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This Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup is as comforting as it is delicious. Packed with juicy chicken, tender vegetables, and hearty noodles it is a satisfying soup that practically cooks itself!
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Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup is an absolute winner, especially on busy weeknights when you don't have the energy to whip up a complicated meal. Here are some reasons why I think you will love it too:
Reasons to Love this Recipe
- No Pre-Cooking: Once you have chopped your vegetables you can literally throw everything into the slow cooker and walk away with no need to sauté anything beforehand.
- Everything You Need in One Bowl: With fresh vegetables, lean protein from chicken breast, and carbohydrates from the pasta, it's a well-balanced and satisfying bowl of soup.
- Dinner Time Breeze: You can have everything prepped in the morning and when you come home in the evening you have a delicious hot meal waiting for you.
- Cozy and Comforting: There is just something about a bowl of chicken noodle soup that feels just like a warm hug! This is the perfect soup to cozy up with on a cold day or when you are feeling under the weather.
Ingredient Information (With Alternative Suggestions)
For the full recipe, with ingredient amounts, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Chicken Breast: You can also use thighs if you prefer.
- Onion & Celery: This is the flavour base of the soup. You can replace the celery with extra onion or vice versa. You could also use leek.
- Carrots: The carrots add a little sweetness (as well as providing vitamins and fibre). You could try replacing them with other root vegetables such as parsnips.
- Garlic: Adds depth of flavour to the soup.
- Dried Thyme: Adds a warm, earthy flavour to the soup. Rosemary could be used as an alternative.
- Bay leaves: Adds an earthy flavour. If you don't have any you can skip them.
- Chicken Stock/Broth: This is the liquid base for the soup and adds flavour. Vegetable stock/broth would also work instead. If cooking for young children use homemade chicken stock or low sodium.
- Spaghetti: You can replace with other types of pasta, such as macaroni or farfalle.
- Lemon Juice: Added to the end of cooking to add a tangy, citrus flavour to help balance out the richness of the broth.
- Parsley: Added to the end to help balance out the soup and add brightness and freshness.
Step By Step Instructions (With Images)
- Add Raw Ingredients to Slow Cooker: Add all the ingredients except the pasta, lemon and parsley. Cook on low for 6 hours (or high for 3.5 hours).
- Cook Spaghetti: Once the soup has cooked for the set time, snap the spaghetti into thirds and cook according to pack instructions.
- Remove Chicken Breasts and Shred: Transfer the chicken breasts to a clean chopping board and use two forks to shred the chicken meat.
- Return the Chicken and Add the Spaghetti
- Finish with Lemon Juice and Chopped Parsley: Don't skip this step, it really elevates the soup by adding brightness and freshness.
Recipe FAQs
As there is a good bit of liquid in this recipe I recommend you use at least a 6-quart slow cooker (5.6 litres). If your slow cooker is smaller I would recommend cutting the recipe in half.
No, you can use thigh meat if you prefer it. Cooking with the bone in will also provide more flavour.
It is not recommended to cook frozen chicken in a slow cooker due to the extended time required for the chicken to reach cooking temperature. This can increase the risk of food-borne illnesses. You should always thaw the chicken in the refrigerator prior to slow cooking.
Yes, you can easily customise this recipe. I do feel the carrot, celery and onion give the soup great flavour but I often add some extra vegetables. Just consider the cooking time. I often add some peas or corn but always towards the end of the cooking time (when I add the noodles).
I grew up with chicken noodle soup made with spaghetti noodles so that is how I enjoy it. You can, of course, use any pasta you wish. The cooking time may vary slightly. I recommend cooking it for the stated time and if not ready, continue to cook on high and check it every couple of mins until done.
The better quality the stock is, the nicer the soup will be.
If cooking for young children you want to make sure you keep the sodium levels down. I recommend using homemade stock but if that sounds too much like hard work then look for low-sodium stocks.
Any leftovers I usually store in the fridge and eat the next day. If you want to freeze it, I recommend freezing it before you add the noodles.
If making this for a baby I recommend that you use homemade chicken stock in order to keep sodium levels down. Alternatively, you can add water and use split chicken breasts (bone-in chicken breasts) which will provide more flavour in the absence of chicken stock/broth.
Make sure that the vegetables are cut so that they aren't a choking hazard and are cooked soft enough that you can squish them between your fingers.
A great way to serve this soup to a baby is to use a slotted spoon to remove the solid pieces into a bowl and then add just a little of the broth.
Read more about soup for babies.
Other Slow Cooker Recipes to Try
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Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup
Equipment
- Slow Cooker 6 quart
Ingredients
- 700g (1½ pounds) Skinless Chicken Breast See Note 1
- 1 medium Onion, finely chopped
- 240g (approx. 3 medium) Carrots, peeled and chopped See Note 2
- 80g (approx. 3 stalks) Celery, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon Minced Garlic
- ½ teaspoon Dried Thyme
- 2 Bay Leaves
- 2 litres (8 cups) Chicken Stock See Note 3
- 200g (8oz) Spaghetti, snapped into thirds
- 1 tablespoon Fresh lemon juice
- 1 tbsp Fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Add chicken, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, bay leaves and chicken stock to a slow cooker.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 hours (or high for 3.5 hours). (Cook until the chicken reaches 74ºC (165ºF) adding more time if needed.
- Snap the spaghetti into thirds and cook according to the pack instructions, drain.
- Remove the cooked chicken breast and shred using two forks, the meat should fall apart easily.
- Add the chicken back into the cooker along with the spaghetti. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley and serve.
Video
Recipe Notes
- You can replace the breast meat with thigh meat if you prefer. Just remove the bone and shred it at the same stage as you would the breast meat.
- I slice the thinner part of the carrot to give rounds and then dice the thicker end of the carrot. Slice/dice to your preference.
- For young children you should use homemade or low-sodium chicken stock to reduce the sodium level. Alternatively, reduce the amount of stock and replace it with water.
Paige
Wondering if I can leave the chicken cooking for more than 6 hours? Thanks!
Amy
Hi Paige, I haven't actually cooked it for longer but if cooking on low you could cook for longer. 6-8 should be good.
Brie
Just put all the ingredients in. Can't wait to try it!
I'm doing the 4 hours on high. Is there any difference between 4 on high or 6on low?
Amy
HI Brie, sorry that I am just seeing this message now. There isn't much difference between the two, it just depends on what timing works best for you. Hope you enjoyed it.
Pauline
Can I use fine noodles?
Amy
Hi Pauline, I'm sure you could - they might not need as long to cook.
Allison
Quick Question-Do you cook the pasta before you put it in the crock pot or is that when it cooks? This looks so yummy!
Amy
Hi Allison, it cooks in the slow cooker 🙂 Enjoy!
Sharon
Loved this and my daughter did aswell ❤️❤️Had for dinner and now in soup cup for work tommorrow and l can’t wait to warm it up
Amy
Excellent! Delighted you both liked it and thanks so much for taking the time to give feedback 🙂
Bec Ellis
Prepared this today with great success. Absolutely beautiful! Husband, Mother-in-law and I all thoroughly enjoyed & thank you for posting such a simple yet delicious recipe. This will now be a winter staple in our household
Jennifer
Hello your recipe looks both yummy and easy. What is the serving size approximately? 1 cup? Thanks
Amy
Hi Jennifer, Sorry but I'm not sure, to be honest. It is more than a cup though.
Katrina
Cooking this now, already smells great thankyou !! I’m cooking it on high but I found I could not use all the 2L in my slow cooker so I used 1 and half ..
Amy
Hi Katrina, thanks for the comment. I hope you enjoyed it, did you find the 1.5 litres enough?
Bec Ellis
I just scrolled back up to top & saw your photos of whole chicken breasts - doh! Sorry, please disregard my previous comment.
Amy
Hi Bec, yes you just need to pop the chicken in whole (nice and easy!). You can also use skinless chicken thighs.
Bec Ellis
This looks really yummy. Planning to try this week. Just wanting to know if I put the chicken breasts in slow cooker whole or should I cut into smaller pieces? Thanks
Abbey
Hi there do I have to cook chicken (brown in a pan before putting in slow cooker)? Thanks in advance
Amy
Hi Abbey, no need to brown the chicken before putting it is the slow cooker 🙂
Daniela
Hi can i cook this on a higher setting in 4hours?
Amy
Hi Daniela, yes 4 hours on high should work well 🙂
Jessie
We have eaten this 3 days straight! Very tasty and kids love it.
Amy
3 days 😉 good job! The recipe does make a lot!! Glad you like it, thanks for commenting and rating.
Marie
Hi Amy, just put this soup on, only had 2 chicken breasts, ie 200g. Do I reduce the cooking time?
Thanks
Amy
Hi Marie, I'd just keep it the same. 🙂
anh
hello is their an easy alternative for the chicken stock instead of using slow cooker what else can i cool thr chicken stock by
Amy
Hi Anh, I'm sorry - I don't quite understand what you are asking.
Di
Hi!
I’ll be trying this. Looks yummy!
Just a quick question, do you need to add oil in the slow cooker before adding the ingredients?
Amy
Hi Di, no - I just add the ingredients straight to the cooker. 🙂
Emma Parfitt
My pasta went dough like what did I do wrong I sfollowed exactly
Amy
Hi Emma, I'm not sure what went wrong. Did you add the pasta at the end of cooking? Was it dried pasta or fresh? I used dried so fresh would need less time to cook.
Irene
Hi! This looks like a yummy and easy recipe! Just wondering if I can leave the chicken cooking for more than 6 hours? Thanks!