Making chicken noodle soup at home is already simple, but putting everything in a slow cooker makes it even simpler. Simply toss all of your ingredients and go—the slow cooker will do all the work for you. After very little effort, you’ll have the coziest meal on your hands ready to warm you up all fall and winter long. Here’s everything you need to know:
What People Are Saying:“Great recipe…so easy! The soup was more delicious the next day. Yum!!” – CyanBlowdryer
“Never done noodles in a crock pot so I followed the recipe exactly, turned out so yummy!! I was hoping to have leftovers but the hubby and kids had 3 servings! Thank you!” – Kricket.
Chicken soup is a comfort food staple that can be found in many households. While there are endless ways to prepare chicken soup, one of the most popular additions is egg noodles. The noodles add heartiness and texture to the broth making it a more filling and substantial meal. If you want to add egg noodles to your chicken soup there are a few easy methods you can use.
Deciding When to Add the Noodles
The first thing you need to do is choose when to add the noodles to the soup. There are a couple of options:
- Add uncooked noodles to the broth and cook them directly in the soup.
- Cook the noodles separately and add them to the soup right before serving.
The easiest way is to just add raw noodles to the soup. But cooking the noodles separately gives you more control and can help keep them from getting too wet or too cooked.
Cooking Noodles in the Broth
To cook the noodles in the soup, just add the dry noodles when the broth starts to boil. There should be enough broth to cover the noodles while they cook. Bring the soup back to a simmer and add the noodles. Cook for about 5 to 7 minutes, stirring them every now and then, until they are soft but still a little chewy.
The benefit of this method is that the noodles absorb flavor from the broth as they cook. Just be careful not to overcook them, as they can become mushy and fall apart if simmered too long.
Cooking Noodles Separately
For firmer toothsome noodles cook them in boiling water before adding to the soup. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook according to package directions, usually 5-8 minutes for fresh noodles or 3-5 minutes for dried noodles.
Drain the noodles well and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Then add them to the simmering soup just before serving so they can heat through without becoming mushy.
Cooking the noodles separately prevents them from absorbing too much liquid from the broth so they maintain their texture better. It also allows you to adjust noodle and soup consistency independently.
Choosing Egg Noodles
These egg noodles can be either fresh or dried when making chicken soup. Some options include:
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Dried egg noodles – Available in long shapes like spaghetti or linguine or short shapes like elbow macaroni. They have a pleasant eggy flavor.
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Fresh egg noodles – Found refrigerated or frozen, fresh egg noodles have a soft, tender texture.
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Homemade egg noodles – Making fresh egg pasta yourself allows you to cut the noodles in customized shapes and widths.
Wider, shorter noodle shapes like pappardelle or lasagna noodles work well in soups. Avoid delicate angel hair pasta as it can get lost in broth.
For chicken soup, medium width egg noodles around 1/4-1/2 inch wide are ideal. Linguine or fettuccine shapes are a good choice, whether using dried or fresh noodles.
How Much to Use
The amount of noodles you add depends on personal preference. A general guideline is 2-4 ounces of dried noodles or 4-6 ounces of fresh noodles per 4 servings of soup.
Start with less and you can always add more. Leftover cooked noodles will keep for a few days in the refrigerator to add to future batches of soup.
Cooking Tips
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Season the broth – For the most flavor, make sure the soup base is well seasoned with salt, pepper and aromatics like garlic, onions and herbs before adding noodles. The noodles will soak up that flavor.
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Use a large pot – Use a soup pot that’s large enough to allow the noodles to move freely while simmering. Crowding the pot can cause sticking and uneven cooking.
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Stir occasionally – Gently stir the noodles a few times as they cook to prevent sticking, especially if cooking them directly in the broth.
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Adjust consistency – If the soup seems too thick after adding noodles, thin it with additional broth, water or milk. For a thicker soup, mix some cornstarch with cold water and stir into the hot soup to reach desired consistency.
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Garnish just before serving – Sprinkle any garnishes like chopped parsley or green onion on individual portions rather than the whole pot to keep them vibrant.
With a few easy tricks, adding noodles to chicken soup is simple. Just choose your favorite egg noodle variety and decide whether to simmer them right in the broth or cook separately. In no time you’ll have a comforting bowl of chicken and noodles soup.
How To Make Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken: Any combination of bone-in, skin-on chicken parts can be used to make chicken noodle soup. For this recipe, though, I chose to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts because they were easier to work with.
- When I make chicken noodle soup, I always use onion, carrot, and celery as vegetables.
- Herbs: This soup has a cozy, herbal flavor that comes from fresh thyme, rosemary, and a bay leaf. In a pinch, you can use dried thyme and rosemary in this recipe, but I love how easy it is to use fresh sprigs and how much better they taste.
- Garlic: I like three chopped garlic cloves for the best flavor, but you can add more or less depending on how much you love garlic.
- Chicken Broth: To keep the soup from being too salty, use low-sodium chicken broth.
- Egg Noodles: Most people use egg noodles, which are also my personal favorite. But any short pasta will do. Use it as a chance to use up that bowtie or rigatoni you’ve had for a long time.
The best thing about this recipe? It’s not necessary to cook the chicken before putting it in the soup—let your slow cooker do all the hard work for you. Add raw boneless skinless chicken breasts to the slow cooker, along with the veggies, and herbs. Before adding the broth, season the soup with a lot of salt and pepper. This soup is simple, so let the salt and pepper bring out all the flavors. Cover and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours.
Once the chicken is tender, remove the breasts from the slow cooker and use 2 forks to shred the meat. Discard the herbs and bay leaf, then return the chicken to the slow cooker and stir with the soup.
Now is the time to add in your egg noodles, stirring them in to combine.
Cook uncovered on Low until the noodles are al dente. This should take 20 to 30 minutes, but keep a close eye on it. You want to avoid your noodles growing overly soggy. If you want, you can sprinkle fresh herbs on top. Then, grab a bowl of this classic comfort food and put your feet up.
Full list of ingredients and instructions can be found in the recipe below.
- What can I put in chicken noodle soup to make it taste better? Fresh herbs, garlic, and a bay leaf will help your soup taste better. You may not have added enough salt to your chicken soup if you feel like it needs something. Add some flaky sea salt, olive oil, and lemon juice to the soup at the end to make the flavor stronger and brighter. For extra heat, you could also add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne if you like spicy food.
If you have leftovers, I strongly suggest that you store the noodles separately from the broth. If they’re stored together, the noodles will soak up the liquid and turn to mush—and there won’t be any broth left. The same advice applies if you want to make this soup ahead of time, but we suggest leaving out the noodles. When you heat up the soup again, you can add them to the broth. In just 5 minutes, they should be fully cooked.
Same deal if youre freezing—the soup itself freezes well and can be reheated whenever the craving hits, but the noodles will get mushy sitting in all of that broth, so Id recommend cooking them off fresh! Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
- 1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 3 carrots, peeled. sliced into coins
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 10 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 8 oz. egg noodles
- Step 1: Put the chicken, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf in a slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour in broth. Step 2: Put a lid on top and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred with 2 forks. Discard herbs and bay leaf. Return chicken to slow cooker and add egg noodles. Step 3: Cover and cook on low for 20 to 30 minutes, or until noodles are al dente.
These Creamy Chicken & Noodles are the ultimate #comfortfood #yum #easyrecipe #dinner #food
FAQ
Do you cook egg noodles before adding to soup?
It is generally recommended to cook egg noodles separately before adding them to soup, especially if you plan to have leftovers.
Can I add noodles to my chicken soup?
It’s made the old-fashioned way by boiling a whole chicken. You can add any vegetables, noodles, or pasta, and it will taste great. And everybody knowns Chicken Soup is the best soup for a cold!.
How do you keep egg noodles from getting mushy in chicken noodle soup?
They don’t get mushy in the soup because you let them sit in cold water before cooking them. Couldn’t you cook them in broth and store the noodles separately? Add them to the soup when serving. You could but this method means you don’t have to cook them separately.
How do you add egg to chicken noodle soup?
Just whisk the yolk in a large-ish bowl, and add broth to it little by little whisking all the while until warm (if you just stir the yolk straight into the broth the tolk will clot). Once the egg mixture has reached a warm temperature you can stir it into the broth.