Our easy homemade chicken noodle soup recipe has tender chicken, fresh veggies, and the most delicious broth that tastes like it’s been cooking for hours.
This homemade chicken noodle soup makes me smile just thinking about it! Our family has been making this for years! Not to mention it’s my go-to soup whenever it’s chilly or someone is sick.
It tastes way better than store-bought and it’s fast! The secret is chicken thighs! They guarantee a ridiculously flavorful broth that’s ready in under 40 minutes, with most of the time being hands-off. For a creamier soup, I highly recommend this incredible creamy chicken noodle soup. For another classic chicken recipe, see this chicken pot pie.
Key Ingredients
- Chicken Thighs: These are my secret for the best soup! Chicken thighs get super soft and delicious. You can make this soup with a whole chicken, but usually I don’t have time for that, so chicken thighs are my answer. They have a little fat, add lots of flavor, and stay tender.
- Chicken Stock: I highly recommend homemade chicken stock or chicken broth, but store-bought works! When shopping for stock, darker broth or bouillon usually means more flavor. I also love boxed bone broths (or you can make bone broth).
- Egg Noodles: I love them, but you can always substitute your favorite pasta. I’ve even swapped the noodles for tortellini like in our veggie tortellini soup!
- Veggies: I keep this soup simple with onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. Feel free to add more, but these four will get you to that classic chicken soup flavor. When I have them in the fridge, I often stir in a few handfuls of fresh spinach or kale leaves.
- Thyme, Bay Leaves, and Parsley: These add a little backbone to the broth. I love fresh thyme and parsley, and then use dried bay leaves. For more of a herby soup, stir in chopped mint, basil, cilantro, or a combination just before serving.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make the Best Chicken Noodle Soup
Tip 1: Start your vegetables in butter. For the best flavor, I always cook my vegetables in butter before adding any broth. You’re not really looking to brown them, just soften them a bit and cook off that raw onion and garlic flavor. If you have rendered chicken fat (schmaltz) on hand, use it instead of butter for even more flavor.
Tip 2: Taste your broth early. Once you add the broth to your softened vegetables, taste it. Store-bought broths can be light on flavor, so seasoning early helps you build a more flavorful broth. Add a little salt now, then continue adjusting as the soup cooks. This simple step separates an okay soup from one that tastes truly great.
Tip 3: Gently poach the chicken thighs. Here’s why I love using chicken thighs for this soup. They fit nicely in the pot, cook through in about 20 minutes, and release lots of flavor into the broth as they simmer. They are easy to shred, too, which is why I also use them to make our favorite shredded chicken.
Tip 4: Add the noodles last. To keep your noodles from turning mushy, add them about 10 minutes before serving. I like cooking them directly in the soup so they soak up all that delicious chicken flavor. They also release just a little starch into the broth, giving the soup a lovely, silky texture.
Tip 5: Don’t be shy with seasoning. Before serving, taste your chicken soup one last time. If it doesn’t make you smile, it probably needs a touch more salt, or a little something extra. A few dashes of fish sauce (my secret weapon) work wonders in this soup. Or brighten things up with a squeeze of lemon juice or a dash of hot sauce.
Recipe Variations
Use rotisserie chicken: For an even faster chicken soup, skip poaching and stir in shredded rotisserie chicken or leftover roast chicken toward the end of cooking. It’s a great shortcut for busy nights and still adds plenty of flavor.
Add extra vegetables: Make this soup even more nutritious and hearty by adding extra veggies. Mushrooms, spinach, kale, peas, and corn all work beautifully. Cook heartier vegetables like mushrooms with the onions and garlic, then add the quicker-cooking ones toward the end so they stay bright and tender.
Make it creamy: Stir in a splash of cream or half-and-half at the end, just like we do in our creamy chicken noodle soup. It gives the broth a silky texture and makes it more luxurious.
Substitute the noodles: Try swapping them for another pasta shape, or even broken spaghetti. For a lighter, low-carb option, use spiralized zucchini or spaghetti squash strands. Or make it more filling with cooked rice, quinoa, or barley instead of noodles.
More Favorite Soup Recipes
The Best Chicken Noodle Soup
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
You will love this homemade chicken noodle soup, which skips cooking a whole chicken and calls on boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead. The soup tastes incredible, satisfying, and classic, and the significantly reduced cooking time makes it perfect for a weeknight. If you love creamy soups, take a look at this creamy chicken noodle soup, which uses the same base recipe as this one.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
2 tablespoons (28 g) butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic (4 cloves)
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
8 cups (1.89 liters) low-sodium chicken stock or homemade chicken stock
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 pound (450 g) boneless, skinless chicken thighs (4 to 5 thighs)
5 ounces (140 g) egg noodles or pasta of choice
¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley
Directions
1Cook the vegetables: Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, bay leaves, and thyme. Cook until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
2Make the broth: Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Taste the broth and season with salt and pepper. Add additional salt to the pot if necessary to correct the seasoning.
3Poach the chicken: Nestle the chicken into the pot so the thighs are submerged. Return to a low simmer, then partially cover the pot, leaving a small gap for steam to escape. Cook until the chicken is tender, about 20 minutes.
4Cook the noodles: Set a plate nearby. Lift the chicken from the pot and place it on the plate. Stir the noodles into the simmering soup and cook until tender, about 6 to 10 minutes. Add a splash of stock if the liquid reduces, and reduce the heat to medium-low.
5Finish and serve: Shred the chicken into small pieces using two forks while the noodles cook. Return the chicken to the pot and taste for seasoning. Stir in the parsley. Divide the soup among bowls and serve.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Refrigerate chicken noodle soup in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. Or freeze for up to 3 months. As the soup sits, the noodles soak up the broth. When you reheat, add a splash of extra broth or water.
- Make ahead: Follow the recipe above, but do not add the noodles. Refrigerate or freeze the soup. When ready to reheat, bring the soup to a low simmer and add the dried noodles. Cook until they are done, and enjoy.
- Seasoning: If you feel the soup is missing some zing, add a bit more salt. You can also add a pop of flavor with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a dash of fish sauce (we use this trick for store-bought stocks and broths often) or Worcestershire sauce.
- Using rotisserie chicken: Add two to three cups of shredded or diced cooked chicken to the soup when you add the dried noodles and reduce the simmer time by 10 minutes. (I also love using leftover roasted chicken!)
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Just made it this morning and had 2 bowls for lunch! Fantastic flavor. Perfect for a cool and rainy day. I followed your instructions to a “T”. The result was the best chicken noodle soup that I have made in my 82 years. Thanks for sharing!
Wow, Larry. That’s amazing. So happy you found and tried our recipe.
So I added the extra four cups of stock, doubled the celery, and added about an eighth of cabbage for five minutes before adding the noodles. It’s amazing! I added a little bit extra noodles and regretted it, so next time I’ll stick with half a packet. I’d also never used thigh before, and I cut a few funny bit looking bits off before adding to soup, then added some breast because it didn’t look like enough. The thigh does taste better, so next I’m going to add more thigh. But I tried another recipe first, a quicker one, and this one was way better! Best soup I ever tasted!
Hi Jade! Wow, “best soup I ever tasted” is such a huge compliment! Thank you so much. We completely agree with you about the chicken thighs—they really do add the absolute best flavor and richness to the broth. Love the idea of adding cabbage, too. Thanks for taking the time to share your tweaks and for cooking along with us!
Really loved this soup. I had some noodles and leftover roast chicken which I wanted to use. Since the chicken was already cooked I only left it in the broth for 10 minutes. It came out great, will make it again but with chicken thighs. Thanks!
You are so welcome! Thrilled you loved your soup 🙂
Thank so so much for this recipe – it’s gorgeous! When I told my partner that I was making soup for dinner he initially replied, “oh no, not soup.” I froze the leftovers and the following day he asked, “can we have the leftover soup for dinner tonight?” Both of us loved it! I did have to add the lemon juice, fish sauce and Worcestershire sauce as you suggested – this definitely gave it the flavour it needed. Wonderful suggestions! I had to taste it and play around with the quantities until it was just right. 👌 This will now be my go to chicken noodle soup recipe. Thanks again! 👏
This is such a fabulous soup and it’s so easy and fast to make but it tastes like you’ve been working on it for days. Thank you so much for sharing this with me. I made it once before and will always make it again and again!!😍
Hi Sally, That is exactly what we love to hear! Getting that cooked-all-day flavor in a fast and easy recipe is the absolute best. We are so thrilled this soup has become a go-to for you. Thank you for making it and for leaving such a sweet note!
This is a great recipe!! Delicious soup!!
Tasty! This turned out well. I like the boxed chicken “stock” instead of “broth” – Pacific or Kirkland make good ones.
This recipe is really good. I am currently sick with a head cold. So, I put this chicken noodle soup together in about an hour, and I wont be making it any other way again. I increased the water to 11 cups and used 12 ounces of egg noodles instead.
Substituted cabbage for celery awesome soup added noodles also
Best chicken noodle soup. It had an amazing flavor!
Making this for my sick boyfriend. It looks just like my mom used to make except that she used bullion at some point. You mentioned that in the post. How would you suggest incorporating bullion in this?
Hi Stephanie, You can use bouillon to make the broth that’s added to make the soup. Or, stir a little bit into the broth to bump up the richness of the broth.
This was DELICIOUS! I mixed equal parts bone broth and chicken broth for a little more nutrient boost and also cooked the chicken a little in a skillet before submerging. 10/10!
Love the personal tweak. That sounds delicious! 🙂
I just made this AGAIN!!!! And again, the family Raved!!! Even my mom!!! This is truly a keeper!
Amazing, Jessica! Thank you for sharing!
My husband and I are in for the weekend because of a cold front in Texas. To stay warm and cozy, I decided to make the chicken noodle soup. My husband and I enjoy it. We finished half of the pot, it was amazingly delicious. I added potatoes, cilantro, and a little hint of lime. Looking forward to try your other recipes in the near future. Thank you for sharing your recipes.
I made this tonight. Easy, and so flavorful. Really good. I will definitely make this again.
My husband & I LOVE this chicken noodle soup recipe. I made it when he had a cold last week; I figured the quasi-medicinal properties and the comfort-food-nature would help expedite him to health. AND IT DID. Wow, this is perfect on a cold winter day, paired with crusty bread. Note: I used orange, yellow, and purple carrots…the broth and the chicken turned purple. A unique experience, but it tasted fabulous regardless. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
This is wonderful, Karen! Thanks so much for coming back and letting us know.
I’m going to have to update a previous review. So I mentioned that the soup needed more broth which was mentioned in the recipe, which was easy to correct. But I thought it necessary to throw out the fact that my wife hasn’t stopped asking me to make this soup since I first made it!! In fact I think we may as well just make enough to meal prep with. Seriously she’s asked me every single day since…. I might need to check your other recipes so she can bother me about one of your others.
That’s amazing, Dylan. So happy it has become a favorite!
This is the best Chicken noodle soup I’ve ever made!!!
I just made this tonight and loved it!! However I would definitely go with an extra cup or two of broth next time. Was less brothy than I would’ve liked. However, that being said, both my wife, my 4 year old and I enjoyed it. Definitely a make again recipe. I also loved that the chicken required little work.
Glad you enjoyed it Dylan! Adding a little extra broth to make it go a bit further is a great idea!
I actually meant to give it 5 stars, but it wouldn’t let me fix it. Since making it, I must’ve made it a dozen times already to the point where I got a 12 qt stock pot just so we had enough to store and/or freeze for later. Gonna need to get another freezer because we plan on saving a bunch of these recipes for those days when we don’t want to cook. Do you have a book we could get for home?
Oh no, well, thank you for redoing it 🙂 We do not have a book (yet). We would love to share one with our readers soon, though!
This recipe was absolutely amazing. Both of my kids are incredibly picky with food and don’t normally eat chicken that isn’t in chicken nugget form – both of them gobbled up every bit of this soup and asked for seconds! This recipe is in my favorites for life.
This was Delicious!!! I really wanted to eat more but my belly was too full from my first bowl!!! I made a double batch, I can’t wait for leftovers!!!
If only I had 8 cups of broth and not just 4 cups and could have made full recipe…it was so good! Delicious, so easy. Family loved it and they all had colds. I used ramen noodles, worked well. On the “make again” list.
I made this today for my husband and son who both have a cold. I had two chicken breasts that I needed to use in my fridge, so I used those instead of the thighs. It was so quick to make and it made the whole house smell yummy. They both said that the soup was delicious, and both said I had to make another batch when this one is done because they could feel it working to make them feel better. I regularly refer to your site for recipes, and everything always turns out great. Thanks so much for sharing this healthy and healing soup.
This was super!! I used half chicken stock, half chicken broth. It turned out SO good!!
I am making it right now and just realized I used bone in and skin on. What is the difference and how to fix?
No fix necessary, in fact, your soup will benefit from the extra flavor. When shredded the cooked chicken, I’d discard the skin and bones, then just added the tender chicken back.
This soup is simple and delicious. The only thing I did differently, which I do to all of my poultry based soups, is I cube a small sweet potato and add with the veggies. It gives it a little touch of sweetness. I also added a cup of white wine rather than more salt.
This soup is amazing. I did a few things different , I used chicken thighs, and cubed them before cooking, and I used Ramen noodles. The family loved it. They’re already asking when I will make it again.
Glad you all enjoyed it, Brian. Thanks for coming back!
I have made this Chicken Noodle soup several times and love the simple step by step recipes as well as hitting to see you explain the process on your video. I find that the combination of both really help in making this a success EVERY TIME! Thank you so much for all your time and caring for all of us. Means the world! Happy Halloween! Sally
This is so very kind of you, Sally! We are thrilled you enjoy the soup so much and thank you for all of your support!
Our family’s favorite cozy meal! We’ve been making it since my son was 2, he’s 8 now and still loves it. So happy I found Adam and Joanne’s site!
Absolutely delicious and so easy 🙂 The chicken thighs stay so tender and I loved cooking them right in the broth. This recipe is perfection!! Thank you!
This soup sounds terrific! Could you possibly give me nutritional info on potassium content? I have CKD and have to closely watch my potassium intake. Thanks, Sarah Brattain
Hi Sarah, We are so happy that you enjoy the soup so much! We are only comfortable providing the nutrition estimates shown on the recipe and recommend that you consult a trusted calculator for other nutrients like potassium.
I made a big triple batch for church fellowship and it was a hit! I had several people comment that it was the best chicken noodle soup they have ever had. Thanks for sharing a great recipe!
Wow, Sarah! That’s amazing. Thank you so much for coming back and letting us know.
Making this now. Me and my wife can’t wait to try it. 😊
I made this twice and it came out really delicious, I even surprised myself. Also added half a lemon worth of juice in the end. But from start to finish it took me 2.5 hours each time, maybe I’m a noob – so here’s a noob question: why are we adding separate chicken broth, doesn’t the act of cooking the chicken already make broth/stock?
Hi Lilly, So glad you enjoyed it, and that lemon juice at the end sounds perfect! You’re right that cooking chicken does make some broth. We only use thighs here, which add some flavor but not as much as stock made with bones. That’s why we add extra broth. It builds a deeper, richer flavor base for the soup. And you’re not a noob at all — great question!
Your chicken noodle soup with thighs sounds great. Can’t wait to try. All his lunches has to be made from scratch as is a CHF patient for 8 years now. No processed foods..