Published April 1, 2020.This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This homemade chicken noodle soup recipe made from scratch is so comforting and packed with chicken, vegetables, homemade broth, and noodles.
No matter what time of year it is, soup is always on my menu. Whether it’s a family favorite Broccoli Cheddar or Pozole, we can’t get enough.
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
I’m not sure there is a food item that is more comforting and filling than a delicious bowl of chicken noodle soup. Broth-based soups have been around in Asia since the 1200s and by the 1700s Italians were putting noodles into the broth and serving it to the sick because it’s easy to digest.
This recipe will take you from start to finish and will also show you how to use everything so that nothing is wasted.
How to Cook the Chicken
Whenever making chicken noodle soup I always recommend using a whole roasting or frying chicken. This way you can make the broth for the soup while cooking the chicken and using it for the recipe.
Add the whole chicken, or chickens, to a very large pot and cover it with water so that it is 4” over the top of the chicken.
Cook it over medium heat for 60-80 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the thigh meat reads over 165° internally.
Remove the chickens from the broth once they are cooked and set aside to cool on a platter or sheet tray for 10-15 minutes
Pull off the skin and discard, and then proceed to remove all of the cooked meat from the chicken carcass.
Further, pull apart the meat into bite-size pieces. There will be plenty of chicken so feel free to freeze up to 1/3 of it.
Do not discard the chicken carcasses because they only cooked for 60-80 minutes. A homemade chicken stock cooks for 6-8 hours so there is plenty of life left in those bones to make a stock at a later date. Freeze them in a plastic bag until you are ready to make it
What Kind of Noodles to Use
There are all sorts of noodles you can use in a chicken noodle soup. You can use anything from penne to rice noodles or even homemade pasta. Here are some of my favorites to use:
- Egg Noodles
- Kluski
- Farfalle
- Elbow Macaroni
- Fusilli
Be sure to use what you have and like, just make sure it’s not an overly long pasta like angel hair or spaghetti.
Other Ingredients You Can Add
Most homemade chicken noodle soup recipes consist of carrots, celery, onions, broth, chicken and noodles. With that being said you can absolutely add in other ingredients to further enhance the flavors plus add more vegetables to it including:
- Peas
- Corn
- Potatoes
- Baby Spinach
- Liam Beans
- Butter Beans
- Mushrooms
Make Chicken Noodle Soup in a Slow Cooker
You can easily adapt this recipe to make it in a slow cooker by starting with cutting the entire ingredient amount in half. In addition, it will take longer to make since you will need to cook the whole chicken first.
- Cook the chicken covered in water on high for 8 hours or until the chicken is cooked through and the thigh registers a 165° internal temperature. Remove and pull the chicken, discard the skin and save the bones for stock.
- Add the vegetables and pulled chicken to the broth in the slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours or until the vegetables are tender. Finish with parsley, salt, and pepper and serve with cooked noodles.
Cook It in an Instant Pot
Just like in the slow cooker adaptation, cut the recipe in half first before making it in an instant pot.
- Add the chicken to the instant pot trivet and add water until it is just covering the chicken. Cover, set the valve to seal, and set on high pressure and cook for 6 minutes per pound.
- Release the pressure valve naturally until all steam has been released, remove the lid and then pull out the chicken, discard the skin and save the bones for stock.
- Add the vegetables and pulled chicken to the broth in the instant pot, place on the lid, seal the valve and cook on high for 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
- Release the pressure valve naturally until all the steam has been released.
- Take the lid off and finish with parsley, salt, and pepper and serve with cooked noodles.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: Soup will always taste better the next day as flavors will have the chance to infuse. You can make this soup up to 2 days ahead of time.
How to Reheat: Place your desired amount into a saucepot and cook over low heat until hot. Likewise, you can add your desired amount to a microwave-safe bowl and heat until hot.
How to Store: Cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days. This soup makes a lot so to freeze, cover and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw for 1 day in the fridge before reheating.
chef notes + tips
- Cook, cool and keep the noodles separate so that they do not turn mushy in the soup over time. Simply add them to the bowl with the soup and serve.
- Freeze up to 1/3 of the pulled chicken meat as all of it will not be needed.
More Delicious Soup Recipes
- Ribollita
- Mulligatawny
- Minestrone
- Beef Stew
- Clam Chowder
Be sure to follow me onFacebook,YouTube,Instagram,andPinterest and if you’ve had a chance to make this then definitely drop me a comment and a rating below!
Video
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Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
5 from 15 votes
This homemade chicken noodle soup recipe made from scratch is so comforting and packed with chicken, vegetables, homemade broth, and noodles.
Servings: 24
Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes
Ingredients
- 2 whole roasting chickens
- 2 pounds peeled sliced carrots
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 bunch sliced celery
- 2 small peeled small diced yellow onions
- 3 finely minced cloves of garlic
- 2 pounds egg noodles
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
Add the chickens to a very large pot and cover them with water so that it is 4 inches over the chicken.
Cook over medium heat for 60-80 minutes or until the chicken is cooked throughout and the thigh meat registers over 165° using a thermometer.
Remove the chickens and cool for 10 to 15 minutes before removing the skin and pulling the chicken meat away from the bones.
Further, chop or pull the chicken meat into bite-size pieces. See note on the amount of chicken to freeze. Set the cooked chicken for the soup aside.
While the chicken is cooking add 1 tablespoon of oil to a large rondeau or Dutch oven style pot over low heat and sweat the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic for 10-15 minutes or until slightly tender.
Add the cooked vegetables to the pot with the chicken broth and also add in the cooked pulled chicken as well. Cook for 10-15 minutes over low heat.
Finish the soup with the parsley, salt, and pepper.
In the meantime, add the noodles to a large pot of boiling salted water and cook until al dente, or slightly crunchy, according to the package cooking time directions.
Remove the noodles and completely cool in a colander under cold running water until the noodles are cold. Keep them in a plastic bag and toss with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil so that they do not stick together.
Serve by adding a small amount of cooked, cooled noodles to a bowl along with the soup.
Notes
Chef Notes:
- Make-Ahead: Soup will always taste better the next day as flavors will have the chance to infuse. You can make this soup up to 2 days ahead of time.
- How to Reheat: Place your desired amount into a saucepot and cook over low heat until hot. Likewise, you can add your desired amount to a microwave-safe bowl and heat until hot.
- How to Store: Cover and refrigerate for up to 5 days. This soup makes a lot so to freeze, cover and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw for 1 day in the fridge before reheating.
- Cook, cool and keep the noodles separate so that they do not turn mushy in the soup over time. Simply add them to the bowl with the soup and serve.
- Freeze up to 1/3 of the pulled chicken meat as all of it will not be needed.
Nutrition
Calories: 314kcalCarbohydrates: 32gProtein: 26gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 92mgSodium: 96mgPotassium: 419mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 6431IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 40mgIron: 2mg
Course: Main, Soup
Cuisine: American
Author: Chef Billy Parisi
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31 comments
- Donna
Food for the soul
- Reply
- Anneliese
What a fantastic recipe! I made it today and will make it again and again!
I always make chicken/turkey soup using the leftover carcasses from a delicious meal, but this is so incredibly easy, fresh and wonderful! The broth is clear, rich and “clean” – it doesn’t have the residual flavours of the previous meal. It had a beautiful light golden colour and the aroma that filled the house would make anyone’s mouth water! Thank you, Chef Parisi for another fantastic recipe!- Reply
- Chef Billy Parisi
my pleasure, and thank you for trying this!
- Reply
- Linda Lord
This was soooooo goooood!!! I will be making this a staple in our home. When we were done with dinner we only had a small bowl left. I went to offer it to our roommate when she got home ,but my husband stopped me and said no. I asked why and said he was going to eat it later, and he did.
- Reply
thanks for giving it a shot!!
- Reply
- CJ
If I were to use chicken stock instead as the base, how much would I use? I made the recipe exactly as written, but my family was looking for a bit more flavor in the broth.
- Reply
Chicken stock is the base.
- Reply
- Stephanie
I found this recipe lacking flavor. Adding water 4 inches above the chicken was too much.
- Reply
lack of flavor in 99.9% cases means lack of seasoing with salt and pepper.
- Reply
- Quiqui
Amazing!
- Reply
- Lisa George
You will use this video and recipe over and over. He fully illustrates and describes every step, and gives you tips and suggestions to change it up or adapt his recipe to your specific needs. Wonderful Chef with a easy website.
- Reply
thank you so kindly!!
- Reply
- Judy Alexander
I had never made homemade chicken soup before and I knew who could go to for the best recipe and chef Billy did not disappoint. I made it exactly as directed and I brought a huge container over to a friend that had just had a heart procedure and she said she never had such good tasting soup in her life with such interesting flavors. I always know to go to chef Billy for everything.
- Reply
Perfect!
- Reply
- Sister Barbara
Just what I remember growing up. So good and comforting. I appreciated the additional directions for crock pots and Instant. Very helpful. We appreciate you Chef Billy!
- Reply
My pleasure
- Reply
- Susan
Such a great soup! So easy to do. Has that real down home-made from scratch taste! Perfect!
- Reply
so good!!
- Reply
- Ann McLeod
Thank you Chef! I made this for my family and they loved it! I am learning so much from watching you cook! 😊
- Reply
thanks for giving it a shot!!
- Reply
- MARSHA UNDERHILL
I have made Chicken Noodle soup for years and find it very comforting and a winter staple. However, your recipe took it to a whole better level! Keeping the noodles seperate was a great idea and help. (I use homemade noodles) Thanks so much for the great teaching and added ideas for this soup.
- Reply
- Kenny Dees
I used rotisserie chicken
- Reply
- Kenny Dees
Your recipes are amazing
- Reply
- Mary Kok
I never really liked the Chicken Noodle Soup I made. With this recipe I love it! Biggest differences are cooking the noodles separately, and plenty of seasoning at all stages: when sweating the veggies, when cooking the chicken, when mixing it all with the broth, and the noodles while they’re cooking. Tasted all along the way. So good!
- Reply
- Shirley
I made homemade chicken noodle soup years ago, I was so proud, it tasted awesome.( I did not cook much back then.)I froze the leftover soup,and when I reheated it, the chicken was tasteless, like water. What went wrong?
- Reply
You should always reseason when thawing from frozen.
- Reply
- Gail
I know this soup is going to be GEAT! However I do not have a pot big enough to fit two chickens. I do have a 3 1/2 pound chicken that I just bought. Could this recipe be used for this. Naturally I would half the remaining ingredients. If you can please get back to me. I would love to make this within the next day or two.
- Reply
- Frank Frick
Hello Chef Parisi,
I just made your homemade chicken soup tonight. It was relatively straight forward and good. However, it seemed to need quite a bit of seasoning when we were eating it so I’m curious if there are any tips on this.
Thank You
- Reply
season and taste, that’s always the recommendation.
- Reply
- Linda Gilberto Bielecki
Love making homemade chicken soup. It’s a staple in our home and we always have some in the freezer. My polish husband likes kluski noodles, but being Italian, I like mine with orzo or pastina!
- Reply
