Easy 30-Minute Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup — Why have regular chicken noodle soup when you can have CREAMY instead? Pure comfort food at its finest! Ready in 30 minutes, an instant family favorite, and PERFECT for chilly weather!!
Table of Contents
- Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
- What’s in This Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup?
- How to Make Creamy Chicken Soup
- Can I Omit the Heavy Cream?
- What Type of Milk Should I Use?
- How to Reheat Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Can I Make This Soup Dairy-Free?
- Tips for Making Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
- More Easy Soup Recipes:
- Easy 30-Minute Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
This creamy chicken noodle soup is hearty, comforting, full of rich flavors, and will be an instant family favorite.
It’s ready in 30 minutes, making it perfect for busy weeknights, especially during cold weather.
This is also a wonderful, quick meal to make when friends and family come over during the holidays. It’s a soup everyone is sure to love, but it can be whipped up in no time. Because who wants to be cooped up in the kitchen when company is over?
What’s in This Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup?
To make this homemade chicken soup recipe, you’ll need:
- Olive oil
- Carrots
- Celery
- Vidalia onion
- Garlic
- Flour
- Butter
- Whole milk
- Chicken broth
- Wide egg noodles
- Cooked shredded chicken
- Thyme
- Oregano
- Salt and pepper
- Heavy cream
- Parsley
How to Make Creamy Chicken Soup
- To make this hearty chicken noodle soup, first sauté the carrots, celery, and onion in an oiled Dutch oven until softened.
- Then, add the garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add flour and a bit of butter. The flour helps add a bit of thickness to the finished soup.
- Add the milk, broth, noodles, chicken herbs, bring to a boil, and allow the soup to boil until the noodles are tender, about 10 minutes.
- Add the heavy cream, salt the soup to taste, and serve up a bowl of pure comfort immediately.
Can I Omit the Heavy Cream?
I used 1 1/2 cups whole milk and added 1 cup of heavy cream at the end. I was only going to use 1/2 cup heavy cream but decided I wanted it extra thick and creamy and a half cup just wasn’t quite doing the trick. Twist my arm, more heavy cream.
You could skip the heavy cream at the end, knowing the soup will definitely not be as creamy, rich, or as satisfying. The broth will be noticeably thinner and more translucent.
What Type of Milk Should I Use?
I recommend using a full fat milk (like whole milk) rather than skim, 1, or 2% milk for a few reasons:
- Better, richer taste
- Creamier texture
- The soup will be less likely to ‘break’ upon reheating
How to Reheat Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
You will want to reheat leftover soup very gently in the microwave on 50% power until it’s as warm as desired. Or you can do it on the stove over gentle heat.
However, any time you are reheating anything with milk/cream in it, there is the risk of it ‘breaking’ or separating. This is much less likely with fattier milks such as whole milk and heavy cream. If you’re using skim, 1 or 2%, there is a much greater risk it can ‘break’ which is why I advise using whole milk, and the heavy cream is just extra insurance.
Even with all this ‘fattening’ dairy, the soup still only has about 470 calories per bowl. I think that’s great considering it’s more comforting than a box of chocolates.
Can I Make This Soup Dairy-Free?
If you have a dairy allergy, feel free to experiment with the fattiest, richest non-dairy milk you enjoy. For me, that would be cashew milk. Almond milk would be my second choice.
Soy milk seems like it would be too thin and coconut milk would definitely not be a flavor profile I’d pair with this homemade chicken noodle soup from scratch.
I have not tried a dairy-free milk but if you do, please comment and let me know how it goes. It will benefit everyone who reads the comments, too.
Tips for Making Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
If you have leftover chicken, by all means shred it or dice it, and go with that. You can also prepare your own chicken just for the soup and then shred it. But that will defeat the easy, 30-minute aspect.
I highly recommend a store-bought rotisserie chicken for this soup. It’s definitely the fastest, easiest, and most convenient way to go.
I find that aside from a bit of nibbling, one average-sized rotisserie chicken (they seem smaller these days in my grocery stores than I remember from even five years ago) is the perfect amount of chicken for the homemade chicken noodle soup.
Pin This Recipe
Easy 30-Minute Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
Why have regular chicken noodle soup when you can have CREAMY instead? Pure comfort food at its finest! Ready in 30 minutes, an instant family favorite, and PERFECT for chilly weather!!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 heaping cup carrots, peeled and sliced thin (about 1 1/2 large carrots)
- 1 heaping cup celery, sliced thin (about 2 large stalks)
- 1 medium sweet Vidalia onion, diced small
- 2 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 64 ounces (8 cups) low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk (read blog post about milk/cream substitutions)
- 12 ounces wide egg noodles (or your favorite noodles or pasta)
- 2 to 3 cups shredded cooked chicken (white or dark meat, turkey may be substituted; use a store bought rotisserie chicken to save time)
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1/2 to 1 cup heavy cream, optional but highly recommended (read blog post about milk substitutions)
- salt, to taste (1 to 2 tablespoons likely but add slowly and to taste)
- 2 to 4 tablespoons finely minced fresh parsley, optional and to taste
Instructions
- To a very large Dutch oven or stockpot, add the oil, carrots, celery, onion, and sauté over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften; stir intermittently.
- Add the garlic and sauté for another 1 minute, or until fragrant; stirring constantly.
- Evenly sprinkle the flour over the vegetables, add the butter, and stir constantly until the butter melts, about 1 minute.
- Add the broth, milk, egg noodles, cooked chicken, thyme, oregano, pepper, and bring to a boil. Allow mixture to boil uncovered fairly rapidly for about 10 minutes or until the noodles are cooked through and the vegetables are very tender.
- Add the heavy cream and stir to combine.
- Turn off the heat, taste the soup, and add salt to taste and the optional parsley. I added nearly 2 tablespoons of salt but this will vary based on how salty the broth used is, how salty the chicken is, how much cream you added, and personal preference for salt. If desired, make any necessary seasoning adjustments (i.e. more salt, pepper, herbs, etc.).
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Storage: Soup will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
To reheat: Reheat refrigerated (leftover) soup very gently in the microwave on 50% power or over gentle heat on the stove until it's as warm as desired. Any time you are reheating anything with milk/cream in it, there is the risk of it 'breaking' or separating. This is less likely with fattier milks such as whole milk and heavy cream. If you're using skim, 1% or 2%, there is a much greater risk it can 'break' which is why my advice is to use fattier milks and heavy cream.
Adapted from Easy 30-Minute Chicken Noodle Soup.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 470Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 141mgSodium: 6075mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 2gSugar: 12gProtein: 34g
Pin This Recipe
Easy 30-Minute Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
Why have regular chicken noodle soup when you can have CREAMY instead? Pure comfort food at its finest! Ready in 30 minutes, an instant family favorite, and PERFECT for chilly weather!!
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 heaping cup carrots, peeled and sliced thin (about 1 1/2 large carrots)
- 1 heaping cup celery, sliced thin (about 2 large stalks)
- 1 medium sweet Vidalia onion, diced small
- 2 to 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 64 ounces (8 cups) low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk (read blog post about milk/cream substitutions)
- 12 ounces wide egg noodles (or your favorite noodles or pasta)
- 2 to 3 cups shredded cooked chicken (white or dark meat, turkey may be substituted; use a store bought rotisserie chicken to save time)
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme (or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme)
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1/2 to 1 cup heavy cream, optional but highly recommended (read blog post about milk substitutions)
- salt, to taste (1 to 2 tablespoons likely but add slowly and to taste)
- 2 to 4 tablespoons finely minced fresh parsley, optional and to taste
Instructions
- To a very large Dutch oven or stockpot, add the oil, carrots, celery, onion, and sauté over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften; stir intermittently.
- Add the garlic and sauté for another 1 minute, or until fragrant; stirring constantly.
- Evenly sprinkle the flour over the vegetables, add the butter, and stir constantly until the butter melts, about 1 minute.
- Add the broth, milk, egg noodles, cooked chicken, thyme, oregano, pepper, and bring to a boil. Allow mixture to boil uncovered fairly rapidly for about 10 minutes or until the noodles are cooked through and the vegetables are very tender.
- Add the heavy cream and stir to combine.
- Turn off the heat, taste the soup, and add salt to taste and the optional parsley. I added nearly 2 tablespoons of salt but this will vary based on how salty the broth used is, how salty the chicken is, how much cream you added, and personal preference for salt. If desired, make any necessary seasoning adjustments (i.e. more salt, pepper, herbs, etc.).
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Storage: Soup will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
To reheat: Reheat refrigerated (leftover) soup very gently in the microwave on 50% power or over gentle heat on the stove until it's as warm as desired. Any time you are reheating anything with milk/cream in it, there is the risk of it 'breaking' or separating. This is less likely with fattier milks such as whole milk and heavy cream. If you're using skim, 1% or 2%, there is a much greater risk it can 'break' which is why my advice is to use fattier milks and heavy cream.
Adapted from Easy 30-Minute Chicken Noodle Soup.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 470Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 141mgSodium: 6075mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 2gSugar: 12gProtein: 34g
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I have never had better chicken noodle soup than this. It is just so flavorful and delicious, and easy to make (which is a deal!). Such a great recipe!
I am glad this is a new favorite chicken noodle soup recipe for you and that it was delish and easy!
Oh geeze- so I made the cream of broccoli for lunch and just made this cream of chicken noodle for dinner (we are on quarantine…so why not cook and eat!!)– and I am happy to report that this is another winner! So delicious…followed instructions to the letter (again) and such deliciousness!! What shall I try next…
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad that this was a winner!
This soup is amazing–the best chicken noodle ever!!! It has a buttery quality to it and is loaded with all sorts of goodness! I planned ahead yesterday and decided to make my own stock with the bones from the rotisserie chicken along with the turkey carcass I had in the freezer. I simmered the stock overnight in the crockpot and it smelled wonderful but also woke me up a few times (totally worth it though)!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad to hear you think it’s the best chicken noodle soup ever! I am sure it was extra delicious with your own stock! I agree, it has a buttery richness and I adored the broth sooo much!
Wonderful comfort food–and perfect for our weather this week. I think this is going on my “to make” list for the weekend!
It’s such great comfort food especially this time of year!
This looks so good, and we have zero dinner plans tonight, toally making this with leftovers in our fridge!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
I hope you did and that it turned out great for you!