Chicken Noodle Soup with Egg Noodles

This cozy, classic Chicken Noodle Soup with Egg Noodles tastes like a long-simmering labor of love but is ready in about 30 minutes. Perfect for a sick day or chilly evening when need something comforting and delicious yet quick.

Although my kids are still, tragically, in the soup skeptic phase of life, I can always count on this cozy homemade chicken noodle soup for a dinner winner. It’s an easy homemade chicken soup with leftover chicken that has a lot going for it!

Chicken Noodle is Life-Giving

• Cozy and comforting. You just can’t beat the aroma and flavor of chicken noodle soup when someone is under the weather, or just needs a pick-me-up.
• Quick and easy to make. This particular recipe enlists the help of a few conveniences: pre-cooked chicken, pre-made broth, and store-bought egg noodles. This lets you get dinner done in less than 30 minutes with minimal mixing and clean-up.
• An all-in-one wonder. Protein, veggies, and carbohydrates all in one bowl of deliciousness.

We all want chicken soup that tastes like Grandma has been slow simmering it all day. Unfortunately, not many of us have the luxury to pull that off. This gives you the best of both worlds!

Of course, if you prefer to make a more fully from-scratch version, using leftover cooked chicken, homemade broth or stock, or homemade egg noodles–or all of the above!–are easy swaps. But they’re not necessary for a delicious bowl of soup served straight from your own simmering pot. I promise.

Craving an even heartier twist? Chicken noodle soup with tortellini is a fun and satisfying variation. Prefer something vegetarian-friendly? Chickpea noodle soup is just the thing!

Ingredients & Common Substitutions

Here are a few notes and shopping tips about the ingredients you’ll need to make this, as well as possible substitutions. Full ingredients & amounts are in the recipe card below.

Here’s the compromise: because we’re using store-bought ingredients, you want to use the highest-quality ones that you can to still get that great flavor. This matters most with the broth or stock. Here’s the full run-down.

• Carrots, celery, and onion: The trifecta and essential vegetable base of a classic chicken noodle soup. Use yellow onion for classic flavor, or a sweet onion for a subtle change.
• Chicken broth or chicken stock: Not surprisingly, this is the money-maker ingredient. A good broth will carry the soup on its own; a mediocre or poor-quality broth is likely to need additional seasoning. Homemade broth is always a boon, if you would like to give it a go!
• Shredded or chopped cooked chicken: Pull shreds of breast or thigh meat from the bone of a rotisserie chicken to make this super simple, or use leftovers from a homemade roast or any simple preparation like baked Italian dressing chicken. Chicken breasts or chicken thighs work equally well. Some people prefer their soup with long shreds of chicken, others like bite-sized chopped pieces; this is just up to you.
• Egg noodles: You can substitute any other type of pasta you like.
• Lemon juice: This really adds a note of freshness to the soup that enlivens all the other flavors. Even though it’s a tiny amount I definitely encourage you adding it.
• Seasonings: garlic, Italian seasoning, and parsley. Use fresh minced garlic if possible; the parsley can be fresh or dried. If you only have a tiny bit of fresh parsley, use dried in the soup itself, and save the sprigs of fresh to sprinkle on bowls at the end. Fresh thyme also makes a really lovely finish at the end.
• Staples: Olive oil, butter, kosher salt, black pepper.

How To Make Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full instructions with timing & temperatures are in the recipe card below.

Step One: Warm olive oil and melt butter in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat. You’ll be cooking everything together in this pot, so choose a large one!

Step Two: Sauté the vegetables until they start to become tender, then add garlic and Italian seasoning and cook very briefly. The garlic should be fragrant, but don’t let it burn or even brown much.

Step Three: Stir in broth and increase the heat until the mixture comes to a rapid boil.

Intensify the Flavor: You can add 1-2 teaspoons chicken base Better Than Bouillon for more intense flavor in the broth. This is a paste-like product sold in a jar that makes a very flavorful and economical substitute for store-bought boxes of broth. Mix the Better Than Bouillon into the boiling broth before adding the chicken. You can also use the base plus water in place of broth entirely; follow package directions for the correct ratio.

Step Four: Add egg noodles and cooked chicken. Set a timer for the cooking time of the noodles or pasta–they’ll cook right in the broth, and this will be just the right amount of time for the chicken to warm through and the vegetables to become fully tender. If needed, reduce the heat slightly so the mixture maintains a moderate boil–if it’s bubbling extremely rapidly, you’ll just be losing liquid from your soup.

Step Five: Add lemon juice, parsley, salt, and pepper to taste. Ladle up, sprinkle with more fresh herbs if you like, and enjoy!

Should I cook egg noodles before adding to soup?

No! For the best flavor and simplest technique, cook dry packaged egg noodles directly in the broth of your soup, without boiling separately in water beforehand. The exception to this is if you’re making the soup ahead of time or cooking a very large batch.

Making It Ahead?

If you’re making this to eat later in the day, or you anticipate leftovers, cook the egg noodles in water separately and add them to individual servings. This prevents the noodles soaking up excess broth, which can make them mushy and reduce the amount of broth in your soup.

In this case, simply simmer the soup for about 5 minutes after adding the chicken and before adding the lemon juice, parsley, salt, and pepper. This serves simply to meld and enhance the flavors.

Be sure to still add a generous pinch of salt to your boiling water before adding the egg noodles. This ensures they have good flavor when cooked and added to the soup!

Serving Suggestions

You know chicken soup is the perfect meal unto itself, but there’s as many beloved accompaniments to it as there are families! Oyster crackers, regular crackers (the ones shown here are whole wheat pita bite crackers from Trader Joe’s). Grilled cheese. Crescent rolls or biscuits. Garlic bread, breadsticks, crusty baguette or Dutch oven bread. You literally cannot go wrong.

Craving more veggies? Soup and an everyday Italian salad always feed and nourish the soul.

Storage & Reheating

This chicken noodle soup keeps well in the refrigerator for 1-2 days with the egg noodles already mixed in; I’d give it at least 4 days if the egg noodles are kept separate. Keep leftovers in any airtight container. These are our hands-down favorite storage containers for soup!

Reheat large quantities over medium heat in a saucepan, or small quantities in the microwave, stirring in between 45-60 second intervals.

I have not personally tried to freeze and defrost this soup; I wouldn’t recommend it at all with the egg noodles included, but suspect it would work well with just the broth, vegetables, and chicken. Add fresh noodles when ready to eat.

More Cozy Soup Recipes

Love a comforting bowl of soup? Of course you do! Try these favorites next: quick carrot red pepper soup, lemon white bean soup, white bean chicken soup, and creamy tomato tortellini soup. All delicious and easy to make!

Prefer more of a cozy stew? Chicken and dumplings always hits the spot.

Sure, chicken noodle soup recipes may be a dime a dozen, but this is the one we come back to time and time again. I hope you love it as much as we do!

If you try this Chicken Noodle Soup with Egg Noodles, don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. I love hearing how recipes turn out in your kitchen, and it helps other readers, too.

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