A chicken noodle soup recipe that’s a very easy, very good substitute for when you don’t have time to make your soup totally from scratch.

Whether you’re feeling under the weather or you’re just in need of a little comfort, there’s nothing like homemade chicken noodle soup to warm you up from the inside out. With this shortcut recipe, you can have the best chicken noodle soup of your life on the table in just 40 minutes.

Chicken Noodle Soup Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need for this top-rated chicken noodle soup recipe:

Onions and Celery
In the first step of this chicken noodle soup recipe, diced onions and chopped celery are cooked in butter until they’re aromatic and tender.

Broth
This chicken noodle soup recipe calls for a mixture of chicken and vegetable broths. If you’re short on time or ingredients, you can just use one or the other.

Chicken
Of course, you’ll need chicken. If you have leftover rotisserie chicken, you can use that in place of the cooked chicken breasts for a budget-friendly shortcut.

Noodles
Make sure you don’t add the noodles too early, as cooking them too long will make them mushy.

Carrots
Carrots, which add a pop of bright color and flavor, are added at the end of cooking so they stay crisp. You can add them to the sautéed vegetables at the beginning if you like your carrots tender.

Basil and Oregano
Dried basil and oregano lend warm, earthy flavor to this chicken noodle soup recipe.

How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup

You’ll find the full recipe below, but here are a few tips to keep in mind while you make this classic chicken noodle soup recipe:

Best Noodles For Chicken Noodle Soup

Egg noodles are the traditional choice for chicken noodle soup. Rotini and fusilli would work well too, but you can use whatever you have on hand in a pinch.

Customize to Taste

We love the simplicity of this easy chicken noodle soup recipe. However, you can get creative with spices and seasonings. Reviewers say they like to add bay leaves, garlic, herbes de Provence, rosemary, and thyme.

Improvise With Ingredients You Already Have

This recipe lends itself to convenient, budget-friendly substitutions. Try rotisserie chicken instead of cooked chicken breasts, water and bouillon cubes instead of broth, or oil instead of butter.

What Goes With Chicken Noodle Soup?

Chicken noodle soup is a meal in and of itself, so you don’t really need to pair it with any sides (besides maybe a few saltine crackers). But, if you want to go the extra mile, try something bread-based to soak up all that delicious broth. Here are some delicious options:

Basic Biscuits
Grilled Cheese Sandwich
French Baguettes
Classic Dinner Rolls
Toasted Garlic Bread

How to Store Chicken Noodle Soup

Store leftover chicken noodle soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for three to four days.

Can You Freeze Chicken Noodle Soup?

Yes! You can freeze chicken noodle soup — and you should if you don’t plan to eat it within a few days. If you’re making this recipe with the intention of freezing it, consider preparing the soup and noodles separately. Frozen noodles will break down and become mushy when thawed.

To freeze chicken noodle soup (with or without the noodles), pour serving-sized portions of the cooled soup into freezer bags labeled with the date. Freeze for up to six months. Re-heat on the stove.

Allrecipes Community Tips and Praise

“This is so easy to make and so good,” raves Gr8typist. “I cook the chicken breasts in the broth to make the broth a bit richer, then build the soup from there.”

“My husband and I love this recipe,” says Mrs V-Smile. “It is very easy to make and is great for a quick dinner. When I make it, I saute some minced garlic and the carrots along with the onions and celery. The garlic adds a little more flavor to the soup, and adding the carrots to the saute helps to make them more tender.”

“Very easy,” according to Joy Shelton Frazier. “FLAVORFUL!! Great comfort food on a cold night. We made grilled cheese sandwiches to go along with it.”

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• ½ cup chopped onion
• ½ cup chopped celery
• 4 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can vegetable broth
• ½ pound chopped cooked chicken breast
• 1 ½ cups egg noodles
• 1 cup sliced carrots
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and celery and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Add chicken broth, vegetable broth, chicken, egg noodles, carrots, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.