Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup from scratch just like my mom taught me. This soup is healthy and perfect for a cold winter night or when you’re feeling sick. The best kind of comfort food there is.
Chicken noodle soup was something that was on our dinner table pretty much every Sunday, while growing up. My mom would always make it from scratch, there was no question about it. The idea of ordering take out or making it from a mix or something was unheard of.
Even to this day when I think of what to make for dinner on Sundays, chicken noodle soup with roasted chicken and potatoes is what always comes to mind. But enough rambling and going down memory lane. Let’s talk homemade chicken noodle soup.
Chicken soup must be made from scratch. And for that you need a whole chicken, no ifs ands or buts about it. You need a whole chicken with skin and bones and all. The meat and bones give the stock so much flavor and dimension – as well as all that sick day relief. I like to pack mine full of chopped carrots, celery, and super soft egg noodles.
Ingredients
- Veggies – Just the classic 3 today: carrot, celery, and onion.
- Herbs – Fresh parsley is all we need today. If dry is all you have on hand that will work just fine as well just keep in mind that 1 teaspoon dried equals 1 tablespoon fresh.
- Chicken – Bones, skin, meat and all. We need all those parts that are usually considered scraps to develop a rich broth.
- Chicken bouillon – This ingredient is essentially just dehydrated broth that will pack so much flavor and umami into our soup, if you don’t have any on hand feel free to substitute low sodium chicken broth.
- Liquids – We need liquid in our pot so we’re going to use water. We’re going to combine this with the bouillon cube to ensure maximum chicken flavor.
- Noodles – I like to use egg noodle for my this recipe. Some people like to use fusilli or rice noodles, if that’s the case just adjust noodle cook time according to package instructions.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper, adjust for taste!
Got Leftover Chicken?
Roast it! Use this recipe to make the best roast chicken ever! No leftovers or scraps go to waste in my kitchen.
How To Make Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Broth
- Prep the chicken: Wash the chicken and remove the bag of gizzards from the inside. Place the chicken in a big soup pot, you’ll need at least a 5 qt pot, and add enough water to cover the chicken. Add the whole onion, whole carrots and celery sticks to the pot. Make sure there’s enough water to cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Skim the impurities: Once it comes to a boil, you will notice a dirty foam floating around the top of the pot, use a skimmer to skim that out. This will ensure that you get a clear soup. Keep skimming the foam until there’s no more left. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover with a lid and cook for about 1 hour, the carrots should be fork tender and the chicken cooked through, and almost falling off the bone.
- Cool the soup: Carefully remove the chicken from the soup pot and let it cool for a few minutes until it’s cool enough so that you can pull the meat from it. Remove the carrots, celery and onion from the soup pot as well.
- Store the broth: If you have too much broth in the pot you can now ladle some out to a jar or airtight container for later use and store it in the fridge. Chop up the carrots and celery and add it back to the soup.
Soup
- Combine the soup: Shred some meat from the chicken, I used the meat from half the chicken, but feel free to use all the meat, especially if you have a lot of broth, then add the shredded chicken back to the soup pot. Add the dry noodles to the pot, and the chicken bouillon or vegeta. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as needed.
- Finish the dish: Cook for another 5 to 10 minutes until noodles are cooked through. Be careful to not add too many noodles because as the soup sits they will expand and soak up a lot of the broth. Garnish with parsley and serve.
Other Cooking Options
You don’t just have to make this hearty, good for the soul soup on the stove top, you can most definitely make it with some of the other kitchen gadgets you have lying around.
Crockpot
Set it and forget it! This recipe is super minimal effort required and can be made while you’re busy at work, just follow my recipe right here on the blog for chicken noodle soup in the crock pot.
Pressure cooker
Chicken noodle soup in under 15 minutes? And I’m not talking any of that pre made stuff, no I mean the real flu fighting deal. Whip it up in my flash with my recipe here.
Some Tips
- Chicken noodle soup is such a great base for some awesome flavors! You can add fresh dill at the end, or add diced parsnips to your broth for some complexity. Dried rosemary also makes a great savory addition.
- Feel free to brown your chicken, bones, skin and all before adding to the pot for some added richness and depth.
- If you use dried herbs keep in mind that they are more flavor concentrated than fresh, one tablespoon of fresh equals one teaspoon of dried.
- Reserve some of the rich broth separately and freeze for illness fighting power whenever you need it!
Leftovers
Homemade chicken noodle soup will last 3 – 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
This recipe freezes amazingly as well! Just be sure to pack up to store before adding any noodles as they tend to turn mushy when thawed. Stored in an airtight container this soup will stay fresh frozen for 4 – 6 months. Just thaw it overnight in it’s container in the fridge before reheating on the stove.
Craving More Delicious Soup? Try These Recipes:
- Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
- Chicken and Dumplings
- Red Lentil and Chicken Soup
- Matzo Ball Soup
- Italian Wedding Soup
- Minestrone Soup
- Chicken Potato Soup
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Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 4 pound whole chicken with skin and bones
- 2 medium carrots peeled
- 1 medium onion skin removed
- 2 stalks celery
- 4 quarts water
- 2 cups egg noodles dry, about 4 oz
- 1 chicken bouillon cube or 1 tbsp vegeta
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon pepper or to taste
- 1/4 cup parsley fresh, chopped
Instructions
- Wash the chicken and remove the bag of gizzards from the inside. Place the chicken in a big soup pot, you’ll need at least a 5 qt pot, and add enough water to cover the chicken. Add the whole onion, whole carrots and celery sticks to the pot. Make sure there’s enough water to cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Once it comes to a boil, you will notice a dirty foam floating around the top of the pot, use a skimmer to skim that out. This will ensure that you get a clear soup. Keep skimming the foam until there’s no more left. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover with a lid and cook for about 1 hour, the carrots should be fork tender and the chicken cooked through, and almost falling off the bone.
- Carefully remove the chicken from the soup pot and let it cool for a few minutes until it’s cool enough so that you can pull the meat from it. Remove the carrots, celery and onion from the soup pot as well.
- If you have too much broth in the pot you can now ladle some out to a jar or airtight container for later use and store it in the fridge.
- Chop up the carrots and celery and add it back to the soup.
- Shred some meat from the chicken, I used the meat from half the chicken, but feel free to use all the meat, especially if you have a lot of broth, then add the shredded chicken back to the soup pot.
- Add the dry noodles to the pot, and the chicken bouillon or vegeta. Taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper as needed.
- Cook for another 5 to 10 minutes until noodles are cooked through. Be careful to not add too many noodles because as the soup sits they will expand and soak up a lot of the broth.
- Garnish with parsley and serve.
Recipe Notes
- What do I do with leftover chicken: Roast it! Use this recipe to make the best roast chicken ever!
- Homemade chicken noodle soup will last 3 – 4 days in the fridge in an airtight container.
- This recipe freezes amazingly as well! Just be sure to pack up to store before adding any noodles as they tend to turn mushy when thawed. Stored in an airtight container this soup will stay fresh frozen for 4 – 6 months. Just thaw it overnight in it’s container in the fridge before reheating on the stove.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Nutrition Information:
Originally posted April, 2011.
Can we use rotisserie chicken?
If you use rotisserie chicken you won’t get the same benefits and flavor from the soup as cooking the whole raw chicken in the broth. You’re developing lots of flavor by cooking the chicken with skin and bones.
adding store-bought bouillon cubes to a scratch soup recipe??? the whole point of making the soup from scratch is that bouillon is not necessary! in my opinion this is no longer a ‘from scratch’ recipe once one of your core flavour sources is coming from some processed cube out of a package
I can see where the confusion comes from! This is a homemade chicken noodle soup recipe- not a homemade chicken stock or broth recipe. Noodle soups often come from a can. Feel free to use homemade stock or broth if you have it on hand.
Wesley, I agree. What I find objectionable about most bouillon cubes and granules is that they are mostly chemicals and additives. Just read the label! Also, one hour isn’t enough cooking time for max flavor to develop. I prefer Ina Garten’s recipe for chicken stock. 100% homemade and delicious, although she throws away the chicken after making the stock. I find that a little too wasteful.
Hello looks great. Do you have a Low Sodium version? I am making lots of low sodium recipes for my Mother who is a heart patient and 85 years old.
I would use 4qt no sodium chicken broth instead of water and not use any bouillon. Of course, cut down on the salt added or none at all. Enjoy!
I made it and I loved it. I added more spices and herbs instead of the Vegeta and also a big handful of fresh spinach at the end. I think I’ll definitely make this again