Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

This go-to recipe for chicken noodle soup has been a favorite for years, and also hiding in plain sight on Our Best Bites. It’s a very slight riff on the base to this popular Chicken and Dumplings recipe, but when you swap out the dumplings for noodles, it’s the most amazing Chicken Noodle Soup! The word “creamy” sometimes implies a thick, rich soup- but there is no roux here and it’s still a very light, broth-based soup. This recipe contains some evaporated milk for the perfect creamy consistency (which I 100% recommend) but you can leave that out if you’d like a more classic chicken noodle soup. A quick-fix pressure cooker version of this soup is featured in our popular Dinner Simplified Book (get your copy, here!) It’s perfectly simple with all the best flavors of tender chicken, carrots, onions, celery, and seasonings. In the recipe card I’ll include instructions for both pressure cooking and using pre-cooked or leftover chicken!

Ingredients Needed

  • Butter or oil
  • Carrots, Onion, and Celery – the trifecta! These three veggies are the base of so many great soups. Have a little more or less of one of them? No big deal, it’s flexible!
  • Fresh garlic
  • Chicken Broth – You can use a store bought broth, or homemade. Personally, I love both the flavor and convenience of Better than Bouillon, which is a concentrated mix. It makes it very easy to use as little or as much broth as you like.
  • Chicken – I’ll show how to make this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but you can also use pre-cooked chicken, like rotisserie or leftover.
  • Dried basil
  • Dried oregano
  • Kosher salt, and black pepper
  • Evaporated milk Low fat or full fat evaporated milk is fine. Find this in the baking aisle of the grocery store.
  • Fresh parsley
  • Noodles – I prefer an old-fashioned style noodle, but any pasta (and shape of pasta) will work just fine.
Chicken Soup Ingredients

Instructions

This soup is really simple to make, use a large stock-pot!

  1. Sauté carrots, onion, and celery. This step helps release flavors from the vegetables.
  2. Add broth and seasonings.
  3. Add chicken breast directly to pot. As soup simmers, the chicken cooks.
  4. Remove chicken to a cutting board and shred.
  5. Add your shredded chicken and your noodles into the pot and simmer until the noodles are cooked through.
  6. Stir in evaporated milk.
  7. Season with a little more salt and pepper if you need it, and that’s it!
Creamy Chicken Soup in a bowl with bread on the side

This soup is so comforting and delicious, and the creaminess just takes it up a notch and makes it feel even more special. This is great for a weeknight dinner, or taking to a friend who’s feeling under the weather.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I prep this recipe ahead of time?

You bet. I’ll often make this late afternoon and just keep it warm on the stove top until it’s time for dinner. You could also keep it warm in a slow cooker. Keep in mind the longer it sits, the noodles will continue to soften. If making early in the day, you may want to wait to simmer in the noodles until before serving.

Can I make this in a pressure cooker?

Yes, instructions are included in recipe card!

Can I make this dairy free?

Sure! Substitute the evaporated milk with a can of coconut milk, or your favorite dairy-free substitution.

Can I make this meatless?

Absolutely. Sub in additional vegetables of choice in place of chicken.

Chicken Noodle Soup in a bowl

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

5 from 6 votes
A classic recipe for chicken noodle soup with one extra ingredient that makes it rich and creamy.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings6

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1-2 tablespoons butter or oil
  • 2 carrots, large thinly sliced or diced
  • 2 ribs celery chopped
  • 1 onion, medium-large chopped
  • 3 – 4 cloves garlic minced or pressed (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
  • 8 cups chicken broth two 32-ounce cartons
  • 2 chicken breasts, medium-large about 1 ½ – 2 pounds
  • 1 teaspoon basil dried
  • 1 teaspoon oregano dried
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
  • 1 handful fresh parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley
  • 8 ounces noodles, dry

Instructions

  • Heat a large stock pot on the stove to medium heat. 
  • When hot, add butter or oil and swirl to coat bottom of pan. 
  • Add carrots, celery, and onion and saute, stirring often, until softened, about 3-4 minutes. 
  • Add garlic and sauté for about 30 seconds, until fragrant. 
  • Add 8 cups chicken broth, 1 teaspoon basil and 1 teaspoon oregano along with the 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Add parsley only if you are using dried parsley.
  • Add chicken breasts to pot, bring soup to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer.  
  • Simmer until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees, when no pink remains, about 10-15 minutes but timing will vary depending on size and thickness of breasts. Use an instant-read digital thermometer to check temperature.
  • Remove chicken to a cutting board.
  • Add noodles to pot and simmer until pasta is cooked, about 8 minutes. 
  • While pasta is cooking, shred chicken and add back into pot.
  • When pasta is done, turn off heat, stir in evaporated milk and fresh parsley, and season with additional salt and pepper to taste. 

Notes

  • To make with pre-cooked chicken:  Simply make recipe as stated, and drop in 2-4 cups cooked shredded chicken with broth.  (You can really add as much or as little as you like)
  • Pressure Cooker instructions: Add onion, carrots, celery, chicken, and seasonings into pressure cooker. Butterfly your chicken if it’s extra thick. Add broth. Seal lid and cook on high pressure for 12 minutes.  
  • If you’re pressed for time, you can boil your noodles separately while the pressure cooker cooks, otherwise, when pressure cooker timer goes off, quick release the steam and remove the chicken.  Set pressure cooker to saute mode and bring to a simmer, add noodles and shredded chicken and simmer until noodles are cooked.  Turn heat off and stir in evaporated milk and fresh parsley.  Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. 
  • Store leftover cooled soup in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 3-4 days for best results. 
  • If you plan on having lots of leftovers and don’t like your noodles to soak up too much broth, feel free to cook and store your noodles separately, then add them to each serving as needed before reheating. 
  • For freezing, I like to make the soup up until the step where you add the noodles. Freeze the soup without noodles or evaporated milk. To serve, thaw, bring to a simmer and then add in noodles, and finish with evaporated milk.

Nutrition

Calories: 315kcal, Carbohydrates: 35g, Protein: 24g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.02g, Cholesterol: 55mg, Sodium: 2054mg, Potassium: 563mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 3550IU, Vitamin C: 5mg, Calcium: 51mg, Iron: 1mg
Course: Main Courses
Cuisine: American, Comfort Food, Soups
Keyword: Chicken noodle soup, Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
Calories: 315kcal
Author: Sara Wells
Cost: $8
Did You Make This Recipe?Snap a picture, and hashtag it #ourbestbites. We love to see your creations on our Instagram @ourbestbites!
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Meet The Author

Sara Wells

Sara Wells co-founded Our Best Bites in 2008. She is the author of three Bestselling Cook Books, Best Bites: 150 Family Favorite RecipesSavoring the Seasons with Our Best Bites, and 400 Calories or Less from Our Best Bites. Sara’s work has been featured in many local and national news outlets and publications such as Parenting MagazineBetter Homes & GardensFine CookingThe Rachel Ray Show and the New York Times.

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Questions & Reviews

    1. You could definitely try that. It will add a bit of coconut flavor but have a similar creaminess.

  1. 5 stars
    Wow!!! Applause and thank you for this it’s AMAZING!!! The creamy milk makes it so much better. A+!!!😊

  2. 5 stars
    This is hands down the best chicken noodle soup I’ve ever had. The creamy broth is everyone’s favorite. I make it at least once a week now. Love it!

  3. 5 stars
    We made this soup for dinner tonight, it was easy to do, and oh-so-tasty! We used gluten free elbow macaroni instead of noodles, and our kids were so happy to be eating pasta. Thanks for another great recipe!

  4. I can’t wait to try it!! Do you have a noodle that you love? I’ve tried frozen, egg, and Amish noodles but I don’t love any of them.

  5. 5 stars
    What a great recipe! My family all said how much they loved it. The flavor of the base was just right. The garlic made it a little extra special. We also added some bacon, which was also a hit! My husband and teenage son kept getting more and said how much they loved it! Thank you!

  6. 5 stars
    Amazing soup! We were just talking about making a chicken noodle soup, so when I saw this I had to make it right away! It was decreed, “the best soup in the world” by my husband. 😆💖

    1. 5 stars
      I had only one carton of chicken broth, and one carton of vegetables broth. I combined them and it was outstanding. Thanks for the recipe.