made it again tonight! I used rotisserie chicken dark and white meat. Dinner was served in 45 minutes! I have used many of your recipes and never cooked one that we didn’t like. I hope that you and your family have a wonderful Christmas!
I’m so glad to hear that, Kim. Thank you for sharing. Merry Christmas!
I’ve loved your website for many years but I have to tell you the ads that are now running make it nearly impossible to read and look at the recipe. Extremely frustrating and before I give up on your blog I thought you should know in case you can fix it. Thank you very much for your time.
Hi Gail, Thank you for sharing your concerns and feedback. The only way we can continue providing free recipes is by having ads on our site, so we are not able to remove those at this time. We find that most people would rather see the ads than pay to see the recipes. But we will definitely take note of your feedback and use it to improve our website.
I appreciate your feedback, and I hope you love every recipe you try.
I love this recipe and use it often! I love EVERY recipe of yours and have tried quit a few! God Bless you and family! Keep the recipes coming!❤️❤️🙏🏻
Thank you, Peggy! I’m so glad you love my recipes. God bless.
You never disappoint. You are a wonderful cook. The soup turned out great! Any recipe I have tried of yours has always been a hit. Your recipes have brought me many compliments.
Thank you!!
Aaaw, that makes me feel happier today! Thank you for sharing that with us, Kathy.
I like how meaty the soup was and I think I would rate it a 10 except for the dill. You said 3 tbl of fresh dill. I added 2 tbl and it made it very picklesque. Way too much dill. It overrode all the other flavors. I will make it again but maybe try only 1 tbl of dill.
Hi Victoria! Thank you for the feedback! I love dill, but definitely add this to your preferred taste. 🙂
Could you recommend a “go to” chicken seasoning, Mrs Dash is not available where I am.
P.S. Lamb stew was very good
Hi! Here is a list of ingredients in Mrs. Dash seasoning. You could either make a blend of your own that contains similar spices or you could see about buying one that has similar ingredients. I hope that helps.
It was so good, my 5 year old even asked for seconds. A keeper!
That’s a win! Thanks for sharing, Michelle. I’m glad it was enjoyed.
Wow! First time in all my years, I made chicken soup and it turned out fantastic! I used Remes egg noodles, which was the only complaint my son had because he likes my homemade noodles. I saute’ the onions, celery with the garlic together. I also used frozen carrots and dry dill weed. I did not have enough chicken broth (7 cups) so I added 3/4 c of beef broth and another cup of water. I didn’t want to make a trip to the store lol! I feed homeless ppl at my home and this costs me a whole total of $23 and some change. This made just enough to feed 5 ppl twice & still have a bowl or two left for lunch today! Great recipe!
Thank you, Cynthia! That’s wonderful. I’m so glad it loved it! I appreciate the feedback and review.
Hi Natasha! Great recipes. Chicken noodles soup. …instructions says 6 cups water, 8 cups chicken broth.
…video says 10 cups water, 4 cups of chicken
Which is it?
Hi Diane, I always recommend following the written recipe because we can update that if we want to make some minor changes to make the recipe better.
I have made this twice now. First time I didn’t have low sodium chicken broth so I just used regular and it was amazing, we were obsessed. Second time around I decided to get some low sodium chicken broth and give it a go. I felt like I was seasoning forever to try and get it to taste good. Much better the first time.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Taylor! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Home run! Don’t skip the dill or Mrs. Dash – they elevate the flavor so much. My daughter asks me to make this every night. We’re obsessed. Been in the rotation for over a year now!
Awesome! Thank you for your good comments and review, Ashlie. We appreciate it.
LOVE LOVE LOVE you and your recipies!! I found a hack that really works for chopping onions without tears and burning eyes! I use it all the time. Simply pour some plain white vinegar on a few paper towels and wipe down your cutting board right before you start chopping. That’s it! I’ve only used this method with wooden chopping boards. Don’t know if it works on others made of different materials. Try it! Also chopping some of the celery tops in addition to the stalks gives an awesome flavor. I believe it’s the best, most flavorful part of the celery!
Great idea, Pam! Thank you so much for sharing that with me!
chopping onions, set a bowl of water near where you are chopping. i have read that it is the water in your eyes that draws the onions so the bowl of water is supposed to replace the eye moisture. i do not have that problem so can’t say if this works but, can’t hurt to try it
Thank you Natasha this is the best chicken noodle soup I’ve tasted and made. I didn’t have chicken broth so I just used water, I skipped the dill since I forgot to buy some at the store and still the soup was amazing.
So glad you enjoyed it, Elena! Thank you for the wonderful review.