My moms’ from-scratch Chicken Noodle Soup is the best chicken noodle soup recipe, one that you’ll make over and over! It features a flavorful homemade chicken stock, tender bites of chicken and vegetables, simple seasonings, and thick, chewy homestyle egg noodles. A delicious, comforting meal!

Chunks of chicken and vegetables are seen in a bowl of chicken noodle soup.


 

The Best Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

I may be playing favorites, but nothing compares to my mom’s homemade Chicken Noodle Soup recipe. This classic soup starts with a simple homemade chicken stock, where a whole chicken gently simmers in a pot of water and fresh vegetables until the chicken is tender and slides off the bone. All that’s left to do is shred that tender chicken and add in more fresh vegetables, a few simple flavorings, and a pile of thick, chewy homestyle egg noodles. This soup is flavorful and comforting and easy to make. I do think you’ll agree – it’s the best chicken noodle soup recipe!

Why You’ll Love This Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Chicken noodle soup is a classic for good reason, yet there are many, many different ways to make it. I’ve been enjoying Mom’s chicken noodle soup recipe my whole life – here’s why you’ll love it:

  • Made-from-scratch goodness. While canned soup can get you by in a pinch, there is just nothing like a pot of homemade soup. Start with the basics, with this flavorful chicken noodle soup, and you’ll quickly be looking for more soup recipes to make!
  • So comforting. When it’s cold and blustery, or when you’re sick, your body craves simple, homey, comforting meals. Chicken noodle soup always satisfies. Also check out my ginger chicken soup – it’s another favorite when I’m feeling under the weather.
  • Keeps well. The frozen egg noodles in this soup hold up amazingly well even after a few days. Rather than turn mushy like other noodles, these noodles remain firm and chewy, making this a nice make-ahead soup choice.
ingredients for chicken noodle soup

What You’ll Need

Familiar ingredients make up this easy chicken noodle soup recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredient amounts.

For the Chicken Stock

  • Chicken – A whole chicken creates both the broth and the chicken meat for the soup.
  • Water – This is the base of the chicken stock.
  • Onion – I use a yellow onion but a white one will also work. I’d stay away from red onions, as they can impart a pinkish color to the stock and the chicken meat.
  • Celery – This adds classic chicken noodle soup flavor to the stock.

For the Chicken Noodle Soup

  • Butter – I like to add a little butter to most of my soups. It adds a touch of rich flavor and a silky texture.
  • Veggies – Mom sticks with the classic vegetables: carrots, onion, and celery. Plus a little garlic for extra depth.
  • Dried herbs – While I’m usually partial to adding fresh herbs to soups, I’m all in on using dried herbs for this recipe. It just works. You’ll need dried parsley, bay leaf, and savory. If you don’t have savory, substitute with an equal amount of dried thyme.
  • Seasonings – Mom keeps it super simple, with just salt, black pepper, and celery salt.
  • Chicken base – I use Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base when I want to boost the chicken flavor in the broth.
  • Egg noodles – I recommend Reames frozen homestyle egg noodles. Add them frozen; do not thaw first.
Shredded chicken, herbs and carrots are shown being stirred in a pot of chicken noodle soup.

How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup

I’ve outlined in the photos below how to make homemade chicken stock as well as the soup. Find the detailed instructions in the recipe card lower down.

A whole chicken cooks in a pot of water with onions and celery to make chicken stock.
Place chicken, vegetables, and water in pot.
A whole chicken cooks in a pot for homemade chicken stock.
Cook.
  • Make the stock. Place the chicken in a large pot and cover with water. Add the onions and celery.
  • Simmer. Bring the pot to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer gently for about 1 hour, until the chicken is super tender.
  • Shred chicken. Remove the chicken, let it cool, then shred it into bite-sized pieces.
  • Strain. Remove the onion and celery from the stock with a strainer or large slotted spoon.
Chopped carrots, onion, celery, garlic, and herbs are shown on top of a pot of chicken broth.
Add vegetables and seasonings.
A wooden spoon stirs shredded chicken into a pot of chicken noodle soup.
Stir in chicken.
  • Make the soup. Turn the heat to medium and melt in the butter. Stir in the vegetables, dried herbs, and seasonings, and bring to a simmer.
  • Add chicken. Stir in the shredded chicken.
  • Up the chicken flavor. Taste the soup broth. If desired, add chicken base, to taste.
Shredded chicken, herbs and carrots are shown being stirred in a pot of chicken noodle soup.
  • Finish. Stir in the frozen egg noodles and simmer until the noodles are tender. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve hot!

Tips & Variations

I hope this recipe proves to you how easy it is to make chicken noodle soup from scratch. Try a few of these tips to help you make this soup, plus a few variations to try once you’ve gotten the hang of the original recipe.

  • Use a whole chicken. The bones and skin give the broth lots of flavor. This is not a recipe for boneless chicken breasts!
  • Use fresh dried herbs. Dried herbs lose flavor over time. For the best flavor, use ones that are not expired.
  • Don’t forget the salt. Be sure to taste the soup before serving, and to add more salt if needed. Salt not only adds savory flavor, but it also plays a big part in distinguishing different flavors.
  • Don’t rush it. This soup needs to simmer for awhile to get the most flavor out of the chicken, vegetables, and herbs. But this requires very little active participation. Just go about your other business and enjoy the wonderful, comforting smells of homemade chicken noodle soup on the stovetop!
  • Use store-bought broth + rotisserie chicken. I’ll never make this soup with a store-bought broth, but you can if you want. Simply use 10 cups of good-quality chicken stock instead of homemade in this recipe, and start with Step 6 in the recipe card. Then shred a pre-made rotisserie chicken and add it to the soup in Step 7.
  • Try it with turkey. Use this method to make homemade turkey noodle soup! It’s a great way to use up the Thanksgiving leftovers. Then use store-bought chicken or turkey broth and add in shredded turkey rather than chicken. Follow the rest of the recipe as it’s written.
  • Stir in more vegetables. If you want to increase the veggies, add green beans or sliced mushrooms along with the other vegetables in Step 6. You could also throw in some baby spinach when you add the egg noodles!
Chunks of chicken and vegetables are seen in a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

Serving Suggestions

This chicken noodle soup recipe definitely qualifies as a one-pot meal. But sometimes I like to add in sides like fresh bread and/or a salad to round it out. Here are a few serving options to try:

  • Crackers. We offer crackers on the table with most soup meals at our house – usually saltine crackers or oyster crackers.
  • Rolls. My family likes to dip soft homemade Rhodes rolls into their soup. Popovers or sourdough popovers are also WONDERFUL!
  • Cornbread. My honey cornbread muffins are always a favorite.
  • Bread. Or, pick up a loaf of crusty fresh bread, warm it up, and offer some creamy salted butter to slather over the top.
  • Salad. Soup & salad is a classic combo. I like to toss together a big bowl of winter apple salad or arugula beet salad and serve it beside hot soup.

How to Store & Reheat Leftovers

Chicken noodle soup is wonderful to stash in the fridge for a meal later in the week. Here’s what to do with your leftovers:

  • Fridge – Transfer cooled homemade chicken noodle soup to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for up to 4 days.
  • Freezer – You can freeze chicken noodle soup with or without noodles in sealable, freezer-safe bags or freezer-safe containers for up to 3 months. Divide the soup into individual portions to make it easier to serve later if you wish. Make sure to thaw the frozen soup completely in the fridge before reheating.
  • To Reheat – Heat homemade chicken noodle soup in a pot on the stove over medium-low heat until it’s hot and steaming. Or, place it in a microwave-safe bowl and heat it for 1 minute, stir, then continue to heat in 30-second increments until the soup is heated through.

More Cozy Soup Recipes To Try

Chunks of chicken and vegetables are seen in a bowl of chicken noodle soup.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Yield: 12 servings
prep time: 25 minutes
cook time: 1 hour 35 minutes
total time: 2 hours
My moms' from-scratch Chicken Noodle Soup is the best chicken noodle soup recipe, one that you'll make over and over! It features a flavorful homemade chicken stock, tender bites of chicken and vegetables, simple seasonings, and thick, chewy homestyle egg noodles. A delicious, comforting meal!
4.5 Stars (13 Reviews)
Print

Ingredients

FOR THE CHICKEN STOCK:

  • 3½- pound whole chicken trimmed of any excess fat, with inside cavity rinsed and cleaned well
  • about 10 cups water enough to just cover the chicken
  • 1 large yellow onion cut into large chunks
  • 2 large ribs celery cut into large chunks

FOR THE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP:

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 3 cups peeled and sliced carrots – use medium-sized carrots and cut diagonally into ¼″-thick slices
  • 1½ cups sliced celery – cut ¼″-thick and include any leaves at the top of the ribs
  • 1½ cups chopped yellow onion
  • 4 large cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoons dried parsley
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1½ teaspoons Morton kosher salt
  • 1½ teaspoons dried savory
  • ½ teaspoon celery salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 to 4 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon Roasted Chicken Base
  • 1 package 12 ounces Reames frozen homestyle egg noodles (do not thaw)

Instructions

  • For the chicken stock: Place the chicken in a large pot. I use a 6.75-qt Le Crueset Dutch oven, and this works well. Add water to just cover the chicken, followed by the chopped onions and celery.
  • Turn heat to medium-high. Once water just starts to boil, immediately turn heat down to medium-low. Cover the pot loosely with a lid, then simmer very gently for 1 hour, or until chicken is tender and easily comes off the bone. Adjust heat if necessary to keep it at a very gentle simmer. Skim off any scum from the surface with a large spoon once or twice during the first 30 minutes of cook time.
  • Using a tongs, transfer chicken to a large rimmed pan to cool. Turn pot heat down to low and put on the lid to preserve the broth and its heat.
  • When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and meat from bones. Discard skin and bones. Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces and set aside. I usually do not wait very long to start removing the meat – the chicken is still very hot. I pull off the legs and wings while holding a clean paper towel to shield the heat from my hands – these pieces should pull away very easily. Then I use 2 forks and continue to remove meat from the bones, and shred, barely using my fingers at all.
  • Strain or scoop out the onions and celery from the stock and discard. At this point, I usually have 10-11 cups of stock.
  • For the chicken noodle soup: Increase the pot heat to medium and add the butter to the chicken broth. Once the butter has melted, add the carrots, celery, onion, garlic, parsley, bay leaf, salt, savory, celery salt, and black pepper. Simmer until vegetables are just barely softened, about 3 minutes.
  • Add 3 cups of the shredded chicken back to the pot (add more/all if you like), along with accumulated juices from the rimmed pan. Save any extra shredded chicken to add to a fresh salad, fried rice, quesadillas, etc.
  • Now remove about 1 cup of the broth to a small bowl and whisk in 1 tablespoon of chicken base until smooth. Add mixture back to the pot and stir to combine. Taste for flavor, adding up to 3 more tablespoons of chicken base, in the same manner, until the soup is flavored to your liking. I like a very rich chicken-flavored soup and find that different chickens have different levels of flavor – plus, it will depend on the size of your pot and how much water you actually use. So just keep tasting and adjusting until you reach a level of chicken flavor that you like. You may also want to add more salt and pepper. Just trust your taste buds!
  • Stir the frozen egg noodles into the soup, then turn up the heat to medium-high. Once the soup just starts to boil, immediately turn heat down to medium-low and simmer gently until noodles are done, about 20 minutes.
  • Serve hot, with chopped fresh parsley to sprinkle over individual bowls of soup.

Notes

from Mom's recipe box

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 1 Calories: 428kcal Carbohydrates: 12g Protein: 42g Fat: 23g Saturated Fat: 7g Polyunsaturated Fat: 13g Cholesterol: 138mg Sodium: 859mg Fiber: 2g Sugar: 4g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a comment below. And share a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #afarmgirlsdabbles or tag @farmgirlsdabble!
© Brenda | A Farmgirl’s Dabbles
Cuisine: American
Course: Soup

This post was first published in 2015, then updated in 2024.