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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Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Oh my goodness, this is delicious! I’m down with the flew and was craving some comfort food, which lead me to this recipe. This beats the Dutch chicken soup we have here in the Netherlands. Already feeling better 🙂
Thank you for sharing your wonderful review. I’m so glad you’re feeling better! I hope you recover fully soon! 🙂
What is dill?
Dill is an herb, available in most of the grocery stores.
Hi there. Just one question. Do you ever cook pasta separate to keep the soup from becoming too starchy? I’ll be making this for guests tomorrow and I can’t wait. Mom always swore on using thighs for CNS. Thanks so much for the recipe. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Thanks again
Diane Renee.
Hi Diane, I always just cooke them in the pot with everything and I have found that it’s never enough starch to thicken the soup. It’s just time saving to do it all in one pot. When cooking rice for soup, you would want to cook that separately 🙂
my first attempt at noodle soup and this is sooo good!! I halved the recipe since it’s for only me. Instead of chicken I used leftover turkey from Thanksgiving! However, I don’t have and couldn’t find dill so I did without. Awesome recipe and I’m so glad im came across it 🙂
That is so great!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review! 🙂
If I were to use white rice instead of noodles, do I cook the rice separately and add when wanted? or put in uncooked rice and cook for a long as the pasta would in the soup? My boyfriend hates noodles.
Hi Megan, it’s best to cook the rice separately since it absorbs so much water – I would suggest cooking it in chicken broth instead of water for best flavor. You might try this: Bring 1 1/2 cups broth to a boil, add 3/4 cup rice and bring to a boil then reduce heat to low, cover and cook until rice absorbs broth (about 20 minutes) then add it to the soup at the end.
I am eating this right now, and it’s delicious. The flavors are really bright and lovely, so I think it’s a soup for all seasons. I used 12 oz broad egg noodles and undercooked them so I hope they hold up to reheating. I think when I make it again I’ll use half the onion and double the celery. I also need a larger pot!
I’m so happy you enjoyed it!! I think the egg noodles should be fine. I’ve never had any issues with reheating soups with egg noodles and I love that you used egg noodles. 🙂
Fantastic! I loved the chicken thighs in this soup, which I’ve never used before. They definitely make the difference. I cooked mine separately to cut down on some of the fat. I didn’t have fresh dill, so I used the dry and it added a really good flavor. Simple and delicious!
Traci, thank you for such a nice review on the recipe, I’m so glad to hear that 😀.
I like this more than its sister, the creamy chicken noodle .. lol (I do love that one too)
Its very yummy, and exactly how chicken soup should taste. . Mmm mmm , home run!
Anna, thank you again for another great review, I’m very happy to hear that 😬.
I’ve been looking for a new chicken soup recipe for awhile, and this is it! Made it tonight and it was a hit with my husband and 2 teenage daughters. Made it just as stated…even used BTB. Yum!!!
That is so awesome!! Thank you for sharing your awesome review! 🙂
Hi – I use chicken breasts and trim off the excess skin but leave on the fat. I don’t add the pasta (wide noodles, rotini, rigatoni) until the soup/chicken is finished…and let sit overnight. This allows the pasta to absorb the chicken stock without becoming overcooked while the soup is being cooked.
I prefer to cook the soup/chicken for at least 2 hrs (covered) on lowest heat setting until the meat is easily separated from the bones with a fork.
Fresh ground coarse pepper is preferred over added salt 😉 And…don’t forget the lard biscuits!
Larry, thank you for sharing your version of the recipe. I really like the idea of adding pasta after the soup is done and let it sit overnight 😁.
always happy when i see an email coming from you!
i need to make meals ahead…at what point would you freeze this recipe…just the broth, broth and vegetables, or after the noodles are cooked?
thank you so much.
alexandra
I haven’t tried freezing the soup, but I think it would freeze well even when it is all completely made. 🙂 thank you so much for subscribing!
Hello! I’m wanting to try this, but confused on the 10 cups of water and 5 cups of chicken broth. I have the same “Better than Bouillon” chicken base you have shown in your picture. Do I use that to make the 5 cups of chicken broth and then add an additional 10 cups of water? Seems like a lot of water! Any help would be great! Thanks, Maggie
Hi Maggie, I use the BTB to make broth, so I make 5 cups of broth and add 10 cups water. You can use all broth if you want to but it isn’t necessary. Those are the proportions I use. You can also cut down the water if you want a heartier soup with less liquid, but make sure you add seasoning to taste 🙂
This soup was perfect! My family loved it and I enjoyed making it . The fresh dill and shredded carrots, in addition to chopped carrots was a great twist! I will certainly make this soup again.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it and thank YOU for the wonderful review! 🙂
I am making the creamy version of this chicken rotini soup tomorrow afternoon for dinner tomorrow evening… I am excited to taste the difference a little heavy cream can make. Thx for posting it, I will rate it after my family tries it!
Yum I’m not much of a chicken soup fan but I wanted to try this one out. It was easy and delicious! The only change I made was didn’t use low sodium broth and I put less dill (1 tsp dried). I might add some parsley in it next time but it really is perfect as is. Thanks for a great chicken soup recipe!
Hi Jen! Thank you for the wonderful review :). I’m so happy you liked it!
Is it really 3 tablespoons of dill. Couldn’t find fresh or frozen so used dried.
The substitution is 1 tsp of dried dill for every 1 Tbsp of fresh dill. I would add it to taste if using dried dill since the flavor isn’t quite the same. Start with 1 tsp of dried dill and add more to taste.
Thank you! I ended up adding 1Tbsp of the dried. It was delicious. My guys really liked it. Perfect for a cold fall evening. Will be making this again & again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!!
That was my question also. Thanks for the fresh vs dried tip. This looks yumny. Usually make this with egg noodles and they sometimes end up mushy. I bet the rotini will stand up better.
Made this for guests and doubled recipe. Rave reviews. Made without the dill because didn’t know how they’d like it, but will try it next time. Also used gluten free rice noodles (fettuccini style broke pun up into fourths) and subbed vegetable broth for half the chicken broth. I love the sauteed vegetables – makes a big difference in the depth of flavor. This is a keeper! Thank you!
I’m so happy you loved it!! Thanks for sharing that with us 🙂
I made this soup tonight. It is fabulous. The addition of dill and sautéing the veggies beforehand takes it over the top. I was looking for a delicious go-to chicken soup. I finally found it! Thanks!
You are welcome Rosemarie and thank you for sharing such a nice review 😀.
Never made soup until this one and will probably never make any other. A gorgeous soup, with crusty tiger bread.
Neil, thank you for such a nice review, I’m so happy to hear that 😁.
Hi Natasha. Which Mr.dash do you use, I just went online to see how the package look like ( so I know what to look for at the store) and there are so many different ones.
Anya, I use the Original brand of Mrs. Dash.
I need to buy a pot for soup because when i make soup its a lot to feed everyone, do you have any suggestions for some good pots?
Hi Emily, I love making soup in my large dutch oven pot or a good stainless steel thick/heavy bottomed pot. I have the Kirkland signature stainless pot from a set and it works well 🙂