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.

Chicken Noodle Soup in a stock pot ready to serve in just 30 minutes

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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).

Close-up of plump noodles, flavorful carrots, and moist shredded chicken in Chicken Noodle Soup

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.

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup ready to serve with dill and freshly pressed garlic

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.

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup with plump tender noodles and juicy shredded chicken thighs

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!

  1. 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.
  2. Saute Veggies: In a large skillet saute onion and celery in oil until golden then add to the soup pot
  3. Add Noodles and Veggies: Add 1/2 lb pasta and sliced carrots to the pot and cook 15 min at a low boil.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.

Picture collage of making Chicken Noodle Soup: creating the broth, adding the juicy chicken thighs, sauteing celery and onions, adding sliced carrots and noodles

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.

Delicious chicken noodle soup with homemade broth and crackers

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!

Easy Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

4.97 from 385 votes
Author: Natasha of NatashasKitchen.com
Chicken Noodle Soup in a blue pot
This easy Chicken Noodle Soup recipe is exactly what you imagine when you think of homemade chicken noodle soup - soothing, warming, comforting and rich in flavor. It is loaded with juicy chicken and tender noodles.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients 

Servings: 10 people
  • 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

249kcal Calories22g Carbs14g Protein12g Fat3g Saturated Fat44mg Cholesterol807mg Sodium367mg Potassium1g Fiber2g Sugar2091IU Vitamin A2mg Vitamin C35mg Calcium1mg Iron
Nutrition Facts
Easy Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Amount per Serving
Calories
249
% Daily Value*
Fat
 
12
g
18
%
Saturated Fat
 
3
g
19
%
Cholesterol
 
44
mg
15
%
Sodium
 
807
mg
35
%
Potassium
 
367
mg
10
%
Carbohydrates
 
22
g
7
%
Fiber
 
1
g
4
%
Sugar
 
2
g
2
%
Protein
 
14
g
28
%
Vitamin A
 
2091
IU
42
%
Vitamin C
 
2
mg
2
%
Calcium
 
35
mg
4
%
Iron
 
1
mg
6
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken noodle soup, chicken soup
Skill Level: Easy/Medium
Cost to Make: $$
Calories: 249
Natasha's Kitchen Cookbook

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4.97 from 385 votes (199 ratings without comment)

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Recipe Rating




Comments

  • Brittany Hartmeyer
    August 20, 2016

    We love this soup! Do you happen to have the nutritional info??

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      August 20, 2016

      Hi Brittany, I’m so happy you love it :). Due to time constraints, we don’t usually provide nutritional info for our recipes. Have you tried caloriecount.com? You can use their recipe analyzer and past the list of ingredients into it to get nutritional info.

      Reply

  • krysta
    May 20, 2016

    I simple cant tell you how much my family and I love this recipe. I have made many different chicken soups with mix results and difficulties. This is by far the best! I love that it’s so simple and gosh darn delicious. I have 4 girls from 7yrs – 19months and they all love. My husband ( who had to reheat- thanks for the olive oil tip by the way) was scrounging left over bowls for more haha. I made this yesterday and now am making it again for my father who had his first round of chemo. We just cant thank you and your sister enough. God bless and thanks for giving us the good old home cooking comfort food again!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      May 20, 2016

      Thank you so much for sharing that with us! I’m so happy you all are enjoying the soup :). Blessings to you and your father also!

      Reply

  • Tammy
    May 9, 2016

    This looks soo good! I was just wondering…I see in the pictures that you use better than boullion (which I love). When do you add that?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      May 9, 2016

      Great question! I use that to make the chicken broth so I add it at the beginning with the water. So what you could do is add 15 cups water then 5 tsp of better than bouillon along with the salt. 🙂 enjoy!

      Reply

  • Meg
    April 1, 2016

    I love this recipe. The chicken thighs give the soup a fantastic flavor. Also, thank you for the tip on olive oil, this has changed my chicken soup forever!
    Thank you-Meg

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      April 1, 2016

      You are very welcome Meg 😁. I’m so glad you love the recipe!

      Reply

  • Suzanne Gravito
    March 30, 2016

    Can I use 10 cups of Campbell’s chicken broth (in carton) instead of water?

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 30, 2016

      Yes, just keep in mind that may be saltier so adjust the amount of salt to taste 🙂

      Reply

  • Tina
    March 8, 2016

    This was awesome! Rave reviews from my littles and big ones.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 8, 2016

      Oh I’m so so happy to hear that!! Thanks for sharing that with me 🙂

      Reply

  • Mike B
    March 6, 2016

    Amazing soup. I also added bay leaves for the chicken boil and herb de provence that I picked up at costco. It is so hearty and has great flavour. This is a keeper for sure

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      March 6, 2016

      Mike, I’m so happy you enjoyed that 😀. Thank you for sharing that with us!

      Reply

  • Kelly
    February 25, 2016

    Just turned 50….want to say “Best chicken noodle soup ever!!!!” I love to cook and have tried lots of recipes.I think maybe it’s the dill????????
    Thanks a bunch!!!!
    And thanks to your sister!! (Aren’t sisters GREAT?)

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      February 25, 2016

      That’s awesome and Happy Birthday!! Yes sisters are such a blessing 🙂

      Reply

  • Jean Thompson
    January 27, 2016

    In your Easy Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe, I think you should add these two items into the ingredient section: 10 cups water and 5 cups chicken broth. Thank you.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      January 27, 2016

      Thank you! I didn’t realize I had left the water out.

      Reply

  • Joanne
    January 6, 2016

    Thanks for this great recipe. Do you think one could do it in a crockpot? It’s easier for me to get dinners together when kids are in school. 🙂

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      January 6, 2016

      Hi Joanne, I haven’t tested it that way so I can’t offer up much advice on cook time in a crock pot but I think it would work. I would still sauté on a pan (step 2) and then add sautéed ingredients to the crock pot.

      Reply

      • Joanne
        January 7, 2016

        Thank you so much!

        Reply

  • Jessica
    January 5, 2016

    I just made the chicken noodle soup! I didn’t have celery so I used 1 green pepper. I added some celery powder, a tbsp. Of herbs de provenance. Lots of salt and pepper. It turned out yummy!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      January 5, 2016

      I’m so happy you liked it! thanks Jessica 🙂

      Reply

  • Amber
    January 2, 2016

    Would it be okay to use boneless chicken breast tenders? All I have at the house, it’d save me a trip to the store.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      January 2, 2016

      Hi Amber! I made this soup with tenders this past weekend and it tasted great but tenders are still a little tougher/chewier than chicken thighs, but it does work with tenders.

      Reply

  • Liz
    December 23, 2015

    Have you tried freezing leftovers? Just curious how it was when thawed out. We made it once already for a party and it was delicious!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      December 23, 2015

      Hi Liz! We haven’t tried freezing it because it always gets eaten up :), but I do think it would work well to freeze this soup.

      Reply

  • Tara
    December 22, 2015

    Loved this! I made a few alterations because I like super hearty soup. Added an extra cup of chicken broth, as well as 2 bay leaves (added to broth from the beginning). Also used about 6 celery stalks. I added the entire 12 oz bag of egg noodles. At the end, in addition to the dill, I used about 3 tbsp of parsley, poultry seasoning (didn’t have Mrs. Dash), kosher salt & pepper. I also had some left over green onions so I just threw those in at the end. Everyone loved it!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      December 22, 2015

      Mmm your super hearty soup sounds wonderful! You’re making me hungry 🙂

      Reply

  • Cheryl
    November 21, 2015

    This looks wonderful and will make it this weekend. Do we really use 10 cups of water plus 5 cups of broth? That seems like a lot of liquid. I don’t think I have a large enough pot.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      November 21, 2015

      You can cut down the water if you like. We are used to making big pots of soup for big families. Just make sure to season to taste. 🙂

      Reply

  • Andrew Anderson
    October 5, 2015

    This is the very best chicken noodle soup I tasted in my Life,,,So robust and flavorful,,chicken thighs are the best.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      October 6, 2015

      Andrew, thank you for such a great review and I’m glad you love it :).

      Reply

  • Lyndsay G.
    October 4, 2015

    This is my first try at making Chicken Noodle Soup. I am not that great of a cook. But since I am getting married next fall, I figured I better learn how to cook something. I can’t have my hubby cooking every night, can I ? Lol. The recipe was very easy to follow. I can’t wait to give it a try!!

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      October 4, 2015

      Congratulations on being engaged! I’m so excited for you 🙂

      Reply

  • Jen
    September 23, 2015

    I made this tonight. Hubby and oldest child are both sick. They all loved it. I cut the carrots into heart shapes and used a homemade turkey stock from the freezer. Everyone is looking forward to finishing the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      September 23, 2015

      That’s so sweet that you cut the carrots into hearts :). I hope your family gets better soon! I’m so happy to hear everyone loved it :).

      Reply

  • Iman Kobeissi
    September 16, 2015

    I have made this many times, so delicious! This is on the menu for tonight with you mushroom/chicken casserole 🙂

    Reply

    • Natasha
      natashaskitchen
      September 16, 2015

      Sounds like an amazing dinner! Thank you for the awesome review!

      Reply

  • Chloe
    May 11, 2015

    This soup is great, we love it although I add kidney beans, too because my kids don’t like chicken (they leave it for the grown ups).

    Reply

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