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!!
Table of Contents
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.
Pin This Recipe
Enjoy AverieCooks.com Without Ads! 🆕
Go Ad Free
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.
©averiecooks.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
More Easy Chicken Soup Recipes:
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!!
Easy 30-Minute Homemade White Chicken Chili – Hearty, healthy, loaded with tender chicken, and packed with bold flavor! Fast and easy comfort food that everyone loves! It’ll be on rotation all winter!
Easy 30-Minute Homemade Chicken Tortilla Soup – Chicken, tomatoes, corn, black beans, avocado, cheese, and addictively crunchy tortilla strips! Fast, easy weeknight meal, and better than from a restaurant!
Easy 30-Minute Homemade Chicken Tortellini Soup – An fun spin on classic chicken noodle soup using cheese tortellini! Fast, easy, comfort food that just hits the spot! You’ll make it over and over again!
Chicken Pot Pie Soup — All the comfort food feels of pot pie, but in soup form! Rich, hearty, creamy and ready in just 30 minutes! Use canned biscuit dough to save time on busy weeknights when you’re craving a hot homemade meal!
Loaded Cheesy Chicken Chowder — Potatoes, chicken, carrots, corn and more!! Thick, creamy, rich, and wonderfully cheesy!! Fast and easy comfort food that everyone loves!!
You had me at “easy” and “30 minute”. It looks delicious! I have an easy crockpot recipe but this one would be perfect for when you need your soup now and cannot plan ahead! I’ll be saving this recipe for sure!
THANK YOU so much for sharing this recipe! I was trying to replicate the Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup from Costco (sold in the Deli/prepared foods section). This nailed it (if not a little bit better)! I was having a “gluten-free” friend among us … no problem! Before adding the noodles, I simply transferred some of the stock/vegetables to a smaller sauce pan and added uncooked long-grain white rice (about 1/3 cup) and added some of the chicken when the rice was cooked. Voila! Chicken & Rice Soup! EVERYONE was pleased and no one felt left out!
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you! And that you were able to easily portion out some before the noodles were added for you GF friend – great thinking!
You can use gluten-free noodles as well if you prefer, although the taste and texture are a bit different. I have 2 sons who can’t eat gluten at all.
Made this last night and it made the office smell amazing (and coworkers jealous) when I brought it into work today. Can’t wait to have it again for dinner tonight! I think the lemon juice truly tied all of the ingredients together. I love that I have tried so many of your recipes and haven’t failed at any – thank you!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad my recipes have been hits for you!
Love love love!!! The BEST chicken noodle soup, so full of flavor and SO EASY!!! Thanks for this great recipe! I really believe the rotisserie chicken and the egg noodles (I used big fat long amish ones-mmmmm) make all the difference.. This is my second time making it, the only chicken noodle recipe I`ve used, and I`ll use this one forever! I added an extra cup of broth and before I refrigerate the leftovers I`ll add 2 cups of water and a pinch or so of salt. My noodles came in a 16oz bag but I prefer lots of substance in my noodle soup so I was not complaining! I used the whole rotisserie chicken also. This is even better next day which is hard to believe. Again, GREAT soup, perfect for cold nights, thank you!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! I agree with everything you said. Rotisserie chickens make this recipe so easy (and they’re usually pretty flavorful) and add lots of flavor to the soup and yes to the egg noodles!
I added the parsley too soon?
I made this tonight ! It was so yummy!
I have a new blog and have mentioned this recipe and added a link for others to try as well.
Thank you!
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you! Thanks for the linkup too!
Thank you so much for this simple recipe! It is so easy and incredibly delicious. My 3 year old son is declaring “I love this!”
I am also excited to freeze the leftovers for a quick dinner after baby is born!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad it’s a hit with the 3 y.o. and yes to making ahead before a new baby! Congrats!
I discovered this recipe several months ago and it has become a family favorite! Fast, easy, and so good! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it’s a family fave!
This looks delicious! Would you mind telling me what method do you use to freeze your soup?
Just put it in a freezer-safe plastic container after it’s cooled and freeze it. Super easy!
Yummy this looks so delicious. Thanks for sharing this for us.
Simon
This was so delicious and easy to make. I actually anticipated the noodles soaking up the broth, so I boiled them separately and added them to the soup at the end. Turned out perfect.
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you! Good idea about boiling the noodles separately!
This is official my go-to chicken noodle soup from now on! The noodles do soak up a lot of the broth, but it’s an easy fix. This recipe has been what helps my sick boys get better! Thank you!!!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it’s your go-to!
Made this recipe doing small substitutes to use what pantry items already had, like no fresh garlic or onion so i used powdered equivalents. This recipe is amazing! I did end up adding about 1 1/2 c. Water and 1/2 c broth as noodles cooked to increase soup base. It took me a bit more than 30 minutes but i did have to cut up carrots and celery . Thank you so much!
Glad it turned out amazing and that your subs and tweaks worked! It’s a very flexible soup recipe and I’ve made it with just about every variable there is and it always comes out nicely.
This was a 5/5. I made mine with gluten free fussili noodles and GF chicken broth. My entire household loved it and it will be a keeper. My husband said I should put it on the weekly menu. Thank you!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad it was a 5/5 and a keeper and that the whole family loved it!
Love this chicken noodle soup recipe! My husband recently requested chicken noodle soup and I made this one and it was wonderful, definitely a keeper! Thank you!
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! Glad it’s a keeper!
This quick easy, sounds good to me I`m going to try it today.