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 soup turned out so delicious! I did double the amount of carrots and celery to give it a lot more veggies. Love it!
A great recipe
This is on the stove now. Tastes good but needed a little something more to me. Only change I made was to add a little better than bouillon chicken in. Delicious! Going on the rotation list.
This was absolutely spectacular. The Wife and I loved it so much, we share it with the our families.
This has become a staple in my house!! We add some gf matzah balls and it’s crazy delicious!! Thank you!!
Made it today. It is very good!
Delicious soup on Christmas Eve! The only addition I made was equal parts minced ginger to the garlic. Love that flavor note. I did dice boneless chicken prior and let brown a bit after mirepoix was tender, just to speed up cooking (time crunch). And lastly, I did cook the egg noodles beforehand so they didn’t get soggy. Followed everything else to the letter and it’s amazing. I LOVE your recipes!!
Love this soup!!! So easy to prepare and so delicious ! Very big hit with all family members . Have made several times already and will be making many more! I add more garlic and some cayenne pepper but we like things spicy!
Very fast and easy. If you’re in a hurry you can use a rotisserie chicken, which is almost as good. It’s never been easier to make homemade broth if you have an Instant Pot. Much better than the boxed stuff.
This recipe has become a household favorite! Especially during the cold months, I make this recipe multiple times a month. It’s so tasty and the perfect thing to warm you up!
Very tasty! Will definitely make again and again. The flavors were wonderful.
Made this recipe on a Thursday morning of our first snow fall, my daughter couldn’t feed it to my granddaughter fast enough, its delicious and easy to make I had everything on hand except for the fresh dill, used the dried, will continue to make thru out the winter months
This recipe is solid! I made a couple of additions by adding about 1/4 cup of soy sauce for some extra umami and 2 Tb of dried oregano. I can see this recipe being great with some grated ginger too. This recipe is a great classic and these additions really gave it the extra cold weather oomf that can help warm and clear your sinuses!
Only one suggestion- sear the chicken in the pot for a couple minutes on each side to brown first, remove then continue with the recipe.
Absolutely better than my mom’s chicken soup!! Every ingredient compliments each other and the lemon juice and dill sets the flavor apart. It gives you that warm, home cooked feeling as if you were in the kitchen all day. Whenever I make this soup, I never have leftovers.
Tried this tonight and it was a BIG hit! Super easy and minimal prep. Perfect for a chilly night’s dinner! Thank you !!
Amazing and easy to make.
Delicious recipe. I added some thyme and sage since it was tiny bit bland and it turned out delicious.
Hi Andrew,
I’m making this soup tomorrow and was wondering, did you cut up the sage or use whole leaves? Thank you.
Made this tonight, with substitutions for my picky eaters. Replaced onion with green onion that I left whole and took out before serving. Also used a bag of frozen peas and carrots because celery is a no go. Other than that followed everything else the same.
This will definitely become part of our regular meal rotation. A real HIT !
Easy and delicious. (I chose to shred the chicken.) Saved this recipe to use again.