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. :)
Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
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!
Ingredients
- 9 cups chicken broth
- 3 cups whole-grain noodles
- 10 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 5 stalks celery, washed and chopped
- 2 cups chicken, cooked, shredded or diced
- salt, to taste
- pepper, to taste
Instructions
- 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!
Recipe Notes
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!
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Used 1 – 16oz frozen broccoli Normandy left overs from dinner, 12 C broth, 5 C whole wheat noodles 3 C left over chicken. All 12 of the kids ate lunch today ! Yay !
This is my favorite chicken, chicken stock and chicken soup recipe. I’ve made it at least 15 times over the past 4 years and my kids love it. I add 2 cloves of garlic and a pinch of cumin to the stock. Awesome. Thank for sharing!
Homemade stock is definitely the key. I had given up a few years ago on making my own chicken noodle soup, but will not ever buy a can again after this recipe! I do saute the carrots and celery beforehand as we like a softer texture. I have added water at the end, too, if more liquid is needed. Thanks for another great recipe!
I have made this soup twice and we use small mason jars to freeze portions for lunch boxes (a great tip, btw, so thanks!). However, once the soup cools down, the pasta absorbs most of the chicken stock and there is very little liquid compared to the amount of pasta. I even tried cooking the pasta and veggies in a separate pot of water but no luck. Any ideas? Thanks!
Hi Monique, I often just boil my noodles fresh because my kids like it better that way. You can boil a small amount of noodles the night before and add them as you are heating the soup up in the morning.
Another great recipe to add to the collection. Definitely the best way to use the chicken leftovers from the crock pot chicken recipe. Super easy and delicious made per the recipe.
Thanks for your answers. I ended up making chicken rice soup with the stock. Put everything in the slow cooker in the am and it was ready for my family to eat at lunch. They were recovering from the stomach virus and it was easy for them to eat. It turned out delicious!
I made the chicken in a crock pot yesterday and the stock overnight. I was surprised that it was darker than what I am used to. Is that normal?
Hi there. A darker, richer broth is perfectly normal for this recipe. :)
Hi Eileen, just wanted to say mine turned out dark too…maybe it is the spice mixture? It tastes great…but definitely way darker than when I use the bones and skin from a deli rotisserie chicken.
I assume that the turkey stock that I made after our Christmas dinner will work as well? Also, on a different matter what would I use the turkey drippings for that I saved as well? We love soup!
Yes, turkey stock should work, too. You can use drippings for gravy or to add flavor to a stuffing or veggies, like green beans.
I just made this after making the chicken in a crock pot and homemade chicken stock recipes. So delicious! I will say that I did modify the recipe a tad, as I like my veggies tender is soup. I sauteed them, plus some parsnips and onion, in olive oil. Once they were tender, then I added the broth and some fresh chopped parsley. When it came to a boil, I added the noodles and chicken and simmered until the noodles were done. I have no doubt the recipe as is would have been wonderful, but I was worried that the carrots and celery would be too crispy for soup. :)
Cn you somehow convert this to crockpot? I’d like to make it while at work so I have an awesome, WARM dinner to come home to in this crazy polar vertex. :-)
Hi Andrea. This might help as a reference point: http://www.chow.com/recipes/30868-slow-cooker-chicken-soup.
I’m printing this for the 4th or 5th or 10th time because I keep misplacing the recipe after I use it. You’d think I’d have it memorized by now! Yum!!
Hi Courtney. I’m glad you like this recipe! I think it’s a great endorsement of the recipe itself! I can’t figure out WHY you’d waste ink and paper printing the recipe when you could just save the recipe to your computer!? Good luck.
Vincent Reagan
BTW I’m the same guy who wants to buy an E-book Version of the cookbook!?!?
:-)
You’re right! Our computer isn’t in our kitchen and the iPad met an untimely demise. But, never fear, I now have a new Fire and the recipe is Pinned, so I’m good to go.