This is, by far, my favorite homemade chicken noodle soup recipe because it’s simply the perfect mix of easy, wholesome, and satisfying. It’s creamy yet light, and benefits from the addition of potato, thyme, oregano, and convenient pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. If you’re looking for an easy yet incredibly delicious homemade creamy chicken noodle soup recipe, just read some of the reviews below, then try it for yourself!
I originally published this recipe in 2015 and have since added some new photos, a video tutorial, and a few more success tips.
This is one of those recipes I like to make a big double batch of on a cold, slow weekend in January, and freeze half for future busy weeknights. It’s also a great one to take to a friend or neighbor who’s in need of a comforting homemade meal. And it’s a perfect back to school recipe when schedules get very busy.
This creamy chicken noodle soup has only about 200 calories per 1 cup. The potato adds heartiness to the soup and, as it cooks, makes the soup even creamier. I’ve made this soup probably close to 100 times since I originally published the recipe. Trust me, don’t leave that potato out!
One reader, Melinda, commented: “I made this today and have to say that this is now our favorite homemade chicken noodle soup recipe, too! I followed the recipe exactly as written and hubby loved it. ★★★★★”
Another reader, DLand, commented: “I first made this as a dinner for a new mom and dad. It was so good I couldn’t wait to make it again to keep for my own dinner. Thank you for another wonderful recipe! ★★★★★”
And another reader, Paula, commented: “This soup was delicious, best chicken soup I have eaten. I added Italian seasoning since I did not have oregano or fresh thyme and it was perfect. ★★★★★”
Cozy up with a bowl of this soup, alongside a fresh salad and a warm slice of homemade artisan bread, for a meal that will leave you feeling satisfied, but not weighed down. If lightened-up comfort food is what you crave, be sure to try my creamy butternut squash mac and cheese, too!
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Light & Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Lightened up, yet still creamy and so satisfying
- Can be made on the stove or in a slow cooker
- 1-pot meal
- Using a cooked rotisserie chicken saves time
- So much more delicious than store-bought soup
- Make ahead of time and freeze
- Good way to use up leftover chicken
- Flavorful spices, herbs, and vegetables
- A reader-favorite from my list of 30 delicious fall dinner recipes
- Ultimate winter comfort food!
Best Ingredients to Use:
You need 1 big pot and a few staple ingredients. This is a forgiving recipe, so let’s review what can change if needed.
- Butter: Just a Tablespoon, to soften the vegetables.
- Vegetables: Onion, carrots, and celery form the mirepoix flavor base for this soup.
- Herbs/Flavors: Use a blend of garlic, dried or fresh thyme and oregano, fresh ground pepper, and salt. Feel free to use other herbs you enjoy instead, if desired.
- Flour or Cornstarch: Flour (or cornstarch) thickens the liquid, taking this soup from brothy to creamy. See recipe Note for that substitution.
- Chicken Broth: Or stock.
- Potato: 1 medium potato is the first magical ingredient in this recipe, because it cooks down and makes the soup SO creamy, hearty, and satisfying.
- Chicken: This recipe saves time because you can use pre-cooked chicken. You could also use leftover cooked turkey, like we do in this turkey pot pie! I usually pick up a small rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, shred it, and add it right into the soup. (I do the same for this BBQ chicken pizza—so easy!) Or you can boil/poach chicken breasts or roast them with a little garlic and thyme, let cool slightly (or refrigerate for a day or two), then shred or chop. If you have leftover chicken, you can also use it in recipes like my chicken quinoa salad or peanut chicken zucchini noodles.
- Milk or Half-and-Half: This is the other magical ingredient that turns your homemade chicken noodle soup into the creamiest soup ever. Use 1 cup of whole milk or 1 cup of half-and-half. If you want to make regular (non-creamy) chicken noodle soup, replace the milk with more chicken broth.
- Noodles: I prefer wide egg noodles in chicken soup, but you can use any type of dry pasta you like, or go noodle-less.
If you can find wide egg noodles, go ahead and use those in today’s soup. If you don’t have egg noodles, any dry pasta you like would work. Keep the noodles small enough to fit on a spoon, so break any large dry pasta before using if needed. A few readers have even used tortellini instead!
How Does the Soup Thicken Up?
Cooking down the onion, carrots, and celery is a key step in the recipe. After you cook them down, add flour and your herbs. The flour will absorb the liquid from the softening vegetables, and create a nice thick base for the soup. This is exactly how we start biscuit vegetable pot pie, too.
Whole milk or half-and-half also thicken up the soup. I’ve even made it with half the amount (1/2 cup or 120ml) heavy cream in a pinch. (Add more chicken broth if you use heavy cream; see recipe Note.)
Nice and thick, without being too heavy.
After the vegetable mixture cooks and you add the flour and seasonings (above), you’ll add the broth and potato. Boil, and then simmer on the stove before adding the milk/half-and-half, chicken, and noodles. Finish cooking. It’s all very simple.
*Slow cooker instructions in the recipe Notes below!*
Can I Skip the Noodles or Use Rice Instead?
Yes. Feel free to skip the noodles entirely with no other changes to the recipe. Or you can use 1 cup of uncooked rice instead. Add it when you would add the noodles.
This Soup Satisfies. Period.
One bowl of this light & creamy chicken noodle soup will leave you feeling satisfied for hours, without feeling weighed down. This is the meal that keeps on giving because if you have a smaller family, there will be plenty of leftover soup to enjoy during the week. Serve in homemade bread bowls or alongside a batch of deliciously soft dinner rolls or brown butter sage dinner rolls, or a loaf of crusty artisan bread or asiago-crusted skillet bread.
I calculated the nutrition details using the SparkRecipes calculator app, and a 1-cup serving of this creamy chicken noodle soup, when using whole milk, is only 203 calories, with 20 grams of protein. Creamy, yet light… best soup ever!
Print
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
- Yield: about 12 cups
- Category: Soup
- Method: Cooking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This creamy chicken noodle soup is creamy yet light, and benefits from the addition of potato, flavorful thyme and oregano, and convenient pre-cooked rotisserie chicken. You can make it on the stove or slow cooker (see Note for slow cooker instructions).
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter
- 3/4 cup (100g) chopped yellow onion (1/2 of a large onion)
- 1 cup (120g) sliced or diced carrots (1–2 large carrots or a handful of baby carrots)
- 1 cup (120g) sliced or diced celery (2–3 stalks)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/4 cup (31g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves (or 2 teaspoons fresh)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 teaspoon fresh)
- 8 cups (1.92 liters) chicken broth (I recommend reduced sodium)
- 1 medium potato, peeled and diced (around 1 and 1/2 cups or 280g)
- 2 cups (about 250g) shredded or chopped cooked chicken
- 1 cup (240ml) half-and-half or whole milk
- 3–4 cups (about 112-150g) uncooked wide egg noodles (or other dry pasta, see note first)
- optional for garnish: fresh thyme leaves
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large pot or dutch oven (4-quart or larger) over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until vegetables have softened. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, thyme, and oregano and cook for 2 minutes.
- Next, add the chicken broth and potato. Give everything a quick stir, then increase the heat to medium-high. Bring the soup to a boil, without stirring, and boil for 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover the pot, and allow to simmer for 25 minutes or until the potatoes have softened. Taste the soup, and add more seasonings to taste, if desired.
- Add the chicken, half-and-half/milk, and noodles. Cook for 10 minutes until the noodles are tender and the soup has thickened. Once again, taste the soup and add more seasoning as desired. Serve warm.
- Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. To reheat, simply pour into a pot over medium heat and cook until warm. Feel free to add more chicken broth to the leftovers if it’s too thick. (Soup thickens in the refrigerator as the noodles and potatoes soak up the liquid.)
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Freeze soup for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator the day before eating, and then reheat on the stove until warm.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Dutch Oven (4-quart or larger, like this Le Creuset Dutch Oven or Lodge Dutch Oven)
- Slow Cooker Instructions: Prepare the soup through step 1 on the stovetop. Transfer to a slow cooker (affiliate link) and continue with step 2, but do not add the potato yet. Allow to cook for 2 hours on low, then add the potato, chicken, half-and-half/milk, and noodles. Cook on low for 1–2 more hours.
- Flavor Tip: During the last few minutes of cook time, try adding a squeeze of fresh lemon. It’s so good!
- Flour: Instead of 1/4 cup of flour, you can use 2 Tablespoons (16g) cornstarch.
- Herbs: I love this soup with oregano and thyme. Or you can use 1 and 1/2–2 teaspoons pre-made Italian seasoning (found in the spice aisle).
- Broth: I use low sodium chicken broth. If you are using regular broth, start with only 1/4 teaspoon of salt. As the soup finishes up, taste and add more salt if desired.
- Chicken: I recommend using rotisserie chicken, and you can use either white or dark meat. Or you can roast some chicken breasts yourself. Rub with a little minced garlic and dried thyme, roast in the oven under tender, then shred or chop it. You can also boil 2 large chicken breasts until cooked through, then shred/chop and use in this recipe.
- Whole Milk/Half-and-Half: Either works wonderfully in this recipe. Avoid lower-fat milks, and if you need a nondairy milk suggestion, I recommend plain oat milk. Plain almond milk would be the second best option for nondairy. Keep in mind that the soup won’t be as creamy. You could use 1/2 cup (120ml) heavy cream instead. If using 1/2 cup of heavy cream, add another 1/2 cup of chicken broth to the recipe.
- Best Noodles to Use: I prefer wide egg noodles in chicken soup, but any homestyle egg noodles work. You can use other dry pasta too, such as elbow macaroni or fettuccine (break up to fit on soup spoon). If using a smaller pasta, reduce amount to 2-3 cups. A few readers have even used tortellini! Or you can use 1 cup of uncooked rice instead. Add it when you would add the noodles.
I made this soup today along with your savory scone recipe and both were amazing! Thank you .
We ate it all! My husband and I devoured a whole pot of this soup in just a few days. So good.
Glad you all enjoyed it, Virginia!
Loved this soup. Have made it a few times now because its so good. I now substitute the potato with a can of butter beans. And the last time i cooked it i left out the noodles and spooned it over cooked rice. So versatile
This was absolutely delicious and the perfect way to finish off a rotisseries chicken. I used a combination of chicken broth in a carton and ‘Better Than Bouillion’. That rotisserie chicken had already fed me for 5 nights and now with soup to freeze it will feed me for 5 more!
So easy and so delicious
Wow! I absolutely loved this soup, will definitely be making again!
Very good soup. Easy to make and has a great taste. Will make again
Do you think that the soup would still be good if I didn’t add potatoes? I’m really excited to try it, but I don’t like potatoes.
Hi Sierra, you can definitely leave the potatoes out. It may not be *quite* as creamy.
This soup is creamy & delicious. Made with spaghetti noodles, next I will try rice.
Recipe is a Keeper!! Made for a friend who recently had surgery, she loved it also.
Fantastic dinner on a busy weeknight. Happy to have leftovers for lunch tomorrow!
I’ve made this recipe dozens of times… My favorite soup recipe!
I tried it exactly as written and we loved it. The only change I’d make is to advise to use a red potato. The Idaho got mushy.
I never was a huge fan of chicken noodle soup but this recipe has won me over! I absolutely love it! It turns out so delicious. I’ve made it several times and it always gets rave reviews! It’s a keeper for sure and my go to recipe for the best chicken noodle soup ever. I usually serve it with some rustic bread or baguettes. Leftovers are great over mashed potatoes too!
I never was a huge fan of chicken noodle soup but this recipe has won me over! I absolutely love it! It turns out so delicious. I’ve made it several times and it always gets rave reviews! It’s a keeper for sure and my go to recipe for the best chicken noodle soup ever. I usually serve it with some rustic bread or baguettes. Leftovers are great over mashed potatoes too!
Wait wait wait…soup over mashed potatoes??!?! *Mind blown*
This was great … added a little more flour slurry for thickener and used chicken & herb better bouillon (jars from Costco).
I made this once before in my Dutch oven and we LOVED IT. I’m going to try to make it again but in my instant pot as my stove top is broken 🙁 but it is the best chicken noodle soup so I am sure it will be great again!
This is THE best ckn noodle soup recipe I’ve ever tried!
Wow!
This was superrrr good! New family favorite
Great recipe. We added more potatoes instead of noodles (although the kids added noodles, too). Everyone’s bowl was licked clean. I ended up sautéing the onions and shredded carrots, then blended them after adding the broth. (My kids don’t like chunks of onion), then adding more carrot slices with the potato.
Perfect just as written, though I was in a hurry and only did the initial simmer with the potatoes for 10 min (instead of 25). Well balanced, satisfying. Half and half added something without making it an overly rich soup.
Im so excited to make this! If I’m not going to be adding potatoes, should I still let it simmer for those 25 minutes, or would I skip to the next step?
Hi Jas, you can still let it simmer.
Wonder how this would do using gluten free flour to thicken and gluten free noodles? I dont really love how cornstarch reheats or would go with that. Thoughts?
Hi Terri, We haven’t tested this recipe with GF flour and noodles, but let us know how it turns out if you do!
This was a fun project for me. I had to adjust some things since I was out of carrots I subbed an orange sweet pepper, then I remember I had some frozen veggies so I threw some of those in there. Did not have noodles, and thought about rice, but saw a box of couscous and threw that in instead. No need of a thickening agent! Anyway, had to make my own chick broth with Better than Bulliion, It tastes so delicious! Thank you!
After making this soup, I just had to leave a comment. Thank you for such a delicious recipe! I make a lot of soups, but my 16-year-old said this is now her absolute favorite. I will definitely be keeping this recipe and making this soup often! I almost always have cooked cubed chicken in my freezer, so this meal came together so quickly – definitely a winner!
Always 5 stars for you Sally! I made this soup again (I’ve made it so many times), but I didn’t have even the tiniest potato in the house, so I substituted gnocchi! It was fantastic. I can’t believe how yummy it was. So if you are all out of potatoes…..
Delicious soup and makes your home smell amazing!
Oh my word!! This has to be the best chicken soup I’ve ever made. Our family loved it and they all said it’s the best chicken soup they’d ever tasted! I definitely agree!
Has anyone tried canning this?
So good…my go to chicken noodle soup recipe. Love the simplicity and yumminess.
I’ve had to stop eating my bowl of soup because this recipe is tooo good. We didn’t have celery so I used leek and mushrooms, and added a teaspoon of chilli flakes. Sal, this soup is divine! I can’t get enough of it. It’s going to be a hit in my family. It’s winter in New Zealand and this has gone down a treat. Already can’t wait to eat again. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for giving it a try, Sally! So glad you enjoy the soup.