Nourishing and delicious, this Healthy Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe will definitely hit the spot when you need a comforting meal that is easy to make. Juicy chicken, tender noodles, and fresh dill just like my Ukrainian Grandma made.
Other favorites that Grandma made were meatball soup, chicken stew recipe, and borscht.
Table of contents
Good healthy chicken noodle soup takes hours to make; it begins with a whole bird and ends with a tired housewife, JK (maybe). But that is how my, and I am sure your, grandma used to make chicken with noodles soup.
And it is comfort food good! But in the 21st century life is busy and dinner needs to be on the table fast. Or if you are sick, this easy chicken soup just “fits the bill”, and it’s ready within the hour!
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Family friendly: Kids love chicken noodle soup!!! Your dinner will go so well.
- Easy: And ready in under an hour!
- Simple ingredients: That are budget friendly, too!
- One pot meal: Protein, veggies and carbs make this a satisfying and nutritious meal.
- Healthier than from the can: Because you can control the sodium levels. Plus, you can add additional vegetables for even more nutritional value.
- Immune boosting: Carrots contain vitamin A, chicken contains zinc and a brothy soup keeps you hydrated, which is important in the winter.
Ingredients You Will Need
You will need just a few simple ingredients to make the best healthy chicken noodle soup recipe in the world!
- Boneless or bone in chicken thighs: I recommend to use skinless thighs or remove skin to avoid very fatty soup. You can leave skin on a few if you wish. Chicken breasts do not have enough flavor for quick soup.
- Veggies: Onion, garlic, carrots and potatoes. Truth be told, you can use what you have on hand and like.
- Chicken broth: Use store-bought or homemade low sodium chicken broth, Instant Pot chicken broth or bouillon cubes.
- Fresh herbs: Parsley, dill, onion or chives add a lot of flavour at the end with little calories. Just try and your classic chicken noodle soup will go from just good to great!
How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup
Detailed recipe card for how to make healthy chicken noodle soup is located below.
- Make soup base: Cook chicken thighs with chicken broth, bay leaves, peppercorns, whole onion and 2 garlic cloves for 20 minutes. Keep lid on while bringing broth to a boil and then move to the side for all further cooking.
- Skim foam: As broth is cooking, foam will rise to the top. You will want to skim it a few times with a mesh strainer. Also this is the time I dice carrots, potatoes, and chop dill and grate garlic. No idle or waste time.
- Cook veggies: Add diced carrots and potatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Smaller pieces – faster cooking.
- Cook pasta: Add pasta and you want to stir a few times to make sure pasta is not sticking to the bottom of the pot or each other. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Discard onion, peppercorns and bay leaves with a mesh strainer.
- Add garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and dill. This last step makes how to make chicken noodle soup the best recipe you will ever make. You can also shred the chicken right in the pot during this final step.
How to make homemade healthy chicken noodle soup beyond the stovetop:
- Slow cooker: If you would like to start soup in the morning and come back to ready dinner check out my crockpot chicken noodle soup.
- Instant Pot: Got magic pot? I absolutely love making soup in it. Here is my grandma’s Instant Pot chicken noodle soup.
Optional Add-In’s and Variations
- Veggies: Celery added with carrots, frozen peas or corn added during the final step, all would be delicious!
- Fresh greens: Spinach or kale at the end for some additional vitamins (and color!).
- Chicken broth: Homemade chicken broth or Instant Pot chicken broth if you have it in the freezer would be amazing.
- Make low carb: Use zucchini noodles instead of regular pasta, because these cook quickly, add during last step.
- Gluten-free: Use gluten free noodles, chickpea, lentil, brown rice etc. to make mega healthy chicken noodle soup recipe.
- Umami flavor: Fish sauce, soy sauce or a dash of Worcestershire.
- Other seasonings: Poultry, fresh or dried thyme, rosemary.
- Heat: Add a pinch of red pepper flakes! Gets those sinuses running 🙂
- Creamy: At the end of cooking, stir in a few tablespoons of heavy cream or half and half.
- Lemon: Add a squirt of lemon juice at the end of cooking to brighten all the flavors. I do it with my lemon chicken orzo soup recipe.
Even easier healthy chicken noodle soup?! It can be done with leftover chicken! My preferred choices are using leftovers of Instant Pot whole rotisserie chicken or Instant Pot shredded chicken, although I am sure you could use baked chicken breast leftovers, too. Add at the same time as the dried noodles.
Tips for Best Results
- Do not use chicken breasts: Breasts are lean and your chicken soup will lack major flavor.
- Keep onion whole: To keep onion whole, peel it but do not trim off the ends.
- Make sure broth stays clear: Cooking chicken noodle soup recipe covered will make it more murky. Instead, cook soup with lid half open and pot not completely covered.
- For more flavour: Keep bay leaves, peppercorns and onion cooking till the end to make broth flavorful.
- Pasta that works: Use any short pasta like corkscrew, elbow, orzo or penne. Or broken up spaghetti, linguine or even soba noodles.
- Budget friendly broth: I use organic bouillon cubes mixed with water. Cheaper and I always have stock on hand.
- Let soup ‘rest’: If you have time, let soup sit for 5-10 minutes. Flavors develop more and pasta absorbs liquid and makes soup more hearty.
- You can serve soup with whole chicken thighs: Frankly, I always do that. Or for the looks, shred meat right in the pot or on a cutting board. I hold a piece of meat with a spoon on a side of the pot and shred with a fork in my other hand.
How to Serve It
- Fresh bread: In Ukraine, we traditionally serve chicken soup with fresh rye bread. Now we toast a slice of whole grain bread.
- Crackers: Another popular option is with whole grain crackers, croutons, and kids can never resist small (whole grain) fish crackers.
- Soup and sandwich: Serve with grilled cheese or your favorite wrap!
- Soup and salad: Spinach salad, massaged kale salad or arugula beet salad.
How to Store
Storing and reheating soup: Healthy chicken noodle soup lasts for up to 5 days if refrigerated. It is normal for noodles to expand with each day. Reheat in a small pot by simmering and stirring on low heat.
Freezing soup with pasta: If you want to make this recipe for freezing, do not add pasta. It just doesn’t freeze well. Add cooked pasta after thawing and warming up. Or even cooked rice would be so good.
FAQs
Many things! Additional dried herbs such as rosemary or thyme, savory seasonings such as garlic or onion powder and adding the recommended fresh herbs of dill, parsley or green onion at the end before serving.
Chicken noodle soup is usually a broth based soup, but if you would like to thicken it you can make a cornstarch or flour slurry. Mix 2 Tbsp of either with cold water, add to the soup and let thicken for a few minutes.
Egg noodles or any small shaped noodle work! Look in your pantry and find what needs to be used 🙂 Use gluten-free if necessary.
Sure! You could omit the chicken and add cooked chickpeas when you add the noodles. Use a vegetable broth, too.
No, but it does make it heartier! Try winter squash, sweet potato, pumpkin, cabbage, cauliflower or if you just want a more brothy soup, omit it.
More Favorite Soup Recipes
- Instant Pot chicken wild rice soup
- Easy turkey noodle soup
- Vegetable soup recipe
- Chicken noodle soup with vegetables
- Chicken and vegetable soup
Healthy Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 – 1.5 lbs chicken thighs bone in or boneless (skinless)
- 3 bay leaves
- 5 peppercorns whole
- 1 small whole onion peeled, hairy end intact
- 3 large garlic cloves
- 12 cups chicken stock low sodium
- 2 large carrots diced
- 2 cups potatoes diced
- 1 1/2 cups egg noodles or any short pasta
- 1 1/2 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 tbsp fresh dill, parsley or green onion finely chopped
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven or pot, add chicken thighs, bay leaves, peppercorns, onion, 2 garlic cloves and stock.
- On high heat, bring soup to a boil covered and then move lid to the side a bit to keep soup clear. Cook for 20 minutes, removing foam as it rises to the top with a mesh strainer, occasionally. Meanwhile dice potatoes and carrots. Chop dill and grate garlic.
- Add potatoes and carrots, stir and reduce heat to medium. Cook with half lid open for 5 minutes.
- Add pasta, stir and cook for another 5 minutes. I would stir a few more times to prevent pasta from sticking.
- Discard onion, bay leaves and peppercorns with a mesh strainer.
- Add salt, olive oil, grated garlic clove, dill and ground black pepper to taste. You can also shred chicken right in the pot now.
- Stir and adjust any seasonings to taste. If you have time, let chicken noodle soup sit covered for 5 minutes. Serve hot with a slice of toasted bread.
Video
Notes
- Store: Chicken noodle soup lasts for up to 5 days if refrigerated. It is normal for noodles to expand with each day. Reheat in a small pot by simmering and stirring on low heat.
- Freeze: If you want to make this recipe for freezing, do not add pasta. It just doesn’t freeze well. Add cooked pasta after thawing and warming up. Or even cooked rice would be so good.
- Do not use chicken breasts: Breasts are lean and your chicken soup will lack major flavor.
- Keep onion whole: To keep onion whole, peel it but do not trim off the ends.
- Make sure broth stays clear: Cooking chicken noodle soup covered will make it more murky. Instead, cook soup with lid half open and pot not completely covered.
- For more flavour: Keep bay leaves, peppercorns and onion cooking till the end to make broth flavorful.
- Pasta that works: Use any short pasta like corkscrew, elbow, orzo, penne or broken up spaghetti or linguine.
- Serving soup: If you have time, let soup sit for 5-10 minutes. Flavors develop more and pasta absorbs liquid and makes soup more hearty.
This is my go-to recipe for when someone I love isn’t feeling well! If my kids are having trouble keeping something down, I can make the soup more broth-y. If their appetite is returning, I can load the soup with more vegetables and noodles.
I love that Olena includes practical tips like “chop the vegetables while you make the soup base.” It’s like having a mother figure who not only teaches you how to make something delicious, but also more effectively manage your time.
I’m so happy to hear that this is your go to soup when someone is not feeling well, Betty. So glad you find my real life cooking tips helpful!
Can you do in slow cooker
Hi Carolyn. Yes you can. Here is slow cooker chicken noodle soup recipe.
Can I use low sodium chicken BROTH? What would the difference be?
And 5 peppercorns… just 5 little tiny peppercorns like I put in my pepper mill to grind, right?
Correct on the peppercorns and yes low sodium chicken broth is fine! You might have to do a ‘season and taste’ test at the end and adjust salt, but that is preferred usually!
I love this chicken noodle soup! It’s a keeper!
So happy to hear!
My eight year old loves this soup and that is high praise! We have made it many many times- thank you!!
The best is when our families (especially our kiddos) love what we cook! Sounds like this chicken noodle soup is a winner!
This was the best chicken noodle soup I’ve had since I was a kid!! It was so easy too! My hubby and I loved it! ❤️
Love hearing this Aleta!
I love your recipes, but want to know why you use a whole onion and then pull it out. I have the whole small onions can I use those instead?
To make broth clear and not murky. Yes, you can, use a few.
Just made it, so yummy! Thanks you for the recipe
You are very welcome!
I have had homemade chicken soup before. It’s awesome. But I never thought too much about making it from scratch. My plan was always to have a few cans of chicken soup in the cabinet in case of a cold.
I will never rely on a can of chicken soup again. This recipe is so easy to make and tastes fantastic. The soup freezes well. If you are keeping some servings in the fridge for a few days, you might make the pasta separate and add when you reheat. That way the pasta won’t absorb so much liquid that it gets mushy and you won’t have to worry about having too much veggies and chicken and not enough broth.
Thanks for the positive feedback Melanie! And yes, no more canned chicken soup!