North American

Serving

Chicken Noodle Soup

Name: Chicken Noodle Soup
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: North American
Ingredients: 8 cups high-quality chicken broth; 2 cups cooked chicken breast (shredded); 2 cups wide egg noodles; 1 cup carrots (sliced into coins); 1 cup celery (diced); 1/2 cup onion (diced); 1 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)

A comforting soup made with chicken broth, chicken pieces, noodles, and vegetables.

45 minutes

Serves 4

Dinner/Lunch

16 min prep

25 min cook

Contains common allergens

celery Egg Wheat

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Good to know

One-pot

Matched from this dish's own ingredients and timing. Browse more: one-pot dinners

Instructions

6 steps

1
In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onion, carrots, and celery.
2
Sauté the vegetables for 5-7 minutes until the onions become translucent and the carrots begin to soften.
3
Pour in the chicken broth and bring the soup to a rolling boil over high heat.
4
Once boiling, stir in the wide egg noodles. Reduce the heat to a steady simmer and cook for 7-8 minutes, or until the noodles are tender but not mushy.
5
Stir in the shredded cooked chicken and heat through for 2 minutes.
6
Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the freshly chopped parsley, and season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste. Serve steaming hot in deep bowls.

Chicken Noodle Soup — plated and served — Serving moment. How Chicken Noodle Soup looks plated and ready to eat — a representative photo, not a step in the recipe.

Listahan Family Score™

73/100

Good fit for most families

Allergen-friendly 70

Kid-friendly 85

Weeknight-easy 64

Budget-friendly 86

Great leftovers 93

Pantry-friendly 34

Score reflects how well this recipe fits a typical busy household. In the app, your Family Score is personalized to your household's allergens, kids, and pantry.

Nutrition

per serving

515

Calories

44 g

Protein

67 g

Carbs

8 g

Fat

Estimated per serving. Actual values depend on the brands and portions you use.

Listahan cooking guide

Chef notes & practical guide

Technique notes, ingredient swaps, serve-alongside ideas, storage guidance, and equipment for this recipe.

Cultural context

Chicken soup has been a cross-cultural restorative for centuries, but the American version with egg noodles took its current shape in the early 20th century as Eastern European Jewish immigrants brought their tradition of golden chicken broth to a wider audience. The canned version launched by Campbell's in 1934 made it a pantry staple, but home-cooked versions built on good broth have always been in a different category. The soup remains the default American comfort food through illness, cold weather, and family gatherings alike.

Listahan note

This version uses good store-bought broth as its foundation, so the quality of the broth is the single most important buying decision you make; the vegetables and noodles support it rather than carry it.

Technique cues

Sauteing the mirepoix before adding the broth builds a layer of sweetness that flat-added raw vegetables never achieve; do not skip this step even when in a hurry.
Add the egg noodles in the final 8 minutes and watch them carefully; overcooked noodles turn to mush and make the broth cloudy and starchy.
If making ahead, cook the noodles separately and add them per bowl at serving time so they do not absorb all the broth while sitting in the fridge.

Kitchen flow

Parallel prep: Dice all vegetables before heating the pot; the saute goes fast once you start and there is no time to stop and chop.
Make-ahead: Make the soup base without noodles up to 3 days ahead and store; cook noodles fresh in the reheated broth the day you serve.
Leftover move: Add a handful of frozen peas or spinach to leftover soup when reheating for a quick nutritional boost without starting over.
Cleanup rhythm: One pot and one cutting board; rinse the pot immediately after serving while the residual heat makes it easy to clean.

Ingredient brief

Role, handling, and swap guidance for each key ingredient.

high-quality chicken broth

Flavor foundation

Purpose: The broth is the soup; a watery or flat broth cannot be rescued by the other ingredients, so this is the one place to spend more.

Handling: Taste the broth before adding it and note the salt level; seasoning at the end will depend entirely on how salty the broth already is.

Adaptation: Homemade stock made from a rotisserie chicken carcass makes an unmistakably better soup if you have 45 minutes to simmer it.

cooked chicken breast

Main protein

Purpose: Pre-cooked chicken means it only needs to warm through in the broth, preventing the rubbery texture that comes from overcooking raw chicken in a quick soup.

Handling: Shred by hand into irregular pieces rather than dicing; uneven shreds hold more broth and have a better mouthfeel.

Adaptation: Rotisserie chicken thigh meat adds more richness and is nearly impossible to overcook.

wide egg noodles

Body and comfort element

Purpose: Wide egg noodles have enough surface area to hold broth on the spoon and a soft chew that feels substantial without being heavy.

Handling: Add directly to the simmering soup and stir once to prevent sticking; check at 7 minutes and pull when just tender.

Adaptation: Orzo or small pasta shapes work well; reduce cooking time by 2 minutes and taste frequently.

carrots

Sweetness and color

Purpose: Carrots add gentle sweetness that rounds out the saltiness of the broth and provide visual brightness in the bowl.

Handling: Slice into coins of even thickness so they all cook at the same rate during the saute.

Adaptation: Parsnip can replace half the carrot for a slightly earthier, more complex flavor.

celery

Aromatic backbone

Purpose: Celery contributes the green herbal note that distinguishes chicken noodle soup from a simple broth-and-noodle bowl.

Handling: Include a few of the celery leaves if available; they add extra herbal flavor to the broth.

Adaptation: Celery root (celeriac) diced small gives a more concentrated celery flavor if regular celery is unavailable.

Technique notes

Season the soup only at the very end; broth reduces as it simmers, so adding salt early can make the finished soup too salty.
A squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the table brightens every bowl and makes the chicken flavor more vivid without tasting acidic.
The parsley goes in at the last minute off the heat; cooking it kills the fresh flavor that is the soup's finishing note.

Ingredient swaps

Gluten-free direction: Use certified gluten-free rice noodles or small rice pasta; check the broth label as some brands contain wheat.
Lower-sodium direction: Use low-sodium or homemade broth and add salt only after tasting the finished soup.
Vegetarian direction: Substitute good vegetable broth and use chickpeas instead of chicken; add a parmesan rind while simmering for umami depth.

Serve alongside

Oyster crackers
Crusty sourdough bread
Simple green salad with vinaigrette
Buttered saltine crackers
Hot herbal tea
Sparkling water with lemon
Dry white wine such as Pinot Grigio

Serving suggestions only — check pairings for your household's allergens.

Storage & reheating

Refrigerate the soup (noodles separate if possible) in a sealed container for up to 4 days.
Reheat gently on the stovetop over medium heat; add a splash of broth or water to loosen if the noodles have absorbed liquid.
Freeze the broth and chicken without noodles for up to 3 months; add fresh noodles when reheating from frozen.

Equipment

Large soup pot or Dutch oven (at least 6 quarts)
Chef's knife and cutting board for uniform vegetable cuts
Ladle for serving
Slotted spoon for checking noodle doneness

Make this household-aware

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