This crockpot chicken noodle soup is hearty and comforting, yet incredibly easy to make! No need for a can full of preservatives, homemade is the best!
One bite of this homemade crockpot chicken noodle soup and you won’t want canned soup any more!
Is there anything more comforting than a big bowl of hearty soup? There’s something so natural about it, and it brings you right back to childhood.
If the only chicken noodle soup you’ve ever had is a can of good ol’ Campbells, then simply put… you NEED to try a homemade version! The flavor is so rich, so complex, and it’s incredibly easy to make at home.
Normally I think of chicken noodle soup as “sick food”… something you eat when you’re under the weather. And don’t get me wrong, this crockpot chicken noodle soup is FABULOUS for that, but it’s also fantastic on a night when you’re looking for some comfort food. Paired with a green salad, it’s a great light meal as well!
After a long, hard day, a big bowl of this soup is the cure!
IS CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP REALLY GOOD FOR YOU
It depends on the ingredients you use to make the soup, but when you use quality ingredients, yes! Plus the soups steam warms you and eases any congestion, and the warm brothy soup helps ease a sore throat. There’s a reason it’s the universal soup for when you’re under the weather!
WHAT HERBS ARE USED IN CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
In this soup I’ve used dried rosemary and thyme, with some fresh minced parsley as a garnish. But some dried tarragon, or using fresh herbs would be great additions and substitutions as well. While not exactly herbs, we’ve also used the classic “mirepoix” or “holy trinity” of diced onions, carrots and celery. These vegetables are used very frequently to start off just about any soup by adding amazing flavor and aromas.
I also like to buy reduced sodium chicken broth, so I can control the amount of salt in the dish.
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHICKEN BROTH AND CHICKEN STOCK
Traditionally chicken broth is made from simmering meat, whereas chicken stock is made from simmering bones. Chicken stock has a richer flavor, due to the gelatin released from the bones as they cook, and broth is much lighter, in color and taste. Since chicken noodle soup is traditionally a brothy soup, with a relatively “clear” broth, I always use chicken broth instead of stock.
CAN THIS HOMEMADE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP BE MADE ON THE STOVETOP
Absolutely! You’ll need to make a few adjustments though:
- Add a drizzle of olive oil to a dutch oven and heat over MED heat. Add 2 large chicken breasts and cook 5-7 minutes per side, or until 165 F degrees. Remove to a plate and shred, using two forks.
- Add 2 Tbsp of butter to the dutch oven and heat over MED heat. Add onion, carrot and celery and cook 5-7 minutes, until soft. Add garlic and cook 1 minute.
- Stir in seasonings and bay leaf, then add chicken broth. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce back down to MED heat and boil about 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.
- Add egg noodles and boil, stirring often, about 10 minutes, or until cooked to your liking. If you notice the liquid level is down too much, feel free to add an extra cup or two of broth or water.
- Add in shredded chicken, stir and taste to check seasonings. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Looking for more soup recipes?
- Skinny Crockpot Loaded Potato Soup
- Slow Cooker Zuppa Toscana
- Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Soup
- Slow Cooker Cheesy Ham Chowder
- Slow Cooker Hearty Minestrone
- Slow Cooker Italian Meatball Soup
- And MORE!
HELPFUL TOOLS
- Slow Cooker – While inexpensive, this slow cooker is a true workhorse in my kitchen!
- Bear Claws– The perfect tool for shredding meat!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 1 - 1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat
- 1 med to large yellow onion, diced
- 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced into circles
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary leaves
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 bay leaf (optional)
- 2 tsp better than bouillon base, chicken flavor
- 8 - 9 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- 8 oz. egg noodles (wide or extra wide) ** see chef tip #1 below
- fresh parsley, minced (for garnish)
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- To the bottom of a 6 quart or larger slow cooker, add trimmed chicken breasts. Top with onion, carrots, celery, garlic, dried thyme, dried rosemary, salt and pepper, and bay leaf (if using).
- Dollop better than bouillon chicken base over the top, then pour in chicken broth. Gently stir to combine. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
- Remove chicken from slow cooker to a large mixing bowl. Shred chicken. Discard bay leaf (if using), and return shredded chicken back to slow cooker.
- Add egg noodles, stir, then cover and cook on LOW for 10-15 minutes, until pasta is tender. Taste, and add salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve garnished with minced fresh parsley and a sprinkle of black pepper.
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Chef Tips
- If you would prefer to boil your egg noodles separately, so they don't potentially get over-cooked (since all slow cookers cook differently), you can certainly do that. I've never had any issue with that, but some readers have mentioned it, so I wanted to amend the recipe to reflect potential troubles. Just omit step 4, and only cook the soup for a few minutes after adding the shredded chicken back to the slow cooker. Taste, and add salt and pepper if needed, then serve and enjoy!
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Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Recipe posted first on Spend With Pennies, where I contribute recipes monthly.
Shauna says
Help this soup is amazing and delicious before I put the noodles in and the pot completely disintegrating in the broth ruining the soup
What happened?
The Chunky Chef says
Some noodles just don’t hold up well to being cooked in the slow cooker, unfortunately. With a slow cooker soup that has noodles, if I developed the recipe to have to cook the noodles separately, I’d be blasted; so I chose to develop them to be cooked in the soup. However, you can always cook them in some boiling water and add them to your bowl of soup next time 🙂
Chris says
I have made this crockpot chicken noodle soup SEVERAL times! ❤️❤️❤️
Stephanie says
This is always so yummy, but I started this late and cooked it on high at 2:25pm at 5:30 pm still wasn’t cooked all the way so I put it in the InstantPot to speed up the process.
The flavoring was so yummy! Just wish the carrots were a little softer.
Will be making again, but on low all day next time.
Thanks 😊
Colleen O’hagan says
Has great flavor but would cook my egg noodles separate. They are mushy and taste like starch. Changed the whole flavor of the soup.
Emily says
I completely agree! I am making it again today but cooking my noodles separately!
Kimberly says
Exactly what happened to me. All good until I added noodles. They literally disintegrated in the soup. Was very disappointing.
Melissa says
Hearty and delicious! Well done
Mariam says
Could I do this with frozen chicken breasts or should I thaw first? Thank you!
The Chunky Chef says
I highly recommend thawing them first 🙂
Debbie says
Can I skip the onion because iam allergic to them
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, you can omit them 🙂
Emily Young says
So I’m allergic to eggs, therefore I can’t use the egg noodles. Will regular noodles work just as well?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, regular pasta should work just fine (although the cooking time may be different).
Marilyn says
Can you cook the chicken first then add to the soup ?
The Chunky Chef says
Yes, I would just add the cooked and shredded chicken when you add the egg noodles 🙂
Julie Pelkey says
Will it matter if I skip the Better than Boullion? It is $7.99 at my grocery store. That’s a lot of $$.
The Chunky Chef says
It’s definitely not cheap, although I find it lasts a long time and I get a ton of use out of it! You can omit it if you’d like though 🙂
Lori says
I got my bouillon from the Hispanic section of the grocery store. I have also picked it up in a Hispanic store. The brand is knorr and so much cheaper. The flavor is amazing!
Michelle says
Heb has the better than bouillon for 4.45 of you want the organic one is 5.99 and the and the reduce sodium one is 5.39
Jordan says
I really enjoyed the flavors of this soup and I definitely plan to make again. However, I will cook my egg noodles seperately as I had the same issue as many others and mine were soggy.
Brooke V says
I love making this and doubling the recipe to save for leftovers. When I do that I take part of the filling with minimal liquid out and set aside to then use later for chicken pot pie filling. Then I just add a little bit of cream and frozen peas with my pie crusts and it works great! One meal prep/cutting and multiple meals for the same work
Rosetta Pitt says
This is the best and easiest Chicken soup every! I just love, love, love it.
Oh,I don’t mind your being a chunky chef. Your beautiful, and doing a great job with the recipes. I will try others for my husband and I.
Clayton says
Hands down best chicken noodle soup! I’ve made it probably 10x in the last year. I like mine seasoned very well and I double or quadruple the seasonings. I sometimes amp up the veggies as well. Thank you for sharing!
Sonia Evans says
What size crockpot?
The Chunky Chef says
This was developed and tested in a standard 6 quart slow cooker.
Mk says
Sorry I disagree with the adding noodles in this way. It ruined the whole soup for us bc the noodles were just soggy and not cooked 🙁
Holly says
This chicken noodle soup is so good
Wendy says
How do i make this for 50 people
The Chunky Chef says
I’ve never made this recipe on that scale before, but needless to say you’ll need MANY crockpots, or a VERY large stockpot. This recipe serves about 6, so you’d need to multiply every ingredient amount by 8 or 9 (for 48 or 54 servings).
Maren says
This recipe was a 10/10 for my family. I’m not a huge fan of chicken noodle mostly because I’ve only ever had it from a can, and same with my step daughter; she really likes chicken noddle…from a can. I was nervous to make this because my stepdaughter is very picky! But by my surprise she devoured this and asked if there was enough left for her school lunch tomorrow! The only thing I did differently from the recipe was add a little more of the spice than what was directed. Either way this recipe is amazing, everyone in the family LOVED it!
Robbie says
I made this for a church dinner. Everyone loved it. It was very easy thanks for sharing it
Meredith says
This was my first time making chicken noodle soup in a crockpot (I’ve only done it on the stove). Highly recommend this recipe for a more hands off cooking method! It tastes like it simmered on the stove and has great depth of flavor! I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs which worked really well if you prefer that in soups.