Chicken Egg Noodle Soup (Printable)

Tender chicken with egg noodles and vegetables in a savory broth for a warming meal.

# What You'll Need:

→ Poultry

01 - 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (14 oz)

→ Vegetables

02 - 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
03 - 2 celery stalks, sliced
04 - 1 medium onion, diced
05 - 2 cloves garlic, minced

→ Broth & Noodles

06 - 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
07 - 5 oz dried egg noodles

→ Seasonings & Herbs

08 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
09 - 1 bay leaf
10 - 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
11 - 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley or 1 tablespoon fresh, chopped
12 - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

→ Garnish

13 - Fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

# How-to Steps:

01 - Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add diced onion, sliced carrots, and celery. Cook for 5 minutes until vegetables soften.
02 - Stir in minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
03 - Pour in chicken broth, add bay leaf and dried thyme. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil.
04 - Add chicken breasts to the pot. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until chicken is fully cooked.
05 - Remove chicken breasts from the pot and allow to cool slightly. Shred using two forks.
06 - Return shredded chicken to the pot. Add egg noodles and cook according to package instructions, about 7 to 8 minutes, until noodles are tender.
07 - Season soup with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Remove the bay leaf.
08 - Stir in chopped fresh parsley if desired. Serve hot, garnished with additional parsley.

# Expert Pointers:

01 -
  • It comes together faster than you'd expect, which means comfort food without the all-day commitment.
  • The vegetables soften into the broth so completely that even people who claim they don't like cooked vegetables will eat a whole bowl.
  • There's something therapeutic about shredding chicken with two forks while the broth steams around you.
02 -
  • The difference between good and great chicken noodle soup is knowing when to stop stirring the noodles—too much attention and they break down into mush, which sounds minor until you taste the difference.
  • If your broth tastes flat even after seasoning, add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice just before serving; it's like turning up the volume on everything else in the pot.
  • Chicken breast dries out faster than you'd expect, so don't let it simmer longer than 20 minutes or your beautiful tender chicken becomes stringy and sad.
03 -
  • Use a chef's knife to slice your vegetables on the bias; it's not just prettier, it helps them cook evenly and cook faster.
  • If you're using bone-in chicken for deeper flavor, pull out the bay leaf at the end by scooping the broth as you look for it—the leaf can fragment and scatter if you're not careful.

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