Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup
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Classic chicken noodle soup that will leave you feeling so good, so warm, so cozy. Perfect for sick days and cold nights!!!
Featured Comment
The only change I made was using orzo b/c I was out of noodles, but I liked it even better than traditional noodles personally. (I’m a chicken and rice fan but use noodles for the rest of the family).
It’s the dead of winter. 33 degrees F all week. Snow and ice piles everywhere. And it’s only January, meaning we basically have about 3-4 months of winter left.
And now that I am officially a Midwest resident, that basically translates to having this chicken noodle soup on the regular all. winter. long. It’s so warm, so cozy, and so soothing during these chilly nights.
Now this recipe uses bone-in, skinless chicken breasts which means it will take a little longer than usual for the chicken to cook through but it will yield the most flavorful stock and the most tender chicken bites (so it’s absolutely worth the extra time), doctored up with fresh dill and freshly squeezed lemon juice for a little bit of jazz. SO SO GOOD.
tips and tricks for success
- Use good-quality stock. The better quality your stock, the better your soup. Many brands love to pack in the salt so always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety. Homemade stock is even better.
- Use bone-in chicken. While boneless, skinless chicken can certainly be used, bone-in chicken will add a ton more flavor and richness to the soup while keeping the meat tender.
- Use egg noodles. Egg noodles are typically a top choice as they are flat and wide, becoming very tender and fluffy, easily absorbing the broth and soaking in all the flavors.
- Fresh herbs are best. Although you can certainly substitute dried herbs, fresh herbs are ideal here, delivering the best kind of flavor.
- Add freshly squeezed lemon juice. Lemon juice will elevate your chicken noodle soup, adding a fresh, bright flavor and balancing out all the saltiness and richness of the soup.
what to serve with chicken noodle soup
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent/concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. The correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon dried herbs.
You can use either chicken broth or chicken stock but always season, to taste, as store-bought broth is often saltier than store-bought stock. Broth is made from meat and vegetables while stock is often lower sodium and thicker than broth, and is made from bones and vegetables.
Egg noodles are a common choice for chicken noodle soup but elbow macaroni, orzo, ditalini or fettuccine (broken in bite-sized pieces) can be used as well.
The egg noodles are cooked directly in the soup, absorbing all the flavorful broth. But if you are planning for leftovers or freezing, the noodles should be cooked and stored separately.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers without the noodles (or else they will get mushy) in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop, adding freshly cooked noodles when serving.
Homestyle Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- Kosher salt freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 ½ pounds bone-in, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 ½ cups wide egg noodles
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, or more, to taste
Equipment
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in chicken stock and bay leaves; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Add chicken and bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, about 30-40 minutes. Remove chicken and let cool before dicing into bite-size pieces, discarding bones.
- Stir in chicken and pasta and cook until tender, about 6-7 minutes.
- Remove from heat; stir in parsley, dill and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
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Do not skip using bone in chicken breast and swap for rotisserie chicken, this is what sets this recipe apart IMO and I don’t think I can go back to pre cooked chicken after this. My only recommendation is to use a half bag of egg noodles (6oz dry) because they will absorb all that precious broth and you’ll end up with a stew instead of a soup!
Quick tip for lazy people like me: I used already cooked/canned chicken (2 12.5 cans), bouillon cubes to make the broth, dried parsley/dill (used 1/3 of what it called for fresh) and dried bay leaves. I cooked the veggies (using a tsp of celery salt since I didn’t have celery) then basically dumped in everything else except noodles, simmered for like 15 minutes, added noodles and simmered for another 10 and called it good. Very tasty and super easy (if you cheat like I did).
I was looking for the dried substitutes. Thanks for sharing!!!!
So this soup is so good! I only had dried parsley (2tsp) and dill weed (1 1/2tsp). And I was so excited to eat it that I forgot to add the lemon juice. I also added about 4oz of diced fresh spinach when I added the garlic. But I’m sure this would’ve been just as delicious if I would’ve followed it to a T. I will be making this again FOR SURE! Maybe tomorrow! Ha!
This is wonderful. Will make again
Does this freeze well?
Thanks
This was delicious. Loved the dill and lemon!
Thanks for the recipe! I followed the instructions except I added fresh thyme and added some dry basil & oregano. I also didn’t add the dill or lemon. But the soup tasted really good – hubby love it!! Thanks again for the simple instructions- it turned amazing!! ☺️
I’ve made this recipe several times and it always turned out delicious .
So yummy!!!! The whole family loved it (teens & toddlers included)!!!
This soup was delicious and easy to make for my sick husband! I subbed fresh rosemary for the dill since I had it on hand and added a little fresh ginger. Definitely a keeper. Thanks!!
Excellent. Used rotisserie chicken and threw it in when I cooked the noodles. Also added spinach. Will definitely make this again. The fresh lemon is so tasty.
i love you page. I just stumbled here and i loveeee it
I made this tonight and it was very good! I loved the additional dill flavour. Added some spinach to extra healthy kick.
Delicious! I skipped the dill as I just don’t care for it. Used everything else as called for. Will definitely make more of this and freeze to have on hand for those cold winter days!
I was looking for a good chicken soup recipe, decided to roll with this one give the good reviews and it’s was absolutely delicious!! I used Orzo noodles as my choice. This is definitely a keeper.
thanks for your help
Hello! I’m about to make this but I would like to use a Rotisserie chicken instead. What modifications would I do for that? Thank you!
That was some good chicken noodle soup. I like this recipe, I could’ve gone without the dill though, it was slightly overpowering. But I still liked it a lot
So delicious!! Definitely will make again.
Hubby has had a head cold the last few days. Stumbled upon this recipe. Made with ingredients as called for and this was delicious !
Delicious! I added one additional carrot, celery, and garlic clove. I also used rotisserie chicken.