Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

How to Make Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

Our simple chicken noodle soup is a cinch to put together. Here are the basic steps it takes—but be sure to follow the recipe for all the specifics:

Partially Cook the Veggies

Heat the oil in the sauce pan and cook the garlic, onions, and carrots for just a few minutes, so that when the other ingredients are added, they will all be perfectly done at the same time.

Stir in Remaining Ingredients

Stir in the cubed cooked chicken, egg noodles, seasonings, and broth. Heat it to boiling and then reduce heat.

Simmer and Serve

Cover and simmer the soup until the carrots and noodles are tender—just 10 minutes are needed for perfection. This will leave just the right amount of time to throw together any dishes you plan to serve alongside the soup. Be sure to remove the bay leaf before serving—it can be a choking hazard, as it tends to stick to the inside of the mouth if eaten.

Storing and Reheating Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

Our easiest chicken noodle soup is great as leftovers the next day! The flavor gets even better when the ingredients have some time to hang out together. The pasta will continue to absorb the broth as it sits, becoming less brothy. If you like, you can add additional broth before reheating.

Storing Leftover Soup: For refrigerator storage, ladle the soup into small food-storage containers (about a serving each) to cool the soup down quickly and pre-portion it for quick meals. Cover and store the cooled soup in the refrigerator up to 3 days. For freezer storage, ladle the soup into freezer-safe food storage containers, leaving 1/2- to 1-inch headspace for the soup to expand as it freezes. Push any noodles that are sticking up above the surface of the broth under the broth, to prevent them from getting freezer burned. Cover the cooled soup and store in the freezer up to 6 months.

Reheating Leftover Soup: For refrigerated soup, uncover and pour the soup into a microwavable bowl. Cover and microwave on medium-high (70%) 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 minutes, or until heated through. For frozen soup, place the container in the refrigerator to thaw overnight. To thaw frozen soup using your microwave, transfer to a microwave safe bowl, cover and microwave on low (30%) 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thawed. Then reheat soup as directed above for refrigerated soup.

Substitutions for Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

You can change up the ingredients to make it your own soup with a twist, or to use up what you already have on hand. Try any of these variations:

Swap the Veggies: Use regular onion (1/2 cup chopped) for the sliced green onions. Pick up pre-cut onions and carrot chips in the produce section of your grocery store, to eliminate the veggie chopping. You can substitute chopped broccoli, cauliflower, or green beans (cut into 1-inch lengths) for the carrots, but you’ll need to add a few extra minutes of cooking time in step 1. For softer veggies, such as chopped bell peppers, zucchini, or yellow squash, reduce the cook time in step 1 a few minutes.

Swap the Chicken: This is a great recipe to use up leftover chicken. Or better yet, next time you make chicken, cook a few extra pieces so you can make this quick chicken noodle soup with it later! It’s also a terrific use for your leftover holiday turkey. If you don’t have any cooked chicken or turkey around, you can use rotisserie chicken, thawed frozen oven roasted diced chicken breast, or drained canned chunk chicken.

For swapping the noodles for another pasta, see the section below, entitled: What are the best noodles for chicken noodle soup.

How Should I Cook Chicken for Chicken Noodle Soup?

If you’d like to make chicken and noodle soup from scratch, starting with fresh uncooked chicken, we have just the recipe for you. Our Classic Chicken Noodle Soup recipe starts with uncooked chicken breast, for homemade chicken noodle soup in just 30 minutes.

Or, you can make your own broth and cooked chicken, turning it all into chicken noodle soup, using this homemade chicken and broth video as a great guide.