How To Make Perfect Chicken Noodle Soup

 
 
 
 
 
I know, it really sounds like I am boasting… sorry! But you too can make a chicken noodle soup that is more delicious than you can imagine. There are a few old time secrets that can turn a good soup into one that makes the angels sing. And I can’t wait to share them with you. An astrick (*) notes tips to a better soup.
 

 
 
 
 
Recipe:
4-5 lbs. chicken backs, wings, necks and thighs with skin (any combo) A turkey or a couple of chicken carcasses can be used. When using chicken carcass, add additional chicken pieces such as backs or wings.
8-10 cups water- or enough water to cover chicken, plus 2-3 inches
mirepoix: combo of onions, carrots and celery
   2 onions, skins on and quartered
   3 carrots, peeled, cut into 3-4 pieces
   3 celery ribs, cut into 3-4 pieces
2 TBS salt
6 peppercorns or more
bouquet garni- bunch of parsley and thyme tied together + 2 bay leaves
 
1 onion, peeled and chopped into small pieces
6 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch rounds
4 celery ribs, cut  horizontally if thick and cut into 2 inch pieces
3 medium potatoes, peeled, and cut into bite size pieces
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
4 TBS chicken bullion
2-4 TBS fresh parsley, chopped
2 bags very thin egg noodles
 
 
Proceedure:
Put chicken and water in a very large pot over medium heat.  Add mirepoix, salt and peppercorns.  Bring pot to a simmer, DO NOT BOIL. Skim scum off the top of soup as it develops. *This is a very important step- it will give you a clearer soup. Simmer for 2  hours uncovered.
  
In a separate large pot, bring water to boil, add salt. Cook thin egg noodles  according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
  
Using a “spider”, or large slotted spoon scoop out all chicken and vegetables into a large bowl and then discard. Make sure you get it all.  * Do not use these veggies and chicken when serving soup, they have given all of their flavor to the broth.
 
Taste broth. *If needed add bullion. Be bold! You should have a very full bodied, chicken broth.
 
Bring soup back to a simmer and add chopped onion, carrots and celery. *Using new veggies gives a second layer of fresh veggie flavor, and taste delicious to eat in your soup.
 
 
 
 
 
You can also add boneless chicken and cook in broth at this time. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Remove chicken when fully cooked and set aside to cool.
 
Add potatoes, and cook until tender 15-20 minutes.  While potatoes are cooking cube chicken. When potatoes are tender add chicken and 3 TBS minced parsley and simmer for 5 minutes. *Using fresh parsley at the very end of cooking enhances the fresh flavor.
 
To Serve:
Add noodles (as much as you like in your soup) to a wide soup bowl. Ladle hot soup over noodles.
Serve. Yummy!
 
 
 
 
 
*Always keep the noodles and soup separate. If combined the noodles get soggy. This makes a huge difference in the taste of the soup. When refrigerating, keep soup and noodles in separate containers.
When ready to serve, reheat soup until piping hot and add to cold noodles.
 
Enjoy! 
 
My grandmother taught me how to make this soup. I don’t have a recipe, but learned by wathcing and doing. This is not rocket science, so relax and enjoy the process. A little less of this or more of that will change the flavor, but it should still be delicious!
 
Note: I also make this broth for Matzo Ball Soup, Italian Wedding Soup and as stock to freeze and keep on hand.

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83 Comments

  1. I have never put potatoes in my chicken soup. This looks wonderful

  2. I have never done it with the noodles separate. I’ll have to try it that way. This is a bit more involved than my old-fashioned chicken soup…but, it sounds and looks delicious and well worth the extra step or 2. Yummy…the photos are perfect!

    1. I always add pasta, barley, et al to the bottom of the bowl , ladle the soup on top and then store separately. Otherwise the soup will absorb the stock and you’ll end up with a big pot of mush. This is a great recipe and turorial on great stock. Thanks.

      1. That’s right! People love my Chicken Noodle Soup… and the not-mushy noodles!

  3. Yvonne-I don’t think there is any other smell that says “home” to me like a chicken stewing in a pot. The best recipes aren’t usually recipes at all but handed down like this one. Your photos are beautiful. Enjoy your soup 🙂

  4. Your photos are just fabulous! I’m having a few problems with my Olympus and I was just drooling over the clarity of these shots. May I ask what type of camera you are using??? Nancy
    PS: It’s almost 12:30AM here and I have a terrible craving for homemade chicken soup!

  5. I think this will be PERFECT when my husband comes home from the hospital next week. I have tried to make chicken soup several times and it always comes out with minimal flavor, I see the extra steps you have here should take care of that issue.

  6. Yvonne, your chicken soup looks scrumptious! I bet you are an awesome cook!

    Thanks for stopping by my blog. I’d love to have your recipe for homemade tortillas.

    Jane

  7. What a lovely recipe. Your pictures are gorgeous. Thank you for sharing it with us. Have a wonderful Foodie Friday.

  8. This looks delicious, my mom has a fabulous chicken soup, there is just something about it that is comforting in every way.

    Oh I wanted to ask you: Can we be best friends? Seriously your post below I just wanted to come over eat and visit so badly. Those cherries and the muffin were calling my name!

  9. Chicken soup is a mainstay at our house. This recipe sounds divine. I love the step by steps and tips.The photos are mouthwatering good!

  10. Next time I get a cold I am hauling my big sniffly buttocks over to your house, jumping into your scrumptious bed and gobbling chicken noodle soup. I think I may have to pretend I am sick and just make this. I do want you to know that I have named my 5 extra pounds I seem to have collected Yvonne!

  11. This sounds so good! It would be delicious on a cold winter day!

  12. Yvonne,
    Someone has FINALLY taught me how to make excellent chicken noodle soup…YOU!!! Wow! That took a little time & work, but it was the BEST! We all had two bowls. THANK YOU!

  13. Yvonne, I made this soup for my husband when he came home from the hospital last week. It was excellent, I will certainly make this one again. This week I’m trying your taco soup as our weather is cold and snowy.

  14. I’ll give your process a try. I love chicken noodle soup, but I usually us extra wide Amish noodles. Thanks for sharing the recipe! Cherry Kay

  15. This is a great chicken soup recipe, Yvonne, and a very good tip to keep the noodles and hot soup separate! I adore chicken soup, and I make a Greek version called Avgolemno that my mom made when I was growing up–when I feel like I’m coming down with a cold, it’s my go-to soup! I want to try out your recipe now–it looks delish!

  16. Very interesting! I never skim off the scum and I never keep my noodles separate. Everything else I do. And my chicken noodle soup is really good…not I’m looking for it to be GREAT! Thanks.

  17. Anonymous says:

    This is virtually the way I’ve always made chicken soup, according to my Hungarian mother’s recipe. Never used potatoes and probably never will. Always keep the noodles and soup separate, otherwise the noodles expand and soak up all the delicious soup.

  18. this looks really good! i’ve been trying to find a good recipe, although the potatoes will be left out and i’ll still use wide noodles. a good hearty soup needs good hearty noodles. i have a couple questions though. how tender do the carrots get? i’m not a fan of them and can only tolerate them if they are soft. and can this be modified for a slow cooker? i hate cooking foods that take alot of time and i’m trying to make the most out of my cooker. thanks

  19. I haven’t tried this yet, but my significant other, 81 years old and a wonderful cook, says if you put a little oil in your pot when you boil meat for soup you won’t get any scum. Can’t wait to try your recipe.

  20. Thank you for sharing,Yvonne, You have given me the perfect added extras my soup needed.

  21. Anonymous says:

    I always add bouillon to my soup as well as gravy. My very fav is Better N Bouillon…what is your fav?

  22. Love your website. Just wanted to ask if anyone else has had a problem with the pale color of the printing when copies are made off your site (of recipes, etc.) ? It’s almost impossible to read them. Any way to solve this?

    1. I’m not sure Kay? I don’t think it’s a problem with my site. Try adjusting your settings when you print. Am I the only site that does that?

  23. Mary-Louise says:

    Yvonne, I believe your chicken soup reciepe is the closest I’ve read to my mothers. She was a great cook and truly made a unique soup! I’m going to make this soon! My mother kept her noodles separate and it truly makes a difference. I’m not sure about adding potatoes though, she always added a turip and parsnip, to the pot, would you suggest these be added in the beginning and removed?

    Thank you for your wonderful site, you help make my days!

  24. Is there a printable recipe without the photos? Sounds like a wonderful recipe. Thanks.

  25. Kelly Otwell says:

    I made this for dinner tonight and it was absolutely the most wonderful chicken noodle soup that I have ever eaten!! My teenage daughters absolutely loved it and asked me if I could freeze some so that next time they were sick, there would be some ready for them. I make chicken and dumplings quite often and I think I’m going to use this method for the broth. It is so flavorful and just heavenly.

  26. I just made your chicken noodle soup last Tuesday! My family loved it. This is deffinately a keeper. Thanks for the recipe, Yvonne. Hope your feeling better!

  27. Dorothy Roberts says:

    Is there a way to print the soups without the photos on the right side covering up
    the recipes ?

    1. My newer soup recipes have a recipe card you can print. The older recipes can be cut and pasted to a word document and then printed. Hope this helps!

    2. Hi Dorothy! My older post don’t have the printable recipe card my new ones do. You will have to cut and paste the recipe to a word document. Sorry!

  28. Victoria Schwalbe says:

    You are so right…this is by far the best chicken soup ever!!!! I’d stopped making it because I was tired of being disappointed. I did one thing differently than you do. I lined a colander with cheesecloth, put it over another pot to drain out the veggies and chicken bones. Once in a while, not often though, I’d find a tiny bone shard. So the cheesecloth puts an end to that. And it’s easy to wrap up to dispose of. Thanks so much for the best recipe. I have a couple of containers for our freezer and some to share with elderly….well more elderly than me….friends.

  29. Are you using old fashioned table salt or Kosher ? Thank you.

  30. An easy way to strain chicken and mirepoix before continuing is to cook in a spaghetti pot with strainer. So much easier.

  31. Bev Redmond says:

    Love your Stone Gables page, but I find that I become so totally engrossed in surfing (because one of your amazing ideas or projects always leads to another and another, etc.) that I finally look up at the clock and wonder where the past few hours went! Please keep up the amazing work.

    Now to the subject I started to comment on in the first place: You believe your chicken noodle soup is the best. We have something in common – I believe MINE is the best! 🙂 Actually, our methods are very similar, although I have never used a recipe for mine. After years of trial and error, I finally hit on the perfect (for me) combination of ingredients/herbs/seasonings and have stuck with that ever since. I just wanted to share with you a tip my mother taught me when I first began cooking as a little girl. Bring the liquid to a boil before dropping the chicken in and VOILA! No scum and no wasted time trying to skim the yucky mess of the top of the soup.

  32. darla coffman says:

    Oh This soup sounds and looks wonderful! Can’t wait to try it. Thank you!

  33. But, I don’t see any of the “*” to which you were referring to make it a SPECIAL soup!?

  34. Yeah, it is fall at last. Temperatures will be in the 60s next week, time to make soup. This looks like am awesome recipe, and I cant air to make it. Thank you Yvonne. You always get me excited for the change of seasons with your decorating and cooking ideas.

    I especially want to thank you on your advice on reading Proverbs. I have started. We missed the class on Proverbs at our Chuch because we are in one on a study of the minor prophets. God bless and thank you for your spiritual encouragement.

    1. Sorry for the fat fingered typos…. Doing this on an iPad and in a hurry.

  35. I just made your clam chowder recipe and it is so fabulous. Love it. And I’m not much of a cook. Thanks for that recipe also

  36. YUM… sounds taste !!

  37. I just found a new chicken soup recipe! I just made your roasted chickens tonight. Next will be the soup! Can’t wait to make this.

  38. Angela Saver says:

    Oh I can’t wait to make this for my family! It looks amazing!

  39. I too make my soup with a pasta stock pot with a strainer inside. The strainer makes it so easy to lift up the meat and vegetables that you want to discard. I tilt the strainer on top of the stock pot and let it drain, then dump all the contents out. I love your tips and appreciate all your tips and tricks. They have taught me a lot about decorating and entertaining. Thanks so much!

  40. Yvonne, I will surely make this soup!! I just made your Stonegable Vegetable soup this week and I even added the turnips like your said. I have to tell you that I absolutely hate turnips, but I put them in anyway. It is the best soup vegetable soup that I’ve ever made. Thank you so much for the recipe. I’m just sorry that it has taken me so long to make it. I know it will be a keeper in our house. I’m also excited to make this chicken noodle soup, it sounds amazing.

  41. Can’t wait to try this!

  42. Hi Yvonne,
    Just wanted to tell you I started this soup after work tonight and the house smells delicious!
    My husband asked if it was the recipe I was telling him about. ( yes)
    Might have to finish tomorrow though due to the hour.

  43. Portia read says:

    Hi Yvonne, I made this soup when I saw your article about two weeks ago. It is truly delicious. Lots of compliments.

  44. Looks wonderful ! Now throw in some fresh homemade bread and butter and apple pie for dessert 🙂 yummmmmmm

  45. THIS up sounds amazing Ingram, I too love soup year round and make enough to freeze! Thank you for your awesome menu of the week, a must for me to try”

    1. I hate auto- .9rrect. “Soup” I don’t know where Ingram came from …LOL

  46. Michelle Buehrer says:

    I made this soup today and it is the best chicken noodle soup! We have the flu and bronchitis going through our home and this soup hit the spot for everyone!
    Thank you for sharing this recipe!!

    1. So glad you liked it! I really believe chicken noodle soup helps illness like cold and the flu!

  47. Lisa Matarazzo says:

    Dear Yvonne:

    I couldn’t agree with you more. If you’re going to put the noodle in the broth you may as well open a can and have mushy noodles. I usually make my stock in my crockpot with using a “soup sock” (Amazon). It’s so easy and such a time saver. Thanks for sharing your Nani’s delicious recipes!

  48. This “recipe” sounds wonderful. Is there a printable version?

    1. Sorry, you will have to cut and past. It was a very early recipe in my blogging life!

  49. Nancy Hutchison says:

    i have never considered keeping the noodles separate so they don’t end up mushy. What a great idea!

  50. Thank you for sharing the recipe and directions, this soup looks delicious! This is a soup loving household, so I’m looking forward to making this!

  51. Toni Foster says:

    You always have the best yummies!

  52. Looking forward to making chicken noodle soup today. Having snow shower all morning. Perfect day for soup. Thank you for sharing this recipe.

  53. Looks amazingly yummy. A must make soup. We love variety of soups fire the fall and winter. Hate the thought of cold coming, but love the thought of soups. Can’t wait to start making your soups. Yum!

  54. Not sure I can throw away 4-5 lbs of chicken and all those veggies. I make my soup just like yours after that step. I will however, not put noodles and rest together any more. Great tip. Thx

    1. Once the chicken and veggies have been simmered that long they have given up their flavor and lots of their nutrients. They are spent so you are not throwing away good food. You have its best in the broth. If you keep the noodles separate from the soup your noodles don’t get limp and soggy. Hope this helps to better explain, Vicky.

  55. Enjoying a bowl of this wonderful soup as I’m writing!!!
    I too have fond memories of my grandmother making chicken noodle soup. She cut her fresh pasta into 1/4″ squares. If only I were so industrious.
    Thank you for posting your recipe.

    1. This is the best part of making a family recipe. There are precious memories that fill the kitchen. How sweet Shari!

  56. What a great chicken noodle soup recipe!! I’ve honestly never been a fan of any kind of “noodle soup” but decided to give this recipe a try since you keep the noodles separate until you prepare each bowl. Man alive, the egg noodles make all the difference in the world! Thanks for sharing your grandma’s recipe with us, I now have a new favorite chicken soup! And on a separate note, I’m planning to make your loaded potato soup recipe for our family Valentines Day party, looking forward to another amazing soup!

      1. Vicki Wells says:

        I usually roast the chicken and vegetables first to add that extra layer of flavor and don’t put potatoes or noodles in the soup. It’s good for a diet if I don’t add a starch.

  57. Yvonne, I love your ideas and recipes. Especially the chicken noodle soup! Thank you. And happy holidays.

    1. I’m thrilled you like the Chicken Noodle Soup! My grandmother would be proud.