There’s nothing like a homestyle chicken noodle soup on a chilly winter night. It’s warm, comforting and you can just keep eating it. Make it with a homemade bone broth for more depth of flavor.
I enjoy adding in fresh herbs such as dill for freshness that you might not often see in restaurant style chicken soup. Try it out and let me know what you think. Make a pot for yourself and expect to have leftovers for your family.
This recipe uses chicken breasts but you can really use any cut of chicken you’d like. You can even add in leftover rotisserie chicken and boxed or homemade chicken broth to make this recipe just a little bit faster and use up what you have leftover in the fridge.
Bullion or Broth?
You have two options when deciding what kind of chicken broth you’d like to make for this satisfying chicken noodle soup recipe. You can either make your soup base from bullion or from the broth.
For this recipe, I used a homemade chicken bone broth that I made the day before. This way, I could measure how much salt went into my soup and I could also add extra nutrients by using the bones of the chicken. If you don’t have the time to make your own chicken broth, you can pick up some bullion or low-salt chicken broth.
If you prefer to use bullion, my favorite is Better Than Bullion. It’s like a chicken bullion paste but it’s incredibly salty, so it’s best to start small and add more bullion as you go.
Best Cut of Chicken for Chicken Noodle Soup
There are a lot of options for your chicken in chicken noodle soup.
- Breast: Breast meat is the leanest cut of chicken. Chicken breast is easy to cook and also easy to find at the grocery store. You may want to add a bit more oil if you’re also using the breast for the broth. If not, just add a touch of salt and better before pan-frying and setting aside. The breast is the healthiest option when it comes to chicken.
- Thigh: Thighs are one of the best options for chicken noodle soup. They have a high fat content and they are a bone-in cut. This cut of chicken will give you a more flavorful broth.
- Drumsticks: Very similar to the thighs, but with the drumsticks, it’s much more difficult to get the meat off the bone. If you’re looking for a higher-fat option, I would go with the chicken thighs. Drumsticks, however are a low-cost and budget friendly option.
- Whole carcass: You can also use the rest of your rotisserie chicken carcass for broth. Just stick the whole thing in a pot of boiling water and let it infuse the water, and then you will have broth! There are also small bits of chicken that will come loose from the carcass that will flavor the soup. If you are a low-meat consuming family or individual, this might be the best option for you!
- Leftover Chicken: Looking for a way to use up that leftover rotisserie chicken in your fridge? Instead of cooking raw chicken at the start, just skip that step and add in cubed rotisserie chicken at the end to warm it through.
How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup
Making this chicken noodle soup recipe is really quite as simple as adding all of your ingredients to a large dutch oven.
The very first step for your soup will be to heat up some butter or oil in your stockpot and season your raw chicken breast or thigh. Turn up the heat and sear your chicken on both sides. Giving your chicken a good sear on both sides will keep your chicken moist on the inside. After searing, turn the heat down to medium and cook the chicken through. After the chicken is cooked, take it out of the pot and set it aside. It’s best to let your meat rest to not only let the juices reabsorb and redistribute back into the meat. This will also keep the chicken tender and keep it from drying out in the broth, especially if you decide to use chicken breast like I did.
If you are using leftover rotisserie chicken for your soup, you can skip this step and go right to cooking down your veggies.
With the leftover oil in your pan, add in your onion, celery and carrot. Let your veggies sweat down and caramelize for about 15 minutes, or until soft. Add in your garlic and herbs and give the contents a good stir.
Add in your homemade bone broth and bring your soup to a simmer. While it is simmering, shred your chicken and add it back to the pot. Add in the egg noodles as well. The noodles will only take a couple of minutes to cook so make sure to add these last, as they will become soggy if they are in the broth for too long.
Taste your broth and season with salt and pepper and adjust to your liking.
What to Serve with Your Chicken Noodle Soup
While this chicken noodle soup recipe can be considered a full meal, some might want another side to go with it. If you want to make this soup an even heartier meal, consider adding one of the below options to the meal.
Options to serve with chicken noodle soup:
Other Soups you Might Like:
Satisfying Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Course: Easy RecipesCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy8
servings30
minutes40
minutes300
kcalNothing will warm you up more than this satisfying chicken noodle soup recipe.
Ingredients
1.5 lbs chicken breast or thigh
8 oz egg noodles
1 yellow onion
3 stocks celery
2 cloves garlic
3 chopped carrots
2 quarts low-salt chicken broth
1 sprig thyme
1 sprig oregano
1 sprig parsley
butter
olive oil
salt & pepper
Directions
- Prep. prep your vegetables on a cutting board. Dicing the onion, celery and garlic, and then chop the carrots into coins.
- Cook the chicken. Add the oil and butter to a large saucepan and add your chicken the the pan. Salt and pepper the chicken evenly. After cooking the chicken, take it out and set it aside and cover it with aluminum foil to keep it from drying out. You’ll be adding it back to the soup later.
- Caramelize the vegetables. After setting the chicken aside, add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme and oregano to the dutch oven. Add more butter if it is needed. Cook the vegetables down and let them caramelize a bit. Resist the urge to push the contents around too much, otherwise they won’t caramelize. This should 12 to 15 minutes. Go ahead and eyeball it and decide how caramelized you like your veggies.
- Add the broth and simmer. After letting the vegetables and herbs caramelize, add the add the broth to your pot and bring to a simmer.
- Shred the chicken. While the soup is simmering, go back to your chicken. I shredded it with two forks, but you can dice it with a knife if you prefer. Add it to the pot.
- Add noodles and chicken. Add your egg noodles and let the noodles cook until tender. Add the chicken back to the pot. Add parsley if desired and serve immediately.
Notes
- In a pinch you can always use bullion instead of broth.
