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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This truly is the best chicken noodle soup I’ve ever had. Followed the recipe almost exactly, except used boneless skinless breast as I could not fine bone in skinless. Amazing! Very flavorful. Could not wait to eat leftovers for lunch the next day.
Delicious and not boring at all! If you’re looking for steamy, rich, and sensually different, this is it. On top of the rich, traditional flavors of grandma’s chicken soup, fresh dill and squeezed lemon add sparkling notes of freshness to the comfort of homemade goodness. I followed the recipe fairly closely, but making a slurry of the juice half a lemon, and the freshly chopped dill, and the parsley. After the noodles were just past al dente, I stirred in the slurry in increments until the tartness spiked. This is an eye opening soup. Seconds will definitely be served.
Family approved. Look no further. Best chicken noodle soup!
Tried it. Based on recommendations here added a few extra carrots and small amount of heavy cream. Excellent flavor and not too heavy and not too light – just right!
This was so yummy! I made this recipe for my family, but I made a few modifications like the other commenters. I seared the chicken with butter while the veggies sauteed. I added more carrots and celery than the recipe called for. I only used half of an onion. I used 3 “Knorr Cube Bouillon Chicken” with 8 cups of water. I didn’t have bone-in chicken, so I used bone-free chicken breasts – I used about a pound. I used 1/2 a tablespoon of parsley, 1/2 teaspoon of oregano thyme. No dill. I also shredded the chicken.
The soup is very good ,I just thought the addition of dill was overpowering and will omit it next time
Second time I’ve made it. Once using chicken the other time I made it Vegan using plant based chicken. This Soup is Awesome! Damn Delicious !!! My Favorite recipe. Simple & soo Flavorful!!
First time ever making chicken noodle soup from scratch. I thought it was a lot more difficult to make! This soup was really good! Filling and tasty—my husband had two servings! I mistakenly bought boneless chicken breasts, but it came out fine. I seared the breasts in a little olive oil and sprinkled them with poultry seasoning before sautéing the veggies. I doubled the celery and carrot amounts, and used more noodles to make it more hearty. I skipped the dill; added prob a teaspoon each of thyme and oregano when I added the noodles. I used reduced sodium Swanson chicken broth as I didn’t have homemade stock. Served the soup with Red Lobster cheddar biscuits. YUM!! It turned out very well. Will definitely make this again!!
Made the chicken noodle soup, it was delicious will not use the dill again. The dill overpowers the dish. Great without it. Thanks for the recipe. Will use again wi8 the dill.
I confess that I doubted you at the sound of lemon juice, but went through with it because you haven’t steered me wrong.
ZOMG!!!!
My family loved it and now I wish I made it with more stock.
The soup is very good ,I just thought the addition of dill was overpowering and will omit it next time.
Great recipe, followed to a T and is a keeper. Thanks
I made this with just a few minor tweaks and it turned out fantastic. I subbed half of the butter for bacon grease. I doubled the amount of carrots just because I like them. For the chicken, I used leftover Dijon roasted boneless skinless thighs. I skipped the dill because of dietary issues with it. I added and extra half cup of noodles because I hoped my toddler would eat the noodles. I finished off-heat with just a sploosh of heavy cream to give it a bump of richness. Served alongside biscuits and it was just amazing. Thanks!
My boyfriend has Meniere’s Disease, and he’s got a cold. Store-bought chicken noodle soup has too much sodium, which can trigger his symptoms. I chose this recipe because of all the fresh herbs and the bone-in chicken. It turned out great! I used unsalted stock so I could control the sodium levels. Please take the advice of other commenters and add as much ginger as garlic (1 1/2 tsp) because it adds wonderful warm heat. I don’t associate dill with chicken soup so used more thyme than dill, and also added two crushed sage leaves to impart more flavor. Served with warm crusty sourdough bread, this was wonderful. Thank you for a great recipe!
VERY TASTY!! NICE & HEARTY!!!
LOVE this soup. I used chicken thighs, other than that my family loved this! With the egg noodles & sour dough bread it’s definitely a winner!
I’ve made this recipe several times and my family adores it. I often make two chickens and use the breast meat for one meal, then make stock out of the rest. This is a great way to use that stock and an alternative when I don’t have any. The whole thing is perfect. My kids froze some dill they grew over the summer so I can get that fresh dill any time. The lemon cuts through the “thickness” of a homemade stock.
This simmering on the stove and it smells wonderful. Luckily we made a stock last night from chicken carcass so it will be extra tasty in this soup. Question though…if not serving immediately, do I still add the dill, parsley and lemon?
Giving it 4 starts since I haven’t tried it yet. 🙂
I made this yesterday to get rid of a few extra vegetables in the fridge. I used what I had at the house, so some of the ingredients got modified… I must say, even cold, this soup was truly amazing!
Our local Walmart clearances unsold rotisserie chickens, so I use these as a way to always have chicken on hand and make extra chicken stock. I substituted the frozen diced rotisserie meat, and used the four cups of frozen stock I had. I had two cups of chicken broth left from another recipe, so I added that with two cups water and threw in two chicken buillion cubes. I also swapped out fresh herbs for their dried counterparts.
This was so easy, and tasted like I was in the kitchen all day. My children raved. This one’s a keeper for sure! Thank you—yum!
Stumbled upon this website the other day while googling chicken soup recipes. This was the best homemade chicken noodle soup I’ve ever had, and it was so simple and easy to make! I did omit the lemon juice and dill only because the hubby doesn’t like pickles and I knew he’d detect it. However, I seasoned the chicken with lemon-pepper seasoning after cooking/chopping, and before dumping back into the pot. Also, I added extra noodles for a little thicker/heartier soup, and topped with fresh grated parmesan and focaccia croutons after serving. My husband and son both loved it too, and we all agreed that it was indeed pretty damn delicious!
P.S. I am back again today, excited to try out the quinoa enchilada casserole for “Taco Tuesday”. I have no doubt it’ll be amazing too. I’m so happy I found this website as I embark on a quest of new recipes for a new year. Thank you!