Classic Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
We’re going back to basics with this Classic Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup and from-scratch chicken broth.
You don’t need me to tell you about the wonderfulness of homemade chicken noodle soup. It’s said to cure everything from the common cold to fallen arches.
All I know is that it’s powerfully good stuff. And it’s so easy to make. I like to make it with my homemade chicken stock, but you don’t have to do that. As a matter of fact, you could make this soup in less than 30 minutes with leftover chicken and canned, store-bought broth.
It won’t have the “love factor” that the homemade broth carries, but it will taste pretty good. Store-bought broths have come a long way in the last few years, but I still like making my own when I have time, so I’m including my recipe for the stock along with the soup.
How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade Chicken Broth
As I said, I used a homemade broth for my soup. This broth was made the day before and stored in the refrigerator overnight. See in the photo on the left how all the fat has risen to the top? Just take a large spoon and scoop that off. Now we’re ready to get going!
Note: the dark, rich color of the broth is because I use an unpeeled yellow onion in my stock. The peel gives a deep, rich color to the stock. After all, the native Americans and early settlers used onion peels for yellow dye, so it makes sense that it would color the stock in that way.
Put 2 1/2 quarts of stock in a large soup pot.
Chop one large onion. Peel and slice two carrots (or more if you really like carrots).
Thinly slice two stalks of celery. Be sure and use the top leaves of the celery if you have them. They add so much flavor to the soup!
Grab a handful of flat-leaf Italian parsley and a couple of sprigs of thyme. Roughly chop the parsley and pull the leaves from the thyme. The easiest way to do the thyme is to just hold it at the bottom and strip the leaves off by pulling down from the top.
Toss the veggies and herbs into the large pot with your stock and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat a bit but keep the soup at a steady, strong bubble. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until carrots are beginning to soften.
Next, add the chicken and egg noodles.
Add the salt and pepper. I know a whole tablespoon of salt seems like a lot, but up until now, if you’re using homemade stock, you haven’t added any salt at all and that’s a lot of soup to season. Of course, adjust to your own tastes and you can add more at serving if you like. Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until noodles are done.
How to Make the Homemade Chicken Stock
Here’s my tried and true recipe for homemade chicken stock. I like this so much better than store-bought. It’s easy to throw together while you’re working around the house on the weekend and is a wonderful thing to be able to pull out of the freezer when you need it. You also get approximately 4 cups of chicken that can be frozen and used as needed for chicken salad or casseroles.
In a large stockpot or roasting pan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil and quickly reduce to low heat. Maintain a slow simmer and cook for two hours.
Remove chicken to a plate, cover, and store in the refrigerator. Strain all the vegetables from the broth and discard them. Store the broth in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
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HAVE YOU TRIED THIS RECIPE?
I’d LOVE to know what you thought!
Leave a rating below in the comments and let me know how you liked it!
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Recipe
Classic Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
For the Chicken Noodle Soup:
- 2 1/2 quarts chicken broth
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 carrots peeled and sliced
- 2 stalks celery sliced
- 1/4 cup flat-leaf Italian parsley chopped
- 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme leaves only
- 2 cups cooked chicken chopped
- 4 cups medium egg noodles
- 1 tablespoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper
For the Homemade Chicken Stock
- 1 3 1/2 to 4 pound chicken
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 carrots
- 1 to 2 cloves garlic
- 1 large yellow onion halved
- 3-4 sprigs flat leaf Italian parsley
- 2-3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns
- Water
Instructions
To make the soup:
- Combine first 6 ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Lower the heat a bit but keep the soup at a steady, strong bubble.
- Cover and cook for 10 minutes or until carrots are beginning to soften.
- Add the chicken, egg noodles, salt and pepper and cook for 10 minutes or until noodles are done.
To make the stock:
- In a large stock pot or roasting pan, combine all ingredients.
- Bring to a boil and quickly reduce to low heat.
- Maintain a slow simmer and cook for two hours.
- Remove chicken to a plate, cover and store in refrigerator.
- Strain all the vegetables from the broth and discard them.
- Store the broth in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to use.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information is calculated by software based on the ingredients in each recipe. It is an estimate only and is provided for informational purposes. You should consult your health care provider or a registered dietitian if precise nutrition calculations are needed for health reasons.
Hi Lana,
I’m new to this site, and I already love it! I was born in Texas, but spent a lot of years in Mississippi and Tennessee learning to cook from relatives. So, low country cooking smells like home to me. I have always wondered, however; why you always leave the peelings on the onion and the garlic when making stock. I’m always a little hesitant wondering about dirt and sand in the onion layers in particular, although I can’t recall ever finding any, I admit. Thanks.
Hi Junecutie. No worries about dirt in the onions or garlic. Only leeks gather dirt/sand as they’re growing, onions don’t. You can, of course, remove the skins if you want, but they give a nice color to the finished stock.
Thanks for stopping by!
This inspires me to go to the kitchen. It is raining here thanks to “Ida” and expected to rain all day and tomorrow. Chicken noodle soup would be a great way to chase away the dampness in my bones. Love you.
mmm…I always love noodles in chicken soup. Sometimes rice in chicken soup. It was very cold yesterday so I cooked Chinese ginger wine soup which is very warming. My family loves with a big piece of chicken served on top, especially the char siu chicken.
Homemade chicken noodle soup is always the best!
Love the home made chicken soup! You know, I never tried adding fresh thyme. I heard there was a cold front approaching us, if you can call a Florida front cold, anyhow that will be the perfect opportunity to try the thyme. Thanks for sharing.
Ha yes, nothing beats a nice hearty bowl of chicken noodle soup. It doesn’t get any simpler than that really. Love it.