Whole Chicken Noodle Soup From Scratch

chunky chicken noodle soup in a large pot

4.93 from 28 votes

Whole Chicken Noodle Soup From Scratch

This whole chicken noodle soup from scratch is made with a whole chicken resulting in the most flavorful broth. Chopped celery, carrots, and onion are butter sauteed then simmered in a rich homemade chicken broth. The falling apart chicken is shredded and added along with pasta noodles.

Servings:

Ingredients

Homemade Chicken Broth

1 whole chicken about 3 to 4 lbs
1 medium onion peeled and halved
2 bay leaves
Salt to taste
10 cups water see note 4

Chunky Chicken Noodle Soup

3 cups shredded chicken from the whole chicken
8 ounces dry noodles many pasta packages are 16 ounces **see note 1
2 cups water + more see note 4
6 celery stalks
5 large carrots
1 medium onion
3 garlic cloves
½ teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
1 teaspoon salt to taste
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons dried Italian herbs see note 3

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the Chicken Broth From Scratch

Add the water, a whole chicken, salt, bay leaves, and a whole onion (peeled and halved). Bring the whole chicken to a simmer, then turn the stovetop to low heat. Simmer covered for about 2 hours until the chicken starts to fall apart.
Separate the whole chicken from the broth using a strainer. Set the broth and chicken aside. You should have about 7 to 8 cups of homemade chicken broth.

Make the Chicken Noodle Soup

Peel and chop the carrots, onion, and garlic. Chop the celery. In a pan on medium-high heat, butter sautee the onions and garlic. Once they start to soften, add the chopped celery and carrots. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes until the carrots and celery soften. Add the salt, pepper, and dried Italian herbs.
Add the butter-sauteed vegetables to the homemade chicken broth. Simmer covered for about 15 minutes until the vegetables are easy to pierce with a fork.
Boil the pasta in water until al dente as per the instructions on the box. Shred the chicken meat from the whole chicken. Remove the skin on the chicken. Drain the pasta.
Add the shredded chicken and cooked pasta to the chicken broth. Add more water to the soup as desired. Adjust the salt.

Video

Notes

Use cavatappi no.87, fusilli, farfalle, or egg noodle. Any type of pasta works here. The recipe pictures used cavatappi noodles and the recipe video uses egg noodles.
Boil the pasta separately before adding it to the soup so it doesn't soak up all of the chicken broth.
Substitute 4 teaspoons of fresh herbs with 2 teaspoons of dried Italian herbs. Thyme, rosemary, and oregano are excellent in this soup.
Soup liquid: Adjust to your preference. If you like a chunkier soup, don't add extra water. If you like more broth, add water gradually and taste the broth to adjust the salt level. You don't need to add box broth.
Storage: This hearty chicken noodle soup recipe reheats well in the microwave or on the stovetop. Store the soup in an airtight container for 4 to 5 days in the fridge. There are a couple of tips to note when reheating this soup: First, the "soup" may solidify into a jello-like form when in the fridge. This is perfectly normal and will return back to the soup once heated. Second, the noodles may soak up some of the soup, so when reheating the soup, add a tad bit of water (like 1 cup of water per 2 cups of soup).
How to make with just chicken breast: If you HAVE to only use chicken breast (and not a whole chicken) for this recipe here's how: buy a high-quality chicken bone broth from the store. Slow simmer the chicken breast in the store-bought broth with onion, bay leaves, and an onion. Shred the chicken and carry on the recipe.

Nutrition