Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
This Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup is comforting, nourishing and perfect for a chilly day. This recipe is an easy way to make homemade chicken noodle soup from scratch!
Love easy crockpot meals? Try Crock Pot Chicken and Dumplings, Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup or Crockpot Potato Soup next.
Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken noodle soup is one of the best comfort foods, especially when you’re not feeling well or have had a long day. With this crockpot chicken noodle soup recipe, making chicken soup from scratch has never been easier!
This recipe is a dump and go slow cooker recipe, meaning you can put all of the ingredients in your crockpot without doing any cooking ahead of time. You’ll save time in the evening because most of the work of making dinner will already be done.
I’m making this today again! I thought I would share how wonderful this soup is! We love it. I follow the recipe exactly as written except I make the noodles separately because we have some that like a little and some that like a ton. Perfect toss and go soup. Thank you!
April
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chicken: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are my preference for this recipe. You can also use boneless chicken thighs.
- Onion and Garlic: For flavor.
- Vegetables: This recipe uses carrots and celery, the most common vegetables found in chicken noodle soup. For flavor variety, you can add other veggies such as parsnips, potatoes, green beans or frozen peas.
- Herbs: Fresh herbs give this soup wonderful flavor without being overpowering. You’ll add whole fresh sprigs of the herbs and then remove the stems after the soup has cooked. A few of the herb leaves will fall off of the stems into the soup. I’ve made this chicken noodle soup with fresh thyme and fresh rosemary and both are delicious.
- Bay Leaf: A bay leaf also adds flavor to the soup as it simmers. You’ll remove and discard the bay leaf once the soup is done.
- Salt and Pepper: To season the soup. It’s always a good idea to taste your soup again after it has finished cooking, and add more seasoning as needed.
- Chicken Stock or Chicken Broth: You can use either chicken stock or broth in this soup recipe. I prefer the richer flavor of stock. Try to find unsalted chicken stock or low sodium chicken broth, so that you can adjust the salt level yourself. If you have some homemade Instant Pot bone broth on hand, it makes an extra nutritious base for this soup.
- Egg Noodles: I use extra wide egg noodles, and cook them right in the slow cooker during the last 10 minutes of the cook time. If you prefer, you can cook the egg noodles separately on the stove and then add them to the soup when serving.
Quick Tip: If you don’t have fresh herbs, you can use dried herbs in this recipe. Try rosemary, thyme and/or sage, or a combination of your favorites. Use about 1 teaspoon of dried herbs total, and limit dried sage to no more than 1/4 teaspoon.
Find the full recipe with ingredient amounts and instructions in the recipe card below.
How to Make Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
Add ingredients to crockpot. To make this crock pot chicken noodle soup, first add all of the ingredients, except the egg noodles, to the slow cooker.
Slow cook. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Then check that the chicken has cooked through and the vegetables have softened.
Shred the chicken. Once the soup is done, you’ll remove and shred the chicken. The chicken will be so tender that it should shred easily. You can learn more about how to shred chicken here.
Add the egg noodles. The last step to making crockpot chicken noodle soup is to add the egg noodles to the crockpot. Continue cooking the soup on high for about 10 minutes, or until the noodles have softened. I always err on the side of undercooking the noodles a bit because they will continue to soften as they sit in the broth.
Serve crockpot chicken noodle soup with biscuits or some crusty bread for soaking up extra broth and a green salad for a complete meal.
To Store, Freeze and Reheat
- To Refrigerate: Store crockpot chicken noodle soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. As the soup sits, the noodles will continue to absorb some of the broth and will become very soft. I don’t mind this, but if you do, you may want to cook the egg noodles separately so that you can add them right before serving your reheated soup.
- To Freeze: Chicken soup freezes well, but it’s best to freeze it without noodles. Make the soup without noodles, freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months (I like to freeze individual portion sizes), and then cook the noodles separately when you serve the thawed soup. Thaw soup overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
- To Reheat: Reheat the soup in a pot on the stove, stirring occasionally. Alternatively, you can reheat individual bowls of soup in the microwave until the soup is hot.
More Chicken Soup Recipes
Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 4 large carrots, peeled and chopped, about 2 cups
- 3 ribs celery, chopped, about 2 cups
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried thyme, or 3 sprigs fresh rosemary (see note)
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 8 cups chicken stock, or low sodium chicken broth
- 7 ounces egg noodles, about 3 cups
- fresh parsley, optional, for serving
Instructions
- Put chicken in the bottom of the slow cooker. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, salt, pepper and chicken stock or broth.
- Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours, until the chicken is cooked through (the center of the chicken should register at least 165° F on an instant read thermometer) and the vegetables are tender.
- Remove the bay leaf and thyme stems and discard. Many of the thyme leaves will have fallen off into the soup.
- Remove the chicken to a clean bowl or cutting board. Let it rest for 5 minutes and then shred it into small pieces. Return the chicken to the soup.
- Meanwhile, if the slow cooker is not on high, set it to the high setting. Stir in the egg noodles. Cover and cook on high for 10 minutes or until the noodles are tender.
- Taste the soup and add additional salt and pepper as needed, to taste. Serve, with chopped fresh parsley if desired.
Notes
- If you don’t have fresh herbs, you can use dried herbs in this recipe. Try rosemary, thyme and/or sage, or a combination of your favorites. Use about 1 teaspoon of dried herbs total, and limit dried sage to no more than 1/4 teaspoon.
- To Refrigerate: Store crockpot chicken noodle soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. As the soup sits, the noodles will continue to absorb some of the broth and will become very soft. I don’t mind this, but if you do, you may want to cook the egg noodles separately so that you can add them right before serving your reheated soup.
- To Freeze: Chicken soup freezes well, but it’s best to freeze it without noodles. Make the soup without noodles, freeze it in an airtight container for up to 3 months (I like to freeze individual portion sizes), and then cook the noodles separately when you serve the thawed soup. Thaw soup overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Hello Kristine, Am making a pot of chicken soup for a nabor friend returning from surgery. Another nabor has given me all the bones & chicken left from her Costco rotisserie chicken; I have some from an IP chicken made from one of your recipes. Since the chicken has already cooked, should I reduce the cook time? Am going to use either my 6qt. IP on Slow Cook, or my larger crockpot. Thank you. Sally
You can’t reduce the cook time because then the vegetables won’t cook enough. I would add the chicken during the last hour of cooking, so that it can heat through. You may also need to increase the overall cook time by 30 minutes or so (since you’ll be adding cold chicken to the pot it may take a little longer to finish cooking).
Hi there was just wondering about how many chicken breasts would you say for 5 people?
This recipe serves 8 people and uses 1 pound of chicken, which is about 2 boneless, skinless breasts. I would recommend making the recipe as written for 5 people, and you may have a little bit of leftover soup.
I’m making this today again! I thought I would share how wonderful this soup is! We love it. I follow the recipe exactly as written except I make the noodles separately because we have some that like a little and some that like a ton. Perfect toss and go soup. Thank you!