Chicken Noodle Soup is perfect for the cooler weather of Fall. Make this delicious comfort meal using only one pot to warm up your family.
Jump to RecipeWhen I think of chicken noodle soup, two things come to mind: cold weather and being sick. Since I’m hoping no one needs this because of illness, let’s go with the beautiful cool fall weather that we’ve had lately as the perfect reason to make a batch of chicken noodle soup. A large pot of the best homemade chicken noodle soup is perfect for a cold night at home. Besides, is there anything better than this classic comfort food that the whole family will enjoy?
I got the original recipe for this from my Aunt Shawn when I lived with her for a few years while I was in college. As soon as we had cool weather in Florida she would make soup. Which was, you know, maybe 3 weeks out of the year! I have since modified the recipe a little for our tastes, but it still is basically her easy recipe.
The key to this soup is getting a mesh laundry bag. There are a few ingredients that later need to be removed from the soup, so this works really well for keeping those all together. Then when it’s time you can just remove the bag and everything comes out with it. I like to use boneless skinless chicken breasts because it’s easier, but you can also use bone-in chicken breasts if you prefer.
If you plan to save some of this for leftovers, I suggest undercooking the noodles just slightly. Cook them enough that you will still enjoy them fresh. Honestly, this soup is better the next day. After it sits in the refrigerator overnight the noodles really soak in the flavors of the soup, and they also get a bit softer because of it. Noodles that are fully cooked become mushy the next day.
The best part of this recipe is the simple everyday ingredients that you need. It’s easy to find them at almost any grocery store. The thing we have the hardest time finding is the egg noodles, but you can replace those with other wide noodles if necessary. Most of the time, I use dried herbs, but you could certainly use fresh herbs and replace the garlic powder with 2 garlic cloves.
You can also use leftover chicken for this recipe. Wait to add the chicken pieces until you would normally add the shredded chicken. Still cook the onions in the broth as you would and add the chicken later.
I also have an instant pot version of chicken noodle soup here: Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup for another easy chicken noodle soup recipe.

One Pot Chicken Noodle Soup Step by Step
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast (boneless, skinless)
- 2 onions
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 5 cups water
- 4 carrots
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp parsley
- 16 oz egg noodles (medium)
Preparation
Start by putting your boneless chicken breasts and onions in the mesh bag. Cut the onions into large chunks. Just enough to get the flavor into the soup. If you like the taste of onions, you can add some of them to the soup as well. But personally, I don’t like to bite into a chunk of onion. You can use a whole chicken (that’s how my aunt made it). I prefer to use chicken breast because I don’t like dark meat and the whole chicken takes extra time to cook.

Then fill a large stockpot or Dutch oven with 8 cups of chicken broth and 4 cups of water. Make sure the broth covers the chicken and onion.

Add in the rest of your ingredients except the noodles: carrots, celery, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, and parsley. Cover the pot and bring it to a boil then reduce to a simmer. When you put the cover on, make sure some of the mesh bag is sticking out so it doesn’t fall into the pot completely. But also be aware that it isn’t touching the burner or too close to the flame on a gas stovetop. Let this simmer until the chicken is cooked through. When I use boneless chicken breast, this takes about 20-30 minutes. If you are using a whole chicken, it will probably take closer to an hour.

Once the chicken is cooked through, carefully remove the mesh bag from the rest of the soup. I usually use some tongs or a slotted spoon to grab it and have a bowl ready to place it in. Then remove the cooked chicken from the bag and either shred it or cut it into bite-sized pieces. If you want some of the onions in the soup, you can also chop these up as well. As I mentioned, I don’t like the onions in it, so I just discard them at this point.

Add the shredded chicken back into the soup, and add in the uncooked noodles.

Bring it all to a boil and cook until the noodles are al dente. This takes about 10 minutes depending on the noodles. Garnish with a bit of black pepper and serve with your favorite crackers such as Ritz crackers or Saltine crackers.

Chicken Noodle Soup Leftovers
Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Note that the noodles will start to soften and lose some texture the longer they are stored.
Reheating: The best way to reheat chicken noodle soup is in a medium saucepan over medium heat for about 5-10 minutes. If there isn’t enough liquid, add a bit of vegetable broth or chicken broth as you heat it.
Freezing: I don’t recommend freezing this with the noodles. They will lose all shape and texture when thawed. If you know you want to freeze some soup, prepare it without the noodles then cook and add noodles when you reheat the frozen soup.

Recipe
Originally Published On: October 28, 2017
Last Updated On: July 20, 2023

Easy One-Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast (boneless, skinless)
- 2 onions
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 5 cups water
- 4 carrots
- 2 stalks celery
- 2 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp parsley
- 16 oz egg noodles (medium)
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Peel and largely chop onions and place in a mesh laundry bag
- Add chicken to the mesh bag
- Pour chicken broth and water into a large stockpot
- Set mesh bag in pot
- Slice up carrots and celery and add to pot
- Add onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, and parsley
- Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cover, cooking until chicken is cooked through
- Take mesh bag out of pot and remove chicken and onion from the bag
- Break up chicken and add back to soup
- Either add onion back to soup, or discard (soup already has flavor of onions)
- Add noodles into soup and bring to a boil
- Cook until noodles are just slightly undercooked*
Notes
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Other Soup Recipes to try
- One-Pot Potato and Cream Cheese Soup
- Slow Cooker Soups and Stews: Over 50 Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Red Lentil Soup
- Zesty Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Sausage Potato and Kale Soup
- Lazy Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
- Lasagna Soup
- Creamy Artichoke Soup
- Pasta Fagioli Soup (Olive Garden Copycat)
- Green Chicken Soup
- Roasted Tomato and Cheddar Soup
- Leftover Turkey Tortellini Soup
- Easy One Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup (Gluten Free and Dairy Free)
- Immunity Soup
- Kreacher’s French Onion Soup
- Easy Slow-Cooker Potato and Cheddar Soup
- Seafood Gnocchi Soup
- Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup
- Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup
- Minestrone Soup: The Perfect Warm Vegetarian Soup
- Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
- Tomato Soup (Vegan and Dairy-Free)
Wow – I’ve never thought of using a mesh bag for cooking! What a smart idea. And soups, at my home, are a regular year round treat. Cold in the summer, and hot for the rest of the year.
Honestly, I hadn’t either until I saw my aunt making it that way. It makes it so easy to take out the things you want to have flavored in the soup, but not pieces of in the end!
I’ve never seen chicken noodle soup made so easy – and look SO good!
Thanks! It’s so quick and easy, and makes great leftovers too!
Your idea for the laundry bag is BRILLIANT! I also like the suggestion to undercook the noodles for future heating up purposes. That soup looks delish !
The laundry bag idea is all my aunt’s idea! And the undercooked noodles, definitely learned by mistake on that one!!
I am obsessed with “hacks” and have never seen nor heard about using a laundry bag in cooking. I LOVE IT! (and I can’t wait to try it!)
It makes it so easy to take things out later! And when I’m done I just throw the whole bag in the dishwasher or washing machine.
That mesh bag idea is genius! I would never have thought of that myself. This is my favorite time of year for soup and yours looks delicious!
I love warm soups on cool days! The laundry bag makes it so much easier and quicker for things like this.
nothing is better than a good bowl of chicken noodle soup! I love the way you made it with the mesh bag its brilliant!
Thanks, I have to give the credit to my aunt for the idea, but now I’ve used it in other things as well!
This is one recipe that we should totally learn! It’s a classic favorite and a comfort food especially when you’re sick. Thanks for the step-by-step!
Happy to help! I watched my aunt make it plenty of times so have it down pretty well now.
Nothing tastes better on a chilly evening than a bowl of chicken noodle soup! I love how you use a laundry bag so you can easily pull out the veggies. Genius!
Yes! And it’s finally cooling off for me so we get to enjoy these meals for a couple months now. The laundry bag makes it so easy!
The laundry bag is a genius tip! I love to make soup or stews in the slow cooker, it’s so easy and it’s almost impossible to fail! This soup looks delicious!
It really makes it so much easier than trying to fish all the little pieces out later!
The bag is super convenient. One if the best kitchen hacks ever.
I love making it that way, makes it so easy later!
Oh this looks so delicious! It is a perfect soup in winter days. Thanks for sharing!
Happy to be able to share!
I love one pot recipes. This soup looks like the perfect dish for comfort.
Comfort food + very few dishes to clean = a win for me!
Such an easy to make and very heartwarming soup recipe! I love having these especially as the cold weather rolls in..
Soups are perfect for the cooler winter weather!
Mmm this recipe looks SO yummy! I need to make this for my fiancé soon!
I hope you guys enjoy it as much as we do! And it’s even better the next day as leftovers!!
This soup looks so good… and absolutely perfect for this cold, wet autumn weather! I’ve never heard of using a laundry bag for cooking before though – you live and learn!
It works so well! I wouldn’t have thought of it either until I saw my aunt using it and thought it was genius!
Well this is perfect for this time of year. We have such a picky eater on our hands but he would love this!
Picky eaters can be so hard. My boys are picky most nights, too.
This looks soooo good!!! I would love to make it tomorrow, I love eating soups daily especially during winter.
Soups are perfect for the winter, they warm you up from the inside 🙂
The only thing I love as much as slow cooker meals is one pot meals. Now that we just got a huge snow fall this meal is speaking to me! I’ve been making soup and hot cocoa every time I bring my kids in from playing.
It’s so great to have meal options that don’t use a lot of dishes. I drink a cup of hot cocoa almost every day too. It’s my form of coffee 🙂
I love the concept of one pot cooking. Makes things much easier and Noodle soup is very home comforts xx
Using only one pot is the best on busy nights. I hate doing dishes so the fewer the better!
This looks so easy! We love having chicken noodle soup in the winter since we have very cold weather. I’ll have to mark this for use later.
Our weather isn’t very cold compared to the rest of the country. But I don’t deal with cold very well, so I am making all the warm soups and similar dishes already.
I have never used a bag like that while cooking. It’s such a great idea!
I thought it was such a genius idea when I saw my aunt doing it the first time!
The laundry bag is a fantastic idea. I won’t have thought of that. I love fall and soup it’s such a great combination.
I know, I saw my aunt doing that the first time and I thought it was a genius idea! It’s a great way to easily separate foods out later but still get their flavor imbibed into the soup.
Do use nylon mesh bad, or cotton…or would either one work?
The one I have is cotton. You can get them near the laundry detergent at most stores. But I don’t see why other materials wouldn’t work, as long as they are nontoxic since you are putting food in them.