Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
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Creamy chicken noodle soup is cold weather comfort food at its finest. My easy recipe takes less than an hour to make in one pot and is deliriously soothing and satisfying. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Your New Favorite (Creamy!) Chicken Noodle Soup
According to the noses of my two toddlers, we’ve just kicked off cold & flu season. While there are a number of home remedies I jump to as soon as the sniffles start, this recipe is one of my favorites (and the silver lining to any dreary day).
Why you should make it:
- The chicken gets cooked right in the pot, so there’s no need to pick a rotisserie chicken or make sure you have leftover chicken to make it. A favorite technique of mine also used in my chicken and rice soup.
- Not too rich with a subtly creamy, velvety base. It’s not anywhere near as thick as my potato soup, so technically it doesn’t have to be cold weather food. Think of it like classic chicken noodle, just a splash more rich.
- Includes lots of fresh veggies, but you can always add more! I include a few suggestions below.
- Filling and protein packed, thanks to the chicken, but feel free to add some biscuits or crescent rolls on the side if you want to make it even heartier.
- One-pot dinner! This makes it a great weekday option, especially if you prep your veggies in advance.
Sniffles or not, this is truly just a great cold-weather option to keep on hand.
What You Need
Most of these ingredients are pretty standard, but let’s go over a few before we get into the recipe.
- Chicken. Raw chicken breasts or chicken thighs may be used here, but I personally recommend a blend of both. Chicken breasts are a leaner/less fatty meat, while the thighs have a lot of flavor, so tossing a few into the pot helps the flavor immensely. Once they are cooked, we’ll remove them from the pot, shred them (an electric mixer works well for this!), and return them to the pot.
- Veggies. Including the classic mirepoix veggies, aka celery, carrots, and onions. Frozen corn or peas or even small diced potatoes would also be good here; you can add them when you remove the chicken from the pot.
- Chicken stock. I recommend using homemade chicken stock if you have it, but of course you can always use store-bought if that’s all you have on hand.
- Egg noodles. Use your favorite brand or make my homemade egg noodles. If you make your own, note that you will likely need to increase the amount of chicken broth/stock in the recipe (and perhaps the salt and pepper as well, always taste-test), since homemade egg noodles usually retain more flour than the store-bought version.
- Spices. Including black pepper, paprika, thyme, and parsley.
SAM’S TIP: The noodles will soak up the broth quite quickly, so if you have any leftover soup, you will likely need to add more broth (and salt and pepper) when reheating.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
I started my favorite basic chicken noodle soup base (handed down to me from my mom) and gently enhanced it to make it subtly creamy. The end result is hearty and satisfying without being too heavy. Here’s how you do it (and in one pot, at that!):
- Cook the onions, celery, and carrots in melted butter over medium heat until softened, then add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds more.
- Sprinkle the flour, salt, and spices over the veggies and stir to coat. Cook until the flour is absorbed and slightly toasted (by cooking about 30-60 seconds longer after it’s absorbed), then slowly pour in the chicken broth.
- Add the chicken, then bring the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and let cook for another 15-20 minutes more, until the chicken is cooked through.
- Remove the cooked chicken, shred or cut into bite-sized pieces, then place back in the pot.
- Stir in the egg noodles and cook until they are tender and cooked through, then reduce the heat to low.
- Stir in the cream until incorporated, then taste test. If needed, add additional salt and pepper. Enjoy!
SAM’S TIP: Always, ALWAYS taste test before serving! Your soup shouldn’t taste at all bland, but if it does, it just needs some more salt. I can’t give a precise amount to add here, since different chicken broths have different sodium levels. So just start small and add more as needed until the soup tastes good to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
I think this soup will freeze well when prepared up through step #7 in the recipe card below. I don’t recommend freezing after you’ve added the noodles or the cream, as neither tend to thaw nicely.
When you’re ready to thaw, you can follow the advice in this guide on how to freeze soup from Food52. Then pick up with the recipe at step #8, and enjoy!
You don’t have to, but if you don’t, then you technically won’t be making a creamy chicken noodle soup! The cream adds a slight richness and flavor to the soup without making it overly creamy or indulgent. I recommend adding it, but if you don’t want to, you can just use more chicken broth instead.
This soup isn’t designed to be super thick; instead, it’s supposed to be creamy and somewhat light (It’s not as thick as my chicken corn chowder). You can make it thicker by substituting a cup and a half of the broth with heavy cream. Keep in mind that the soup will definitely thicken as it cools, too, and the noodles will absorb much of the liquid.
Give my creamy chicken pasta a try next! It’s a bit richer and creamier than this soup, but still so flavorful and comforting on a cold night.
Enjoy! –Sam
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Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup (75 g) salted butter
- 1 (140 g) heaping cup onion, diced
- 2 cups (290 g) carrots, cut into coins
- 2 cups (220 g) chopped celery, usually 4 stalks
- 1 Tablespoon garlic, minced
- 3 Tablespoons (23 g) flour
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 ½ lbs (680 g) uncooked chicken, see note
- 6-8 cups (1.4-1.9 L) chicken broth, see note
- 8 oz (226 g) uncooked egg noodles
- ½ cup (118 ml) heavy cream
Instructions
- Melt butter in large soup pot over medium heat.⅓ cup (75 g) salted butter
- Add onions, celery, and carrots and cook until softened and onions are translucent.1 (140 g) heaping cup onion, 2 cups (290 g) carrots, 2 cups (220 g) chopped celery
- Add garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).1 Tablespoon garlic
- Add flour, salt, pepper, paprika, thyme, and parsley in and stir together, coating veggies with flour and spices. Cook until flour is completely absorbed and then cook another 30 seconds longer to toast the flour.3 Tablespoons (23 g) flour, 1 teaspoon table salt, ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper, ½ teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon dried thyme, ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- Slowly, while stirring, drizzle 6 cups of chicken broth into pot.6-8 cups (1.4-1.9 L) chicken broth
- Add chicken to the soup and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and reduce heat to a simmer (usually medium-low heat). Cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked through (typically around 15-20 minutes).1 ½ lbs (680 g) uncooked chicken
- Once chicken is cooked, remove from the pot and cut or shred into bite-sized pieces. Return shredded chicken to pot.
- Add egg noodles and cook until tender (about 10 minutes). Once noodles are cooked, reduce the heat to low and stir in heavy cream until completely incorporated.8 oz (226 g) uncooked egg noodles, ½ cup (118 ml) heavy cream
- Taste test and add additional salt and pepper as needed. Serve and enjoy.
Notes
Broth
I always start with 6 cups. If the liquid is quickly absorbed by the noodles, add the additional broth as needed. It’s also a good idea to keep the extra broth on hand for heating up leftovers.Chicken
Breast or thighs will work, but I personally prefer a blend of both. If cooking both, it is helpful to cut the breasts in half/to be close in size to the thighs so that the chicken cooks at the same rate. It’s easy to tell when the chicken is finished cooking because it shreds easily with a pair of forks, but you can also use an instant read thermometer and check that it has reached 165F (74C).Noodles
Use your favorite brand of egg noodles or make your own.Storing
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Note that the noodles will absorb most of the broth as the soup sits, so you will need to add more broth or water (and likely some salt and pepper, too) when reheating leftovers (unless you like a very thick soup).Flavor
If the soup tastes anything other than abundantly flavorful, you simply need a bit more salt! Add more salt to taste to bring out the flavors of the soup. A precise amount is difficult to predict given the varying sodium content of broths, so I start with a baseline amount and you will need to taste-test and add more as needed.Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
As my husband started to get a second serving, he told me, “Don’t lose this recipe!” The only change I made was using rotisserie chicken.
Every recipe I’ve made from this site has been delicious, especially your caramel and lemon-blueberry cake recipes.
I’m so glad it was such a hit, Debbie! You can always print the recipe if you’d like, but I won’t be taking it down so you know where to find it. 🙂
You’re Tormenting me! 😂 This looks amazing! I am vegan for a little while and this looks WONDERFUL!
Note to self: Stop looking at delicious recipes 😉
🤣🤣🤣 Sorry! 🙂
This has become my GO TO recipes for chicken noodle soup. My kids love that it is a thicker broth. I add small diced up white potatoes as well, to make it almost like a stew. Delicious!! Thank you!!
I’m so glad everyone has enjoyed it so much, Naomi! 🙂
This is DELICIOUS! A family favorite!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Shannon! 🙂
Awesome soup.I am not a big celery fan so i substituted celery salt.I also used frozen noodles.Great flavor all around. Thank you.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Bob! 🙂
This is the most amazing version of chicken noodle soup. I’m adding this to my weekly rotation. And, so quick to make that cleanup was a cinch. The one missing ingredient: green peas. It’s just my thing, I guess. But the recipe shined! I think the mass measurements really did it—brilliant idea. Thanks so much for such great recipes!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Lisa! 🙂
I hardly ever leave reviews on blogs but…. I’m so glad I stumbled upon this recipe and tried it. It was soooo good! My whole family gobbled it down. I used 6 cups of broth with my store-bought medium egg noodles, on day 2 the liquid was almost completely absorbed (but that didn’t slow us down, it’s seriously that good!). I haven’t decided yet if I want to add the additional 1-2 cups of liquid or not. The seasoning was just right and I don’t want to “water it down” with the additional broth.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Jame! Thank you for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it. 🙂
Oh my goodness! This chicken soup is the best I’ve ever had and I’ve made it like once a week since thanksgiving. I remember the first taste of it each time I make it and it is amazing. The spices are wonderful and I usually use the Mrs Millers old fashioned egg noodles from Kroger. I’m sure yours are better but I just haven’t tried them yet. My mother used to make her own noodles so I know how good they can be. I’ve tried many of your recipes and they are great. You should be so proud of yourself for what you’ve achieved with your website and all your recipes. Thank you for sharing them!
Thank you so much, Chery! I am so happy to hear you have enjoyed everything so much! I really appreciate the kind comment. It’s comments like these that help me keep on going. 🙂
ABSOLUTELY the BEST chicken noodle soup I have ever tasted!!!!! Thankyou so much for sharing this recipe!!!!
We are so happy you enjoyed it so much, Monica! 🩷
This is my family’s favorite soup!! It is amazingggg. 10/10. We make it a few times a month 🙂 It’s a go to.
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed it so much, Alyssa! 🙂
Sam you always come through girl! My family loved this! Definitely easy, delicious. and a keeper. Thank you 😊
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Tam! 🙂
We love this soup! Iv made it a couple of times and plan to make it again soon with a rotesserie chicken. I have a question. Where did you buy your white mixing spoons with the flowers? I looked on Amazon but didnt see any like you use in your videos.
I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed it so much, Beth! Are you referring to the wooden spoons? I actually had those customized by someone with my name and logo on it.
Ok. favorite comfort foods, Chicken Soup and Apple Pie. Oh my goodness! This recipe just beyond yum!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Pam! 🙂
Ok so I’ve never ever made an account just to comment on a recipe. I ABSOLUTELY HAD TO on this one! My son is sick so I made him this recipe. He said it’s the best thing he’s had in his life! It is honestly the best chicken noodle soup I’ve had. It’s so full of flavor and smells amazing while you cook it! Only thing I changed was I did 3 chicken breast. Probably about 12 cups of broth because I used a whole 16 oz bag of egg noodles and it soaked it up! I didn’t even have to add corn starch it came out so creamy! Thank you for this recipe!
I am so glad your son enjoyed it so much, Laura! I hope he recovers quickly. 🙂
OMG LOVE THIS SO MUCH IT IS DELICIOUS!!!! SO FLAVORFUL!!!!!!😍😍
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Charlotte! 🙂
Loved it!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Penny! 🙂
Wow! I’ve made many different chicken noodle soup, BUT this one is a keeper! Thank you!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Grace! 🙂