The BEST Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup with carrots and mushrooms.

The BEST Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup is easy to make in the slow cooker, 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!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 7

Total Time 7 30

Servings servings

Calories 321kcal

Author Samantha Skaggs

Equipment

6-quart or larger Slow Cooker

Ingredients

2 ½ to 3 pounds chicken pieces *see NOTES below
1 pound carrots peeled & sliced (about 2 ½ cups)
8 ounces mushrooms cleaned & sliced
4 large cloves garlic minced
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon garlic salt
½ teaspoon lemon pepper
4 bay leaves
8 cups chicken stock OR broth
3 cups uncooked egg noodles
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary leaves
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup half-and-half
1 to 2 tablespoons sherry *see NOTES below
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Arrange chicken pieces in the bottom of a large (6-quart) slow cooker. Layer carrots, mushrooms, and garlic on top, and sprinkle with basil, oregano, thyme, garlic salt, lemon pepper, and bay leaves on top. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Pour chicken stock/broth over ingredients in slow cooker, cover with lid, and cook for 7 to 8 hours on LOW (or 3 ½ to 4 hours on HIGH), until chicken is cooked through and tender.
At end of 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 soup. Cover slow cooker and increase heat to HIGH.
Remove skin, bones, and cartilage from the chicken and discard. Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add chicken back to the slow cooker along with the fresh parsley, fresh rosemary, grated Parmesan, half-and-half, and sherry. Stir in salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste, and adjust any of the other seasonings. Stir, cover, and cook for a few more minutes until the noodles are cooked to your liking.

Video

Notes

I prefer making this soup with skin-on, bone-in chicken pieces (a mixture of light and dark meat) for the best flavor and nourishment (from the bones). Any skin and bones will be discarded, and while there will be fat to skim from the top of the soup if you include the skin, I think the extra flavor is worth it.
You may opt to use boneless, skinless chicken pieces (including all or some boneless skinless chicken breasts) if you prefer. But keep in mind that boneless white meat will have a different taste and texture.
After it's cooked, I prefer to dice the chicken rather than shred it for the best texture in this soup, but you can do either.
Just for reference, for this particular batch of soup, I used a 1.4-pound package of skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs plus 1.2 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts.
If you like celery in your chicken noodle soup, you may add 1 ½ cups sliced celery at the same time as the carrots.
The addition of sherry at the end of this recipe is optional but I think it really gives a unique and delicious depth of flavor to the soup. DO NOT buy "cooking sherry," as it has added salt, etc., and also don't buy sweet sherry. A regular bottle of medium dry to dry sherry is what you are looking for, and it will last indefinitely in the pantry. I have a bottle that I use only when making this recipe. The first time you make this recipe, I suggest adding 1 tablespoon of sherry -- and tasting before adding more -- to achieve your desired flavor.
You may use whole milk (or even 2%) instead of half-and-half for a lighter soup. You may use heavy cream for a more decadent soup. And if you have milk and cream in your fridge but not half-and-half, use half milk and half cream (which is the same thing as half-and-half).

Nutrition