This Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup is hearty and comforting, yet incredibly easy to make! No need for a can of soup, homemade is the best!
Is there anything more comforting than a big bowl of hearty soup? There’s something so natural about it, and it brings you right back to childhood.
If the only chicken noodle soup you’ve ever had is a can of good ol’ Campbells, then simply put… you NEED to try a homemade version! The flavor is so rich, so complex, and it’s incredibly easy to make at home.
Normally I think of chicken noodle soup as “sick food”… something you eat when you’re under the weather. And don’t get me wrong, this easy crockpot chicken noodle soup recipe is FABULOUS for that, but it’s also fantastic on a night when you’re looking for some comfort food. Paired with a green salad, it’s a great light meal as well!
I love cooking soups in the slow cooker because it adds great flavor plus I love coming home to dinner ready to go. If you’re in a rush, I make an amazing stove top Chicken Noodle Soup in about 20 minutes too!
IS CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP REALLY GOOD FOR YOU?
It depends on the ingredients you use to make the soup, and when you use quality ingredients, yes! Plus the soups steam warms you and eases any congestion, and the warm brothy soup helps ease a sore throat. There’s a reason it’s the universal soup for when you’re under the weather!
I also like to buy reduced sodium chicken broth, so I can control the amount of salt in the dish.
If you’re wondering what are the best noodles for chicken noodle soup, I prefer to use wide egg noodles. They tend to keep their shape and texture in soup compared to other types of noodles.
Some people make crockpot chicken noodle soup with rotisserie chicken, but this slow cooker chicken noodle soup makes it so easy to use fresh chicken. After a long, hard day, a big bowl of this soup is the cure!
WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CHICKEN BROTH AND CHICKEN STOCK?
Is there a difference between broth and stock? Yes, there is! Traditionally, chicken broth is made from simmering meat, whereas chicken stock is made from simmering bones. Chicken stock has a richer flavor, due to the gelatin released from the bones as they cook, and broth is much lighter, in color and mouth feel. Since crockpot chicken and noodle soup is traditionally a brothy soup, with a relatively “clear” broth, I always use chicken broth instead of stock, but you can use whatever you prefer or have on hand.
CROCKPOT SOUP RECIPES AND IDEAS TO ENJOY
- Crock Pot Ham and Bean Soup
- CrockPot Lasagna Soup
- Crock Pot Cabbage Roll Soup
- Slow Cooker Cajun Bean Turkey Soup Recipe
WHAT HERBS ARE USED IN CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP?
In this, the best crockpot chicken noodle soup, I’ve used dried rosemary and thyme, with some fresh minced parsley as a garnish. Some dried tarragon, or using fresh herbs would be great additions and substitutions as well. While not exactly herbs, we’ve also used the classic “mirepoix” or “holy trinity” of diced onions, carrots and celery. These vegetables are used very frequently to start off just about any soup by adding amazing flavor and aromas.
Looking for more fantastic soup recipes? Try my Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana, and hearty Slow Cooker Minestrone!
Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 3 large carrots peeled and sliced into coins
- 2 ribs celery sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced, more to taste
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bay leaf optional
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon I use Better Than Bouillon brand, optional
- 8 to 9 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- 8 ounces egg noodles wide or extra wide
- chopped fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
- To the bottom of a 6 quart or larger slow cooker, add trimmed chicken breasts. Top with onion, carrots, celery, garlic, dried thyme, dried rosemary, salt and pepper, and bay leaf (if using).
- Dollop chicken base over the top, then pour in chicken broth. Gently stir to combine. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
- Remove chicken from slow cooker to a large mixing bowl. Shred chicken. Discard bay leaf (if using), and return shredded chicken back to slow cooker.
- Cook egg noodles al dente according to package directions.
- Add egg noodles to soup and cook on LOW for 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
- Serve garnished with minced fresh parsley and a sprinkle of black pepper.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
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Repin this Crockpot Soup Recipe
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I thought this was very good. I thought it had the right amount of onions though I did add a little more carrots and celery. I increased the thyme to 1 teaspoon since I love thyme. About 1/2 hour before we were going to have the soup, I took 2 teaspoons of cornstarch and mixed it with some of the soup and then poured it in and whisked it. I could not find wide white egg noodles so I bought paparadelle and added it 10 minutes before we were going to have it and it worked well. It did need more salt but everyone got to put in the right amount of salt for each person. The pappardelle soaked up a lot of the liquid so next time I’d either add less noodles or add a cup more of broth.
I made this soup this morning and I was wondering how to make the broth thicker?
Thank you?
I would suggest whisking 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water. Bring the broth to a boil and drizzle in the mixture while whisking. You can add as much or as little as you’d like.
Made this tonight and it’s delicious! Wondering if it freezes well.
If freezing, I would recommend keeping the noodles on the side as they’ll absorb too much of the broth during freezing and thawing. Without the noodles, the soup freezes beautifully!
Does the chicken have to be cooked first before placing in the crock pot?
For this recipe, we add the raw chicken breasts directly to the slow cooker.
Thank you, but I got lost at dollop chicken base. I thought I was supposed to have a bouillon cube. I have to research what I’m dolloping and also what that means.
If it’s a cube, you can crumble it. If using better than bouillon, it’s more like a paste so adding little blobs of it instead of one big blob. I hope that helps!
I’m making this but just with chicken drumsticks instead of the breasts. When and if I get my own place, I’ll be making it as written. I’m also using garlic powder to sub for the garlic cloves because I forgot to get some at the store. I’ll write another review and say how it turned out! I’m also using chicken bouillon cubes in place of the chicken broth because that’s all I have. I should have bought some, but I still live at home, and I didn’t want my mom to question why I was buying chicken broth.
I hope you enjoyed it, Julie!
Made this evening. I didn’t have a rotisserie chicken so I cooked some chicken breast in olive oil and butter, seasoned really well, and followed the rest of the recipe. This is the BEST chicken noodle soup I ever made or had! Thanks so much for sharing!
We love this recipe! It is delicious, easy, and inexpensive.
Great recipe
Hi! I don’t have dried rosemary on hand. Can you recommend a substitute for rosemary? Or would the soup taste great without it? Thank you!
You can add a little extra thyme or some sage to add flavor. You can also just leave it out.
Just wanted to say, the “bouillion base” that I made disappointed. Next time I make this, I won’t do that. My family hated it while I loved it. I wouldn’t do the “bouillion base” on the chicken ever again. But, I will make this recipe without it.
Thanks for your feedback, Julie! I am glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Agree with Julie and had the same reaction from my family (though I also loved mine and hey all the more for me).
I also used reduced sodium bouillon base which may have added to the problem.
Absolutely amazing recipe! I have made it multiple times so far. I am curious on what the serving size is for the nutritional information?
A serving is about 1.25 cups.
Hi! I am planning on cooking this recipe and wanted to clarify if you are using ground black pepper or whole black pepper? I am not sure which would work best. Thanks!
We use ground black pepper for this recipe! I hope you enjoy it, Caroline.
Love a crockpot soup. This is a great recipe but it does need one tweek. Brown the chicken first in a pan with a little oil, remove, sauté onions and garlic, and add all to the crockpot with everything else. Sautéing the onions gets rid of that metallic taste that raw onions get in a crockpot. It’s taken me a while to figure that out.
Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you for sharing your tweaks, Tina!
I made some alterations but this was a great base. I decided to use some stuff up and I’m also a bit under the weather so from what I remember I didn’t have celery so I added a about 1/4 tsp of celery seed (I didn’t want to over do it), added about half a can of cream of chicken, DanO’s seasoning, turmeric, and ginger. I used the Better Than Bouillon Low Sodium Chicken as my broth and added a Chicken and Tomato Bouillon cube. My child was too cool for star pasta so, I boiled egg noodles for them and my ⭐ pasta separately then added the noodles to our soup.
I don’t have any celery, would celery seed work? If so, how much would I use?
You can try using a small amount (1/2 teaspoon) of celery seeds to produce the taste of celery in the soup, or you can omit the celery altogether.
Delicious and simple.
My family LOVED this soup! Thank you! Changes I made…I used 2 containers of vegetable broth and a small can of chicken broth and I used a lot of chicken thighs and few chicken breasts.
This is a repeat recipe!