Best Crock-Pot Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

A bowl of homemade chicken noodle soup is the pinnacle of cozy comfort food when you need something warming and satisfying. While our classic recipe is already easy to whip up, tossing all of your ingredients in the slow cooker makes this soup easier than ever. After a few hours and 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.

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.
• Garlic: Five chopped cloves of garlic might seem like a lot, but they add so much flavor to this soup without being overpowering.
• Herbs: Fresh thyme, rosemary, and a bay leaf provide that cozy, signature herbal flavor. 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 punch of fresh herbs.
• Butter: This may seem like a surprising ingredient, but trust me—it not only adds a richer flavor, but helps to create a silky texture as well.
• 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. Place the boneless, skinless chicken breasts in the slow cooker, along with the veggies, herbs, and butter. Season with salt and pepper, then cook on high with the lid closed for 2 hours. After the 2 hours, add your broth to the slow cooker and cover before cooking on High for 30 minutes—this will help the flavors meld into the broth.

After 30 minutes, the chicken should be cooked and tender. Transfer it to a plate, and after letting it cool slightly, use 2 forks to shred it (or whatever is your favorite shredding method).

Discard the thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf from the slow cooker, then add the shredded chicken back in along with the egg noodles. Cover and cook on High for about 20 minutes—you’re looking for the noodles to be al dente.

The 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 this soup so flavorful. If you make chicken soup and feel it’s lacking something, it’s often due to not using 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 result. If you like spicy food, also consider including a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne to give the soup some heat.
• Can I switch up the protein? Sure! If you’re craving the cozy comfort of chicken noodle soup but aren’t feeling chicken, feel free to make our chickpea noodle soup or turkey noodle soup.

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, I’d recommend skipping the noodles completely. You can add them to 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!