Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
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This homemade chicken noodle soup recipe is everything you need—comforting, flavorful, and ready in no time. Perfect for cozying up on a chilly day.
Is there anything more comforting than a bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup? The golden broth filled with tender chicken, egg noodles, and veggies is the ultimate comfort food—a cure-all for whatever ails you. While traditional chicken noodle soup recipes require hours of simmering homemade broth, this version (adapted from America’s Test Kitchen) brings that same warmth to your table in no time.
The secret is using a high-quality store-bought chicken broth that delivers rich flavor with minimal effort. Serve the soup with some saltine crackers, a slice of artisan bread, or buttermilk biscuits for a satisfying meal.
“This soup takes SO much less time than the traditional chicken broth that needs to cook all day long, and it is SO good!!”
What You’ll Need To Make Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Pieces: Bone-in, skin-on chicken adds richness to the broth, and the shredded meat makes the soup hearty and satisfying. I prefer thighs because they stay juicy and are more forgiving, but breasts work too—just don’t overcook them.
- Chicken Broth: The flavorful base of the soup. Using broth instead of water gives you a savory, complex taste in less time. Good brands include Swanson or Better Than Bouillon.
- Onion, Carrots & Celery: The classic trio that builds aroma, color, and substance.
- Fresh Thyme & Bay Leaf: Infuse the broth with earthy, fragrant notes that elevate the flavor.
- Egg Noodles: A must-have in chicken noodle soup—they soak up the broth and make the soup extra comforting.
- Fresh Dill: A classic with chicken noodle that brightens the soup with fresh flavor and a pop of color.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Season the chicken. Begin by seasoning the chicken with salt and pepper. You may need to add more salt later, but it’s best to season at the beginning and build the flavor as you go.
Step 2: Brown the chicken. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat until it’s hot and shimmering. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and cook until nicely browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and cook for another 4 minutes, until golden on the other side.
Step 3: Build the broth. Add the broth, onion, carrots, celery, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf to the pot. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom (that’s where all the flavor is!). Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Let it simmer until the chicken is fully cooked.
Step 4: Shred the chicken. When the chicken is cooked through, remove and discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Use tongs to lift the chicken from the pot and set it on a cutting board. Shred it into bite-sized pieces with two forks, discarding the skin and bones—they’ve already done their job flavoring the broth.
Step 5: Add the noodles. Bring the soup back to a gentle boil over medium-high heat, then stir in the noodles. Cook, uncovered, until they’re just al dente—check the package for timing, but keep in mind they’ll continue to soften a bit once the chicken goes back in.
Step 6: Finish the soup. Add the shredded chicken back to the pot and let it simmer for a few minutes until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper to taste—I usually add a bit more salt, but it depends on your broth. Stir in the dill, ladle into bowls, and serve.
You can make this chicken noodle soup partly ahead of time—just up to the point of adding the noodles. Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months, storing the broth and chicken separately.
Video Tutorial
More COmforting Soup Recipes You May Like
Chicken Noodle Soup
Packed with tender chicken, noodles, and veggies, this chicken noodle soup is the ultimate cozy meal for any day of the week.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds skin-on bone-in chicken breasts and/or thighs, trimmed of excess skin or fat
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 8 cups chicken broth (preferably not low-sodium), best quality
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
- 2 celery ribs, cut into ¼-inch pieces
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 ounces (3 cups) wide egg noodles
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
Instructions
- Season the chicken with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place the chicken in the pot, skin-side down, and cook until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook 4 minutes more.
- Add the broth, onion, carrots, celery, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through (15 to 17 minutes for breasts and about 20 minutes for thighs).
- Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Using tongs, remove the chicken from the soup and transfer to a cutting board. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken into bite-size pieces; discard the skin and bones.
- Return the soup to a boil over medium-high heat and add the noodles. Cook, uncovered, until the noodles are al dente (check the package instructions for timing, and keep in mind that the noodles will continue to cook for a few minutes while you warm the chicken). Add the shredded chicken and cook over medium heat until chicken is warmed through, a few minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste (I usually add about ¼ teaspoon more salt, but it depends on the saltiness of the chicken broth you used). Stir in the dill and serve.
- Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The soup can be made through step 3 (up until adding the noodles), and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for 3 months. Store the chicken in a separate container, and add to the soup before serving. When ready to serve, bring the soup to a boil on the stovetop. Add the noodles and proceed with the recipe. If you don’t plan to serve the soup all at once, you can boil the noodles separately and keep them separate from the broth, then simply add them as needed when serving.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 508
- Fat: 21 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 33 g
- Sugar: 7 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 44 g
- Sodium: 874 mg
- Cholesterol: 126 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Love this soup! I’m going to make a big batch today and store some in the freezer. Your notes say to “refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months, storing the broth and chicken separately”. Does that mean I should freeze the broth and the chicken separately as well?
Yes, I would store them separately (and glad you like the soup)!
So hearty and delicious!
Being Polish I grew up on my grandmother’s chicken noodle soup. As I got older I figured out how to make incredible chicken noodle soup. Much better than my grandmother’s. Sorry Nonnie.
What I make is exactly this recipe. I make it for my wife and she says it is like warm blanket on a cold winter’s night.
Make this for people you love.
Hi Jenn, Love your recipes! What brand of egg noodles do you recommend?
Susan, so glad you like the recipes! I don’t have a brand of egg noodles that I’m loyal to – I just get whatever the store I’m in happens to carry. 😊
This soup was great. Easy and relatively quick to make, and lots of flavor. Will definitely make again! Your recipes never fail!
Fantastic flavors! I made this with bone-in, skin on chicken thighs with dried herbs. I can only imagine that fresh herbs would kick it up a notch. I cooked noodles separately and added them and chicken as needed
My only regret is that I didn’t double the recipe!
Jen, absolutely wonderful like all your recipes. Chicken breasts seem to have grown so big over the decades, so i have to ‘half again’ all the ingredients. (3lb split breast). I also simmer for a whole hour due to the size. Works out great and stays tender. The one addition that my family LOVES, is using white wine to de-glaze the pan after searing the chicken. (tried between 1/2 and 1 cup). What an addition to the flavor. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but we love it.
Delicious! Broth is SO flavorful. My husband is a huge fan of the chicken and noodles that I’ve made for decades, with a thickened broth, so I was a bit nervous to make another version. When it was nearly done I asked him to “come and taste”, thinking I could modify if necessary to make it more like my usual soup. As he was coming, he said, “I just want the way you always do it.” Then he tasted. “Wow, let’s have it this way!” And after he had seconds, he commented again, “This is delicious – thanks!” I told him that it was another Once Upon a Chef recipe. And I’m passing the thank you along to you, Jenn.
I have made this soup three times and it is more delicious each time. It is a little salty so I use 4 cups of regular chicken broth and 4 cups of low sodium chicken broth. I season my thighs well before cooking with Cajun seasoning, garlic and onion powder to give it a little more flavor. Adding the fresh thyme sprig and bay leaf is a must!!! My family loves this recipe and there are never any leftovers!
Wonderful! I subbed out some herbs for what I had on hand, some fresh some dried. Full of flavor and easy to pull together! My new go-to chicken soup recipe.
HI.
What’s the basis for 3months if freezing the soup? Was hoping for 6 months for make ahead soups. Thanks.
Hi Sue, I always err on the conservative side with the amount time something can be frozen. You can probably extend it without a problem. It will not impact the safety at all, but the longer it’s frozen, the more likely it is to impact the flavor or texture of the reheated dish.