Dutch Oven Chicken Noodle Soup is the ultimate warm and cozy comfort food. Thanks to the combination of lean protein, fresh vegetables and broth, this soup will fill you up without weighing you down.
Homemade chicken noodle soup is one of those magical recipes that can be enjoyed year-round! Whether it's January or July, an easy chicken noodle soup recipe is sure to make you happy.
My Dutch oven chicken soup recipe is a rich and satisfying meal that only takes about 30 minutes to make! This recipe calls for pre-cooked chicken which significantly cuts down on the prep time. If you plan ahead, then this recipe can be whipped up in no time at all!
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Reasons you'll love this recipe
- Simple and classic chicken noodle soup recipe
- Easy to customize
- Keeps and reheats well
- One pot dish
Ingredients needed
- Precooked chicken - You can use any variety of precooked chicken that you have on hand. I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You can definitely use chicken thighs, rotisserie chicken, shredded chicken, chicken cooked in the slow cooker or instant pot... as long as it's fresh and not deli meat, it'll all work! If you aren't sure what to choose, I highly recommend following my instructions for how to poach chicken breast.
- Celery - Trim the ends off of your celery stalks and rinse them well. Dice the stalks into half moons.
- Carrots - Peel your carrots and then cut them into round slices. I keep my celery and carrot pieces a little thicker because I like a chunkier, hearty soup.
- Onions - I used white onion. You can use yellow or white onion.
- Garlic - If you've been a follower of mine for a while then you know I hardly ever start with fresh heads of garlic. I am a big fan of buying minced garlic in a jar. It's such a timesaver!
- Egg noodles - I chose wide, whole wheat egg noodles.
- Chicken broth or stock - Chicken broth and chicken stock can be used interchangeably in this recipe. There is a difference between the two though! Stock is made from bones and broth is made from meat and sometimes vegetables too. Since stock is made from bones, stock also contains the gelatin from the chicken bones. This makes stock thicker and a bit more flavorful. Broth tends to be thinner and more mild in flavor. You can use either full sodium chicken broth or low sodium chicken broth.
- Fresh herbs - Fresh parsley is an absolute must-have when making homemade chicken soup (in my opinion). I also added fresh thyme to this recipe.
- Salt & ground black pepper - Add salt and pepper at the end of cook-time and adjust the amount added according to your personal preference.
- Butter or olive oil - The onion, garlic, carrot and celery are all sautéed in butter. Use olive oil if you would prefer!
Kitchen equipment needed
- Large Dutch oven or stock pot - This is the exact cast iron Dutch oven that I use. It is beautiful and I love it! I have the 6 quart size.
- Cutting board & chopping knife
- Measuring cups & spoons
- Stove top
How to make
- Gather your ingredients and make sure they are prepped and ready to go. This recipe calls for pre-cooked chicken. I recommend poaching your chicken breast. You can find step-by-step instructions on how to poach chicken breast in my blog post for Classic Chicken Salad with Fresh Herbs. Chop and dice all of your fresh vegetables and herbs.
- Add the butter to the bottom of a 6 quart Dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots and garlic. Sauté for about 7 minutes.
- Add the broth and bring to a boil.
- Add the egg noodles and cook for about 10 minutes, until the noodles have softened. Reduce the heat to simmer.
- Add the shredded cooked chicken, diced parsley and thyme.
- Simmer for about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!
What is a Dutch oven?
A Dutch oven is a heavy duty pot, usually made out of cast iron, with a wide bottom and thick walls. A Dutch oven is similar to a stock pot, except with shorter sides. They come with an equally heavy duty lid and have the ability to get very hot and distribute temperature evenly. One big difference between a Dutch oven and a stock pot, is that a Dutch oven can be started on the stovetop and then transferred to the oven. This makes them an ideal choice for searing meat at a high temperature, and then slow cooking it in the oven. They are also excellent for making soups, stews, sauce and pasta dishes.
Tips and recipe modifications
- The noodles will absorb quite a bit of broth. I recommend keeping an extra carton of chicken stock on hand so that you can add more stock if the noodles absorb too much liquid as it sits. If you don't have extra chicken stock on hand then you can make your own or just add water. You may need to adjust your seasonings if you add water.
- This recipe can easily be adapted to be gluten free or dairy free. To make it dairy free, swap out the butter for dairy free butter or olive oil. To make chicken noodle soup gluten free, swap out wheat based egg noodles for gluten free egg noodles. Also double check that your chicken stock is gluten free. Most stocks and broths are!
- Chicken soup with noodles is very versatile. You can add in green peas, chopped white potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, or swap out the noodles for rice. Instead of using chicken breast you can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs, rotisserie chicken or turkey breast. The chicken broth can be subbed out for vegetable broth or water.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, chicken noodle soup freezes well. However, the noodles aren't always freezer friendly. If you know that you will be freezing your soup, I suggest leaving the noodles out. When you are ready to eat your soup, thaw it and make a fresh batch of noodles to add into the soup once it is thawed.
A healthy chicken noodle soup recipe usually contains about 100 calories per 1 cup serving.
Flour and cornstarch are most commonly used to thicken soups.
📖 Recipe
Dutch Oven Chicken Noodle Soup
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Description
Dutch Oven Chicken Noodle Soup is the ultimate warm and cozy comfort food. Thanks to the combination of lean protein, fresh vegetables and broth, this soup will fill you up without weighing you down.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 cup diced white onion
- 2 cups chopped carrots
- 2 cups chopped celery
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 4 cups dry egg noodles
- 2 lbs cooked chicken breast - chopped/shredded
- ¼ cup diced fresh parsley
- Fresh thyme
- Salt & pepper
Instructions
- Melt butter over medium heat in a Dutch oven on the stove top. Add the garlic, onion, carrots and celery. Sauté until tender, about 7-10 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock, increase the heat and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, add the egg noodles. Cook the egg noodles until tender, about 10 minutes.
- Reduce the heat to a simmer, add the cooked chicken and fresh parsley. Separate the thyme leaves from the stems and add the fresh thyme. The thyme leaves can be gently pinched off of the stems. Start by pinching the top of the stem and gently running your fingers down to the bottom of the stem, collecting the leaves as you go. Pinch the leaves off of about 5 thyme stems.
- Let the chicken noodle soup simmer for about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- The longer the soup sits, the more the noodles will absorb the broth. Add more broth as necessary.
- There are no exact measurements for salt and pepper because the amount of salt added will depend on how much salt is in your chicken stock. If you used low-sodium chicken stock then you may want to add more salt at the end of cooking time. If you started with salted butter and full-sodium chicken stock, then more salt may not be necessary.
- Store leftover soup in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Category: lunch, dinner
- Method: stove top cooking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: dutch oven chicken noodle soup
What to serve with Chicken Soup
Chicken noodle soup goes well with homemade bread, a fresh salad, sandwiches, wraps and soup crackers. Thanks to the vegetables, protein and carbohydrates in chicken noodle soup, it can easily be a complete meal all on it's own too!
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