This is the BEST easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup recipe. It's delicious and made from scratch, just like Grandma used to make!
Prep time: PT15M
Cook time: PT90M
Total time: PT105M
Rating
4.8 stars (317 reviews)
Keywords
chicken noodle soup
Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion ($0.99)
3 garlic cloves ($0.12)
4 carrots ($0.65)
2 ribs celery ($0.70)
1 Tbsp fresh parsley ($0.08)
2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.38)
1 tsp dried basil ($0.25)
½ tsp dried thyme ($0.24)
1 bay leaf ($0.12)
¼ tsp black pepper (freshly cracked, $0.02)
1-3 tsp salt (divided, $0.02)
2 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless $6.21*)
8 cups chicken broth ($0.72**)
6 oz. egg noodles (uncooked, $0.61)
Categories
Dinner
Lunch
Main Course
Soup
Cuisine
American
Steps
Gather your ingredients.
Dice onion, mince garlic, peel and dice carrots, dice celery, and mince the fresh parsley. Set the parsley aside.
Add olive oil, onion, carrots, and celery to a large soup pot and cook on medium heat until vegetables have softened, about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the minced garlic, dried basil, dried thyme, bay leaf, black pepper, and 1 tsp salt to the pot. Stir and cook an additional 5 minutes.
Add chicken breasts to pot and cover with the chicken broth.
Cover the pot with a lid, bring it to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for one hour. Make sure the pot continues to simmer for the whole hour. If the heat is turned down too low and it is not bubbling away, the chicken will not shred easily.
After an hour of simmering, remove the chicken from the pot. Using two forks, pull the meat and shred it. Taste the broth and season with additional salt, if needed. Begin with one teaspoon and add more to your liking. I didn't need to add much salt because there’s already plenty in the bouillon I used to make the broth.
Add the egg noodles to the pot, turn the heat up to high, and boil the noodles until tender (about 7 minutes). Return the shredded chicken to the pot. Taste and season again with salt if needed (I didn’t need to).
Finish with fresh parsley and serve hot!
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 Serving
Calories: 213 kcal
Carbohydrates: 21 g
Protein: 17 g
Fat: 7 g
Sodium: 1263 mg
Reviews
Ryan on 2026-04-14 (5 stars): The original version of this recipe was special because it taught me how to make chicken soup from scratch without using a drop of store bought broth. It is such a bummer that this recipe was updated to a shortcut version using bullion. I highly recommend skipping broth/bullion and making this from scratch. Here is how I tweak the above recipe:
1. Finding bone-in chicken breasts was near impossible for me. I suspect that is one of the reasons this recipe had to be changed. Solution? Use a whole darn chicken! It's the secret to a scratch broth. Find the smallest whole chicken at the store, ideally under 4lbs, but if bigger just leave a leg out or something. Remove as much skin as you can pull off. Use kitchen sheers to cut out the spine so you can press down and flatten the breasts, then cut off the legs. You can break it down into even smaller pieces, but usually this is enough to get the parts into a pot. This may sound harder than it is. Highly encourage you to try it!
2. The original recipe called for 1/2 bunch of celery (vs 2 ribs) and a full tablespoon of dried parsley. I do both of these things. I also add fresh parsley as a garnish if i have it.
3. Use 8 cups water (not broth or bullion). I'll use a bigger pot and add closer to 10 if my chicken is larger than 4 lbs. It turns out great.
4. Let the soup slowly simmer for an hour (just a little bubble action, not a boil). Then add at least 2 tsps of kosher salt. It makes the broth taste amazing, and certainly way better than something out of a can.
Otherwise, the above recipe steps will work. But seriously, look this recipe up on the internet archive to see the old version. It really was a game changer for me.
Sarina on 2026-04-10 (5 stars): I’ve made this recipe a few times now with a few different variations. First time I left out the noodles because I didn’t have any and it was delicious, I also used boxed broth that time. The second time I used boxed broth again and followed the recipe exactly and I found that the egg noodles I used sucked up too much of the broth. I’m making it again right now and I used chicken bouillon this time and I doubled the broth content, spices and veggies and I’m going to cook the noodles until they are al dente in a separate pot. I have never used the full amount required for the salt though I usually use just 1 tsp and this time I did 1.5 tsp. I like a lot of broth so I think this will be the recipe I stick to but it’s really probably the best chicken noodle soup I’ve ever made.
Sally Puklicz on 2026-03-28 (5 stars): I made the soup and it is delish. I cut the carrots larger, that was the only adjustment I made. Will def make again
Becky Bailey on 2026-03-26 (4 stars): Okay followed the recipe exactly but the egg noodles expanded or something and now there's like no broth what did I do wrong!? But it's SO good!
Erica on 2026-03-26 (5 stars): Made this recipe as written and used bone in chicken breasts. Simmered for the full hour and was nervous about the texture of the chicken - it was perfect. Turned out perfectly and my house smelled amazing. Glad to find a delicious and simple recipe that was all made in one pot!
Martha on 2026-03-23 (5 stars): This chicken noodle soup is fabulous! I do add more garlic and noodles, but the flavor is great and it's easy to make. Perfect for cool nights, when you're not feeling well, or simply want a good chicken noodle soup!
Alexi on 2026-03-12 (5 stars): I love this new recipe, when I first tried the old recipe I was not a fan of the water. The next time I made it I decided to substitute the water for chicken broth, so glad I did! Thoughts on using Rotisserie chicken? How would one do this in a crock pot?
T.J. on 2026-03-10 (4 stars): Just found this recipe well scrolling for a healthy chicken soup as all 4 of my kids are sick with the flu and it came out incredible and the kids were able to keep it down after a day of upset stomachs not being able to keep anything down.
This really rejuvenate them and was able to even help bring there body temperature down after a few hours.
Thanks again 😃 😊
Rose on 2026-03-02 (5 stars): Great recipe! Came up high when I Googled a recipe. For the most part followed it as-written but here is what I did differently:
Used bone-in (skin-on) chicken thighs. Baked them for 30 minutes at 410 F while I did the first steps of the recipe (cooking onion/celery/carrot in olive oil, then adding seasonings during additional cooking).
Took skin off the chicken thighs; added them to the veggie/seasoning mixture.
For the broth, I used one 32 oz jar of Zoup! brand chicken bone broth, plus another 32 oz of broth made from reconstituting Zoup! brand 'chicken base with bone broth' boullion. I also added approx. 1 Tbsp dijon mustard to the broth mixture.
As it was all simmering, I added 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper powder.
As I was shredding the meat off the chicken thigh bones, I added 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes to the broth while the noodles cooked.
Will for sure be making this again - thank you for the recipe!
Thomas on 2026-02-24 (5 stars): Very yummy, added some fresh corn, super delicious especially on a cold day.
Yujailec on 2026-02-23 (3 stars): Hi there! Could I please have the old recipe? Thanks!
Jason on 2026-02-14 (5 stars): This is by far the best chicken soup I've had. I used chicken thighs after taking the skin off and cutting cleaning up / cutting the fat. Just thought it would be even better with dark meat. Also, I added a little bit of rosemary to it when cooking too. My wife said it was the best chicken soup she ever had and I agree. I only wish I made more the first time around.
