Chicken soup is a comfort food staple that can be found in many households. While there are endless ways to prepare chicken soup, one of the most popular additions is egg noodles. The noodles add heartiness and texture to the broth making it a more filling and substantial meal. If you want to add egg noodles to your chicken soup there are a few easy methods you can use.
Deciding When to Add the Noodles
The first decision you’ll need to make is when you want to add the noodles to the soup. There are a couple of options:
- Add uncooked noodles to the broth and cook them directly in the soup.
- Cook the noodles separately and add them to the soup right before serving.
Adding raw noodles directly to the soup is the easiest method. However cooking the noodles separately gives you a bit more control and can help prevent the noodles from getting soggy or overcooked.
Cooking Noodles in the Broth
If you want to cook the noodles right in the soup, just add the dry noodles when the broth is simmering. Make sure there is enough broth to submerge the noodles as they cook. Bring the soup back up to a simmer and let the noodles cook, stirring occasionally, until they are tender yet still slightly chewy, about 5-7 minutes.
The benefit of this method is that the noodles absorb flavor from the broth as they cook. Just be careful not to overcook them, as they can become mushy and fall apart if simmered too long.
Cooking Noodles Separately
For firmer toothsome noodles cook them in boiling water before adding to the soup. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the noodles and cook according to package directions, usually 5-8 minutes for fresh noodles or 3-5 minutes for dried noodles.
Drain the noodles well and run under cold water to stop the cooking process. Then add them to the simmering soup just before serving so they can heat through without becoming mushy.
Cooking the noodles separately prevents them from absorbing too much liquid from the broth so they maintain their texture better. It also allows you to adjust noodle and soup consistency independently.
Choosing Egg Noodles
When selecting egg noodles for chicken soup, you can use dried or fresh noodles. Some options include:
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Dried egg noodles – Available in long shapes like spaghetti or linguine or short shapes like elbow macaroni. They have a pleasant eggy flavor.
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Fresh egg noodles – Found refrigerated or frozen, fresh egg noodles have a soft, tender texture.
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Homemade egg noodles – Making fresh egg pasta yourself allows you to cut the noodles in customized shapes and widths.
Wider, shorter noodle shapes like pappardelle or lasagna noodles work well in soups. Avoid delicate angel hair pasta as it can get lost in broth.
For chicken soup, medium width egg noodles around 1/4-1/2 inch wide are ideal. Linguine or fettuccine shapes are a good choice, whether using dried or fresh noodles.
How Much to Use
The amount of noodles you add depends on personal preference. A general guideline is 2-4 ounces of dried noodles or 4-6 ounces of fresh noodles per 4 servings of soup.
Start with less and you can always add more. Leftover cooked noodles will keep for a few days in the refrigerator to add to future batches of soup.
Cooking Tips
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Season the broth – For the most flavor, make sure the soup base is well seasoned with salt, pepper and aromatics like garlic, onions and herbs before adding noodles. The noodles will soak up that flavor.
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Use a large pot – Use a soup pot that’s large enough to allow the noodles to move freely while simmering. Crowding the pot can cause sticking and uneven cooking.
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Stir occasionally – Gently stir the noodles a few times as they cook to prevent sticking, especially if cooking them directly in the broth.
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Adjust consistency – If the soup seems too thick after adding noodles, thin it with additional broth, water or milk. For a thicker soup, mix some cornstarch with cold water and stir into the hot soup to reach desired consistency.
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Garnish just before serving – Sprinkle any garnishes like chopped parsley or green onion on individual portions rather than the whole pot to keep them vibrant.
With a few easy tricks, adding noodles to chicken soup is simple. Just choose your favorite egg noodle variety and decide whether to simmer them right in the broth or cook separately. In no time you’ll have a comforting bowl of chicken and noodles soup.
How To Make Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup
- 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 youve had forever.
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.
- 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 its 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.
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 youre 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 Id recommend cooking them off fresh! Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
- 1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 3 carrots, peeled. sliced into coins
- 2 stalks celery, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 10 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 8 oz. egg noodles
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- Step 1 In a slow cooker, combine chicken, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf; generously season with salt and pepper. Pour in broth.
- Step 2 Cover and cook on Low, 6 to 8 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred with 2 forks. Discard herbs and bay leaf. Return chicken to slow cooker and add egg noodles.
- Step 3 Cover and cook on Low until noodles are al dente, 20 to 30 minutes.
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FAQ
Do you cook egg noodles before adding to soup?
Can I add noodles to my chicken soup?
Made the old fashioned way by boiling a whole chicken, you can toss in any vegetables, noodles or pasta and it’s going to be amazing. And everybody knowns Chicken Soup is the best soup for a cold!
How do you keep egg noodles from getting mushy in chicken noodle soup?
By letting them sit in the cold water before cooking them they don’t get mushy in the soup! Couldn’t you cook them in broth and store the noodles separately. Add them to the soup when serving. You could but this method means you don’t have to cook them separately.
How do you add egg to chicken noodle soup?
Just whisk the yolk in a large-ish bowl, and add broth to it little by little whisking all the while until warm (if you just stir the yolk straight into the broth the tolk will clot). Once the egg mixture has reached a warm temperature you can stir it into the broth.