Easy 30-Minute Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup — Classic, comforting, and tastes just like grandma made but way easier and faster!! This soup is AMAZING and it’ll be your new favorite recipe!!
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The Easiest Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Chicken noodle soup is one of the fondest memories I have of my grandmother’s cooking. Classic, comforting, a cure-all for whatever ailed me, and I could taste my grandma’s love in it.
However, my grandma’s version took hours and hours. I don’t have time to watch a boiling pot for half the day and this version is easy, ready in 30-minutes, and has all the comforting qualities you want in classic chicken noodle soup.
My family loved the homey, classic flavors in the soup, raved about it, and asked when I’m making it again. It makes enough to stash half in the freezer for a rainy day or for winter cold and flu season. Chicken noodle soup is a miracle worker.
Chicken Noodle Soup Ingredients
To make this easy chicken noodle soup recipe, you’ll need the following basic ingredients:
- Olive oil
- Carrots
- Celery
- Sweet Vidalia onion
- Garlic
- Chicken broth
- Bay leaves
- Fresh thyme
- Dried oregano
- Wide egg noodles
- Shredded cooked chicken
- Fresh parsley
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup
Making homemade chicken noodle soup with egg noodles doesn’t get easier than this! Here’s an overview of how this simple recipe comes together:
- To a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add the oil and heat over medium-high heat to warm.
- Add the carrots, celery, onion, and sauté until the vegetables begin to soften.
- Add the garlic and sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, pepper, and bring to a boil. Allow mixture to boil gently for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are fork-tender.
- Add the egg noodles and boil the mixture until the noodles are cooked through.
- Add the chicken, parsley, optional lemon juice and boil until chicken is warmed through.
- Remove the bay leaves and serve immediately!
Recipe FAQs
Egg noodles in chicken noodle soup is the only way to go for me because that’s how my grandma made it, but if you like rotini or another type of pasta, use it instead.
I always use pre-cooked, shredded chicken in my homemade chicken noodle soup. You have a few options when it comes to pre-cooked chicken:
1. You can buy a rotisserie chicken at the store, shred it up, then throw it in the soup (some stores even sell pre-shredded rotisserie chicken which is a huge time saver!).
2. You can meal prep your own stovetop or baked chicken breasts. Either shred or cube the chicken whenever you’re ready to make the soup.
3. Make a batch of poached chicken a day or two in advance to use in the soup.
I prefer using a blend of fresh and dried herbs in my soup for a more nuanced flavor. For this recipe, I used bay leaves, fresh thyme, and dried oregano. However, you can easily adapt the recipe using whatever herbs you have on hand!
The squeeze of lemon juice does NOT make the soup taste even remotely lemony. Instead, it brightens up the rich flavors of the soup and makes the recipe “pop” overall. If you don’t have a fresh lemon on hand, use apple cider vinegar to achieve the same result.
We love serving this easy homemade soup with bread rolls (try Parker House Rolls or No-Knead Dinner Rolls), Skillet Cornbread, or a Classic House Salad.
Tips for the Best Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken: To save time, make this chicken noodle soup with rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken that you have on hand. Of course you can roast or pan sauté chicken if you’re so inclined.
Herbs: There are quite a few herbs used including thyme, oregano, bay leaves, and parsley. If you don’t have them all on hand, don’t want to buy a bunch of thyme for just 1 teaspoon, or aren’t fond of a particular herb, you can probably omit it. Your soup won’t taste exactly like mine, but it’ll be close.
Salt: Make sure to salt your soup to taste. I use low-sodium chicken broth and add a bit of salt to my soup so I can control the overall salt level. The saltiness of low-sodium broth varies among brands, and if you used a rotisserie chicken, salt levels vary. And everyone’s personal preference for salt varies so salt to taste.
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Easy 30-Minute Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup carrots, peeled and sliced thin (about 1 1/2 large carrots)
- 1 cup celery, sliced thin (about 2 stalks)
- 1 cup sweet Vidalia or yellow onion, peeled and diced small (about 1 medium onion)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 64 ounces 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth, plus more if desired
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon pepper, or to taste
- 12 ounces wide egg noodles, or your favorite noodles or pasta
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken, use storebought rotisserie chicken to save time; or roast or cook your own chicken in a skillet
- 3 to 4 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, optional
- salt, to taste
- To a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add the oil and heat over medium-high heat to warm.
- Add the carrots, celery, onion, and sauté for about 7 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften. Stir intermittently.
Add the garlic and sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes. - Add the chicken broth, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, pepper, and bring to a boil. Allow mixture to boil gently for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are fork-tender. Note – If you like brothier soup, add additional broth, possibly as much as an additional 64 ounces because as time passes the noodles will continue to absorb broth.
- Add the egg noodles and boil mixture for about 10 minutes, or until noodles are soft and cooked through. At any time while making the soup, if the overall liquid level is lower than you like and you prefer more broth, adding a cup or two of water is okay. At the end you will adjust the salt level.
- Add the chicken, parsley, optional lemon juice (brightens up the flavor), and boil 1 to 2 minutes, or until chicken is warmed through. Taste soup and add salt to taste. I added about 1 tablespoon but this will vary based on how salty the brand of chicken broth used is, how salty the rotisserie chicken is, and personal preference. Make any necessary seasoning adjustments (i.e. more salt, pepper, herbs, etc.), remove the bay leaves, and serve immediately.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This is our FAVORITE chicken noodle soup recipe! It’s so easy and makes flavorful soup!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I love that this is your favorite chicken noodle soup and that it’s so easy and flavorful for you!
This soup is full of flavor. I followed the recipe and added a handful of frozen peas for color. Start to finish was 30 mins. Hubby had 3 bowls! I’ll be making more of your recipes.
Thanks a ton! 🍲
This soup is full of flavor. I followed the recipe and added a handful of frozen peas for color. Start to finish was 30 mins. Hubby had 3 bowls! I’ll be making more of your recipes.
Thanks a ton! 🍲
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was a winner! 3 bowls for hubby, and 30 mins for you to make it, love it!
Delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
Delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad it was delish!
This is delicious! I have used this recipe several times and it’s great. Thank you!
This is delicious! I have used this recipe several times and it’s great. Thank you!
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad you’ve made it several times and that it’s great!
After finding this great soup recipe, it’s my GO-TO one. Everyone loves it. I use egg noodles or small sized pasta and less than called for.
Will need to try more from your website!
After finding this great soup recipe, it’s my GO-TO one. Everyone loves it. I use egg noodles or small sized pasta and less than called for.
Will need to try more from your website!
hanks for the 5 star review and I am glad that this is your go to and everyone loves it!
My husband and I make this all this time and we love it so much. Usually I end up tweaking the recipes I find but this one is perfect as is! I especially love the notes the lemon adds
I used your poached chicken recipe and this soup is luscious. The broth was delicious. I added a little more to it and it is so good. I’ll make biscuits (Bisquick) to go with the soup. Can’t wait for dinner! Thanks, Averie.
I used your poached chicken recipe and this soup is luscious. The broth was delicious. I added a little more to it and it is so good. I’ll make biscuits (Bisquick) to go with the soup. Can’t wait for dinner! Thanks, Averie.
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad the Poached Chicken recipe worked great for the soup and with the biscuits, your meal sounds fabulous!
Quick, easy and delicious.
So easy to made and very flavorful! Made it when my husband was sick. Didn’t use as many noodles and it turned out great!
This recipe is so delicious even my 3 year old grandson loved it (& he’s fussy). And my husband and I also loved it!! thank you
This recipe is so delicious even my 3 year old grandson loved it (& he’s fussy). And my husband and I also loved it!! thank you
Thanks for the 5 star review and I’m glad that even the picky little guy loved it!