Name: Chicken Noodle Soup
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 1 pound chicken parts; 2 stalks celery, including leafy tops, cut into 3-inch pieces; 1 3–4 lb. whole chicken; 2 tsp. kosher salt plus more for chicken; 1 large yellow onion, whole and unpeeled (find one with a firm, golden-brown peel); 1 large carrot, peeled and uncut; 1 medium whole parsnip, peeled; ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper; 1 bunch of dill, cleaned and tied with a string; Optional additions: Cooked egg noodles, rice, kasha, or matzo balls

A bowl of chicken soup with egg noodles carrots and dill.

Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson

Active Time
25 minutes
Total Time
2 hours 10 minutes

Ask any Jewish grandmother—a big bowl of steaming, golden chicken broth full of veggies and tender meat will cure whatever ails you. And this homemade chicken noodle soup recipe, from New York’s 2nd Avenue Deli, is one of the best out there for making a classic version of the canonical “Jewish penicillin.”

The chicken stock—and soup—is extra rich because it calls for both a whole raw chicken plus additional chicken parts, like bone-in chicken breasts, thighs, or legs. All the meat goes into a soup pot or large Dutch oven together with some celery, and you simmer it on the stovetop until it has released its flavor and fat. The whole chicken comes out (so the meat doesn’t overcook), and you simmer the remaining chicken parts until the chicken broth is fully flavored. Use the cook time to remove the meat from the whole bird; you’ll add the diced or shredded chicken back to the pot, along with wide egg noodles, matzo balls, or rice. For the best chicken noodle soup, we like to cook the pasta separately and add it to each serving so that it maintains an al dente texture. If you’re planning to eat the soup all in one go, though, feel free to cook the noodles in the broth.

This is a pretty simple, easy recipe, so if you like adding other flavors to your soup, you can adapt the basic idea to suit your tastes. You could add a bay leaf or some fresh thyme or fresh parsley to the broth when you add the vegetables, serve it with a squeeze of lemon juice, or add a little garlic to boost the soup’s healing properties. You could even take an Italian approach by seasoning the broth with some oregano and adding some store-bought tortellini for a slightly less classic chicken noodle soup.

This recipe was excerpted from ‘The 2nd Ave. Deli Cookbook’ by Sharon Lebewohl, Rena Bulkin, and Jack Lebewohl. Buy the full book on Amazon.

Ingredients

8 servings

1 pound chicken parts

2 stalks celery, including leafy tops, cut into 3-inch pieces

1 3–4 lb. whole chicken

2 tsp. kosher salt plus more for chicken

1 large yellow onion, whole and unpeeled (find one with a firm, golden-brown peel)

1 large carrot, peeled and uncut

1 medium whole parsnip, peeled

¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 bunch of dill, cleaned and tied with a string

Optional additions: Cooked egg noodles, rice, kasha, or matzo balls

Step 1
Pour 12 cups of cold water into a large stockpot, and throw in the chicken parts and celery. Bring to a boil over high heat. While water is heating, rub the inside of the whole chicken with salt.
Step 2
Add the chicken to the pot, cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Test chicken with a fork to see if it's tender and fully cooked; then remove it from the pot, and set aside on a large platter. Leave chicken parts in the pot.
Step 3
Add onion, carrot, parsnip, salt, and pepper. Let soup simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Step 4
When chicken cools, remove skin and bones and cut into bite-sized pieces. You can add it to the soup, just before serving, or save it for chicken salad.
Step 5
Strain the broth, and discard everything solid except for the carrot.
Step 6
Drop in the dill for a minute before serving and remove. Add salt and pepper to taste. Slice carrot and toss into soup along with the diced chicken if desired. Add cooked noodles, rice, kasha, or matzo balls, if using.

Editor’s note: This recipe first appeared on Epicurious in August 2014. Head this way for more of our best soup recipes →

Cooks' Note

The Deli's recipe for calls for both a whole chicken plus 1 pound of chicken parts. You can, however, use just 1 large chicken and cut off both wings, the neck, and a leg to use as parts. You can also make this chicken soup recipe ahead of time, when you have lots of time to let it simmer on the stove (or cook it in a slow cooker or crock pot all day) then reheat it and add the cooked chicken and noodles in just before serving, for a quick weeknight dinner that will please the whole family.

Cover of the 2nd Avenue Deli cookbook featuring a white background with blue lettering.

Reprinted from The 2nd Ave Deli Cookbook by Sharon Lebewohl, Rena Bulkin and Jack Lebewohl. Copyright © 1999 by Sharon Lebewohl, Rena Bulkin and Jack Lebewohl. Published by Random House Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved. Buy the full book on Amazon or ThriftBooks.

Leave a Review

Reviews (41)

It is a tried and true recipe. Add your own sprinkles of flavor to spruce it up a bit!
- Fit Architect Mom
- Redondo Beach, CA
- 9/27/2023
Gotta say my go-to chicken soup recipe is Ina Garten's. You dump in washed, but unpeeled veggies from the beginning. Even the whole garlic heads are left with the skin on. Yes to dill, parsley and thyme. You cook for hours and throw out the chicken and vegetables at the end (you can save some of the cooked chicken meat after an hour of cooking). What you throw out has given its all to the stock! You then add fresh chunks of carrots, celery, turnip, whatever, to cook and soften....and the saved cooked chicken waits to be reheated right before serving. I freeze the stock and use it in other recipes or drink it over the next few months. The taste is exactly like my grandmother's.
- Robin B
- Cambridge, MA
- 1/3/2023
Many generations of Eastern European/western Russian Jewish women would tell you close...but no cigar! First just leave the chicken simmering in the pot for an hour or more, periodically skimming off the "yuck" that gathers on top. Then add plenty of carrots, celery, parsnip, parsley root and onion. Be generous with the salt and pepper, and even throw in some bullion or bone broth (chickens just aren't what they use to be). Float some dill on top then continue to simmer for a couple more hours. Be careful - the house will smell so good you'll want to dig in ASAP, but don't. Let the soup sit in the fridge, at least over night. Take the whole chicken out and return just the meat to the pot w/ all of the veggies. Cook another hour (or more). NOW. It's chicken soup.
- MMS
- Detroit
- 10/5/2022
Opinions about making chicken soup right, are as numerous as those for southern BBQ. I am Polish, and although dill is a staple in most other Polish dishes, it absolutely is never added to the traditional Polish chicken soup I was raised on, and that I indeed continue to make today. I make mine with 2 bone-in chicken breasts, 2-3 stalks of celery and carrots, each cut into 3 long pieces, 2 onions in chunks, a hefty soup of salt and a teaspoon of Vegeta Broth Mix. It is simmered for 2 hours and then the soup, large pieces of meat and vegetables are ladled over angel hair egg noodles, and garnished with parsley. Occassionally boiled potatoes are subtituted for the noodles. This is real Polish chicken soup, as it is known today in that country.
- Stasia L
- Toronto, Ontario
- 10/24/2021
My husband learned to make chicken soup in college. Very minimalist---one whole chicken covered with water and a pinch of thyme plus salt to taste. He'd remove the chicken when it started falling off the bones, add egg noodles to the broth and then return the chicken meat. I, of course, knew it would be better with some other seasoning and other vegetables, but it wasn't. The simplicity of just chicken and noodles (cooked in the broth), with big chunks of chicken is the best of chicken soup in my mind and so amazingly comforting to eat.
- stone
- sacramento, ca
- 10/2/2021
This was my first time making whole chicken soup and it turned out great, aside from the fact I don't have a proper stockpot and so the simmer was overflowing constantly. It felt weird throwing away so many vegetables, but I understand that's how the broth gets flavored, by leeching from the veg, there's nothing left with any texture worth eating. I'll probably make my next soup with more familiar flavors. The dill was interesting but didn't quite nail the chicken soup persona for me.
- acstichter6881
- Tempe, AZ
- 4/29/2019
I've made this recipe a million times, but everyone should know this is meant to go with MATZO BALLS! It's the base for a very good tasting matzo balls soup. I would never make this for anything else. It's a very traditional NYC Jewish deli tasting soup. Look up their matzo ball recipe, the two prepared together blows my grandma's matzo ball soup recipe out of the water.
- jeri_l
- NYC
- 3/30/2018
Any recipe that doesn't specify to get a SOUP chicken, not a fryer, is just amateurish. No wonder you have to add dill to get flavor.
- bigterguy
- Ohio
- 9/6/2017
I use a rotisserie chicken from Costco, makes great stock. I let the stock sit in the fridge overnight so I can remove the fat. I also strain through several layers of cheesecloth. I always have stock in the freezer. Never cook the noodles in the soup, makes the soup cloudy and starch flavored. Cook in seperate pan and then add.
- drausue
- Clearwater
- 9/6/2017
Quick fast and delicious, Add Lemon and ginger to make it fantastic.
- raskullockfoot
- Pretoria, South Africa
- 3/22/2017
good basiccomforting recipe. i added more carrots, celery and parsley. peeled ginger and two garlic cloves. i used chicken parts instead of whole chicken. i added a container of lower sodium chicken stock to water and didn't use additional salt. i will serve the broth with matzoh balls and carrots and deboned skinned chicken in the soup with chopped fresh parsley garnish.
- hp
- nyc
- 1/11/2015
It was my first time to make chicken soup from scratch, and it turned out great! I used thighs for chicken parts and added egg noodles. It was easy, too: I made it after work for dinner the same night!
- jimstoic
- Santa Barbara, CA
- 4/5/2011
I followed the recipe using one whole chicken.I follwoed the suggestions and added 1 additional carrot and one additional turnip. Also, added the carcass to the broth. It came out great. I've made chicken soup many times before, but never used a whole chicken. .
- gulig
- 9/17/2010
Good recipe but not complete. And to thosew ho think that dill doesn't belong in real Jewish chickens oup, you don't have the slightest idea how to cook soup. Take this recipe which is good, add a rutabaga, a turnip, leek, and half a red pepper. Dill goes in the last 15 minutes. Cook for at least 2 hours. and you don't need a whole chicken unless you like the soup very fatty.
- theprof1
- Brooklyn
- 5/10/2010
This is PERFECT chicken soup. Hailing from New York, and a shiksa who LOVES Jewish chicken soup, I can attest to this. I do admit that I cut a corner: I don't do parts and a whole chicken; I do a cut up whole chicken plus three thighs. But everything else in this recipe I'm faithful to. Uber Yum!
- Anonymous
- Berkeley, CA
- 4/3/2010