Name: Chicken Noodle Soup
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 Tbsp unsalted butter or olive oil; 1 large yellow onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice; 3 medium carrots, cut into 1/2-inch dice; 3 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch dice; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 8 cups low-sodium chicken stock; 2 lb bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, about 5 thighs; 1 bay leaf; 4 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1/2 tsp dried; 6 oz dried wide egg noodles; 2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley; 1 Tbsp lemon juice; kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

Steam that smells of thyme and onion, broth the color of pale gold, and soft carrots that give way under a spoon: chicken noodle soup is mostly patience and a few good habits. There is no tricky technique in it, which makes it one of the best first soups to cook from scratch.

The version here takes about an hour, most of it hands-off simmering. Bone-in chicken thighs cook in boxed stock with vegetables and herbs, which gives a richer broth than stock alone without the hours needed for a full homemade stock. The noodles are cooked separately, a small extra step that keeps them from swelling and turning soft in the pot. Every step below says what you should see before moving on.

Before You Start

You need one large pot, at least 5 quarts, with a lid, plus a small saucepan for the noodles. A heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven heats more evenly and is less likely to scorch the vegetables at the start. Have a cutting board, a sharp knife, two forks for shredding, and tongs or a slotted spoon for lifting out the chicken.

Why bone-in thighs

Chicken thighs have more fat and connective tissue than breasts. As they simmer, some of that connective tissue breaks down into gelatin, which gives the broth body and a fuller feel in the mouth. Thighs also stay tender if they cook a little too long, which is forgiving for a first attempt. Breast meat simmered for 30 minutes often turns dry and stringy.

Choosing the stock

Use low-sodium chicken stock or broth. Regular versions can be very salty, and the soup simmers long enough to concentrate the salt. Starting low lets you season at the end, when you can taste the finished soup.

Homemade Chicken Soup, Step by Step

Quantities are in the recipe card. This section explains what to look for at each stage.

1. Cut the vegetables evenly

Dice the onion, carrots and celery into pieces about 1/2 inch across. Even pieces cook at the same speed, so nothing is crunchy while something else is mushy. What you should see: a cutting board of roughly matching cubes, small enough to fit on a soup spoon with a noodle and a piece of chicken.

2. Soften the vegetables

Cook them in butter or oil over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring now and then. What you should see: onion turning translucent and soft at the edges, not brown. A little color is fine; dark browning makes the broth taste roasted rather than clean.

3. Add stock, chicken and herbs

Pour in the stock, add the thighs, bay leaf and thyme, and bring to a boil. Then turn the heat down until the surface barely bubbles. What you should see: a few small bubbles breaking the surface every second or two. A hard boil makes the chicken tough and turns the broth cloudy.

4. Skim

Over the first 10 minutes, gray foam may rise to the top. It is protein from the chicken and is harmless, but it can make the broth look murky. What you should see after skimming with a large spoon: a clear surface with some golden spots of fat, which add flavor and can stay.

5. Cook the chicken through

Simmer for 25 to 30 minutes. What you should see: meat pulling back from the ends of the bones. An instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of a thigh, not touching bone, should read at least 165°F (74°C); thighs are easiest to shred at about 175°F (79°C) or a little higher.

6. Shred and return

Lift out the thighs and let them cool for 10 minutes on a board. Pull off and discard the skin and bones, and shred the meat with two forks into bite-size pieces. What you should see: tender meat that pulls apart easily. Return it to the pot and remove the bay leaf and thyme stems.

7. Cook the noodles separately

Boil the egg noodles in salted water in the small saucepan until just tender, then drain. Put a portion in each bowl and ladle the hot soup over. What you should see: noodles that are soft but still hold their shape.

Why the Noodles Cook Separately

Egg noodles keep absorbing liquid as long as they sit in it. Cooked in the soup pot, they soak up broth while the soup finishes and keep soaking it up in the refrigerator overnight. By the next day, the noodles are soft and swollen and much of the broth has disappeared into them. Cooking them separately and combining them in the bowl solves both problems. Store leftover noodles and soup in separate containers.

If you prefer the convenience of one pot and plan to eat all the soup at one meal, you can add the noodles directly to the simmering soup for the last 6 to 8 minutes. Add an extra cup of stock, because the noodles will absorb some of it.

Common Chicken Noodle Soup Problems

These are the issues that come up most often in a first pot of soup, and how to sort them out.

Mistake autopsy

Mistake	Cause	Fix
Cloudy broth	Boiled hard instead of simmered	Keep it at a bare simmer and skim foam in the first 10 minutes
Bland soup	Low-sodium stock not seasoned at the end	Add salt 1/4 tsp at a time and a squeeze of lemon, tasting as you go
Mushy noodles and little broth the next day	Noodles stored in the soup	Cook and store noodles separately
Crunchy carrots	Pieces cut too large	Dice to 1/2 inch, or simmer 5 to 10 minutes longer

Taste the soup at the very end, after the chicken is back in the pot. Add salt a quarter teaspoon at a time and stir before tasting again. A squeeze of lemon juice just before serving brightens the broth without making it taste sour; it works in a similar way to salt, making the other flavors seem more vivid.

Making It Your Own

Once the basic soup feels comfortable, small changes give it a different character without changing the method.

Add a 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, sliced, with the stock for a warming, slightly peppery broth. Remove it with the bay leaf.
Stir in a handful of baby spinach or chopped kale with the shredded chicken; it wilts in about 2 minutes.
Swap the egg noodles for small pasta such as ditalini, or for rice. Cook either separately, as with the noodles.
Finish each bowl with a spoonful of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and black pepper for a richer, more savory soup.

If you have a leftover roast chicken, use its meat instead of the thighs. Simmer the vegetables in the stock for 20 minutes, add the shredded cooked chicken for the last 5 minutes just to heat it through, and skip the shredding step. The broth will be a little lighter, since the simmering thighs are what add body. Adding the roast chicken carcass to the pot for the 20 minutes, then lifting it out, brings back some of that depth.

The Recipe

Makes about 10 cups, enough for six bowls.

Storing, Freezing and Reheating

Cool the soup quickly before refrigerating it. A large pot of hot soup takes hours to cool in a refrigerator and can warm the food around it. Divide it into shallow containers so it cools faster, and refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking. The soup keeps for 3 to 4 days, and cooked noodles stored separately for the same time.

The soup without noodles freezes well for about 3 months. Leave an inch of space at the top of each container, because liquid expands as it freezes. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat on the stove until it comes to a boil, then cook fresh noodles to go with it.

Reheat refrigerated soup on the stove over medium heat until it reaches 165°F (74°C), or until it is steaming all the way through and bubbling at the edges. Add the noodles to the bowls and ladle the hot soup over them to warm them.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, Step by Step From Scratch