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.
Video
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Really simple, delicious recipe! My grocery store didn’t have bone-in breasts so I used boneless skinless but it was still great. We had a chilly and rainy day today and the soup made a perfect, filling meal.
Awesome recipe. I added half a can of grilled tomatoes a tablespoon of black pepper and a quick splash of lemon juice and it turned out amazing and kinda peppery-the way I like it. Full of flavor and if you want to fish for the contents of your soup when serving it in a bowl double the recipe on everything but the celery, onion and carrots.
Delicious!!!!! Absolutely delicious.
BEST CHICKEN SOUP THAT I HAVE EVER MADE…DELICIOUS !!!!!!
Definitely an interesting recipe with the dill and lemon addition. I found it to be kind of bland. I wish I had added more herbs like thyme. It really needed more depth in flavor. Overall, not a bad recipe though.
Is it 8 or 3 cups chicken stock? Recipe says 8, video says 3.
this is so good! i just made it and made my own adjustments. thank you for never failing me
Lemon juice makes such a wonderful difference!
I use the “Amish made” or home style noodles that I buy at the grocery store. This makes truly just like grandma made!
Of course it took me most of the morning to make. I am slow in a w/c.
Used up all my celery and carrots wilting in the crisper drawer.
My broth had mustard seeds too.
Boiled the bones of a rotisserie bird. But made the soup with the meat of thighs baked in oven. Left the soup concentrated so I will add water and my Amish egg noodles when I thaw and heat up. As I saw others did not add the noodles till later. Do not have lemons, but I have red wine vinegar. It is the same price as salid dressing but taste better!
Nice ideas. This seems like the perfect basic Chicken Soup Recipe to use as is or build on. I’m prejudiced against chicken breasts and envisioned using either bone-in thighs or a rotisserie…Anybody try that?
I started with this recipe, but added chopped yellow onion and diced zucchini. I do my chicken different because when I make stock, I throw in all of my veggie scraps I save from previous recipes, add rosemary, sage and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, then strain them out and add them to my compost. So, it takes a little longer but, oh! So yummy!
Thanks. I like the rosemary (gracias, Simon and Garfunkel) and zucchini is great in soup. Do you save it and just add it to each serving as you heat it (presuming you’re freezing leftovers)?
My review is late as I cooked this #damndelicious soup around Christmas for a dear friend who had just lost her wife. COVID prevented me from being as physically present as I would have liked, so I wanted to prepare something delicious that would last a while so she wouldn’t have to cook, something comforting that freezes and reheats well and something that would, hopefully, bring a smile. The recipe did not disappoint. De-li-cious! I’m making a pot for myself today.
Do not skip the parsley, dill, and lemon juice. They really brighten the whole pot and take it “next level”.
This recipe is really good! I just added extra celery and carrots, and used boneless chicken breast and it still came out really good!
This is a really good recipe! I used much more carrots and celery, as well as chicken breast and it came out perfect!
Amazing! I used chicken thighs and olive oil instead of butter and orrzo pasta. I mean this has to be my favorite soup though! Thank you!
yummy in my tummy
This recipe was awesome. I did tweak it a bit. I browned the chicken in the butter with the garlic. But other than this I followed it. Came out amazing.
The best chicken soup ever!!!!
This was phenomenal. It’s difficult to describe how the flavors meld, but I’ve made a zillion chicken noodle soups, and this is the only recipe I will ever use again. Incredible. Made it exactly as directed. Thank you!
This is truly the best chicken soup recipe ever! Only changes we made included using Rotisserie chicken and orzo since that is what we had in the pantry. It turned out amazing. It was rich and velvety. The fresh herbs and squeeze of lemon really brought the whole thing together.
The chicken noodle soup turned out great, this is an excellent recipe and the chicken! It’s a thick, rich, and tasty soup. I will definitely make it again, I might add an extra cup of broth.
Thank you, awesome recipe!!!
I have made this three times now. It is the simplest recipe and the flavor is outstanding. I used a store bought rotisserie chicken each time and included the fat. Don’t skimp on the dill and lemon. Adds flavor and brightness. Thank you!