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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I made this soup on Tuesday night, and I will say that the flavor didn’t impress me on the first night but has gotten better on the 2nd and 3rd night. Also, I added an additional cup and a half of carrots and an additional cup of chicken after I followed the recipe to the letter in the beginning. There were just SO MANY noodles it was hiding everything else. Overall I like it and will make it again.
Unfortunately we can’t get chicken broth in the country I live in. Do you think it would it be possible to substitute chicken stock (perhaps with some water) instead? I keep coming back to this page and staring longingly at the soup…
In the US we use chicken broth and chicken stock interchangeably so not sure what you have vs. what I have and what the differences are. I would use common sense and thin out whatever you have if you think it needs thinning out with water and just play it by ear with regard to the consistency, saltiness level, etc. I’m sure the soup will turn out great.
Sitting down a piping hot bowl of chicken noodle soup right now! I didn’t have celery, or enough rotisserie chicken. So I skipped the celery and quickly sautéed extra chicken in the pan. It warm and tasty and just what I needed.
Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you! Even without the celery :)
Made this tonight. My 3 year old gobbled it up and my husband went back for a 2nd bowl. This recipe is a keeper.
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you! Glad it’s a keeper and the whole family enjoyed it!
I love this chicken noodle soup! Do you know the serving size & calories?
I don’t know the calorie breakdown but there are online calculators you can use to plug in the recipe data and then determine what you’re looking for. Serving size would vary based on the person’s appetite.
Everyone in my house is sick so I decided to look for a homemade chicken noodle soup recipe and found this one on Pinterest. I made this soup last night and it was a major hit. My husband who says soup does not make a complete meal ate 2 bowls and called it “hearty”. My 2 sons who are very picky also called it “delicious”. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad that it got praise from both hubby and kids, too!
Making this for the 2nd time in 3 weeks. The first time I made it, I was fairly certain that the full teaspoon of black pepper was going to be too spicy for my littles. I was right but it was soooo good, they dunked their crescents and ate it anyway. Today, I cut back the pepper, used homemade chicken broth & leftover chicken. It is even more delicious!!! Definitely a keeper! Thanks so much!!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it’s even better the second time around! Salt and pepper are so personal, so yes, always just add to taste and glad the homemade broth and chicken worked like a charm. If you have any leftover Thanksgiving turkey, that’ll work too!
Recipe looks so good! Silly question but where did the blue pot come from? I’ve been looking for something new! :)
I actually linked to it in the recipe section in step 1. ‘Dutch Oven’. You’ll love it!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0076NOPA0/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0076NOPA0&linkCode=as2&tag=lovvegyogruna-20&linkId=2UJYJGXDCLFWWTDF
My husband claims he does not like soup and doesn’t consider it a meal. I made this and he ate two bowls of it that night and brought leftovers to work for lunch the next day. It was so delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad your husband is a believer now :)
The soup is wonderful, but it definitely took longer than 30 minutes. The ingredients and amounts are perfect, and I wouldn’t change a thing.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you and that you wouldn’t change a thing!
I just made this soup and it was delicious. I didn’t have fresh parsley so I had to use dried and I cut the pepper in half as I am not a fan and was still a little to much but was still very good. I didn’t need to add any salt and I use the reduced sodium Better than Bullion for my broth. Hubby is going to love it. Thanks!!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! And yes way better than bullion! Glad it tasted great for you!
This recipe is very quick and delicious but 12 oz of noodles was way too much. The noodles soaked up all of the broth :(.
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it was delicious. In Step 5. I wrote ‘ 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.’ So in your case, another cup or two of water would have been great (or extra chicken broth). Now you know for next time. Thanks for trying the recipe!
It only called for 8 oz of noodles :-)
I’ve made this twice now. It IS delicious. I’ve had the same problem with the noodles usurping my broth. The second time I added water and more broth and it was still all gone the next day. Perhaps I should use less noodles?
I would say use less noodles, and/or switch brands (some ‘soak up’ broth much more than others) and possibly continue to add more water/more broth than I called for. The great thing about this recipe it’s very flexible and you can always adjust the salt at the end to account for the liquids added. Glad you’re loving the flavor!
I would love to try your chicken noodle soup as a freezer meal but was wondering if the noodles would be mushy when I reheat it?
I have never had that happen. Just be sure not to overcook the noodles to begin with knowing you’re going to have to thaw/reheat.
Could I pop this in the crockpot for a couple hours? I know I LOVE the idea about it being 30 mins, but to really enhance the flavor? or will things get too mushy???
I am loving your recipe’s!!!
I haven’t tried this recipe as a slow cooker recipe and while you probably could do it, there is that risk of things turning mushy, and I haven’t tested it out. There is so much flavor after 30 minutes that I really don’t think it’s lacking in any way or that you’ll miss one ounce of flavor!
Thank you thank you! I will let you know how it turns out! Im sure delicious :)
^^^ it’s Rennie smh auto correct ?
Trying this recipe tonight! Can’t wait!
Let me know how it goes!