The Best Chicken Noodle Soup

This really is The Best Chicken Noodle Soup. It’s based on the soup our mom made when we were growing up, but with more fresh herbs, a little lemon, and just a touch of cream. It’s the perfect soup for a chilly day!

We don’t get a lot of super cold weather here in Southern California, but when it does get cold, we crave soup like anyone else. Chicken noodle is a classic, and we grew up eating and loving our mom’s homemade version. She uses canned condensed chicken broth and cream of chicken soup, which is delicious, but we wanted to take it up a notch by using actual cream. The result is a comforting, luxurious chicken soup that’ll warm you up from the inside!

Ingredients for the Soup

This is a pretty easy to make meal that uses a lot of fresh ingredients and flavors. There is some prep work, however, because you do need to chop some vegetables. You can do that ahead of time and store the chopped veggies in the fridge to make things easier.

We used fairly classic flavors in this soup, but the lemon, fresh herbs, cream, and heat from the red pepper flakes really takes what is actually a simple dish and makes it into something fantastic that we think is the best chicken noodle soup out there.

Here’s what you’ll need to make it

• 1 pound chicken breasts – you cook them right in the soup, so it couldn’t be easier! If you’d rather use thighs, you definitely could
• 1 cup celery, chopped (about 3 large or 5 small stalks) – no surprise here; celery is in many chicken soups because it adds flavor, crunch, and nutrients.
• 1 cup carrots, chopped (about 3 carrots) – we both don’t like cooked carrots much, but they are necessary here. They bring a nice sweetness that helps round out the lemon juice in the soup.
• 1 small onion (1.5 cups), diced – as always, we love using sweet or yellow onion.
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme – if you don’t have fresh, you can use dried. Just reduce the amount a bit.
• ½ tbsp fresh rosemary, chopped – same note as with the thyme.
• ¼ tsp red pepper flakes – we love a little heat in most of our food, and the red pepper is great in this recipe. If you hate heat, you can leave it out.
• 2 tbsp butter – everything is better with butter.
• 8 cups chicken broth – use whatever broth or stock you like. We like Better Than Bullion.
• ½ cup heavy cream – this will make the soup a little creamy without being thick.
• 2 cups uncooked egg noodles – classic chicken noodle soup needs a classic noodle!
• ½ tbsp lemon juice – this is a key ingredient to this soup and really elevates the flavor.
• Salt & pepper, to taste – some broths/stocks are saltier than others, so be sure to taste as you go.

Making The Best Chicken Noodle Soup

Most of the cooking is fairly hands off, so this is a great meal to make when you don’t want to spend hours over a stove. Your favorite soup pot will do most of the work for you.

To make this soup, first melt butter in a large Dutch oven or soup pot and add the celery, carrots, onions, herbs, red pepper flakes, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat for 10-15 minutes, or until vegetables soften.

Add the chicken stock and then the chicken breasts to the pot. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover the pot, and cook for 25 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pot and shred or chop it. Add the shredded chicken back to the pot and stir to combine. Add the egg noodles to the soup and cook 7-8 minutes. Pour in the cream, stir in the lemon juice, and taste for seasoning.

Serve yourself a generous bowl with a crunchy piece of ciabatta or baguette on the side for dipping.