This simple homemade chicken noodle soup is easy to make and SO much better than the canned stuff.
How to prepare chicken for soup
You have a few options for preparing the chicken depending on how much effort you want to put into it:
- Boil the chicken in the broth. This will give your soup a little more flavor, especially if you use bone in chicken.
- You can roast your chicken separately in the oven or saute in a skillet.
- For the quickest and easiest option use store bought rotisserie chicken.
- Some weekends I'll cook up lots of chicken in my crock pot and use it for different dishes during the week or to make things to freeze. That works great for this recipe too.
What noodles to use for Chicken Noodle Soup
My favorite noodles for this soup are wide egg noodles. They're tender, flavorful, and hearty and go perfect in this classic homestyle chicken noodle soup.
You can use almost any pasta noodles you have on hand, but be sure to not over cook the noodles. Orzo is also a great choice as is pappardelle.
Ingredients for Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken
- Carrots
- Onion
- Celery
- Chicken Broth
- Egg Noodles
How to make chicken noodle soup from scratch
For this easy soup recipe you'll start by cooking the diced veggies in olive oil in a large pot over medium heat for around 5 minutes until they are softened. I go with the classic chicken soup combo of onions, carrots, and celery, but you can get creative here and add whatever veggies you like.
While your vegetables are cooking start a pot of water for your noodles and bring to a boil. Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the package. I prefer egg noodles personally, but just about any noodles you have on hand will work.
Once the vegetables are softened add your broth to the pot and season. I like to use low sodium broth so I can season it to my taste. I also keep it light on the herbs to let the chicken flavor shine but you can definitely add other herbs to kick up the flavor.
From there just add your cooked chicken and noodles to your soup and season with salt and pepper to taste.
How to store leftover soup
To store leftover chicken noodle soup let the soup fully cool then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 5 days. If possible, store the noodles separately to avoid mushy noodles. Reheat leftover soup in a pot over medium-low heat until warm.
If making the soup to freeze you will want to leave out the noodles. They will not freeze well when mixed in with the soup. When you plan to eat the soup make a fresh batch of noodles.
How to freeze chicken noodle soup
I freeze my soup in quart sized plastic freezer bags so they don't take up much room. Once the soup has cooled ladle it into the plastic bag then close the bag almost all of the way. Squeeze out any air then close the bag the rest of the way. Lay the bag flat in the freezer until frozen. Frozen chicken noodle soup will keep for 3 to 4 months.
To reheat you can either let it thaw overnight in the fridge or heat it straight from it's frozen state. Just add to a pot over medium-low heat and cook until warm.
Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large carrots, chopped
- 2 large celery stalks , chopped
- 1 cup onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 tsp fresh parsley, chopped
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 6 oz wide egg noodles
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat.
- Add chopped onion, carrots, and celery to pot and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent. Around 5 minutes.
- In a separate pot cook egg noodles according to package instructions. Drain, rinse, and set aside.
- After vegetables are cooked add chicken broth, shredded chicken, and thyme to pot and bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes to let flavors combine.
- Add the cooked noodles and parsley to the soup and season with salt and pepper to taste before serving
* All nutrition information we provide are estimates based on third party calculators. We encourage you to calculate these on your own for accurate results.
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