Chicken Noodle Soup
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
This comforting chicken noodle soup, packed with veggies and savory flavor, is the perfect remedy for whatever ails you.
Is there anything more heartwarming than a bowl of chicken noodle soup? That golden broth, brimming with noodles and tender veggies, is the kind of comfort we all crave. This recipe, adapted from One-Hour Comfort: Quick, Cozy, Modern Dishes for All Your Cravings by America’s Test Kitchen, delivers that warmth straight to your table without any fuss. The secret to its quick preparation? A good-quality store-bought chicken broth that offers a rich flavor without hours of simmering. It’s just perfect for those nights when comfort can’t wait.
A quick tip: If you’re making the soup ahead of time, hold off on adding the noodles and chicken until before serving. This ensures they stay perfectly cooked and not overdone. And if you’re serving in batches, consider boiling the noodles separately and adding them to each bowl as needed. Round out this comforting meal with some saltine crackers, a slice of artisan bread, or buttermilk biscuits.
“My husband, who thinks soup doesn’t count as dinner, gave this a 10/10…It’s a keeper, thank you!”
What You’ll Need To Make Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Pieces: Skin-on, bone-in pieces are used for their ability to enrich the broth with depth and richness. The shredded meat provides protein and substance, making the soup hearty and filling.
- Chicken Broth: The liquid base of the soup. Using broth instead of water enables us to create a more complex and savory flavor in a short amount of time.
- Onion, Carrots, and Celery: This trio is fundamental in building the soup’s aromatic foundation. They also contribute color and substance to the soup.
- Fresh Thyme and Bay Leaf: Infuse the soup with fragrant, earthy notes.
- Egg Noodles: A classic and comforting element in chicken noodle soup.
- Dill: A classic pairing with chicken noodle soup, fresh dill introduces a fresh flavor and a pop of color, perfectly complementing the savory chicken and broth.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Begin by prepping the veggies.
Next, season the chicken with the salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place the chicken in the pot, skin-side down, and cook until browned, 4 to 5 minutes.
Flip the chicken and cook 4 minutes more.
Add the broth, onion, carrots, celery, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to low.
Simmer until the chicken is cooked through (15 to 17 minutes for breasts and about 20 minutes for thighs). Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf.
Using tongs, remove the chicken from the soup and transfer to a cutting board. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken into bite-size pieces; discard the skin and bones.
Return the soup to a boil over medium-high heat and add the noodles. Cook, uncovered, until the noodles are al dente (check the package instructions for timing, and keep in mind that the noodles will continue to cook for a few minutes while you warm the chicken).
Add the shredded chicken and cook over medium heat until chicken is warmed through, a few minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste (I usually add about ¼ teaspoon more salt, but it depends on the saltiness of the chicken broth you used). Stir in the dill and serve.
Frequently Asked Questions
My go-to’s are Swanson for broth and Better Than Bouillon, a concentrated flavor paste.
I’d advise against it. Using raw chicken ensures the best flavor and prevents the meat from becoming overcooked.
The soup can be made through step 3 (up until adding the noodles), and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Keep the chicken in a separate container in the fridge, and add to the soup before serving. When ready to serve, bring the soup to a boil on the stovetop. Add the noodles and proceed with the recipe. If you don’t plan to serve the soup all at once, you can boil the noodles separately and keep them separate from the broth, then simply add them as needed when serving. You can also freeze the soup for up to 3 months.
If you’re not serving the soup immediately or plan on having leftovers, hold off on adding the noodles. This ensures they stay perfectly cooked and not overdone when you reheat the soup later. As mentioned above, consider boiling the noodles separately and adding them to each serving as needed.
You May Also Like
Chicken Noodle Soup
This comforting chicken noodle soup, packed with veggies and savory flavor, is the perfect remedy for whatever ails you.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds skin-on bone-in chicken breasts and/or thighs, trimmed of excess skin or fat
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 8 cups chicken broth (preferably not low-sodium), best quality
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into ½-inch pieces
- 2 celery ribs, cut into ¼-inch pieces
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 ounces (3 cups) wide egg noodles
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
Instructions
- Season the chicken with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large soup pot over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place the chicken in the pot, skin-side down, and cook until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook 4 minutes more.
- Add the broth, onion, carrots, celery, thyme sprigs, and bay leaf, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through (15 to 17 minutes for breasts and about 20 minutes for thighs).
- Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Using tongs, remove the chicken from the soup and transfer to a cutting board. Using 2 forks, shred the chicken into bite-size pieces; discard the skin and bones.
- Return the soup to a boil over medium-high heat and add the noodles. Cook, uncovered, until the noodles are al dente (check the package instructions for timing, and keep in mind that the noodles will continue to cook for a few minutes while you warm the chicken). Add the shredded chicken and cook over medium heat until chicken is warmed through, a few minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste (I usually add about ¼ teaspoon more salt, but it depends on the saltiness of the chicken broth you used). Stir in the dill and serve.
- Make-Ahead/Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The soup can be made through step 3 (up until adding the noodles), and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Keep the chicken in a separate container in the fridge, and add to the soup before serving. When ready to serve, bring the soup to a boil on the stovetop. Add the noodles and proceed with the recipe. If you don’t plan to serve the soup all at once, you can boil the noodles separately and keep them separate from the broth, then simply add them as needed when serving. You can also freeze the soup for up to 3 months.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
Powered by 
- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 508
- Fat: 21 g
- Saturated fat: 6 g
- Carbohydrates: 33 g
- Sugar: 7 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 44 g
- Sodium: 874 mg
- Cholesterol: 126 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
This was so good and your instructions so easy to follow. I recently broke my arm so can’t really cook. I gave my husband this recipe and he had no trouble with it at all.
Super simple and easy to make if you need a quick, hearty meal! However, if you like added flavor from seasoning or just more potent flavor this recipe doesn’t really give that. The flavor is pretty bland as most of it comes from the veggies and chicken. The thyme is potent and good, but I used to soups with more spice so this was a little on the bland side for me.
Question: The vegetable oil is in the ingredients but not in the instructions. Is it for the veggies or cooking the chicken or???
Hi Clare, You use the oil to cook the chicken. See the second sentence of the first paragraph. Hope that clarifies and that you enjoy the soup! 🙂
I made this for the second time tonight for a family gathering. It’s an easy recipe with outstanding flavor. Thanks so much for posting it for us!
Hi, I really enjoyed this! I used thighs as that’s what the grocery store had in a reasonable quantity. I have eaten this all week long, making it on Sunday night and just finishing it for lunch today (Thursday). Keeping the noodles separate from the soup made it totally doable. (I tossed the noodles with just a tiny bit of olive oil so they wouldn’t stick together in the fridge.) When I ate it on Sunday night, I was a little underwhelmed but as the days went on and the flavors melded, it just got better and better! So…if you can, I’d suggest making it a night or two before serving and then adding the cooked noodles when you’re ready to serve. I will definitely make again!
When I came into the kitchen this morning, the wonderful smell still lingered! Midway through prep, I realized that I didn’t have a pot big enough, so I used 2 thighs and half the mirepoix, etc., and froze the other 2 and other half, so now I have an instant soup ready to make. I stuck to the recipe (halved) and left out garlic and ginger, which I often add to chicken soup. It was perfect as it was.
I’ve made this soup over and over–it’s a standard in my house. Here are my changes: I sprinkle the thighs with Montreal Grill Mates chicken seasoning before browning, and use 1 tsp. herbes de provence instead of thyme. I can’t help but think the Montreal spice adds to the flavor.
Best chicken soup ever. I have tried many different recipes for this classic meal, and this one wins. From now on this will be the only way how I make it. Thank you!
Loved this recipe! The dill was such an unexpected and delicious touch. Thanks for sharing recipes that are easy for busy moms to execute, but taste like so much more than the sum of their parts.
Hi Jenn: I will be making this tonight, but bought skinless thighs instead, by mistake. Do they have to have the skin to add flavor to the soup? I am adding a few extra pieces since we are having a few people over. Hopefully adding the few extras pieces will be enough. Thank you so much for sharing your never-fail recipes. They are all so delicious!
Hi Frances, The skin and bones do add wonderful flavor (and fat) to the soup, but it should still work. How did it turn out?
Absolutely delicious! Using store bought broth was a great shortcut. The vegetables and chicken really made a flavorful soup. I’ll definitely make it again! I love so many of your recipes.