Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup — 🍲🥕🙌🏻 Classic and comforting chicken noodle soup with loads of juicy chicken, tender noodles, carrots, celery, and seasoned to perfection so that it tastes just like grandma used to make it! But this recipe is made with EASE and convenience in mind by using your crock pot. Just add the ingredients, set it, and forget it, and your soup will taste AMAZING!
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Easy Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
Over the years, my Easy 30-Minute Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup has been well-loved and made by thousands of readers. It’s of course easy and very fast to make on the stovetop in just a half hour.
That soup has spawned so many spinoff versions, including super popular Chicken Tortilla Soup, plus Creamy Sweet Potato Chicken Soup, Chicken Vegetable Soup, Mediterranean Chicken Soup, Thai Chicken Curry Soup, Chicken Pot Pie Soup, and more. Make sure to consult the Related Recipes underneath the recipe card for more ideas!
However, over the years I’ve had requests for my classic homemade chicken soup to be adapted to a slow cooker. So, I am thrilled to finally present this easy slow cooker chicken noodle soup!
It turns out, that it was pretty much as easy as adding all the ingredients including chicken breasts, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, and herbs into a crock pot all at once, pouring in broth, and simmering for 4 hours. Add noodles, simmer a bit longer, and serve!
Ingredients in Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
To make this easy chicken noodle soup recipe, you’ll need the following basic and easy-to-find fridge and pantry ingredients:
- Olive oil
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts (or chicken thighs) – You can substitute turkey if preferred for turkey noodle soup
- Carrots
- Celery
- Sweet Vidalia onion or yellow onion
- Garlic
- Bay leaves
- Fresh thyme – Feel free to substitute dried thyme if needed. In general, dried herbs are a bit more potent than fresh, so if a recipe says 1 teaspoon fresh you’ll want to use 1/2 teaspoon dried, give or take
- Dried oregano
- Salt
- Pepper
- Chicken broth or chicken stock
- Wide egg noodles
- Lemon juice
- Fresh parsley
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make This Easy Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
When I say this is one of the easiest soup recipes you’ll ever make, I truly mean it!
There’s nothing to sauté or sear ahead of time on the stovetop, no transferring food, no need to separately boil the noodles, it’s a true one pot, or one Crock-Pot, recipe!
Step 1: To a large 6-quart to 7-quart slow cooker, evenly drizzle the olive oil over the bottom of your slow cooker so nothing sticks, add the chicken, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper.
Step 2: Pour the broth over the top. Cover and cook on high for about 4 hours, or on low about 6-7 hours. Use an instant read thermometer to ensure your chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit and is fully cooked.
Step 4: Remove the cooked chicken breasts, place them on a cutting board, and shred the chicken using two forks. Or put on a pair of dish-washing gloves because the chicken is hot and shred by hand. I know some people use a hand mixer to shred chicken but I think it’s overkill for such a quick and easy little task.
Step 5: Add the shredded chicken back into the broth, add the noodles, cover, and cook on high for about 20 minutes, or until done. Adjust as needed, depending on your slow cooker!
Step 6: Remove the bay leaves, add a squirt of lemon juice, taste for seasoning balance, adjust if necessary, and serve immediately!
What to Serve with Chicken Noodle Soup
Storage
Extra chicken noodle soup will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
I like to store leftover soup in single-serve containers so that I can just grab, heat, and go. And I’m not fumbling with ladling out leftover soup from a big container in the refrigerator, which is also a space waster.
Note: Egg noodles tend to soak up the broth as they sit. So, feel free to add another splash of chicken broth when reheating or when first preparing the soup.
Recipe FAQs
I recommend a 6 to 7-quart Crock-Pot or slow cooker. This is the exact 6-Quart Crock-Pot shown in the photos. Anything brand or similar size is fine.
Don’t use the round smaller ones though which tend to only be about 4 quarts. That’s too small.
You sure can! Make my famous Easy 30-Minute Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup on the stovetop. It’s the recipe that inspired the Crockpot chicken noodle soup and has been loved by thousands over the years!
I mix and match as I mentioned above. I use fresh thyme and fresh parsley, but dried oregano and bay leaves because I always have those in my pantry. Do what’s easiest for you. Whether you use fresh or dried herbs in a slow cooked soup like this one won’t appreciably change the flavor.
Yes you can. As I mentioned above in my herbs tips, if you want to use all dried, or all fresh, that’s certainly fine. In general, dried herbs are a bit more potent than fresh, so if a recipe says 1 teaspoon fresh you’ll want to use 1/2 teaspoon dried, approximately.
I use wide egg noodles in chicken noodle soup. It’s like my grandma’s chicken noodle soup that way! I suppose you could use another type of noodles or experiment with other pasta shapes including bowtie pasta, small shells, or elbow macaroni. You can add rice as well. Or just skip the noodles and add extra veggies like I do in my Easy 30-Minute Chicken Vegetable Soup recipe.
Lemon juice really brightens up the overall flavor profile in soups, stews, and many dishes from French to Italian. While chicken soup in a slow cooker certainly isn’t a u0022fancyu0022 recipe, it tastes so much better with just a bit of freshly squeezed lemon juice!
I promise, it doesn’t make the soup taste lemony! But if you want that, I have a great Double White Bean Lemon Stew that’s bright and lovely, yet hearty.
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Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
Equipment
- 1 (6-7 Quart) Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ¾ to 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, about 3 medium/average chicken breasts; chicken thighs may be substituted*
- 1 cup carrots, peeled and sliced thin (about 1 1/2 large carrots)
- 1 cup celery, sliced thin (about 2 stalks)
- 1 cup sweet Vidalia or yellow onion, peeled and diced small (about 1 medium onion)
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste (likely you will need more)
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, about 2 to 3 fresh sprigs thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano, or 1 teaspoon fresh oregano
- 64 ounces 8 cups reduced sodium chicken broth, plus more if desired
- 12 ounces wide egg noodles, or your favorite noodles or pasta
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, optional but highly recommended
- 3 to 4 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely minced; optional for garnishing
Instructions
- To a 6-quart to 7-quart slow cooker, evenly drizzle the olive oil over the bottom, and then add the chicken breasts, carrrots, celery, onions, garlic, bay leaves, salt, pepper, thyme, oregano, evenly pour the chicken broth, and stir.
- Place the lid on top and slow cook on HIGH for about 4 hours, or until chicken is done. Alternatively, you can slow on LOW for about 6 to 7 hours, or until chicken is done. Tip – All slow cookers vary in their heat output and it's not an exact science, and if yo'ure using closer to a pound of chicken rather than three-quarters, or your kitchen is very cold because it's winter, it could take longer. Always cook until the chicken is cooked until 165F as measured by an instant read digital thermometer.
- Remove the cooked chicken breasts, place them on a cutting board, and shred the meat with two forks, or wear rubber gloves for washing dishes because the chicken is hot, and shred it with your hands. You can also shred it with a mixer if you prefer although I don't bother.
- Add the shredded chicken back into the slow cooker, add the wide egg noodles, stir, cover with the lid, and cook for an additional 20 minutes on HIGH, or as needed so that the noodles are tender and done.
- Squeeze the lemon juice, stir, and taste the soup, and make any necessary seasoning adjustments, as desired. Tips – If your soup tastes as all flat, boring, or just not quite there, it likely needs more salt, so don't be afraid to add it. Because I use reduced sodium chicken broth, I usually add another 2 to 3 teaspoons of salt. I realize it may seem like a lot, but when you consider you're working with and seasoning about 4 pounds of food in the slow cooker, it's not really 'that' much.
- Remove the bay leaves and fresh thyme sprigs if you used fresh, whole sprigs of thyme.
- Add the parsley, to taste, stir, and serve.
- Extra soup will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Reheat gently in the microwave, as desired. Tip – I store leftover soup in freezer and microwave-safe individual-sized containers for ease so you and just grab and heat; plus by stacking them I find they take up less refrigerator space than a big container.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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