Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe from Scratch with Roasted Stock
Last updated on October 21st, 2026
Most chicken noodle soup recipes cut corners with a shop-bought stock and one pot for everything. This chicken noodle soup recipe doesn’t: the chicken gets roasted first, the tray gets deglazed, and the stock simmers low in the oven for hours, because that’s genuinely where all the flavour comes from. It’s the same thinking behind the bonus stock from my roast chicken tricks, where nothing goes to waste. It takes longer than a weeknight fix, but every extra step earns its place, and it’s worth doing properly at least once. Start with a whole bird and learn to butcher a chicken so the carcass can go straight into the stock.
Why You’ll Love This Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
This isn’t just a bowl of comfort: it earns its place as an actual meal. The chicken gives you a genuine source of lean protein, the noodles bring the carbohydrates your body burns for energy, and the carrots, celery and onion are doing real work too, packing in vitamins and minerals rather than just bulking out the broth. It’s the kind of dinner you can serve to someone who’s under the weather and to someone who just wants a proper, tasty meal, and the same pot does both jobs. If you want something lighter for the same situations, my spinach and potato soup is ready in a fraction of the time.
How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup From Scratch
The full method is in the recipe card below, and the video walks through every stage. This recipe is built around an average 1.7 kg (3¾ lb) whole chicken. It’s worth the extra effort to butcher it yourself, because it’s the best way to get maximum flavour into the soup. These are the three stages that matter most.
Roast the chicken and make the stock
Roast the carcass, wings and feet on a rack at 220°C (430°F) for about an hour, flipping them halfway, until everything is evenly golden brown. Put them in a large pan with 2.5 litres of cold water and scrape the deglazed roasting tray into the pot for extra flavour. Bring it to the boil, drop to a simmer and skim off the fat and foam. Cover and put the pan in a 120°C (250°F) oven for three hours, then add the vegetable trim and aromatics for the final hour so they keep their fresh flavour. That gives you at least four hours of stock in total.
Sear the chicken and build the base
Salt the chicken breasts and legs generously and leave them for 10 to 15 minutes. Sear them skin side down in the saved chicken fat on a medium heat for around 15 minutes in total, flipping once, until the crust is deep golden. Take your time here, because it gives the soup its deep roasted chicken flavour. Then sweat the diced onion, carrot and celery in the same pot with a heavy pinch of salt for around 10 minutes, until the fond has lifted from the base of the pan. Strain in the hot stock, add the chicken and simmer gently for 30 minutes, then shred the meat. If you use the skin, chop it finely: it’s packed with flavour, and chopped small it melts into the soup without the soggy texture.
Cook the noodles separately
I use chow mein style wheat noodles because they hold up in hot broth and keep a springy, slightly firm texture. Cook them in boiling salted water for a minute or two less than the packet says, then drain them and run a little cold water over them to stop the cooking. Give them a few snips with scissors so they’re easy to eat with a spoon, put them in the bottom of the bowl and ladle the hot broth over the top.
Tips for the Best Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
- Cook the noodles or pasta separately. If you cook them in the broth you end up with a starchy, cloudy result that lacks flavour.
- Make your own stock for the best results.
- You can use noodles or different pasta shapes, just undercook them for 1 or 2 minutes less than the packet instructions.
- Cut the celery about twice the size of the carrot. It’s a softer vegetable and cooks quicker, so don’t go too small.
Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe from Scratch with Roasted Stock
Equipment
- Baking / Roasting tray
- Wire / Cooling rack
- Colander
- Fine-mesh strainer / Chinois
- Heatproof container / Dish
- Mixing bowl / Bowl
- Chef’s knife
- Chopping board
- Kitchen scissors
- Vegetable peeler
- Digital scales
- Measuring jug
- Large pot / Stockpot
- Saucepan
- Plate / Tray
- Fork
- Ladle / Skimming spoon
- Tongs
- Wooden / Stirring spoon
Ingredients
- 1 x whole chicken
- 1 x white onion 330g / 11.6oz
- 3 x carrots 400g / 14.1oz
- 2 x sticks of celery
- 2.5 litres of water
- Small handful parsley stems
- 2/3 small stems of sage
- 1 x stem rosemary
- Small bunch of thyme
- 8 x black pepper corns
- 2 x bay leaves
- 4 x cloves
- 1 x star anise
- Salt to taste
- Dried noodles or pasta around 80g per portion
Instructions
- Break a whole chicken down into individual parts, legs, breasts, wings, carcass and feet.
- Place the carcase, wings and feet onto a roasting tray with a rack and roast at 220c / 430f for at least 1 hour, 30 minutes in give everything a flip to get an even roast.
- Once roasted place all the chicken pieces into a large saucepan and cover with 2.5 litres / 2.6 quarts of cold water. Place that pan onto your stovetop and onto a high heat, bring to a boil then simmer for 5 minutes.
- Pour out the fat into a dish and save for later then de-glaze the roasting tray with some boiling water and a wooden spoon and pour the juices into the stock pan.
- Skim off any fat and foam that comes to the surface of the stock then place an oven-safe lid or aluminium foil on top and load the whole pan into a 120c / 250f oven for at least 3 hours.
- Chop the onion into a fine dice, the carrot into a medium dice and the celery into pieces around twice the size of the carrot.
- Once your stock has had the minimum time of 3 hours in the oven, bring it out and skim off any more fat and impurities that have come to the surface. Then add in all the vegetable peelings and scraps, and all the aromatics listed above. (If you want to cook your stock for longer then just add the vegetable scraps and aromatics for the last hour of cooking, by doing this you keep the fresh individual flavours, if you do it for longer then you can end up with a kind of overcooked cabbage-like flavour in the stock).
- Once your stock has started its final hour of cooking, generously salt the chicken breasts and legs all over and leave to sit for 10-15 minutes.
- Preheat a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or dutch oven on a medium heat, add the chicken fat and the pieces of chicken skin side down, leave them to seal for at least 5 minutes. Brown the chicken in the pan until you have an even golden crust coating the chicken, then pull them out and set to one side.
- Drain the fat from the pan and add in all the chopped vegetables and a heavy pinch of salt, sweat the vegetables on a low heat for 10 minutes to de-glaze the base of the pan.
- After the final hour of cooking the stock, strain it through a fine mesh strainer into the other saucepan, bring to a simmer and add the chicken pieces in, simmer for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes pull the chicken pieces out and shred the meat into bite-sized pieces, optionally with the skin chop it into a fine dice, add all the shredded chicken back to the broth and season to taste.
- Cook noodles or pasta to just under package instructions, drain and rinse with a little cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Add noodles or pasta to a serving bowl and spoon the hot broth over the top.
Video
Notes
– Chopping board
– Knife
– Medium saucepan + oven-safe lid (4 litre / 4 quart)
– Large saucepan (5 litre / 5 quart or larger)
– Wooden spoon
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
| Total Fat | 20.4g |
| Saturated Fat | 5.7g |
| Cholesterol | 93.8mg |
| Sodium | 572mg |
| Total Carbohydrate | 77.7g |
| Dietary Fiber | 7.1g |
| Sugars | 10.6g |
| Protein | 35.6g |
| Potassium | 908.2mg |
Can chicken noodle soup be frozen?
Yes, this soup freezes well. Let it cool completely, then store it in an airtight container for up to 3 months. It’s best to freeze the broth and shredded chicken without the noodles, since noodles can turn mushy once thawed and reheated.
How do you make chicken noodle soup more flavourful?
Roast the chicken before making the stock, deglaze the roasting tray, and sear the breasts and legs for around 15 minutes to build a deep roasted chicken flavour. Then cook the noodles separately, so the broth stays clean and punchy rather than starchy.
How do you make chicken noodle soup without chicken broth?
Make your own stock from the chicken itself, as this recipe does. The carcass, wings and feet are roasted, then simmered low in the oven for at least four hours, with the vegetable trim and aromatics added for the final hour. There is no shop-bought broth involved.
How do you season chicken noodle soup?
Season in layers. Salt the chicken breasts and legs generously and leave them for 10 to 15 minutes before searing, add a heavy pinch of salt to the vegetables as they sweat, then taste the broth once the shredded chicken is back in the pan.
Can I make this chicken noodle soup gluten-free?
Yes, simply swap the wheat noodles for rice noodles or your preferred gluten-free noodle, undercooking them slightly as you would the wheat version.
