Grandma’s Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

Grandma’s chicken noodle soup is savory, full of flavor and feels like a cozy big hug! This soup will warm you up with the most delicious cozy broth full of noodles, tender vegetables and big pieces of chicken, delicious.

 

Why We Love Grandma’s Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

• Cozy Soup– This easy recipe warms you up all the way down to your toes, especially on chilly days. This is the slow cooker soup my Grandma used to make when it was especially cold outside.
• Economical– This great soup uses a whole chicken or dark meat which is usually less expensive per pound often at the grocery store.
• Convenient– The slow cooker does all the hard work so you can have dinner ready easily after work or as a cozy meal on a weekend, and for our family there was usually leftovers the next day to look forward to.

When I was a kid not only did my Italian grandma make the best Italian meatballs (and Italian Wedding soup full of meatballs to go with it) she knew how to make the best soup. This is my Grandma’s Slow Cooker Chicken noodle soup recipe which was simple and always warmed you up, or needed hot soup to help feel better when you were sick.

Grandma used a whole chicken because it was almost always less expensive. Using a whole chicken always added great flavor to her soup, and those big chunks of tender chicken were always the best part.

Ingredients For Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

• carrots sliced, you can use baby carrots or large carrots
• onion diced
• chicken see the tips in the recipe card at the bottom of the page for using bone-in chicken thighs or legs, or even chicken breast
• water or low sodium chicken broth can be used in place of the cups of water for more flavor
• corn – fresh, frozen or canned all work. If using canned, drain the liquid away before using.
• marjoram dried
• parsley fresh- chopped, fresh herbs add brightness, but 3-4 teaspoons of dried parsley can also be used.
• salt
• black pepper
• egg noodles dried, I like the wide egg noodles
• peas frozen is best, but can use canned or fresh

How To Make Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

1. Peel the carrots and cut into thin slices. Dice the onion into bite sized pieces.

2. Trim any skin from the chicken using kitchen sheers or a sharp knife. Discard the neck and any inners that may have come with the chicken. If you’ve never trimmed the skin of a chicken before, check out these full instructions of how to remove the skin from a whole chicken.

3. Place the chicken in the slow cooker. Add the carrots, corn, onion, marjoram, parsley, salt and black pepper to the slow cooker. Pour the water carefully into the slow cooker.

4. Cover and cook the soup on high heat for 4-6 hours and low heat for 6-8 hours.
5. Remove the chicken from the slow cooker. Close the slow cooker to keep it hot, and flip the slow cooker to high.
6. Pull the meat from the bone with two forks turned backward to shred the chicken from the bone. Separate the meat from any bones, skin, or cartilage, which is removed from the meat.

7. Mix chicken meat pieces back into the slow cooker. Add the noodles and the peas to the slow cooker.

8. Let the noodles and peas cook for an additional 15 minutes or until the noodles are tender. If the peas are frozen it may take a few extra minutes for the noodles to finish cooking. Once the noodles are tender, serve and enjoy!

What Size Slow Cooked Should I Use?

Use a 7 or 8 quart slow cooker for this recipe. You need a large slow cooker to fit the whole chicken.

A 6-quart slow cooker can be used with this recipe, but it can be a tight fit with a larger chicken. If you have a 6 quart slow cooker plan to buy a chicken that is on the smaller size or use bone-in chicken thighs or legs to make it easier to fit in the slow cooker. Water can also be reduced by 2-3 cups as needed if using a 6 quart slow cooker.

I do not recommend using a 4 quart slow cooker with a whole chicken.

Variation Ideas For Slow Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

This soup is pretty easy to adjust overall, it’s pretty forgiving and has so much flavor. Here are some of the additions or swaps I sometimes make to this recipe based on what I happen to have in my pantry.

• 2-3 medium stalks celery diced adding a few stalks of celery adds more flavor, or 1 teaspoon of celery salt.
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme to this soup is delicious, and just further enhances the broth. You can also use fresh thyme if you have it!
• 1-2 bay leaves give this soup a little more savory flavor. Just make sure to remove bay leaves before serving. While they’re not poisonous to consume like my grandma taught me originally (and that’s why we removed them), they don’t become tender when cooked. The edges of the leaves and the stem can be quite tough and sometimes sharp when you’re eating soup, so it’s best to remove them before eating.
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary– If you’re using fresh rosemary, you can add a sprig or two to the soup.
• 1 teaspoon dried basil – Dried basil can be added before the soup cooks and gives this soup some brightness. If using fresh basil I recommend adding it on top shredded for the best flavor.
• Greens– fresh or frozen spinach or kale can be a great addition to this soup, and also a delicious way to clean out the fridge. I usually will add greens at the same time I add the noodles and peas.

Can I Substitute Chicken Thighs or Pieces For The Whole Chicken?

Yes, you can absolutely substitute bone on chicken thighs, bone-in chicken legs or even drumsticks in this recipe. Expect to use about 3-4 pounds of bone-in chicken total. You can also use split chicken breasts that are attached to the bone with no changes to the recipe.

Can I Substitute Chicken Breast Or Boneless Chicken In This Chicken Soup Recipe?

You can swap chicken breast or boneless skinless chicken thighs into this recipe but it can affect the flavor. The bones in this recipe give a lot of flavor to the broth when slow cooking. I recommend using either store-bought chicken stock or broth in place of the water when using boneless chicken.

You can also add soup starter products such as Better Than Bouillon or regular chicken bouillon to give the soup more flavor.

How Long Does Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Last?

Expect this crockpot chicken noodle soup to last about three days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Can I Freeze This Chicken Noodle Soup?

Yes, you can totally freeze this chicken noodle soup. It will taste best if eaten within three to four months.

Place the soup in a freezer-safe container sealed container. Leave at least an inch of space at the top of the container when filling the container. The soup will expand when freezing, so leaving a little bit of space is needed.

Some brands of egg noodles freeze better than others. While some noodles freeze just fine, other noodles will fall apart when you freeze them in the soup liquid.

If I am planning on freezing the soup, sometimes I’ll boil the noodles separately on the stove and add the noodles to the soup at the table. Then I freeze the leftover soup without the noodles and make fresh noodles when I defrost the soup.