Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Whole-chicken broth with carrots, celery, onion and egg noodles — the soup grandmother made when you were sick, ready in 90 minutes.
About This Recipe
Real homemade chicken noodle soup — built from a whole chicken simmered with vegetables for a deeply golden broth that no boxed stock can match. Combined with tender carrots, celery, sweet onion and bouncy egg noodles, this is the soup that has comforted humans for millennia. Sickness or no, it's restorative.
Ingredients
Serves 6
- 1whole chicken(1.5-2kg)
- 3 Lcold water
- 2 largeonions(1 quartered for stock, 1 diced for soup)
- 5carrots(2 quartered for stock, 3 sliced into rounds for soup)
- 5 stalkscelery(2 chunks for stock, 3 sliced for soup)
- 5 clovesgarlic(smashed)
- 2bay leaves
- 10black peppercorns
- 5 sprigsfresh thyme
- 1 bunchfresh parsley(stems for stock, leaves for serving)
- 200 gwide egg noodles
- 1 tbspsalt(or to taste)
- freshly cracked black pepper(to taste)
- 1lemon(juiced, optional)
Instructions
- 1
Make the broth
Place the whole chicken in a large stockpot. Add the quartered onion, the 2 quartered carrots, 2 chunked celery stalks, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, thyme and parsley stems. Cover with cold water.
- 2
Simmer slowly
Bring to a bare simmer (NOT boil — boiling makes cloudy broth). Skim off any scum that rises in the first 10 minutes. Cook at a bare simmer for 60-75 minutes until the chicken is fall-apart tender.
- 3
Lift the chicken
Carefully lift the whole chicken onto a tray. Cool 10 minutes. Strain the broth into a clean pot, discarding the spent vegetables and aromatics. You should have a deeply golden, intensely flavoured broth.
- 4
Shred the meat
When cool enough to handle, pull the chicken meat off the bones. Discard skin and bones (or save for stock). Shred or roughly chop the meat — you should have about 600g of meat.
- 5
Build the soup
Return the strained broth to the pot. Add the diced onion, sliced carrots and celery. Simmer 12 minutes until vegetables are tender.
- 6
Add noodles and chicken
Stir in the egg noodles and shredded chicken. Simmer 8 minutes until noodles are al dente. Taste — add salt generously (broth needs more than you think). Add a squeeze of lemon for brightness.
- 7
Serve
Ladle into warm bowls. Top with fresh parsley leaves and an extra crack of pepper. Serve with crusty bread or saltines.
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Pro Tips
- →
A whole chicken makes infinitely better broth than chicken parts alone — the carcass and skin matter.
- →
Bare simmer, NEVER boil — boiling makes cloudy bitter broth.
- →
The broth can be made 2 days ahead and stored separately from the noodles.
Variations
- •
Greek Avgolemono: whisk 2 eggs with juice of 1 lemon; temper with hot broth; stir back into soup off-heat for a creamy lemon variation.
- •
Italian Wedding Soup: substitute mini meatballs for shredded chicken; add 200g spinach.
- •
Asian-style: skip noodles; add ginger to broth; finish with rice and bok choy.
- •
Pho-style: use the broth as a base; add ginger, star anise, cinnamon; serve over rice noodles.
Storage
Refrigerate up to 4 days. Freezes well for 3 months — freeze WITHOUT noodles (they go mushy); add fresh noodles when reheating.
History & Origin
Chicken soup has been considered a healing food for thousands of years — the 12th-century physician Maimonides prescribed it. Modern research has found that it does have mild anti-inflammatory effects and helps with congestion. The American 'chicken noodle soup' format became dominant after Campbell's launched their canned version in 1934.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why use a whole chicken instead of chicken parts?
A whole chicken — bones, skin, cartilage, all — produces dramatically richer broth than parts alone. The collagen in the bones turns into gelatin, giving the broth body. Skin and fat add flavour. The result is a broth no boxed stock can match.
Why simmer, never boil?
Boiling agitates the broth, breaking proteins and fat into tiny particles that suspend in the liquid — making cloudy broth. A bare simmer (a few small bubbles only) keeps the broth crystal clear and develops cleaner flavour.
Should I cook the noodles separately?
Egg noodles cooked directly in the soup absorb the broth and develop better flavour. But they continue softening in stored leftovers. For meal prep, cook noodles separately and combine when serving.
Does chicken soup actually help when you're sick?
Modest research evidence suggests yes — mild anti-inflammatory effects and the steam from hot soup helps clear nasal congestion. The 'placebo of grandmother's love' is also real. Either way, it makes you feel better.
Nutrition Facts
Per serving (480g / 16.9 oz) · 6 servings total
Time Summary
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