This recipe for Easy Chicken Noodle Soup produces a delicious, satisfying chicken soup in just 40 minutes. Super simple and ultra comforting, this soup will become a favourite way to warm up on a cold day!
Cozying up to a warm bowl of chicken noodle soup is a much needed comfort on a cold day. This classic soup is popular for a reason- it’s satisfying, hearty and nourishing.
This recipe for Easy Chicken Noodle Soup is my absolute favourite. It’s incredibly easy to make, healthy, and ready in 40 minutes too. I often make it using leftover rotisserie chicken to simplify things too, though you can certainly cook your own chicken.
This soup recipe is the base for my Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup except, of course, the creamy version includes milk in place of some of the broth.
Ingredients in Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Olive oil: used to sautee the vegetables.
- Veggies: Carrot, celery, and onion.
- Herbs: thyme and parsley. I often use fresh herbs if I have them on hand but you can substitute dry herbs instead. As a general rule, use about 1/3 of the amount of dried herbs when replacing fresh ones.
- Seasoning: Paprika, salt and pepper.
- Flour: I add flour to the sauteed veggies before adding the liquid. The reason for this is because it helps thicken the broth a bit, which I prefer to a runnier soup. This is entirely optional and you can leave it out if you want.
- Chicken broth: Use a good quality, flavourful chicken broth.
- Water
- Egg noodles: I personally only make my chicken noodle soup with egg noodles as they are by far the tastiest. Their size and shape makes them easy to scoop up in your spoon too. If you like, however, you can replace them with a small pasta shape.
- Chicken: cooked and then chopped or shredded. I use rotisserie chicken for an easy shortcut.
How to Make this Recipe for Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Add the celery, carrots and onions and sauté until tender and the onions are translucent (about 5 minutes).
- Add the paprika, thyme and flour and stir to coat the veggies. Pour in the broth and water and increase the heat to high to bring to a boil.
- Add the noodles and reduce heat back to medium. Let them boil for about 15 minutes. Add in the cooked chicken and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Taste the broth and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving.
Tips for Making the Best and Easiest Chicken Noodle Soup
- Use rotisserie chicken instead of cooking your own chicken. Not only does this simplify things and make this soup super simple to whip up, but rotisserie chicken is downright delicious too. Why not take a shortcut that works so well?
- Use a good quality broth: A tasty, flavourful broth, whether homemade or store-bought, goes a long way to create the tastiest soup. If you do not have a good chicken broth on hand, you can substitute chicken base or bouillon cubes in a pinch.
- Use fresh herbs if you have them, but don’t worry if you don’t. With a name like Herbs & Flour, you know I love my herbs. Fresh is always best but don’t worry if you don’t have them on hand. Dried herbs can easily be substituted. Use about 1/3 of the amount of dried herbs as you would fresh since their flavour is more concentrated.
- Substitute your favourite herbs: I love the flavour of thyme in my chicken soup and use it in this recipe along with parsley. If you are not a fan of either of these herbs, you can certainly play around with the herbs to suit your own tastes. Bay leaves can also add great flavour to this soup.
Storing and Reheating
Once cooled, leftover soup can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days.
To reheat it, simply warm it up in a saucepan over medium heat until heated through. You will likely need to add more liquid as the noodles will absorb some of it.
Can you Freeze Chicken Noodle Soup
Yes! Chicken noodle soup can be frozen and enjoyed in the future. Keep in mind, however, that the texture of the noodles will be compromised after they are frozen and thawed.
If you are intending to freeze this soup and know this before cooking it, you can easily avoid this issue by cooking the soup without the noodles. Once cooked, cool it completely and then portion it out into freezer safe containers. When you intend to reheat it, simply boil the noodles separately and add them into the soup. It’ll taste like a freshly made soup only you’ve simplified the work by doing the “hard” part in advance.
I hope you enjoy this soup recipe as much as I do!
If you are a fan of chicken soups, be sure to check out my recipes for Greek Lemon Chicken Soup (Avgolemono Soup) (made with rice), Chicken Gnocchi Soup, and the creamy version of this soup- Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup.
-Cathy
Need more soup recipes to warm you up? You may also like:
Creamy Potato Leek Soup
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Greek Chickpea Soup (Revithosoupa)
Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large carrot peeled and finely chopped
- 1 rib celery finely chopped
- 1/2 onion finely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme removed from stalk
- 1/4 cup flour optional. I add it to thicken the broth a bit, which I personally prefer.
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 4 cups water
- 2 1/2 cups egg noodles
- 1 lb chicken cooked and then chopped or shredded (use rotisserie chicken for an easy shortcut)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Add the celery, carrots and onions and sauté until tender and the onions are translucent (about 5 minutes).
- Add the paprika, thyme and flour and stir to coat the veggies. Pour in the broth and water and increase the heat to high to bring to a boil.
- Add the noodles and reduce heat back to medium. Let them boil for about 15 minutes. Add in the cooked chicken and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often.
- Taste the broth and season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving.
Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.
My egg noodles are always fine and I freeze many containers when I make a batch of soup
Yes, I have frozen them too. They do get softer and break apart more easily (though that also happens with leftovers stored in the fridge as well) but the soup is still delicious regardless.