Creamy chicken noodle soup with tender chicken, pasta, carrots and potatoes in a light, creamy broth. A cozy, filling dinner made with rotisserie chicken, so it’s quick to prepare – ready in 35 minutes.
Nicky’s Notes
I make so many batches of this soup during Winter!
It’s so cozy and filling – easily satisfying enough for dinner. Afterall, we have pasta and potato in there, and if you serve it with some lovely buttered toast, that’s 3-carb heaven right there!!
Also:
- It tastes like you spent hours over long-simmering chicken broth – when in fact this soup cooks in about 35 minutes.
- We use rotisserie chicken – a great shortcut when you’re short on time.
- The fact that we’re making it creamy means it doesn’t matter if you use stock made from water and stock cubes. It will still taste wholesome and flavourful!
📋 Ingredients for Chicken Noodle Soup
Pasta/Noodles
Traditional chicken noodle soup (USA style) uses short, twisted egg noodles – which look a little like twisted pappardelle pasta.
You can replace with wide egg noodles, rice noodles or your favourite pasta shape.
You don’t really see the USA style egg noodles in the UK, so I use pasta shapes.
I like to use Mafalda corta pasta (I buy it from Sainsburys)- which is a flattened ribbon shape pasta with ruffled edges. As it has a nice bite and a similar look to USA-style noodles.
Abbreviated Recipe
Saute onion, garlic, carrot, celery and seasoning in butter, sprinkle on flour, stir, then slowly pour in the stock, while stirring add the potato and simmer (10 mins). Add milk, lemon juice & pasta/noodles, simmer (10 mins). Add cooked chicken and heat through.
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Recipe Tips
- You can use full-fat or half fat milk, just make sure you simmer fairly gently, so the broth doesn’t split.
- I use the meat of a whole, small, rotisserie chicken, but you can use shredded cooked chicken thighs or breast (or a mix).
- Don’t skip the lemon juice – it doesn’t make the soup lemony (you only need a bit) but it deepens the flavour, enhancing the savoury notes in the broth.
🍽️ More creamy soups
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Melt the butter in a large saucepan/casserole pan, over a medium heat.
3 tbsp unsalted butter
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Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, salt, pepper and thyme. Gently saute, stirring often, until the onion softens (about 5 minutes).
1 large onion, 2 medium carrots, 2 sticks of celery, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp dried thyme, 2 cloves garlic
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Sprinkle over the flour and stir into the vegetables using a balloon whisk. It should form into a creamy paste (or roux).
3 tbsp tbsp plain (all-purpose) flour
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Allow the roux to cook for a minute whilst stirring with your whisk, slowly pour in the chicken stock, while stirring – until all of the stock is incorporated.
1.2 litres (5 cups) chicken stock
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Add the diced potato, stir and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
1 medium sized potato
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Add the milk, lemon juice and pasta/noodles, stir, bring to a gentle simmer, then continue to simmer gently for 10 minutes, until the pasta is almost cooked through.
300 ml (1 1/4 cups) milk, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 150 g (5.3oz) Mafalda corta pasta or your favourite pasta noodle/shape
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Add the shredded chicken and cook for a final 3-4 minutes to heat the chicken through.
500 g (1.1lbs) shredded cooked chicken
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Season with salt and pepper and top with freshly chopped parsley or thyme and a wedge of bread for dipping.
Fresh chopped parsley or thyme, Crusty bread, toasted bread or garlic bread
Pasta/Noodles
Traditional chicken noodle soup (USA style) uses short, twisted egg noodles – which look a little like twisted pappardelle pasta.
You can replace with wide egg noodles, rice noodles or your favourite pasta shape.
You don’t really see the USA style egg noodles in the UK, so I use pasta shapes.
I like to use Mafalda corta pasta (I buy it from Sainsburys)- which is a flattened ribbon shape pasta with ruffled edges. As it has a nice bite and a similar look to USA-style noodles.
Rotisserie chicken
I use a rotisserie chicken for this recipe, along with a regular stock made with stock cubes. I find you don’t really notice a difference in the taste of the soup broth when you’re making a creamy broth with a roux.
If I was making a non-creamy version, I would use homemade chicken broth (or good-quality store-bought broth/stock)
Can I make it ahead?
Yes, make the soup, then quickly cool, cover and refrigerate for up to 2-3 days. Reheat in a pan until piping hot before serving. You may need to add in a splash of stock or water to loosen it up again, as it does thicken a little more as it cools. The pasta is also softer when making ahead (as it absorbs more liquid during storing and reheating).
Will it freeze?
Yes, this soup freezes well. Make the soup, then quickly cool, cover and freeze. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat in a pan until piping hot before serving. You may need to add in a splash of stock or water to loosen it up again, as it does thicken a little more as it cools.
Nutritional Information is per serving.
Calories: 380kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 84mg | Sodium: 828mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This post was first published in March 2015. Updated January 2026 with recipe updates, new photos and housekeepinh.
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