The key to making killer chicken noodle soup is homemade stock. And in case you aren’t aware – it takes a little time to make 
homemade stock, but it is super easy! There are a few different methods for making chicken stock from scratch. You can use a whole raw chicken, bones from a chicken that has already been eaten, or raw chicken parts that people don’t normally eat (like the back, feet, etc.). I’ve tried just about all of these methods and my favorite stock is hands down made with the bones from the leftover “The Best Whole Chicken in a Crock Pot” recipe. It gives you the darkest, richest stock full of so much flavor that I could just eat/drink it plain.
So since you need chicken for this recipe anyway, I highly recommend that you make the whole chicken in the crock pot recipe and eat about half the chicken with one meal the first night. Then make the stock with the leftover bones overnight, and you will be all set to make the soup the next day/evening with your freshly made stock and leftover chicken meat. If you can’t eat all the soup at once then just freeze the leftovers. Trust me – you do not need to be an expert chef to make this plan work, and I guarantee you will NOT be disappointed with the outcome! And hopefully it will convince you to never buy chicken noodle soup out of a can again. 
Print This Recipe
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Yield: 6 – 7 Servings
Ingredients
- 9 cups chicken stock/broth
- 3 cups dry whole-grain noodles
- 10 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 5 celery stalks, washed and chopped
- 2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or diced
- Salt & pepper, to taste
- Bonus: If you want to go the extra mile make and add whole-wheat matzo balls to this soup. Just make sure you boil the matzo balls in a separate pot of water and not the stock!
Directions
- Bring chicken stock to a boil.
- Add dry whole-grain noodles to stock and set the timer according to pasta package directions.
- When there are 5 minutes left in the cooking time throw in the chopped carrots and celery. Keep the stock boiling.
- When there is about 1 minute left add the cooked chicken to the stock so it can heat up thoroughly.
- Taste the soup and add salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve warm and store the leftovers in the fridge or freezer. Enjoy!
Yum, I just made a batch of homemade stock last night. It smells heavenly!
I made some just like this last week only I added some chopped onion. I can never go back!! This makes the BEST soup!!
So true that once you make homemade stock you can’t go back. It really is easy and so healthy and delicious.
Try adding crushed or minced fresh garlic, one onion (chopped), and some dried or fresh parsley. It really adds to the flavor of homemade chicken noodle soup!
Lisa,
Where did you find the yummy whole wheat pasta in the photo. Those shells look delish!
I am currently in love with those little pasta shells! I got them at Earth Fare of course…my favorite store. It is one of their store-brand organic whole-wheat pastas sold in a bag.
Is this the same recipe you freeze and send for lunch in the canning jars?
Yes, exactly. Except I did add the whole-wheat matzo balls to the batch you saw in the jars as well. My kids love this soup (and so do we!)
America’s Test Kitchen has a recipe for a great stock that only takes an hour.
I had a great moment yesterday. Our family visited a local apple orchard, and I ordered an apple dumpling from the bakery. I adore apple-anything, so I was pretty excited about it, even though I knew it definitely wouldn’t follow “real food” rules. Well, my first bite was so disappointing that I couldn’t eat any more! I thought “I could make this myself SOOO much better!” The greatness in that thought was that since we’ve made the switch to real food, I’ve often complained often about making “everything” myself and how I still sometimes crave those treats. In that moment, I realized that I love real food so much better, I love making it myself, and I love knowing that I’m using the best (or at least much better) ingredients that will improve my family’s health. I’m in for the long haul!
I’ve had moments similar to that. For example, about a week ago I went out for the day and forgot my water bottle. The place I went had a drink machine with sodas and sports drinks. I decided to go with the sports drink and it tasted horrible. It was like I could almost taste the chemicals in it. Same with supermarket vs farmers market produce, the super market variety tasted like a watered down version of the fresh,local produce. I can honestly not see myself going back to my old way of eating.
I find your point to be especially true the few times we actually eat out. I always think I will appreciate a nite off from cooking, but then when my food comes it tastes like a tin can, chemicals or just like processed junk. So I pick at my dinner with visions of what we could have had if we hadn’t gone out!! Real food is just toooo good!
I’ve had similar experiences “rewarding” myself for a job well done with a processed food only to be seriously disappointed. I just read this article http://health.yahoo.net/experts/eatthis/whats-really-in-your-food and it’s just sickening what most companies put in food these days! 80-100 ingredients in things like a hamburger, sundae, and pot pie?! Absurd!
I can relate…there are so many things I will only eat at home now b/c I know that’s where it will taste best!
After the rainy day we had, that looks like exactly what we need…and your recipe sounds just like mine! but those noodles are cool!
I’ve been looking for a good chicken noodle soup, this one looks perfect! Can’t wait to try it
Sounds just like mine, except I add peas, and a dash of Summer Savory to mine. YUMMY! Especially in this cool, damp weather. Awesome reminder.
we like to add lots of veggies to ours. anything that we have on hand! it’s a good way to use fresh veggies that may not get used quick enough…
This looks so yummy–perfect for the Fall weather. I will be trying a batch of this soup soon!
I’m a newbie to this blog and, well, cooking anything not in the microwave. So forgive the elementary question while I try to play catch up: when you freeze this, what kind of container do you put it in? How do you thaw it to serve?
I think, from what she’s shown us of her freezer, they can be frozen in glass mason jars (not filled all the way to the top!).
As far as for how I defrost things: When I freeze pasta sauce in glass jars, I generally defrost it in the fridge the night before in the glass jar, then heat it up in a regular dish in the microwave or on the stove in a pan.
Lately I’ve been freezing my soups in “freezer safe” jars (not filled to the top so there is room for the liquid to expand) and to thaw them I take out a jar the night before then just heat it up on the stove the next day. I hope that helps…and I am so thrilled that you are giving cooking a chance! It can be very rewarding
This looks yummy! Can’t wait to try it. I have a question about making my own chicken stock. I’ve always wanted to try it, but it sounds intimidating, but I’m going to try! You mentioned that the best way you’ve found it to make with leftovers from Whole Chicken in a Crock Pot recipe and that you make the stock with the leftover bones overnight. How do you do it overnight? Follow the chicken stock recipe and put it in the crock pot overnight instead of in a pot on stove?
You will love homemade chicken stock! So we make the chicken in the crock pot in the afternoon and then for dinner we pull all the good meat off the chicken leaving everything else in the crock pot. Then after dinner I just fill up the crock pot with water, add the bay leaf, parsley, thyme, carrots, celery, & onion and then put it on low all night long. Then the next morning I strain the stock and either refrigerate or freeze it. Works great!
This might be a dumb question, but why do you need to boil the matzo balls in water rather than in the stock?
There is no such thing as a dumb question when it comes to cooking! The matzo balls take on a lot of liquid when they cook so if you boil them in your stock you won’t have enough stock left for soup! Not that I figured that out the hard way or anything
What a coincidence! I happen to have stock going in the crockpot right at this moment. I follow the same method – roast the chicken one day and have some for dinner, then put the carcass in the crockpot with water and a little vinegar (I’ve read it draws out some calcium from the bones) overnight. In the morning, I strain the stock and put it back into the crockpot, along with any large pieces of meat that have come off the bones, and add the vegetables for soup. Dinner that night is nearly labor-free, a nice break after the chicken-roasting night. Here’s my tortilla soup variation (yes, no actual tortillas in the ingredients!) for a change of pace from chicken noodle: http://rosemaryevergreen.blogspot.com/2010/03/tortilla-soup.html
So delicious and easy!!! I am trying to lose weight so instead of noodles I made it with corn, peas, sweet potatoes and carrots, and then a dash of parsley and garlic. The mix of veggies really gave it something extra! Its more like…chicken and veggie soup, but still delicious!
You’re right! This chicken noodle soup is sublime. Especially with the homemade stock and the crock pot chicken. The condensed variety is a thing of my past.
This was great! My 2 and 3.5 year old even ate the carrots and celery! Thank you!
this may not be real food worthy, but I put a few drops of yellow food coloring in my homeade chicken broth and it looks beautiful!
You eat with your eyes first!
I LOVE your blog. Just finished “In Defense” and started “Omnivores Dilemma.” I am trying to make small changes and your info is really helpful.
Thanks!
Richard
I’m glad you are enjoying the recipes and blog…but I would definitely stay away from the food coloring (just because it is artificial!). You can buy natural food dyes online though.
Very delish! The only thing we wound up changing was that I had some herbs de Provence from Costco so I added it to the crockpot chicken , omitted the garlic powder since I didn’t have any (the horror!) and b/c out of habit, added 1/4 cup of water. At the last moment, I just drizzled a touch of honey (yes, I am still working thru the sweet tooth)…with the stock, added the herb of Provence again and let her cook in the crockpot. For the soup, added loosely chopped onion and 2 potatoes and some rotini noodles. Kids and I gobbled it up! Too bad hubby is out of town so he can’t enjoy…
This was the best chicken soup I have ever had! My husband and I loved it. I made it with the chicken and chicken stock from the crock pot recipes. DELICIOUS! So easy. Thank you!!
I made it but I ended up needing a lot more stock, and I just added some water. I used an elbow macaroni though, and I added 1 onion. How would you substitute rice for the noodles? I love chicken, and rice soup but I’m not a very good cook
@Vanessa, I had to do the same (add more water).
I had approx. 12 cups of stock from using your recipe (ps the Chicken was AWESOME!) but I still needed more water. We’re a family of 6 so I really need to double this recipe.
Hi Lisa,
Just made your crock pot chicken and it was so delish! Making your crock pot stock now. So next of course will be your chicken soup. I was just looking it over to see what I would need and noticed something about Matzo balls however, I can’t find the recipe on your site. Can you help me locate this please. Love your site! Thanks for all the work you do.
Tracy
Glad you are enjoying the recipes! And yes you can add matzo balls, but I don’t think I ever posted the exact recipe anywhere. Try searching online for a matzo ball recipe that uses crackers (and not a powdered packet) and then buy whole-wheat matzo crackers to make it. It’s pretty simple…crushed crackers, eggs, salt and maybe a few other things. Good luck!