The soup starts with a simple mirepoix – or a mixture of onions, carrots, and celery – the perfect base for this traditional chicken soup. The whole chicken breasts are simmered with chicken stock and herbs, which locks in lots of flavors and keeps the cooking process simple and beginner-friendly. Once the chicken is cooked and cubed, just add the egg noodles and continue cooking for a few minutes more. Enjoy with chopped fresh parsley and your favorite crusty bread! For more homemade soup recipes, try my minestrone soup, easy tortellini soup, or lasagna soup recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Mirepoix – this aromatic combination of onion, celery, and carrots is sauteed with butter and garlic to create the foundation of the classic chicken noodle soup recipe flavor. Dice the veggies uniformly for an even cooking time. Chicken – you can use boneless skinless chicken breast or boneless skinless chicken thighs for this recipe. The chicken is cooked right in the broth and then cut into smaller pieces after it is cooked, making this recipe hassle-free! Chicken Stock – homemade or store-bought chicken stock works for this soup. I like to use a low-sodium stock and then season the soup with salt and freshly ground pepper before serving so I can adjust the seasoning to taste. Feel free to use bone broth if desired. Egg Noodles – wide egg noodles are a comforting and familiar noodle used in chicken soup. You can also substitute any type of noodle for this recipe, including homemade egg noodles or a fun-shaped pasta for kids. Parsley – fresh parsley is the perfect garnish for this soup because it adds a pop of color and fresh flavor.
How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup
- In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion starts to turn translucent, about 8 minutes.
- Add the chicken breasts and bay leaves.
- Pour in the stock. Bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue simmering, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes.
- Remove the chicken pieces and place on a tray to cool for a few minutes. Chop into bite-sized pieces.
- Return the chicken to the pot and stir in the black pepper. Taste the soup and add ¾ teaspoon of salt or more to taste.
- Increase the heat to medium or medium-high heat and stir in the noodles. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Adjust seasoning if needed. Serve immediately and garnish with fresh chopped parsley if desired.
Pro Tips for Making This Recipe
Don’t overcook the noodles. The noodles will continue to soften as they sit in the hot soup, so cook them in the broth until they are tender but have a little firmness left (al dente) before removing the soup from the heat. Remove the bay leaf before serving. Once the soup has simmered and the noodles are cooked, the bay leaves have served their purpose and released their flavor, so remove and discard them before serving. Add other flavorings. Stir in fresh herbs you have on hand, like chopped fresh dill, rosemary, or thyme. Add the juice and rinds from one lemon in the last few minutes of cooking. Top each serving with a generous sprinkling of grated parmesan cheese and ground black pepper. Hold off on cooking the noodles when making this recipe ahead of time. If you plan to make and store this recipe as meal prep for the week, I recommend not adding the noodles. Instead, when ready to serve, reheat the soup to a simmer, add the noodles, and cook them according to the recipe. Use cooked or leftover chicken. In this recipe, substitute 2 cups of cooked chicken, shredded from a rotisserie chicken or leftover roasted chicken, in place of the raw chicken breasts. After the stock and vegetables have simmered for about 20 minutes, add the shredded chicken and then increase the heat to medium and simmer before adding the noodles.
If you’ve tried this chicken noodle soup recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
