Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup (2024)

Jan 19, 2023 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · Last modified: Nov 6, 2023 · 37 Comments

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4.27 from 78 votes

This simple classic Chicken Noodle Soup recipe can be made in a crock pot or on the stovetop—get a great homemade taste with tender chicken, noodles, and vegetables.

It is adapted from the 1972 Betty Crocker cookbook for stovetop and crockpot.

🐓Ingredients

Chicken—skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs
Chicken broth
Vegetables—carrots, celery, and onion
Pantry ingredients—salt, black pepper, and bay leaf
Dry noodles

Table of Contents (scroll for more)

🐓Ingredients
👨‍🍳How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup in a Crock Pot
♨️Stovetop Version
👨‍🍳Variations in the recipe
↕️How to make this a "for two" recipe or a larger double recipe
Some of my soup recipes
Serving
Storage and Leftovers
❓FAQs
Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
📖 Recipe

Featured Comment from Taylor:
"This soup came out fantastically. "

It is a classic soup, just like grandma would make since it is from her recipe—a warm and comforting chicken noodle soup with chunks of chicken with lots of vegetables and noodles.

This simple recipe has no pre-cooking or taking the chicken out of the pot to cut it up. Make it to your taste with more broth or more noodles. While this is a smaller recipe, it is easy to cut in half and make it truly a "for two" recipe.

This is my wife's favorite chicken noodle soup recipe, but I added the conversion to a small crock pot. The original source is the 1972 Betty Crocker Cookbook.

👨‍🍳How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup in a Crock Pot

This is a four to five serving recipe. You can cut it in half easily—instructions in the blog post.

Peel and cut 2 carrots into medallions, medium onion chopped, and slice 2 ribs of celery.

Trim and cut two skinless boneless chicken breasts into cubes (1 to 1 ½ pounds of chicken.) From this point on, the instructions are for the crock pot version. See the Pro Tips in the recipe card for stovetop instructions.

Add the chicken and veggies to a small slow cooker (3 ½ qt.).Add 32 oz of chicken broth or stock, one bay leaf, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Add one 14 oz can more of broth if you want a lot of liquid in your soup. Most of you will like this extra broth. Cook on low for 4 hours in the crock pot.

After the first 3 hours in the crock pot, add 1 ½ cups of dry noodles and cook for the final hour. If you like a lot of noodles, add another ½ cup of noodles, BUT do not do this without adding more broth from the previous instruction. I suggest standard commercial egg noodles. Please check the pasta every 15 minutes until done. If you use non-standard pasta, you should check the pasta more frequently.

For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.

♨️Stovetop Version

To do this on the stovetop, add everything but the noodles to a Dutch oven and simmer for 1 ½ hours until carrots are tender and chicken is 165°. If doing whole raw chicken, remove and shred at this point.

If using pre-cooked rotisserie chicken, add it at the same time as the noodles. Bring to a boil and cook noodles per package instructions.

👨‍🍳Variations in the recipe

This recipe uses cubed chicken, but if you want shredded chicken, put the whole breasts in the crock pot (not frozen), and at the 3-hour mark, when adding the noodles, remove the chicken, shred and place it back into the crock pot.
If you want to use rotisserie chicken, add it with the noodles.
If you want more soup with lots of broth, add another 14 oz can of chicken broth. Most of you will want the extra broth.
If you want a lot of noodles, add a can of broth plus ½ cup more noodles. Don't add the extra noodles without the broth, or you won't have any broth left.

↕️How to make this a "for two" recipe or a larger double recipe

The full recipe makes about 8 to 10 cups, which is 4-5 servings. This fits in a 3 ½ quart crock pot, but if you add all other optional broth and noodles, a bigger crock pot is better.

A half recipe will fit in a 2 quart or larger crock pot; a double recipe needs 6 ½ quarts or larger.

Use the recipe card and adjust the number of servings to half or double.
Use the amount of ingredients in the ingredient list, not the instructions—those do not adjust.
The half will fit in a 2-quart crock pot, and a double recipe needs a 6 ½ quart or larger slow cooker.
Cook for the same amount of time.

Some of my soup recipes

For other recipes you may like, first, check out Vegetable Beef Soup from the same cookbook. Other great soups you will love are my One Pot Broccoli Cheese Soup, Soup Nazi's Mexican Chicken Chili, Crock Pot Chicken Vegetable Soup, Crock Pot French Onion Soup, and Crock Pot Ham Bone and Bean Soup.

Serving

Serve with crackers, crusty bread, or rolls.

Storage and Leftovers

Good refrigerated for 3-4 days. The pasta will absorb some fluid during that time and may need some added broth. If you plan on freezing part of this, I suggest removing that amount before adding the pasta. It will freeze well for 3-4 months.

❓FAQs

What pasta do you use for chicken noodle soup?

I suggest commercial egg noodles, and my timing reflects that. If you use non-standard pasta, especially if it has a quick cooking time, you need to assume my time estimates are incorrect and start watching your pasta starting at about the time suggested on the package.

Even with the commercial egg noodles, check them a few times during the cooking.

↑Jump to Table of Contents

This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

Comfort Food Recipes, Crock Pot Recipes, Mini Crock Pot Recipes, Small Crock Pots Recipes, Soup Recipes

Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.

Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

📖 Recipe

Old Fashioned Chicken Noodle Soup

From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

This simple classicChicken Noodle Souprecipe can be made in a crock pot or on the stovetop—get a great homemade taste with tender chicken, noodles, and vegetables.

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4.27 from 78 votes

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours hours

Total Time: 4 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Servings #/Adjust if desired 6 servings

Ingredients

US Customary - Convert to Metric

▢ 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts - 1 to 1 ½ pounds and may use thighs
▢ 32-48 oz chicken broth - see recipe notes
▢ 2 carrots
▢ 2 ribs celery
▢ 1 onion - medium
▢ ½ teaspoon salt
▢ ½ teaspoon pepper
▢ 1 bay leaf
▢ 1 ½ cup dry noodles - see recipe notes

Instructions

This is a four to five serving recipe. You can cut it in half easily—instructions in the blog post.
Peel and cut 2 carrots into medallions, medium onion chopped, and slice 2 ribs of celery.
Trim and cut two skinless boneless chicken breasts into cubes (1 to 1 ½ pounds of chicken.) From this point on, the instructions are for the crock pot version. See the Pro Tips in the recipe card for stovetop instructions.
Add the chicken and veggies to a small slow cooker (3 ½ qt.).Add 32 oz of chicken broth or stock, one bay leaf, ½ teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Add one 14 oz can more of broth if you want a lot of liquid in your soup. Most of you will like this extra broth. Cook on low for 4 hours in the crock pot.
After the first 3 hours in the crock pot, add 1 ½ cups of dry noodles and cook for the final hour. If you like a lot of noodles, add another ½ cup of noodles BUT do not do this without adding more broth from the previous instruction. I suggest standard commercial egg noodles. Please check the pasta every 15 minutes until done. If you use non-standard pasta, you should check the pasta more frequently.

Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print. Otherwise step-by-step photos are in the post.

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Recipe Notes

Pro Tips

You may use skinless boneless chicken thighs instead of breasts. You will want 1 to 1 ½ pounds of either.
If you want shredded chicken, add the whole raw breasts and remove to shred at the three-hour mark, and add it back in with the noodles.
If using precooked rotisserie chicken, add it with the noodles.
I suggest commercial egg noodles, and my timing reflects that. If you use non-standard pasta, especially if it has a quick cooking time, you need to assume my time estimates are incorrect and start watching your pasta starting at about the time suggested on the package.
Even with the commercial egg noodles, check them a few times during the cooking.
We like chicken noodle soup with lots of "stuff." The recipe, as written, is excellent. Most of you will want 48 oz of broth in this recipe.
Second, if you are a big noodle person, you can add another ½ cup of noodles BUT do not do this without adding the additional broth, or it will absorb most of the broth.
This fits nicely in a 3 ½ qt crock pot. You may use a bigger pool.
With each reheating, the noodles absorb more fluid, so you usually need more broth with each reheating.
Good refrigerated for 3-4 days. It can be frozen but remove what you want to freeze before the noodles. Good frozen for 3-4 months.

Stovetop Version

To do this on the stovetop, add everything but noodles to a Dutch oven and simmer for 1-½ hours until carrots are tender and chicken is 165°. If doing whole raw chicken breasts, remove and shred at this point.
If using pre-cooked chicken, then add it at this point with the noodles.
Bring to a boil and cook noodles per package instructions.

To adjust the recipe size:

You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

Nutrition Estimate

Calories : 141 kcal (7%)Carbohydrates : 17 g (6%)Protein : 13 g (26%)Fat : 2 g (3%)Saturated Fat : 1 g (5%)Trans Fat : 1 gCholesterol : 24 mg (8%)Sodium : 309 mg (13%)Potassium : 432 mg (12%)Fiber : 2 g (8%)Sugar : 3 g (3%)Vitamin A : 3470 IU (69%)Vitamin C : 3 mg (4%)Calcium : 28 mg (3%)Iron : 1 mg (6%)

Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.

Course : Soup

Cuisine : American

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About Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan

Hi, welcome to 101 Cooking for Two. I'm DrDan, I'm a board certified physician and a lover of cooking delicious easy recipes I have perfected for over 5 decades at home for two or larger household.As an award winning educator, let me guide you to finding the joys of cooking everyday food at home.Read more About DrDan | Subscribe to the Newsletters