Easy One Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

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.

When 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

Easy One-Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

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.

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Course:

Main Dish

Cuisine:

American

Keyword:

chicken

|

one pan

|

soup

|

vegetable

Servings: 8 cups

4.88 from 8 votes

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

• Chef Knife
• Cutting Board
• Mesh Laundry Bag
• Stockpot
• Meat Shredder

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

*Unless you plan to serve the entire pot of soup, slightly undercook the noodles. While it sits overnight in the refrigerator as leftovers, the noodles will absorb some of the liquid (and flavor) making them softer the next day. 

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Nutrition Facts

Easy One-Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

Amount Per Serving (1 cup)

Calories 328 Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Fat 4g6%

Saturated Fat 1g5%

Cholesterol 83mg28%

Sodium 970mg40%

Potassium 711mg20%

Carbohydrates 49g16%

Fiber 3g12%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 22g44%

Vitamin A 5145IU103%

Vitamin C 21.4mg26%

Calcium 67mg7%

Iron 2.1mg12%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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.

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