Make homemade, comforting slow cooker chicken noodle soup and you won’t want to buy canned soup again. Prep the ingredients and your slow cooker will do the rest of the work so you have cozy chicken noodle soup ready when it’s dinnertime.
We’ve been having cold, windy and rainy weather and so I’ve been craving soup. I have a few soup recipes I like to make like my vegetable soup, Toscano soup and hot and sour soup, but when I really want some comfort, I love to make chicken noodle soup.
What I love about this slow cooker chicken noodle soup recipe is that I don’t have to babysit the soup as it simmers. Once you prep all of the ingredients you just let them simmer in the slow cooker for six hours while you go about your day. Plus, this recipe makes a big batch so there are leftovers for easy lunches and dinners.
Tips for Making Slow Cooker Chicken Soup
- You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this soup and cook them whole in the slow cooker. Once they’re cooked through, you just shred them and add them back to the soup.
- You can customize this chicken noodle soup with your favorite vegetables, but I really like carrots and celery. It helps to cut them into pieces of similar size so they cook evenly. I cut mine into bite-sized pieces.
- I used chicken stock as the base of the soup. Because different brands have different amounts of salt you will want to taste your soup before serving it and adjust the seasoning to your taste.
- For the noodles, I like to cook them separately before adding them to the soup. In testing this recipe, I tried cooking the pasta in the slow cooker, but the noodles turned mushy and fall apart. It’s better to boil the noodles before you serve the soup.
How long does homemade chicken soup last?
Chicken noodle soup will last three to four days in the refrigerator. I like to store mine in single-serving containers to make it easy to reheat them for easy lunches and dinners.
Can you freeze chicken noodle soup?
You can freeze chicken soup, but I don’t recommend freezing the noodles in the soup because they will turn mushy. If you are planning to freeze the soup, make it as instructed, but don’t add the pasta. Just freeze the soup as is and then, when you want to reheat it, boil a fresh batch of noodles and add them to the soup.
What other vegetables can I add?
You can add other vegetables to your soup, but depending on how fast they cook, you may want to add them at different times. Here are some ideas:
- Vegetables like potatoes and winter squash can be added at the beginning and simmered for the full time.
- Vegetables like green peas, green beans, zucchini, and asparagus should be added towards the end, like in the last hour or so.
- You can also stir in fresh greens like spinach, but wait until just before you serve it because they will only need a few minutes to wilt into the soup.
- You can also use fresh herbs like parsley and chives to flavor your soup. Add them right at the end before serving so they maintain their freshness.
- You can also add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the end to add a bright flavor.
What can I serve with chicken noodle soup?
Chicken noodle soup goes great with sandwiches like my cauliflower grilled cheese. I also like to have a salad with my soup like my brussels sprouts salad or kale quinoa salad. Or just add some garlic breadsticks on the side.
If you want some more ideas be sure to check out my Slow Cooker and Instant Pot Recipes.
Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breast
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 1/2 small onion peeled and finely chopped
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 3 carrots peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
- 3 celery stalks ends trimmed and sliced into bite-sized slices
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/2 tbsp dried parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 cups pasta boiled and drained (make this right before serving soup)
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- In a 6 quart slow cooker, add all ingredients except salt & pepper, pasta and fresh parsley. Stir a few times so that the ingredients are mixed into the broth and not just sitting on top. Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours.
- Remove chicken from soup. Using forks, shred chicken breasts. Place back into soup. Taste soup and determine if salt and pepper is needed. If so, add salt and pepper and cook for an additional 30 minutes on low.
- Right before serving, cook and drain your pasta. Stir in pasta and sprinkle fresh parsley. Ladle soup out into bowls and serve immediately. If you are keeping leftovers in the fridge, remove pasta from soup before refrigerating (you can store pasta in a separate container).
Notes
- Adapted from Damn Delicious
Nutrition
The nutrition information provided are only estimates based on an online nutritional calculator. I am not a certified nutritionist. Please consult a professional nutritionist or doctor for accurate information and any dietary restrictions and concerns you may have.
The recipie sounds delightful! But could I please ask a silly question about the slow cooker? What exactly is the fuss about it? Why take 6 hours to cook this, when it could possibly be done in 1 hour or less simmering in a regular pot, also with no pot/baby sitting? Apart from making a bone broth that does take hours, or if you’re not at home and the slow cooker has a timer, I genuinely don’t understand the use of slow cookers. I was gifted one but only use for bone broth. What am I missing about the slow cooker recipes? Does it make the food more flavourful or is it just a time saver only? I hope you don’t mind the question as I honestly want to learn more in the kitchen!
The nice thing about slow cookers is that you can leave them – we wouldn’t want to leave the stove on for hours, especially if you need to leave the house. You can make chicken noodle soup on the stove, but we love the slow cooker because it simmers for hours developing lots of flavor. Plus, sometimes we don’t have the energy cook in the evening – using a slow cooker means you can do all the prep work earlier in the day so dinner is ready that evening. That said, it’s not for everyone but we hope you give the recipe a try!
looks incredibly easy with the slow cooker. May be its time for me to pick up one:)
slow cookers are pretty nice to have!