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!!
This soup is amazing! Thank you for sharing it!
I am making it again today for my grandkids. For the noodles I used grandma’s frozen noodles just because we like those but they seemed to soak up a lot of the broth so I will add extra in today’s batch.
It is the best Chicken noodle soup I’ve tried and very easy!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad it’s the best chicken noodle soup you’ve tried!
Love this recipe. Second tome making it. It’s even better the second day. I love a loaf of crust bread along side 🙂. I do cook the noodles in another pot for a few minutes then add to the soup… keeps them from soaking up too much of that delicious broth. Also, I simmer a few of those rotisserie bones with the veggies for more flavor, then remove them with the bay leaf. I like a bit of dill instead of parsley… yummy.
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad you love the soup! And everything you mentioned, sounds like great tips and tricks to really have amazing flavor in the soup.
This is the best chicken noodle soup recipe ever!! Have made many times for meals for friends and they always rave and ask for the recipe!! The lemon juice and garlic is the secret weapon! Thanks for this amazing recipe! I do sub turkey once in awhile, Yum Yum!!
Thanks for the five star review, I’m glad you love the soup, and I agree for sure that the lemon is the secret ingredient. A lot of people don’t think about acids, but when you really think about balancing flavors, the lemon is really so important. And I’m glad that you noticed that, thanks!
Dont usually post comments on these but this was super good and super easy. My whole family is sick and chicken soup sounded good. I pretty much followed the directions exact, I added just a tiny amount of good quality butter to add a little richness. Recipe is definently a keeper
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad this was super easy and good for your sick family!
1st time EVER making Chicken Noodle soup (my husband and I have our favorite at a restaurant), but this was way better! He is so picky! But after the second bite he said “this is way better than their’s” That is a wife win for me! I did add 1/2 tsp. Turmeric and 1/2 tsp. Fresh. Sage and some chicken bullion granules to taste.. This was so food thank you!
Glad this was a wife win for you and that it pleased Mr. Picky :) And better than a restaurant!
Awesome good recipe, I recommend not waiting till you’re sick to make it,it’s amazing anytime!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it’s amazing for you!
Made the soup for dinner. Recipe easy to follow and came out great.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it came out great!
This was amazing. I was skeptical about the lemon juice, but it really balanced out the soup. I added a tiny bit of jalapeño to give it a kick. So good!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad you trusted in the lemon juice and the soup turned out amazing!
Easy and delicious!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad it was easy and delish!
Just made this for my sick boyfriend, he loved it!! (We both did!!) Delicious!!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad you both loved it!
This soup is soooo yummy. My husband is a soup freak .He loved it.
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad you both loved it!
This soup has become a staple. It is requested at least once a month even in the summer( I am actually making it now as I comment). I do everything as directed the only thing I do is simmer it all afternoon to let the flavors all marry together even more than what they already are. Then I just add the noodles a little bit before we want to eat. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this is a year round staple for you!
Made this tonight and everyone enjoyed it! I didn’t even have to add salt. This is the recipe I plan to continue making if anyone in the family gets sick. Easy and tasty, thank you.
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad it was a hit!
This was excellent as written! I had half a lemon pepper rotisserie chicken leftover which worked perfectly. The only thing I left out was the oregano…just because. Hearty and Delicious!
Glad this was a winner for you!
This chicken noodle soup is absolutely delish to serve with baguettes!
I do not cook at all because it’s just too much prep and mess for my liking but I woke up with a sore throat today and needed some homemade soup. This was just as easy as you said and just as great tasting as well. Thanks so much for posting!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad this was easy for you on a day when you were feeling under the weather!