Easy 30-Minute Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup — Classic, comforting, and tastes just like grandma made but way easier and faster!! This soup is AMAZING and it’ll be your new favorite recipe!!
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The Easiest Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Chicken noodle soup is one of the fondest memories I have of my grandmother’s cooking. Classic, comforting, a cure-all for whatever ailed me, and I could taste my grandma’s love in it.
However, my grandma’s version took hours and hours. I don’t have time to watch a boiling pot for half the day and this version is easy, ready in 30-minutes, and has all the comforting qualities you want in classic chicken noodle soup.
My family loved the homey, classic flavors in the soup, raved about it, and asked when I’m making it again. It makes enough to stash half in the freezer for a rainy day or for winter cold and flu season. Chicken noodle soup is a miracle worker.
Chicken Noodle Soup Ingredients
To make this easy chicken noodle soup recipe, you’ll need the following basic ingredients:
- Olive oil
- Carrots
- Celery
- Sweet Vidalia onion
- Garlic
- Chicken broth
- Bay leaves
- Fresh thyme
- Dried oregano
- Wide egg noodles
- Shredded cooked chicken
- Fresh parsley
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup
Making homemade chicken noodle soup with egg noodles doesn’t get easier than this! Here’s an overview of how this simple recipe comes together:
- To a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add the oil and heat over medium-high heat to warm.
- Add the carrots, celery, onion, and sauté until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Add the garlic and sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, pepper, and bring to a boil. Allow mixture to boil gently for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are fork-tender.
- Add the egg noodles and boil the mixture until the noodles are cooked through.
- Add the chicken, parsley, optional lemon juice and boil until chicken is warmed through.
- Remove the bay leaves and serve immediately!
Recipe FAQs
Egg noodles in chicken noodle soup is the only way to go for me because that’s how my grandma made it, but if you like rotini or another type of pasta, use it instead.
I always use pre-cooked, shredded chicken in my homemade chicken noodle soup. You have a few options when it comes to pre-cooked chicken:
1. You can buy a rotisserie chicken at the store, shred it up, then throw it in the soup (some stores even sell pre-shredded rotisserie chicken which is a huge time saver!).
2. You can meal prep your own stovetop or baked chicken breasts. Either shred or cube the chicken whenever you’re ready to make the soup.
3. Make a batch of poached chicken a day or two in advance to use in the soup.
I prefer using a blend of fresh and dried herbs in my soup for a more nuanced flavor. For this recipe, I used bay leaves, fresh thyme, and dried oregano. However, you can easily adapt the recipe using whatever herbs you have on hand!
The squeeze of lemon juice does NOT make the soup taste even remotely lemony. Instead, it brightens up the rich flavors of the soup and makes the recipe “pop” overall. If you don’t have a fresh lemon on hand, use apple cider vinegar to achieve the same result.
We love serving this easy homemade soup with bread rolls (try Parker House Rolls or No-Knead Dinner Rolls), Skillet Cornbread, or a Classic House Salad.
Tips for the Best Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken: To save time, make this chicken noodle soup with rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken that you have on hand. Of course you can roast or pan sauté chicken if you’re so inclined.
Herbs: There are quite a few herbs used including thyme, oregano, bay leaves, and parsley. If you don’t have them all on hand, don’t want to buy a bunch of thyme for just 1 teaspoon, or aren’t fond of a particular herb, you can probably omit it. Your soup won’t taste exactly like mine, but it’ll be close.
Salt: Make sure to salt your soup to taste. I use low-sodium chicken broth and add a bit of salt to my soup so I can control the overall salt level. The saltiness of low-sodium broth varies among brands, and if you used a rotisserie chicken, salt levels vary. And everyone’s personal preference for salt varies so salt to taste.
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Easy 30-Minute Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup carrots, peeled and sliced thin (about 1 1/2 large carrots)
- 1 cup celery, sliced thin (about 2 stalks)
- 1 cup sweet Vidalia or yellow onion, peeled and diced small (about 1 medium onion)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 64 ounces 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth, plus more if desired
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
- 12 ounces wide egg noodles, or your favorite noodles or pasta
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken, use storebought rotisserie chicken to save time; or roast or cook your own chicken in a skillet
- 3 to 4 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, optional
- salt, to taste
Instructions
- To a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add the oil and heat over medium-high heat to warm.
- Add the carrots, celery, onion, and sauté for about 7 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften. Stir intermittently.
Add the garlic and sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes. - Add the chicken broth, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, pepper, and bring to a boil. Allow mixture to boil gently for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are fork-tender. Note – If you like brothier soup, add additional broth, possibly as much as an additional 64 ounces because as time passes the noodles will continue to absorb broth.
- Add the egg noodles and boil mixture for about 10 minutes, or until noodles are soft and cooked through. At any time while making the soup, if the overall liquid level is lower than you like and you prefer more broth, adding a cup or two of water is okay. At the end you will adjust the salt level.
- Add the chicken, parsley, optional lemon juice (brightens up the flavor), and boil 1 to 2 minutes, or until chicken is warmed through. Taste soup and add salt to taste. I added about 1 tablespoon but this will vary based on how salty the brand of chicken broth used is, how salty the rotisserie chicken is, and personal preference. Make any necessary seasoning adjustments (i.e. more salt, pepper, herbs, etc.), remove the bay leaves, and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Great recipe, I used rotisserie chicken and it turned out awesome. The Family raved about it, especially now that it’s cold outside. A nice heartwarming and hearty soup.
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad that your family raved about it!
delicious! i substituted half the amount of olive oil with butter and it was delicious. hearty and delicious, definitely comforting. thank you!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad that it was delicious and comforting for you!
I would have added more broth and less noodles but overall this recipe was delicious!!!!
Glad it was delicious!
The soup was good, but too much pepper for our taste. Also, I added alot of extra liquid and didn’t use all of the noodles and was still too many noodles. I would also prefer more carrots and celery as well. I will make this again, with a few adjustments.
I made this today. I added some bouillon to add more flavor. Personal preference. I did not add any additional salt. I also will be adding more broth as the noodles do soak up the liquid. I cook chicken breasts in the instant pot and then shred and added to the soup.
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad that it sounds like you will make this again!
I love everything about this recipe, as I’ve never made chicken noodle soup from scratch. It was delicious, the only thing I would say is definitely start with less pepper and start small and work up to 1tsp because it may be too much for toddlers or sensitive people!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad that you love this soup and everything about the recipe!
When making chicken noodle soup…cook noodles separately and keep separate…just add some to each individual bowl being served and then cover with the chicken soup..fresher tasting and noodles do not absorb the liquid. Particularly useful when soup is to be used some time later, even after freezing…just heat soup with noodles and enjoy!
What a great idea!!! Thanks for that tip, never would have thought of it. :D
My husband got his annual flu shot on Friday. Today (Monday) he’s been feeling groggy and sick. My husband is a chef, so not much impresses him. I made this soup for him and he absolutely loved it! Had two bowls! I did add some additional seasonings for my taste, but other than that, great recipe!
Thanks for the 5 star review and sorry your husband got sick BUT happy he loved this and the fact that he’s a chef and not easily impressed (I get that), but was impressed by this, that is a great compliment and thank you!
Having our first day of 40 degree weather here in Memphis, gonna make this tonight :)
It was very cold in San Diego too last night, high 40s! Hope this hit the spot!
So Yum! I put too many egg noodles in it so had to add 3 cups of water but with extra seasoning it was still delicious. Lots leftover to freeze as well, thank you for the awesome recipe.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad to hear that you were able to make it work and that you have leftovers to freeze – the best gift!
One of finest soup recipe to try and it is really helpful in cold and flu. I do make this soup but with some different ingredients as it may differ from country to country. Tonight I am going to try this recipe and I hope it come out as good as yours. Thank you.
Cold and rainy fall day here in New England. Watching football and making this for dinner tonight. Sounds delicious.
It’s a cool and gross day in San Diego too! :) Hope this hit the spot!
Next time I will cut the pepper in this recipe in half and cook the veggies longer. Delicious though!
Glad you enjoyed it and yes, just cook things until they are as soft/firm as you prefer and season accordingly.
I made this today. It was so good!!! My entire family ate it and no one added any extra seasoning. It was so flavorful! Perfect for a cold and rainy day.
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad your family loved it!
I just made this soup since me and the hubs where both fighting a cold and needed some good homemade chicken noodle soup that was fast and easy and your recipe HIT THE SPOT! It was super easy since I had half of a left over rotisserie chicken and all the other ingredients (minus the celery, but not a big celery fan anyway so no biggie) and it came out AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing. I’m a new fan and will be checking for your other recipes! : )
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad this hit the spot! Perfect use for your leftover rotisserie chicken!
Fantastic homemade chicken soup!
I poached my chicken breasts the Cooks Illustrated recommended way by submerging them in cold water and bringing them to a boil. Doubled up veggies but everything else was the same and it was devoured by my family. Thx for a great recipe.
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad this was a hit and devoured by your family!