There are probably thousands of chicken noodle soup recipes on the Internet, and you know why? Because chicken noodle soup is one of the most epic comfort foods there is, and every mom needs a good recipe for her family. I’ve tried several in my lifetime, and I’ve never been able to get quite the flavor of my favorite store bought soups- until I started making a version using my slow cooker. Not only does this slow cooker recipe produce some of the most flavorful and simple chicken noodle soups, it really and truly makes it the easiest! A little prep work in the beginning and then you can forget about it while your crock pot does all the work. Check out this recipe and then hit up the store for your own supplies!
Ingredients
1.5 lbs of chicken thighs or breasts, whole
1 lb package of whole, baby carrots
3 stalks of celery
1 tbl instant chopped onion
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp pepper
1 dried bay leaf
1 clove garlic
2 32 oz cartons of chicken broth
2 cups uncooked wide egg noddles
Instructions
Place chicken on the bottom of a large slow cooker. Do not chop up, but leave whole. You will be shredding the cooked chicken right before serving! I recommend using slow cooker liners, because they help with the clean up SO much. I got a little ahead of myself here and simply dropped the chicken in before I laid one down. I also ended up cutting off a ton of that fat after taking this picture!
Then toss the carrots, celery, salt, thyme, pepper, and garlic on top.
Pour in both cartons of chicken broth. Give it a good stir and then add in the instant dried onion and bay leaf.
Stir once more and then cover. Set your slow cooker to Low and cook for 8 hours. When you come back and remove the lid, things are going to look a little hectic. Fear not! You’re going to give everything a good stir.
Remove the bay leaf (if you can find it!) and take two forks to begin shredding the chicken in the slow cooker. Many recipes will tell you to remove the chicken and shred on a cutting board and I personally find no need for this extra step. It’s hard to get the chicken out in one piece anyways because it will start falling apart, and then you have to clean off the cutting board after! Once you’ve shredded, your soup will now start to look like this, so give it another good stir to mix it all up again.
Last step, I promise! Take two cups of egg noodles and add them to the soup. Mix well. I personally add the two cups and then maybe a few extra noodles too. Who wants a chicken noodle soup with barely any noodles? Not me!
Put the lid back on and set your slow cooker to warm. Check after about 20 minutes to make sure noodles are soft, but not mushy. You do not want to stray too far from the pot during this step because mushy noodles will totally ruin your appetite! Once the noodles are al dente, turn off the slow cooker.
Spoon into bowls and enjoy with some crusty bread! I decided to make some at 7:30 in the morning and used this super easy recipe and it couldn’t have paired better with this hearty soup.
Bon Apetit!
This recipe has been adapted from Betty Crocker’s Slow Cooker Hearty Chicken Noodle Soup.