I’ll never outgrow uncomplicated, sentimental recipes I’ve loved since childhood, like Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup. Made from scratch with simple, wholesome ingredients, this no-fuss, easy slow cooker soup recipe is just what the doctor (and the kid in all of us) ordered.
This healthy crockpot chicken noodle soup is not fancy or sophisticated.
Made with classic, everyday chicken noodle soup ingredients, it’s not even particularly unusual (for something with a twist, check out Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup).
But it is very, very yummy.
Plus thanks to the slow cooker, it cooks hands-free!
(If you’re a fan of low-and-slow, check out this Crockpot Vegetable Beef Soup next.)
5 Star Review
“I loved it! So comforting and really easy to make!”
— Toni —
Why You’ll Love This Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Yummy—plus easy, healthy, and great leftover—are top-qualities we look for in our meals around here.
This easy crockpot chicken noodle soup with egg noodles is here to satisfy adults, kids, and kids-at-heart alike. (This Crockpot Chicken Wild Rice Soup is another crowd-pleasing recipe.)
- For the grown-ups, I added an elevated twist to make it one of the best chicken noodle soup recipes you’ll try.
- For the kid in all of us, I kept the classic aspects of chicken noodle soup that make it the deeply comforting, nourishing, and simple childhood favorite that it is. (Kids will also love this Broccoli Cheddar Soup)
It’s Betty Crocker’s crock pot chicken noodle soup, stepped up a notch.
How to Make Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
This is a “dump and go” crock pot recipe (like my Crockpot White Chicken Chili), meaning you essentially toss all the raw ingredients into your slow cooker without any advance prep like sautéing required.
It’s fairly fast and yields a generous portion, so you can enjoy it all week long.
More Noodle Soups for Your Soul
For even more chicken noodle soup inspiration, check out my Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup and Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup.
The Ingredients
- Chicken. I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts, which are nutritious, packed with protein, and crowd-pleasing. You can also use chicken thighs.
- Carrots and Celery. Chicken noodle soup doesn’t taste complete without these two (use your leftovers to make Healthy Chicken Pot Pie or Chicken and Biscuits.)
- Onion. Infuses the soup with delicate onion flavor and aroma.
- Fresh Rosemary. Perfumes the stock and imparts additional flavor.
- Whole Wheat Pasta Noodles. I made this healthy crockpot chicken noodle soup with egg noodles. To keep things wholesome, I opted for whole grain egg noodles.
Tip!
While you can add uncooked noodles to a crockpot, I found the best results cooking them separately on the stove. Noodles simply can’t achieve that perfect al dente bite in the slow cooker and tend to fall apart.
- Chicken Stock. I recommend using chicken stock instead of broth in this recipe. Stock has a slightly fuller flavor, and I even think the texture is a little richer.
The Directions
- Add everything but the noodles to the slow cooker. Cover and cook crockpot chicken noodle soup on LOW for 4 to 6 hours or HIGH for 2 to 3 hours.
- Remove the chicken to a bowl and shred. Discard the onion and fresh herbs.
- Cook the noodles on the stovetop, then add them to the slow cooker with the chicken. ENJOY!
Storage Tips
- To Store. Place cooked and cooled chicken soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- To Reheat. Rewarm soup gently in a medium saucepan on the stove top over medium-low heat until hot. You can also reheat the soup in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave until warmed through.
- To Freeze. Store cooked and cooled soup in an airtight, freezer-safe storage container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Meal Prep Tip
Chop the garlic, celery, and carrots up to 1 day in advance. Refrigerate until you’re ready to finish the recipe.
What to Serve with Chicken Noodle Soup
While chicken noodle soup is an ideal all-in-one meal, I often enjoy pairing it with one (or more) of these fantastic serving ideas.
- Salad. Keep it simple with a classic Arugula Salad, or pair it with this Panera-style Spinach Strawberry Salad with Balsamic Poppy Seed Dressing.
- Bread or Crackers. Dunk it! Try this soup with a slice of Beer Bread or Ranch Crackers.
- Sandwiches. Make your meal a combo with a half (or whole) portion of a Chickpea Salad Sandwich, BLT, or Air Fryer Grilled Cheese.
Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe
- Slow Cooker. With this slow cooker, you can skip the stovetop chicken noodle soup.
- Sturdy Ladle. Perfect for serving soups and stews.
- Instant Read Thermometer. The best way to check your chicken for doneness.
Programmable Slow Cooker
This slow cooker will switch to “keep warm” after the cooking time has ended, helping to make sure your food won’t overcook.
No matter your age, this homemade chicken noodle soup in a crockpot is easy to make, gratifying to eat, and guaranteed to help see us through these chilly days.
Soup’s on!
Frequently Asked Questions
No, you should not put frozen chicken in the crock pot. The meat could spend too long at room temperature, which may render it unsafe to eat. However, it is perfectly safe to use raw chicken in a slow cooker recipe, as long as it is thawed.
I haven’t played around with making slow cooker chicken noodle soup with whole chicken, but it’s on my list for future. If you decide to try it, I’d love to hear how it goes. (You could also make this crockpot chicken noodle soup with rotisserie chicken by stirring the chicken in at the end.)
Yes! You can make this crockpot chicken noodle soup recipe with chicken thighs if your household prefers dark meat or a mix. Use boneless, skinless thighs. You may need to add 30 minutes or so to the cook time.
Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts trimmed of excess fat
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus additional to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper plus additional to taste
- 1 small yellow onion peeled and left whole
- 3 medium carrots peeled and cut into 1/4-inch coins (about 1/2 pound)
- 2 large celery stalks thinly sliced
- 2 large garlic cloves minced
- 3 stalks fresh rosemary* tied into a bundle for easy removal
- 1 bay leaf
- 7–8 cups low-sodium chicken stock divided
- 6 ounces whole wheat wide egg noodles about 4 heaping cups
For serving:
- Chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- To the bottom of a 6-quart or larger slow cooker, add the chicken breasts. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add the whole onion, carrots, celery, garlic, rosemary bundle, and bay leaf. Pour 6 cups of the chicken stock over the top. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours or HIGH for 2 to 3 hours, until the chicken is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. The cooking time can vary greatly depending on your slow cooker model, so check the thickest part of the chicken for doneness early to ensure it does not overcook.
- Remove the chicken from the slow cooker to a large mixing bowl or plate. Fish out and discard the whole onion, bay leaf, and rosemary springs (don’t worry if a few of the rosemary leaves are left in the soup). Shred the chicken—a hand mixer, two forks, or your fingers (if the chicken is cool enough) all work well for shredding. Set the shredded chicken aside.
- To cook the noodles on the stove (the best option so that you don’t worry about them over- or undercooking and so the noodles stay more intact): Towards the end of the soup’s cook time, cook the egg noodles until al dente according to package directions. Drain and add to the soup when the soup has finished cooking. Add back the shredded chicken. Stir and let cook on LOW for 5 minutes to absorb some of the flavor.
- To cook noodles directly in the slow cooker (the best option if you are willing to risk less-than-perfect noodles for the sake of not washing a separate pasta pot): Add the uncooked egg noodles to the soup. Cook on LOW for 10 minutes, or until al dente. Stir in the shredded chicken.
- Add as much of the remaining 1 cup chicken stock as you like to reach your desired consistency. (If you cooked your noodles in the slow cooker, you may also need to add some additional stock since the noodles absorb the stock as they cook). Serve hot with a sprinkle of fresh parsley.
Video
Notes
- INGREDIENT NOTE: I personally love rosemary, so I find three stalks to be perfect. If you would like a more mild rosemary flavor, feel free to reduce the amount to suit your family’s personal taste preferences.
- TO STORE: Place cooked and cooled soup in an airtight storage container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- TO REHEAT: Rewarm soup gently in a medium saucepan on the stove over medium-low heat until hot. You can also reheat the soup in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave until warmed through.
- TO FREEZE: Store cooked and cooled soup in an airtight freezer-safe storage container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
Nutrition
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I loved it! So comforting and really easy to make!
Your soup was good i didn’t put alot of rosemary in it and added a little extra garlic and other seasoning. My mother-in-law liked it and I did to but I worked 8 hours and she added more into when I was at work. She added potatoes which I was she wouldn’t have.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Amber! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Such a great, classic recipe. We really loved the rosemary. Thank you!
Sandra, thanks for taking the time to leave this review! I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the soup.
It might be 90 degrees outside (and rising) but my office kitchen is always freezing and this is the perfect lunch to warm me up. This is such a yummy comfort food dish! Also the onion trick is life-changing.
Laura, I’m so glad to hear this is a hit! Thanks for reporting back.
Worked out great
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed this, Travis! Thank you for taking the time to share this kind review!
You can try filling the plastic solo cups mid-way and freezing (like we used to freeze juice in cups as a kids) then store in a large zip lock bag. So when you’re ready to heat and eat just pop out a cube or two heat it up and add your noodles.
Thank you for chiming in and sharing your tips, Shara!
Loved this recipe! Warmed my soul on a cold night.
I’m so happy to hear that this was a hit, Mary! Thank you for taking the time to share this kind review!
I am going to make this for dinner tonight. However, I have a whole chicken in mind. Did you ever make this with a whole chicken as you mentioned? I am also going to add homemade frozen-type noodles at the end–while shredding the chicken. I have rosemary and thyme in my garden and am always happy to find recipes that call for them. I think it will be yummy!
Hi Marita! I’m sorry I was unable to answer your comment yesterday. I have not tried this recipe with a whole chicken yet, but I think it would be delicious. I hope you enjoyed the recipe!
Was a huge hit and super easy to make
I’m so pleased that you enjoyed the soup, Matt! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
I made this exactly as the recipe called for. I cooked the soup on high for 3 hours. Added the noodles into the slow cooker for 10 minutes after the 3 hours. The carrots were still entirely too hard, crunchy. As well as the celery. I feel like this could have used an additional hour at high… even the chicken wasn’t soft and didn’t shred easily. I also feel like I had entirely too much chicken for the amount of noodles. That being said, this beats a can of chicken noodle soup any day. Next time, I will either cook on low for 6 hours or extend the high cooking time to 4 hours. I’ll also add more noodles. I also will double the bay leaf and rosemary just because I like those flavors and didn’t feel like they really popped. Thank you for the recipe!!!
Thanks for trying the recipe and reporting back, Tia! I hope it goes even better next time!
Making the soup at 3x recipe. Calls for 21-24 cups of the stock. Down further it says pour 6 cups over all the
Ingredients and cook. Then it says add as much of the one cup left if the stock. So , in total that’s 7 cups.
Why does it call for the 21-24 cups ? Am I missing something?
Thanks!
Hi Margaret! When you click the 3x button, it only updates the recipe ingredients, so the instructions will still need to be adjusted accordingly. I hope this helps!
So good! This rosemary was unexpectedly but welcome. I held back a couple of cups of stock and used them to cook the noodles separately. I don’t know how the noodles will hold up for leftovers, but they were perfect in the first servings.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed the recipe, Eileen! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
I made this recipe as is and also found the vegetables to be undercooked, still somewhat crunchy. I think if I had 8 hours to let it cook on low, it would have made a difference. I only had 4-5 hours to finish the soup, which was just not enough cooking time for the vegetables. If I made this recipe again I would likely omit the rosemary altogether, as I felt it was very overpowering for this recipe. Otherwise, the chicken shredded perfectly and it did not take long to throw all of the ingredients into the crock pot! I will definitely do some experimenting with this recipe and make the changes I mentioned. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for trying the recipe, Shelby! I hope you enjoy it even more next time!
Can I add canned chicken instead of chicken breast
Hi Jonathan! Since the chicken is cooked as a part of this recipe, you may want to try using the canned chicken in my Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup instead. I hope you enjoy the recipe if you try it!
I’ve made a total of 6 recipes from Erin since discovering her website. The strawberry/blueberry oatmeal bar is a HUGE hit in my family! this chicken noodle soup recipe is simply amazing. So thankful for Erin!
I’m so happy that you’ve enjoyed the recipes, Jaclyn! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Just made this today and it is super tasty. I played around with the ingredients and added more veggies and chicken plus added Mrs. Dash. But this is exactly as stated — a good simple recipe for Chicken Noodle soup.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed the recipe, Marsha! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
This is one of my fave go to’s now! Sometimes it can be a little bland but I think that it due to my lack of seasoning with pepper and salt enough. Thanks for the delish recipe! I’m excited to check out more on your page :)
I’m so happy that you’ve enjoyed it, Sandi! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
This recipe is easy enough for me to make for myself when I’m sick (although I also enjoy it when I’m well). It is a good, classic chicken noodle. I especially like that I don’t have to chop onion. The only change I make is that I also add some fresh thyme since I already have it. I’ve tried this recipe with egg noodles and with chickpea noodles and both are great if you follow the instructions of cooking the noodles separately. Thanks for another great recipe!
Hi Lauren! So glad you enjoyed them! Thank you for this kind review!
This is great! Not sure why there are multiple people who had issues with the cook times not being enough, I had no issues.
Hi Jessica! It’s so hard to know why some people are successful with recipes and some aren’t. It’s such a mystery to me! So glad you enjoyed the soup! Thank you for this kind review!
Made this soup for dinner, fantastic! Method, flavors, tips were well thought out for a wonderful soup. Thank you, Erin.
Hi Anne! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!