Quick Chicken Noodle Soup in 40 minutes just as flavorful as grandma’s. Easy, comforting and soul warming homemade chicken noodle soup with juicy chicken and tender noodles.
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Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
Good chicken noodle soup takes hours to make. It begins with a whole bird and ends with a tired housewife. JK. But that is how my, and I am sure your, grandma used to make chicken noodle soup.
And it is good! Don’t get me wrong. That is why I have slow cooker chicken noodle soup and Instant Pot chicken noodle soup recipes on the blog.
But in 2019 we need everything quick. Or if you are sick, this easy and quick chicken noodle soup just “fits the bill”.
Ingredients You Will Need
- Boneless or bone in chicken thighs – no skin though.
- Onion, garlic, carrots and potatoes
- Chicken broth
- Fresh herbs
Truth be told, you can use what you have on hand. Only must haves for quick chicken noodle soup are chicken thighs and chicken stock.
How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup
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. Then move it to the side for the whole soup making process.
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.
Then you add diced carrots and potatoes and cook for 5 minutes. Smaller pieces – faster cooking.
Then we 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.
Now discard “old” seasonings like onion, peppercorns and bay leaves with a mesh strainer. And add “new” seasonings like freshly grated garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and dill.
This last step makes this soup recipe the best chicken noodle soup in the world.
Serving
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.
In Ukraine, we traditionally serve chicken soup with fresh rye bread. Here, in Canada we toast a slice of whole grain bread.
Kids love chicken noodle soup!!! Your dinner will go so well.
Can I Freeze It?
Chicken noodle soup lasts for up to 5 days if refrigerated. 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.
I usually warm up defrosted soup on the stove by simmering it. That’s it.
Tips for Best Chicken Noodle Soup
- Do not use chicken breasts as they are lean and not very flavorful.
- To keep onion whole, peel it but do not trim off the ends.
- Cooking chicken noodle soup covered will make it more murky.
- Keep bay leaves, peppercorns and onion cooking till the end to make broth flavorful.
- Use any short pasta like corkscrew, elbow, orzo, penne or broken up spaghetti or linguine.
- For broth I use organic bouillon cubes mixed with water. Cheaper and I always have stock on hand.
More Healthy Soup Recipes
Quick Chicken Noodle Soup
Quick Chicken Noodle Soup in 40 minutes just as flavorful as grandma’s. Easy, comforting and soul warming homemade chicken noodle soup with juicy chicken and tender noodles.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Soup and Stew
- Method: Stove
- Cuisine: Ukrainian
Ingredients
- 1 – 1.5 lbs chicken thighs, bone in or boneless (skinless)
- 3 bay leaves
- 5 peppercorns, whole
- 1 small whole onion, just peeled
- 3 large garlic cloves
- 12 cups chicken stock, low sodium
- 2 large carrots, diced
- 2 cups potatoes, diced
- 1 1/2 cups dry small pasta, whole grain (I used elbow macaroni)
- 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.
Store: Refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Freeze: Fully cook, cool completely and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw on a stovetop covered on low.
Notes
Instead of broth I use water + organic bouillon cubes.
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating in the comments.
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!
Can I use chicken legs instead of thighs? And can I leave the fat on? I like it 🙂
Sure
I first made this last fall and intended on freezing it to have during the winter and to give to friends. I ended up having it myself as I developed a nasty cold. Chicken soup really is good for you when you are sick, beyond it being a comfort food. This recipe is delicious and quick to make. I’m making it again today to freeze so I have as many fresh meals as possible during the social distancing phase. BTW – vegetarian pea soup, stuffed pepper soup and unstuffed cabbage rolls went into the freezer too! I love your recipes.
★★★★★
Melanie- thanks for your feedback. Chicken soup is so great when you are feeling under the weather.
Easy and great flavor. It’s my go to favorite when i don’t feel like a big dinner. Paired with a salad and crusty bread, it’s a satisfying meal.
★★★★★
Thank you for your wonderful review, Susan!
Hi Olena.Being of Ukrainian decent,we enjoy our soups especially in the winter months.
Yesterday I made your chicken soup,using noodles not pasta.
My husband enjoyed the soup,giving a # 10 rating !
Your split green pea soup is next on my list to make.
Growing up,my father made awesome Borscht with small spareribs,
as well as Kapusta soup.
Of course you need lots of smetana in them both!
Wonderful memories around the family table!
Hi Nancy. I’m so happy your family loved the recipe. Thanks for sharing that with me! Yes, lots of smetana. 🙂 Please don’t be shy to leave me a comment with a star review once you make the split pea soup.
Easy and absolutely delicious!!!! I did not change anything and I’ll be making this again. Thank you!!
★★★★★
You are super welcome, Lena. Nice change to a good old chicken noodle soup that took half a day haha.
A perfect soup for a Halloween evening that is going to be cold and windy.
★★★★★
Ah, what a great idea!!!!! I will be eating all the turkey leftovers from all my recipe testings lol.
We had a snow day in Calgary. So I made this chicken soup. It was amazing lot’s of flavour my family loved thank you so much for sharing your amazing and yummy recipes ?
★★★★★
You are very welcome, Nelia! I’ve heard and seen your snow. Actually we used to live in Calgary.:)
I found this recepie amazing , but i don’t wanna use chicken stocks , does it go tasty without those stocks ?any recommendation ? Also asking about diced potatoes & carrots , does it make a soup thick consistsncy ?
★★★★★
Yes you can. You just have to simmer soup twice longer for more flavor to develop. Veggies do not make soup thick. I mean it is a runny soup with veggies, not thick like chili or smth.
Oh, boy, that is MOST appealing and gorgeous. Olena, you’re the best thing ever! I’ll come back with a review when I make it!
★★★★★
Haha, thank you. I will be waiting.:)
This sounds like a winner on a cold winter day! (even though, here in Texas it’s yet to come 🙂 ). I like the way you season it with olive oil, grated garlic and forever Ukrainian dill 🙂 at the end – a nice touch! I already know it would come out well, without even trying – because of the great recipe of a similar soup you gave for Instant Pot a while ago – I’ve made that one many times. Thanks!
★★★★★
I am moving to Texas.:) So happy to hear! That IP one we made into a video and post this Fri.