Make some comforting, delicious chicken soup for one in about 30 minutes. This warming recipe is easy, flavorful, and made in one pot. It's perfect for a quick winter dinner.
[This chicken soup for one recipe was originally posted in January 2023. It has been updated with cooking instructions, storage tips and substitutions, FAQ, related recipes and ways to repurpose/use up ingredients]
Table of contents
My past soup recipe mistakes usually revolve around the fact that I wanted to make an easy dish and have leftovers.
The only problem is that, however delicious said soup was, I got tired of it after just a couple meals, but had a few servings left.
I stopped making that mistake when I started making 1 to 2 serving soups, that's where this 30 minute ultimate comfort food chicken soup for one recipe comes in.
It's delicious, easy, and doesn't leave extra servings that I don't know what to do with.
If you're trying to figure out whether to make 1 or 2+ serving dishes (because both are helpful), This post on meal planning will be helpful.
Ingredients
Scroll down to the chicken soup for one recipe card for the amounts of each ingredient, but here's a quick visual + description of what's in this recipe.
- Chicken broth: I usually use chicken Better than Bouillon paste and water. I like this because I can use what I need instead of having a cup of chicken broth left. It lasts a while in the fridge too.
- Egg noodles
- Chicken: Use precooked chicken, rotisserie, boiled or poached, or grilled.
- Carrot
- Celery
- Butter
- Thyme: I use dried thyme since I always have it on hand, but you can use fresh thyme if you want, just use 2-3 times more than dried.
- Rosemary: I use dried rosemary too, like the thyme above.
- Lemon juice: a squeeze of lemon juice adds some brightness to this simple chicken soup for one.
- White wine: This is my secret ingredient, of course it's not necessary, but it really adds a nice depth of flavor to this simple soup.
- Onion: I used dried flaked onion for this recipe, that's all I had. But you can use fresh onion too. Either works!
Instructions
Scroll down to the chicken soup for one recipe card for more detailed instructions. Here's a quick overview + photos to see how to make this recipe in general.
1. Heat a medium sized pot over medium-low heat. Add butter, thyme, chopped rosemary, salt, chopped onion, carrot, celery.
2. Stir until vegetables are softened to desired texture, about 5 minutes or longer.
3. Add white wine to deglaze pan, stir. Add chicken broth, increase heat to medium-high. Bring to boil.
4. Once water is boiling, add egg noodles and chopped cooked chicken. Cook until egg noodles are soft, about 6-8 minutes. Taste and add salt/pepper if desired.
5. Add lemon juice, if desired. Enjoy your small batch chicken soup for one immediately.
Storage/Reheating Tips
Store leftover chicken soup for one in an airtight container. It should last about a week in the fridge. You can freeze this soup too, if you'd like to make additional servings. Cook fresh noodles if you don't like very soft noodles.
To reheat, cook soup in microwave safe bowl, with lid until warm. You can also reheat it on the stove. You can reheat refrigerated or frozen soup the same way, just cook frozen soup for longer.
Substitutions/Tips
- This recipe is easy to double + for leftovers or to serve a crowd.
- Substitute the butter for olive oil if you'd like.
- Starting with raw chicken? Cut your chicken into small pieces, season with salt and pepper, and then cook before adding vegetables. Cook for a few minutes on both sides, and remove once biggest piece reaches 160-165 degrees in the center. Remove and return with noodles.
- You can also use leftover rotisserie chicken
- Substitute the onion for 1 teaspoon dried onion flakes, you can also substitute the vegetables in this chicken soup for one. Zucchini, broccoli, mushrooms, cauliflower, spinach, etc would all be great in this soup.
- Have fresh herbs? Substitute the dried thyme and rosemary for just a bit less than 1 teaspoon of each fresh thyme and fresh chopped rosemary.
- Don't have egg noodles, you can substitute them for any other type of noodle. If using regular pasta, you may need to add more broth as it gets absorbed.
- Other great add-ins: more lemon juice, red pepper flakes, parmesan cheese are great toppings for chicken soup for one.
FAQ
I usually like to have about 2 cups of soup for one serving. This chicken soup for one recipe makes about 2 cups. But remember, you may need more or less depending on how hungry you are.
This soup, for example, is great because it's got 3 food groups in it, so if it's filling enough, it could be a full meal on it's own. But you can also serve bread or a side salad with soups like this chicken soup for one.
Here are a couple ingredients to add lots of flavor to soup: good (flavorful) chicken broth, fresh or dried herbs, and salt. I also like adding white wine and lemon juice after trying it in this recipe from A Mindful Mom
More Soup Recipes for One
What to do with leftover ingredients
When you're cooking for one, you often have leftover produce, cans of whatever ingredient, etc. Here are a couple ideas on how to use up the leftover ingredients. It'll help you save money by wasting fewer ingredients.
- Onion: Buffalo Chicken Flatbread, Stuffed Acorn Squash, and Spicy Pickled Onions.
- Carrots: White Bean and Farro Bowl, Pickled Dill Carrots, and Carrot Cucumber Salad.
- Celery: Delicata Squash Soup (carrot too), Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad, and Chicken Pecan Salad with Apples.
- Chicken: Chicken Bacon Ranch Flatbread, One Pot Chicken Parmesan Pasta, and Chicken Broccoli Divan.
- Egg Noodles: Lentil Stroganoff
- Lemon: Baked Salmon 'in a Bag', No-Cook Strawberry Sauce, and Banana Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins.
Did you make this chicken soup for one? Leave me a comment & rating to share how it turned out!
Chicken Soup for One
Equipment
- Medium Pot
- cutting board
- knife
- Measuring cups, spoons
- Large Spoon
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon butter or olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme or just under a teaspoon fresh
- 1 Tablespoon chopped onions or 1 teaspoon dried onion flakes
- ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary, chopped fine or just under a teaspoon fresh
- 1 medium carrot sliced thin
- 1 medium celery stalk sliced thin
- 2 Tablespoons white wine optional
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon paste
- 1 ½ cup water (or substitute bouillon and water for 1 ½ cups chicken broth)
- ¾ cup egg noodles
- ½ cup cooked chopped chicken or rotisserie chicken
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice optional
Instructions
- In a medium pot, over medium-low heat, add 1 Tablespoon butter, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon dried thyme, ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary (finely chopped), 1 Tablespoon chopped onion, thinly sliced carrot, thinly sliced celery stalk.
- Stir and cook until vegetables are tender, about 5-8 minutes.
- Deglaze with 2 Tablespoons white wine (optional). Stir, add 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon paste and 1 ½ cup water (or 1 ½ cups chicken broth). Bring to boil. You can let this cook for longer, if desired.
- Once soup is boiling, add ¾ cup egg noodles and ½ cup chopped cooked chicken. Cook about 6-8 minutes, or until noodles are cooked.
- Add ½ teaspoon lemon juice (or squeeze a slice of lemon over soup), serve immediately.
Notes
- Using uncooked chicken? Chop chicken and cook it in your pot first. Cook for a couple minutes on each side, until largest piece is about 160-165 degrees in the center. Remove and return with egg noodles.
- You can substitute the onion for 1 teaspoon of dried onion flakes since it's such a small amount.
- Have fresh herbs? Substitute with almost 1 teaspoon each fresh thyme and chopped rosemary.
- Add the white wine if desired, but you can skip it. I like the flavor it adds, same with the lemon juice.
- Egg noodles are more traditional for chicken noodle soup, but you can use whatever noodles you have on hand. If using other noodles, you may need to add more broth as the noodles absorb it.
- Use whatever vegetables you have on hand. Spinach, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, etc would be good in this soup.
- Optional toppings: fresh herbs (thyme, parsley, etc), red pepper flakes, parmesan cheese.
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Recipes are great, but you’ll need a simple 3 step process to create a meal plan that make cooking easy & helps you stop wasting food. Check out this expertly developed meal planning guide to get started.
Jen says
This made the perfect work-from-home lunch. It warmed me up on a very cold and snowy day!
Traci says
Super yum and super easy! Where has this been all my life? Pass the bread because I'm diving in! Thanks for sharing another winner 🙂
Ned says
This is great for a busy lunch when I have to work through lunch! So yummy and perfectly proportioned!
Gina Abernathy says
Easy and perfect for dinner tonight. This recipe allows me to eat soup whenever I want without having too much to go to waste.
Shadi Hasanzadenemati says
Easy and delicious, this one is a keeper. I know I’m going to make it over and over again!