This chicken soup recipe is NOT like other chicken soup recipes, this soup is made in under 30 minutes but tastes like it’s been simmering all day!
Yes, you can have a pot of soup that tastes like it’s been simmering ALL DAY LONG, ready in 30 minutes!
It seems like each week there is someone we know not feeling well.
Whether they have a cough, cold or flu OR someone who needs a bowl of the ultimate comfort food.
It seems like as soon as the weather slightly turns cold, we need to start preparing for all that “winter” brings.
CHECK out my post on SOFT FOODS, it has lots of recipes and items to have on hand when you aren’t feeling well, or have had oral surgery, or need a soft food diet, or have a cold or the flu. There is even a printable list so you won’t forget things at the store.
Chicken soup isn’t just for when you’re not feeling well, but if you are under the weather
These masks may help,
along with This warm fuzzy blanket, it’s so gorgeous
and THIS super practical!
Just wait until you see how EASY this recipe is and how quickly you will be able to serve this soup.
This is a no-fuss, quick and easy chicken noodle soup recipe that you will want to have at the ready for when the sniffles start.
You won’t believe how following a few simple steps will result in such a great soup in MINUTES.
There are a few things in this soup that I think is KEY to how delicious it tastes.
The chicken and the noodles.
The real secret ingredient in this is the chicken
I use is boneless skinless chicken thighs. I didn’t want chicken on the bone, it would take too long and them to cook, and deboning it, oh don’t get me started on how little patience I have normally, then add in someone not feeling well and it seems like I have even more to do.
Boneless skinless chicken breasts are dryer and won’t lend the same flavor. But by all means use what you have if you are that sick and need to get better FAST, go ahead and use pre-cooked chicken if need be. But believe me when I tell you, if you follow my two key ingredients you will be much happier with the soup.
What Kind of Chicken Should I Use for One-Pot Chicken Noodle Soup?
I use boneless skinless chicken thighs. They have the best flavor and the tenderest meat. Boneless skinless chicken breasts are dryer and won’t lend the same flavor. The boneless part just saves me time deboning it. But by all means, use what you have — if you are sick and low on energy, use pre-cooked chicken if needed. Rotisserie chicken is always good in a pinch.
What Kind of Noodles Can I Use?
I use fettuccine nests. I prefer fettuccine over egg noodles, as fettuccine is denser and doesn’t become soft from soaking up the broth. The leftovers stay firm and heat up beautifully! Other options would be farfalle or penne – both are firm noodles that will not become mushy.
Fettuccine noodles are more dense noodles and had a great texture when the soup was finished cooking as well as the part that sat in the soup that day, in the fridge and was reheated. Which I find very important to have a great noodle with chicken noodle soup.
The glory of this soup is that it’s easy to prepare and ready in minutes.
Before you know it you will be comforted by the age-old get well remedy that sometimes seems daunting if you need to get out too many pots and pans and stand over the stove keeping an eye on it to finish.
How Do I Freeze Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup?
To make a quick and easy freezer soup, prep all ingredients but do not prepare. Place veggies, noodles, and chicken in a large freezer bag. Label with how much water and bouillon to add, as well as how long to boil, adding a bit more time due to the frozen ingredients. When ready to cook, just follow the recipe instructions.
You could also freeze it without the noodles, but if you add them in it makes it really simple for anyone to put it all in a pot of water and cook it.
Just add about 5 more minutes to the cooking time of 15 minutes, so you’ll b sure the chicken is cooked. So cook it 20 minutes if it’s frozen. Use a thermometer to be sure the chicken is at 165°.
I may not want the cold weather yet, but at least I feel a little better prepared now.
I may even print the recipe and tape it onto one of the tissue boxes that way when I’m not feeling all I’ll have to do is ask my family to get me a box of tissues and maybe they will see the recipe and make it for me.
Good idea, don’t you think?
Hey, it may work!!! You never know 😉
How Can I Make Chicken Noodle Soup Low Carb?
To make this One Pot Chicken Soup recipe low-carb, simply leave out the noodles and add chopped cauliflower pieces or riced cauliflower to the broth during the last few minutes of cooking. Cauliflower cooks quickly and it will give you more vegetables and help fill you up with fiber.
If you’re looking for more soup recipes, here are several of my favorites.
I think you’ll love them!
Be sure to check out these 20 make ahead freezer meals round-up at the Krazy Coupon Lady.
- 6 cups water
- 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon (Knorr is what I used)
- 11 oz boneless chicken thighs (three chicken thighs)
- 2 carrots sliced (1 cup)
- 3 celery stalks diced (3/4 cup)
- 1/2 medium onion diced (1/2 cup)
- 4 fettuccine nests (4.5 oz)
- Step 1. fill 4-quart pot with water and bouillon (or use broth, stock. homemade or purchased) turn burner on high.
- Trim excess fat from chicken and cut into 1/2 inch pieces.
- Thinly slice carrots
- dice celery
- dice onion
- Carefully add ALL ingredients to the pot.
- Place lid on the pot.
- Bring it to a boil then turn on low to simmer at a low boil for 15 minutes. If low on your stove is very low, maybe medium-low would be better, you want to still see it bubbling.
- Turn off the soup and serve.
See more of my FAVORITES HERE and my FOODIE FAVORITES HERE
If you like this or any other recipe at 
Mique says
Yum! This looks delicious Diane. Nothing quite like homemade noodle soup. And one pot is even better! We only use Kleenex around here. It’s so soft!
Diane says
yea, homemade chicken noodle soup is an all time requested item here, so glad I figured out how to make it faster 🙂
Sommer @ ASpicyPerspective says
Nothing beats a warm bowl of chicken noodle soup in the winter! Great recipe – thanks! 🙂
Diane says
thanks Sommer, let’s hope this year has minimal sick days for all 🙂
Nicole Lindstrom| Simply Happenstance says
Looks amazing Diane. You can’t beat a one pot recipe. Thanks for sharing!!
Diane says
yea, I’m thinking one pot is where it’s at and I need to make more favorites one pot meals now 🙂
Nutmeg Nanny says
I’m hoping to not get sick this winter (fingers crossed!) but this would make me feel a lot better if I did 🙂 I’m such a big fan of soup but even better when it’s one pot.
Diane says
I am hoping the same 🙂 I’m all for NO sick days!
Jeanette says
Looks like a great way to make chicken noodle soup ahead of time – would be great for college kids to keep in their freezer whenever they need a nice bowl of chicken noodle soup.
Diane says
yes, that’s a great idea Jeanette
Melanie says
So if making it to freeze, do you just put everything in uncooked? And do you still include the water and bouillon?
Diane says
I put everything in the bag uncooked. You can put the noodles in the bag or not. I do both it both ways. I include the bouillon, then add the water to the pot when I am cooking it.
Michelle says
What Re your recommendations for freezing?
Diane says
Soup freezes great, either in a plastic container or in a freezer bag once it’s completely cooled.You can prepare the soup and freeze it with the noodles if you prefer or add the noodles separately. The meal also freezes well before it’s cooked, and great for a quick meal, I include those instructions in the post.
Russell at chasingdelicious.com says
I know what I am doing for dinner now. I knew it would be soup, but wasn’t sure which kind to do. Yum!
Jeanette says
Well I guess I better make this now since John caught an URI (upper resp infection) He is so sick, fever, stuffed nose, headache & achy ALL over
Diane says
OMG noooo, hope he feels better soon. This soup is bound to help 🙂
Shaina says
One-pot soups are my favorite. Those noodles look perfect!
supriti says
HI diane!.. this looks like a brilliant healthy soup even for days when you dont have a cold..but have very little time to whip up dinner. How well does this freeze? Have you chooped up all the ingredients raw and frozen them as is? HOw long will the preprepped stuff keep in the freezer?
Diane says
Yes, I show a photo of all ingredients in a gallon bag, on it’s way into freezer. It freezes wonderfully. Sometime I include the noodles sometimes not. They do tend to break a bit if they get ruffles in the freezer. I have had it frozen for a month and it’s delicious.
Barbara says
Diane,
This recipe sound great, however I have one question; what are fettucine nests?
Diane says
They are balls of fettuccini noodles, they are all curled up like a birds nest. You can use long fettuccine, the nests are just easier to fit into the pot 🙂
Lisa says
I made this today. I’m excited!! Is the 4.5 oz a total amount or is that for each nest? I couldn’t find nests so I had to improvise. Thanks
Diane says
the pasta portion is the total amount, as photographed, about 5 nests. If you are using another type of pasta 4-5 oz should be substituted. Too much pasta and you won’t have much soup broth at all.
Lisa says
Thanks!!
Christine @ myblissfulmess says
What an awesome idea and wonderful looking soup! I love soup, and especially love it when not feeling well. I am going to put a few of these in my freezer for sure!
Michelle says
This looks delicious! Definitely making this tonight since I have the ingredients except the bouillon cube. How much chicken broth would I need to use? Would I just replace the 6 cups water with broth?
Diane says
yes, you’d replace the same amount of water with chicken broth in the recipe if not using boullion.
Donna says
This is exactly what i was looking for. I make freezer friendly meals for my dad and haven’t found a chicken soup recipe yet that freezes well.
Diane says
This works great, you can either freezer the noodles in the bag or leave them out whatever is easier for you. I make this all the time and it’s great to have a yummy chicken soup all portioned out and ready to go in a pot to cook!
Marcy says
Hello! I use the cold fett noodles (in the cold section) would they work too? Or shld I stick with the dry noodles?
Megan says
This may be a silly question but do you have to THAW this before cooking?
Diane says
No, you do not need to thaw it before cooking, just place all the ingredients into a pot and bring to a boil and cook until chicken is fully cooked at 165°.
Chris says
This was awesome! As a working mom I’ve never made homemade chicken noodle soup thinking it took too much time but this one was worth trying! Great tip to use chicken thigh meat it was great! I made 2 more batches at same time & froze those for the time this winter when someone is sick-thanks for sharing this!!
Diane says
I’m so happy to hear you made it! It really is a great recipe to try and use again and again, and this recipe is super-quick, no all day simmering 🙂 I just made three batches and froze them I make it all the time!
Rene phillips says
Can you just throw it all in crock pot before you leave for work?
Diane says
I haven’t done that I’m not sure how mushy the noodles would be, I’d suggest being sure the noodles are thick and it should be ok.
Kerry says
Hey very nice blog, I love the recipes and can’t wait to make this soup and many others.
mapquest directions says
This is the best recipes of all time I know. The food is very delicious. I appreciate your cooking skills.
Jesse A Dresbach says
Just wanted to comment since this is the 3rd time I’ve made this soup! I do the freezer version. It’s great to have it on hand! I just add 2 cartons of broth + everything in the bag, and simmer it all for 20M or so… I take a few liberties with it, like random spices (italian seasoning) frozen peas…. Gluten free noodles…. whatever I feel like. Instructions on the bag, and each time it comes out wonderful and SO easy. Been a lifesaver when I’ve gotten home late and don’t feel like cooking! Thanks again for this staple recipe in our home!
Diane says
So happy to hear you like it, this sure is a favorite for my family too!
lahn says
Hey i really love your chicken soup recipe 🙂 this will warm my day
Tammy Jo L. says
Recently divorced, not a “cook” and trying new things, I was searching for freezer meals to make ahead. When I had Covid/Flu last year, what a lifesaver!!! Not only EASY but DELICIOUS!!! I added a few more fettucine nests, though. Thank you for this amazing recipe.
Diane says
OH, I’m so happy to hear it! I often prep out chicken in separate freezer bags with different marinades, to cook quickly and then just add a side veggie (and carb if desired) like chicken with 1) teriyaki sauce,2) Mongolian bbq sauce,3) mustard sauce, 4)pesto, 5)lemon-garlic-oregano. make mealtime easy 🙂