Make soup season feel more special with a chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles. This homemade chicken noodle soup recipe from scratch is everyone's favorite around my house and I think your family will love it too!
When it comes to soup season nothing is better and more comforting than a bowl of chicken soup with noodles
I alternate it with other family favorites such as this wholesome vegetable barley soup and sausage and farro soup, throughout the cold weather months.
Making soups is great because they make large batches so I often have some leftovers for meals throughout the week.
Why This Recipe Works
- Rustic-cut homemade noodles make homemade chicken noodle soup even better!
- A simple soup made completely from scratch using wholesome ingredients.
- A budget-friendly approach to chicken and noodle soup.
- A family-friendly soup that's perfect for cooler nights to warm you up on the inside!
Ingredients You Need
- Chicken: I used a four-pound whole broiler. If yours is a little bigger or smaller, it’s not a big deal.
- Veggies: You will need onions, celery, carrots, and garlic to infuse the water and chicken with flavor as the chicken cooks, making a tasty broth and flavorful pieces of chicken. You will also be using more onions, celery, and carrots in the actual soup too but these will need to be diced smaller.
- Seasonings: Dried thyme, fresh parsley, salt, and pepper.
- Noodles: We like a lot of fresh noodles in our homemade chicken soup.
Variations and Time Savers
- Use store-bought stock. You're sacrificing a bit of flavor but sometimes quicker is what is needed at the moment!
- Rotisserie chicken or leftover roasted chicken works great if you don't have time to cook a whole chicken.
- Use dry pasta noodles but they will need to cook longer so add them to the pot along with the shredded chicken.
- No time to make pasta? You can use store-bought fresh pasta instead.
- Swap the noodles for another grain such as barley, brown rice, or farro.
How to Make Homemade Chicken Soup From Scratch
From-scratch chicken noodle soup starts with homemade chicken stock. I love using a whole chicken for this as the skin and bones yield the best flavor. The veggies are a simple rough cut. I don't even peel my carrots, just wash and rough chop.
- Chop up the veggies and remove the chicken from the packaging and rinse. Add to your pot.
- Add the rough-cut veggies to the pot with the chicken.
- Fill the stockpot up with liquid, almost to the top. As the chicken cooks, it reduces a lot, so start with a lot of water.
- Let it cook for about an hour and a half. This is certainly considered slow food, so give yourself plenty of time and just enjoy the smell.
TOP TIP: I rotate the chicken about halfway through to make sure it is cooked well both on sides. Once the chicken is fall off the bone tender, remove it from heat.
- When it’s done cooking, drain the stock. Discard the veggies but save the chicken for the soup.
- Return the stock to the pot. Add the onions, celery and carrots, thyme, and parsley and bring to a boil over high heat. When it boils reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook until the veggies are al dente, meaning tender but a little firm.
- While the veggies are cooking, pull all the meat off the bones and set aside.
- When the veggies are al dente, add in the chicken and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes.
- Add in some salt and pepper and give it a taste so you can adjust the seasoning as needed. We love ours fairly salty and with quite a bit of pepper.
- When it’s just the way you want it and you’re almost ready to serve, add the fresh noodles to the pot and cook for another two to three minutes.
- Serve it up piping hot!
How to Make Homemade Noodles for Chicken Soup
- Choose your favorite pasta dough recipe. I love my whole-wheat pasta recipe, so check it out.
- Roll your pasta however you prefer. I love this pasta roller and it has been my go-to for a long time.
- I hand-cut the pasta as I wanted a rustic look to the noodles.
What to Serve with Soup
I usually serve the soup with some type of bread, biscuit, or carb, but this soup holds its own! I don't feel like it needs anything else! But if you want to add on a side, here are some ideas!
- Make some homemade crackers or your favorite brand from the store.
- Fresh bread goes great and you should try these parmesan bread bites, skillet cornbread, or homemade sprouted wheat bread.
- If you want something heartier add a simple sandwich! Such as grilled cheese on homemade multigrain bread, hot ham sandwiches, or a green goddess sandwich.
How to Store
- Leftovers: Store the soup in airtight containers after it's completely cooled. It will keep in the refrigerator for up to five days or in the freezer for up to three months. I always use mason jars for storage.
- Reheat: Return the soup to a pot and heat over medium heat on the stove until heated through. As it sits, the noodles absorb lots of the liquid so you may need to add some chicken broth or water to thin it out a bit.
Expert Tips
- Just remember, fresh noodles cook FAST! It only took these about 3 minutes to cook so add them right at the end.
- Shred the chicken for a more rustic look to your chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles.
- Set aside time for cooking this soup! It takes time to cook it up but the flavors are amazing and you won't be disappointed.
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Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade Noodles
Equipment
- 12 quart stock pot
- cutting board
- sharp knife
Ingredients
Chicken Stock
- 1 whole broiler Mine was about 4 pounds. If your's is a little bigger or smaller, not a big deal.
- 2.5 gallons water
- 2 cups onions, rough chop
- 2 cups celery, rough chop
- 2 cups carrots, rough chop
- 3 tablespoons minced garlic
Chicken Noodle Soup
- 12 quarts chicken stock
- 4-6 cups cubed chicken If you aren't making your own stock, you can just as easily use a rotisserie chicken instead. I like a rustic looking soup, so I kind of just tore up my chicken, as shown in photos.
- 1.5 cups onions, medium dice Again, I love a rustic soup, so my veggies are a bigger dice
- 1 cup celery, medium dice
- 1.5 cup carrots, medium dice
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cups fresh whole wheat pasta for noodles. We like a lot of noodles, but this is a measurement for fresh pasta. If you are using dry, only use about 1.5 cups
- 1-2 tablespoon parsley This is better fresh, but I only had dried...so it is what I used.
Instructions
Chicken Broth
- Add all ingredients to a large stock pot. Bring to a boil on high heat. Reduce heat to medium high and continue to boil for about 1.5 hours. I rotate the chicken about halfway through to make sure it is cooked well both sides. Once the chicken is fall off the bones tender, remove from heat.
- Strain out the chicken and veggies, reserving the stock. Place stock back in stock pot for soup.
- Discard the veggies, they will be mush, and reserve the chicken for the soup.
Soup
- Add onions, celery and carrots, thyme and parsley to stock and bring to a boil over high heat. Once it is to a rolling boil, reduce heat to medium and continue to boil until veggies are al dente,meaning a little firm.
- Add back in chicken chunks and continue to cook another 5-10 minutes. If you are using dry pasta, throw it in with the chicken. If using fresh pasta remember, it only takes 2-3 minutes for it to cook, so throw it in at the very end. Now, once the soup has cooked down, add in salt and pepper. Adjust seasoning as needed.
- We love ours fairly salty and with quite a bit of pepper, which is why I am not putting in measurements. You might die when you saw how much I added :).
- This is best served piping hot! It is also really good as a leftover. Make sure and cool properly before placing in the fridge in an airtight container. I always use mason jars for storage.
- Now, sit back and enjoy. You deserve it.
Notes
- Just remember, fresh noodles cook FAST! It only took these about 3 minutes to cook so add them right at the end.
- Shred the chicken for a more rustic look to your chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles.
- Set aside time for cooking this soup! It takes time to cook it up but the flavors are amazing and you won't be disappointed.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!