The BEST Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup is easy to make, wholesome, and extra flavorful thanks to a few special ingredients. It's the perfect get-well-soon recipe, but it's so delicious that you'll get requests for it even when nobody is sick!

If you enjoy crock pot soups, you'll also love Slow Cooker White Chili, Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Soup, and Slow Cooker Chicken Black Bean Soup!

Anytime a member of my family gets sick, I get the instant, insatiable to urge to whip up a giant, pot of nourishment. Sometimes that takes the form of veggie-loaded Minestrone Soup...but more often than not, it means homemade chicken soup. So, since it's impossible for a family of five to avoid occasionally getting sick, my Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup has come to be the silver lining that we all look forward to during cold and flu season!

This recipe was actually inspired by a Paula Deen episode way back in my pre-kid days...you know, when I actually had time to binge-watch Food Network. 😉 I tweaked her brilliant recipe and adapted it to the slow cooker, and my family has reaped the benefits ever since.

Ingredients

I really do think this is THE BEST tasting Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup out there! While most of the ingredients are standard, there are a few "secret ingredients" added towards the end of the recipe that, in my humble opinion, take this soup from good to amazing.

• Chicken. I have definite opinions on what type of chicken makes for the best Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup! But it's too lengthy to explain here, so please scroll down a bit to the heading where I elaborate on the chicken options...
• Carrots. Peeled and sliced. Or sometimes to save time, I use a bag of shredded/matchstick carrots instead.
• Mushrooms. Cleaned and sliced.
• Garlic. Minced.
• Dried herbs + spices. Specifically, basil, oregano, thyme, salt, lemon pepper, and bay leaves.
• Chicken stock or broth. If you're making this soup for someone who is battling a bug, you might consider using bone broth , or even homemade stock if you have it.
• Egg noodles. A regular ol' bag of egg noodles (I actually prefer wide egg noodles) works great. However, if you really want to take things over the top, might I recommend using a bag of frozen egg noodles instead? These will lend even more homemade taste and texture to your soup.
• Fresh parsley + fresh rosemary. Chopped and minced, respectively. This recipe doesn't call for a ton of fresh herbs, and their flavor is not overtly noticeable. But when I've left them out for one reason or another, I definitely noticed that their bright pop of flavor was missing.
• Parmesan. Freshly grated. You can't necessarily tell that it's in there, but it adds a delicious, complementary layer of flavor.
• Half-and-half. Added at the end of the cooking time, half-and-half contributes silky creaminess, which makes this chicken soup seem extra special. Feel free to use whole milk to lighten things up or swap to heavy cream for a really decadent soup. Or if you would rather cut the dairy, your soup will still be tasty...just add an additional cup of chicken broth (if needed) to make up for it.
• Sherry. It never ceases to amaze me what a splash of sherry does for this Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup! Just like the other ingredients that make this recipe special, the inclusion of sherry is not obvious or in-your-face. It's just another subtle flavor layered in with all of the other subtle flavors to ultimately create a recipe that's better-than-average. If you don't already have sherry in your pantry or liquor cabinet, I recommend buying a bottle of regular dry sherry (<--this is the one I use)...not cooking sherry (which contains oodles of salt and other unpleasantries) and not sweet sherry (which would be too, well, sweet). If you'd like even more details regarding cooking with sherry, scroll down to that info box below. 😉

Of course, keep in mind that you can customize your Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup as you see fit!

If you don't like mushrooms, feel free to omit 'em. If you like celery, feel free to toss some in. Tweak the recipe to your liking and it will still turn out great!

How to Make Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

(The below photos are intended to be helpful, but please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for FULL DIRECTIONS.)

This recipe is easy to throw in the slow cooker in the morning to let it do its thing all day!

1. Arrange chicken pieces in the bottom of a large slow cooker. Layer carrots, mushrooms, and garlic on top, sprinkle with basil, oregano, thyme, garlic salt, lemon pepper, and bay leaves, and season with plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

2. Pour chicken broth over the ingredients in the slow cooker. Cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through and all of the ingredients are tender.

3. At the end of the cooking time, skim any fat from the surface of the soup. Remove the chicken to a cutting board and discard the bay leaves. Stir noodles into your Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup. Cover the slow cooker and increase the heat to HIGH.
4. While the noodles are cooking, remove skin, bones, and cartilage from the chicken and discard. Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces.

5. Add the chopped chicken back to the slow cooker along with the fresh parsley, fresh rosemary, grated Parmesan, half-and-half, and sherry. Add salt and freshly ground black pepper.

5. Stir, cover, and cook for a few more minutes or until the noodles are cooked to your liking. Taste and adjust any seasonings.
6. ENJOY!

Chicken Options

When I make homemade chicken soup, I prefer using skin-on, bone-in chicken. Not only do I believe that cooking the bones in the broth makes for an extra-nourishing soup, but I also think the skin lends richer flavor. I end up skimming the fat and discarding the skin and bones at the end anyway.

But if you prefer to use skinless, boneless chicken, that will work just dandy, too. I would recommend using a mixture of white meat and dark meat, because I think the dark meat stays a bit moister and more flavorful and is a nice balance to the lighter white meat.

But again...it's your Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup! So if you're a fan of all white meat, have at it!

And that's it...Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup is a simple recipe that's so good it will have you craving it even when you aren't sick! In fact, as much as I always look forward to spring and a welcome respite from cold and flu season, you can bet I make this soup all year long when someone at our house gets taken down by a bug.

Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, if I leave this printed recipe in a convenient location, perhaps the hubby will feel inspired to throw the ingredients in the slow cooker the next time that "sickly someone" happens to be me... 😉

More Cozy Chicken Soups

• Easy Stovetop Chicken Noodle Soup
• Slow Cooker Olive Garden Chicken Gnocchi Soup
• King Ranch Chicken Soup
• Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
• BBQ Chicken Soup

Adapted from Paula Deen. Post originally published on February 22, 2015, and updated on October 23, 2020, and October 10, 2024.