Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

Homemade chicken noodle soup is already easy to whip up, but tossing all of your ingredients in a slow cooker makes it even easier. 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

How To Make Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

INGREDIENTS

• Chicken: You can make chicken noodle soup with any combination of bone-in, skin-on chicken parts, but for this recipe, I opted to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts for ease.
• Vegetables: Onion, carrots, and celery are my go-to vegetables for any chicken noodle soup.
• Herbs: Fresh thyme, rosemary, and a bay leaf add that cozy, signature herbal flavor to this soup. You can definitely use dried thyme and rosemary here if you’re in a pinch, but I love the ease of throwing in fresh sprigs, and the more vibrant flavor of fresh herbs.
• Garlic: Three chopped cloves of garlic creates my perfect flavor, but add more or less depending on your level of love for it.
• Chicken Broth: Make sure to use low-sodium chicken broth to avoid an overly-salty soup.
• Egg Noodles: While egg noodles are the most common (and my personal favorite), any short pasta can work. Use it as an opportunity to use up that bowtie or rigatoni that you've had forever.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

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. Season generously with salt and pepper (this soup is simple, so let the salt and pepper enhance all of the flavors), before pouring in your broth. 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. Once done, top with fresh herbs (if you desire), and get ready to cozy up to a bowl of this classic comfort food.

Full list of ingredients and instructions can be found in the recipe below.

Recipe Tips

• What can I add to chicken noodle soup to make it more flavorful? Fresh herbs, garlic, and a bay leaf will help make your soup more flavorful. If you make chicken soup and feel like it's lacking something, this can typically be not enough salt. Finish the soup with a pinch of flaky sea salt, a drizzle of olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon for a brighter, more punchy flavor. If you like spicy food, also consider adding a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne to give the soup some heat.

Storage

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. If you’d like to cook this soup in advance, the same recommendation applies, though if you’re making it ahead of time, we’d recommend skipping the noodles completely. You can add them into the broth when you reheat the soup, and they should be fully cooked in just 5 minutes.

Same deal if you're 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 I'd recommend cooking them off fresh!