Soups
Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Total
- 45 min
- Serves
- 6
Introduction
The chicken poaches directly in the stock here, rather than being cooked separately and added later, so its flavour stays connected to the broth. A butter-and-flour roux goes in before the liquid, building body into the soup without a tin of condensed soup, and the noodles cook in the same pot right at the end.
Allow about 15 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook, around 45 minutes in total. It serves six.
Ingredients
- 30g unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 carrots, sliced into rounds
- 3 celery stalks, sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 35g plain flour
- 2 litres chicken stock
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or about 400g cooked shredded chicken)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 240ml double cream
- About 225g egg noodles
- Salt and black pepper, to taste
- Fresh parsley, chopped, to garnish
How to Make Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
Build the Base
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook for 6–8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute until fragrant.
- Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring continuously, for about 1 minute — this coats the vegetables and cooks out the raw flour taste before any liquid goes in.
Add the Liquid
- Slowly pour in the chicken stock while stirring, to stop lumps forming. Add the chicken breasts, bay leaves and dried thyme.
Simmer
- Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 15–18 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked — check that the thickest part reaches at least 75°C before removing it. Lift the chicken out and shred it once cool enough to handle, then discard the bay leaves.
- Stir in the double cream and bring the soup back to a gentle simmer — a hard boil at this point can make a creamy broth look less smooth. Stir in the egg noodles and simmer for 8–10 minutes until tender, returning the shredded chicken to the pan for the last 2–3 minutes to heat through.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and black pepper. Ladle into warm bowls and garnish with chopped parsley.
This creamy chicken noodle soup combines tender chicken, vegetables and noodles in a rich broth thickened with a simple flour roux and finished with cream!
- Large pot or Dutch oven
- Wooden spoon
- Ladle
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife
- Measuring cups
Adjust yield quantities or check items off as you prep.
- Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery and cook for 6–8 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for a further minute.
- Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring continuously, for 1 minute to remove the raw flour taste.
- Slowly pour in the chicken stock while stirring to prevent lumps. Add the chicken breasts, bay leaves and thyme. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook until the chicken is fully cooked (75°C for 30 seconds).
- Remove and shred the chicken once cool enough to handle. Discard bay leaves. Stir in the double cream and keep at a gentle simmer.
- Add the egg noodles and simmer gently for 8–10 minutes until tender. Return the shredded chicken to the pan to heat through.
- Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped parsley.
Serving Suggestions
Crusty bread is good alongside, though the chicken, vegetables and noodles already make this substantial enough to serve on its own.
Tips for the Best Results
- Cook the flour before the stock goes in
- A minute of stirring the flour into the butter and vegetables removes the raw flour taste and helps the soup thicken smoothly rather than turning lumpy.
- Add the stock gradually, stirring as you go
- Pouring it in too quickly is the most common reason a roux-based soup doesn't thicken properly.
- Keep it at a gentle simmer once the cream is in
- A hard boil can make the broth look thinner and less smooth.
- Slightly undercook the noodles if you expect leftovers
- They keep softening in the hot broth even after you've taken the pan off the heat.
How to Store, Freeze, and Reheat Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
Cool leftovers promptly and refrigerate within 2 hours. Eat refrigerated soup within 48 hours, or freeze it. Reheat only once, over gentle heat, stirring regularly, until steaming hot throughout without boiling vigorously.
Egg noodles soften considerably in storage and get noticeably softer again after freezing and thawing. For the best texture if you're batch-cooking, freeze the soup base without the noodles — it keeps for up to 2 months this way — and cook fresh noodles to add when you reheat it. If you've already combined everything, it will still taste good; the noodles will simply be softer than freshly cooked ones.
Substitutions and Variations
- Lighter broth
- use single cream or whole milk in place of the double cream. The soup will be less rich but still creamy.
- Extra vegetables
- stir in frozen peas or sweetcorn during the final few minutes of cooking.
- Gluten-free
- use a suitable gluten-free flour blend for the roux, or thicken the broth with a small cornflour slurry instead.
- Ready-cooked chicken
- use about 400g cooked shredded chicken in place of the raw breasts — skip the poaching step and add it near the end, letting it heat through thoroughly.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I use cooked chicken instead of poaching my own?
- Yes — leftover roast chicken works well here. Skip the poaching stage and stir the shredded cooked chicken in near the end, letting it heat through thoroughly before serving.
- Why did my soup not thicken?
- Usually the flour wasn't cooked long enough with the vegetables, or the stock was added too quickly. Cook the flour for a full minute before slowly adding the liquid while stirring.
- Can I freeze this soup?
- Yes, but hold back the noodles if you plan to freeze it — they turn very soft after freezing and thawing. Freeze the soup base, then add freshly cooked noodles when reheating.
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