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Quick Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
This easy, Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup made with lean chicken and whole wheat egg noodles is flavorful, healthy, and oh-so comforting! Your home will smell amazing after making a pot of this, too.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil, or olive oil
- 1 onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 1 – 1 1/2 cups diced carrots
- 1 – 1 1/2 cups diced celery
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 2–3 garlic cloves, minced (or 1– 1 1/2 teaspoons pre-minced garlic)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, crushed in hand
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 2 quarts (48 ounces) chicken broth*
- 2 cups water
- About 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (sub: chicken breasts**)
- 5–6 ounces (3-4 cups) whole wheat egg noodles*** (Or make Homemade Whole Wheat Egg Noodles.)
*If using low sodium broth, add in extra 1/2 teaspoon salt.
**I’ve used chicken breasts many times but they do turn out a bit tougher than the thighs.
***The noodles will expand a lot.
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Instructions
Make It Now:
- Saute Aromatics: In a large stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat until shimmery. Add the carrots, celery, and onion and cook just until they begin to soften, 3 minutes, seasoning lightly with salt and pepper while they cook. Stir in the garlic, poultry seasoning, and Italian seasoning for 1 more minute.
- Add More Ingredients: Stir in the broth, water, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and the chicken.
- Cook Chicken: Cover and crack the lid. Bring soup to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook for about 12 to 15 minutes, or just until the chicken is done (no longer pink inside or registers 165°F internally), stirring occasionally. Using tongs, remove the chicken to a wooden cutting board.
- Cook Noodles: Bring the soup to a boil again and stir in the egg noodles. Cook the noodles until al dente according to package directions (probably about 6-7 minutes).
- Shred Chicken & Finish Soup: Meanwhile, shred the chicken with two forks or dice it and stir back into the soup. Add more water or broth to thin out the soup, if desired. Taste and season with more salt and pepper, as needed.
Freeze For Later: Cook the soup, but undercook the noodles by a few minutes (very al dente). Let soup cool completely. Freeze in a freezer safe, air-tight container or bag.
Prepare From Frozen: Thaw in the refrigerator or using the defrost setting of the microwave. Rewarm over low heat on the stove or in the microwave.
Notes/Tips
- How to Thicken the Soup: This is a brothy soup. If you want to thicken it, sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons flour (and maybe 1-2 tablespoons butter just to make sure you have enough fat) over the cooked onion/veggie mixture when you add in the garlic in Step 1. Cook for a minute or so and then deglaze the bottom of the pot with the broth, scrapping the bottom and stirring until it’s smooth. A gluten-free option is to add in a cornstarch slurry at the end of the cook time in Step 4. Combine equal parts corn starch and water in a bowl and mix until smooth (I’d probably start with 2 tablespoons each and see how that does). While the soup is simmering, stir in the mixture and let it simmer for about 3 minutes. If it’s not thick enough for you, add in more of the slurry.
- To make this soup richer, you can add some whipping cream at the end of the cook time and warm it through.
- Gluten-Free Version: Replace the pasta with gluten-free pasta (I love Banza brand). Or stir in 2 cups pre-cooked rice or quinoa instead of using pasta.
- Instant Pot Instructions: Use our Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup recipe.
- Where We Get Our Chicken: We get our meat from ButcherBox. The chicken is organic and curated from small, trusted farms. We highly recommend this service to source healthy meat–like uncured bacon, wild salmon, and grass-fed beef–and have used it for years ourselves. Read my honest ButcherBox review here.