My Creamy Chicken and Noodles recipe is tender egg noodles and chunks of chicken smothered in creamy chicken broth gravy. It’s comforting, delicious food that makes any family dinner a celebration.
Homemade Chicken and Noodles are simple comfort food your family will ask for over and over, again! If you love homemade chicken soup, this recipe is for you!
No Cream of Chicken Soup
No cream of chicken soup is necessary for this recipe. The creamy gravy is made from flavorful, chicken-y chicken broth, a little all purpose flour and whole milk.
I know many chicken and noodles recipes rely on cream of chicken soup to create the gravy or sauce. And, I can see where they’re coming from. But you’re going to be able to create luscious, flavorful and creamy gravy in your chicken and noodles all from scratch.
So, save your cash and lets make chicken and noodles the delicious and economical way.
A Classic Family Favorite
We love this Creamy Chicken and Noodles recipe served over mashed potatoes, but you can certainly serve them on their own as a delectable homemade soup. Either is a winning chicken dinner the whole family will want on repeat.
Creamy Chicken and Noodles begin as a flavorful, life-giving homemade chicken broth recipe. The aroma and flavor are simply unmatched.
You can definitely purchase chicken broth at the store and make this chicken and noodles recipe. When time is at a premium, and I need to hurry, that’s exactly what I do. However, you may need to intensify the flavor by adding chicken base or chicken bouillon. (I like to use my homemade chicken bouillon powder.)
But you won’t really experience how scrumptious Chicken and Noodles can be until you try them with homemade chicken broth. Treat your taste buds to the deep, rich, chicken-y flavor of homemade broth on a day when you have 3 or 4 hours to cook.
Homemade noodles and chunks of tender chicken swimming in a creamy chicken gravy that YOU created is going to be one of your family’s new favorite meals!
The Ingredients
- Pre-Cooked Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (or a whole Rotisserie Chicken) If you made my chicken broth recipe, you already have pre-cooked chicken ready to go.
- Chicken Broth (I prefer homemade for chicken soup, but store-bought also works. Use what you have on hand.) You can also make broth with my homemade chicken bouillon. It’s loaded with savory herbs and flavors to make chicken sing.
- Whole Milk
- Butter
- Egg Noodles, frozen or dry (or homemade egg noodles you make yourself. They’re what we love best and you’ll be blown away by the difference they make! My Egg noodle recipe is in notes section of recipe card.)
- All Purpose Flour
- salt and pepper, to taste
The Key to Success with
Creamy Chicken and Noodles
The key to making my Creamy Chicken and Noodles recipe is to be able to build luscious flavor and texture. It will be dependent on two important factors.
- Flavorful Chicken Broth – Even the best commercial chicken broth or stock will probably need bouillon or chicken base to amp up its flavor. Store bought chicken broth and chicken stock don’t tend to have the depth or richness of homemade broth. And, literally, everything starts and ends with the chicken broth, when it comes to the flavor of your finished Creamy Chicken and Noodles recipe. If you want Creamy Chicken and Noodles that are out of this world delicious, your chicken broth must be flavorful and out of this world delicious from the start. Then, the noodles will be able to absorb that chicken-y goodness..
- Choosing the Egg Noodles your Family will Love Most – Reames brand frozen egg noodles will probably be the closest to homemade noodles that you will be able to purchase ready-made. And, I definitely do recommend them when you need to get dinner on in a hurry. I’ve used them many times. However, they DO roll their noodles very thick. They take longer to cook through and their texture is more chewy than a well rolled out homemade egg noodle. If your family does better with noodles that aren’t so thick, I would recommend dry egg noodles — wide egg noodles to be exact. Even the store brand will work, just fine. Of course, our preferred are always homemade egg noodles, but I get it that time sometimes prevents that from working out.
Chicken Broth vs Chicken Stock
vs Chicken Bone Broth
Chicken Broth
Chicken broth is made by cooking chicken (usually bone in, skin on) in water with vegetables, herbs, salt and pepper. It is a thinner liquid that is well suited to making soups and stews. Chicken broth is also great for cooking rice, potatoes or pasta. It doesn’t take as long to make as stock, requiring only 1 to 2 hours of simmer time. Chicken broth tastes good, just on its own and it’s delectable in chicken soup.
Chicken Stock
Chicken Stock cooks longer than chicken broth. Let it simmer at least 4 hours, and even up to 6. Chicken Stock is typically made by simmering chicken bones with vegetables and perhaps a small amount of herbs and seasoning. It is not seasoned as intensely as chicken broth. Chicken stock is usually thicker than chicken broth, as the longer simmer time allows the collagen/gelatin to be extracted from the bones. It’s great for making gravy and sauces because of its silky texture and the fact that it’s light seasoning complements rather than overpowers the dishes it’s used in.
Chicken Bone Broth
It’s odd, really, that we call it broth. Bone broth is actually a type of stock. Chicken bone broth is made almost exclusively from bones. Not always, but usually. The bones can be cooked with vegetables, but it’s not typical. Especially when using commercial bone broth, my personal opinion is that the flavor is usually not great. It’s very easy to go OVER when making bone broth. It can be simmered anywhere from 12-48 hours. However, the longer it cooks and the more the bones break down, the more bitter the flavor can become. If you want a truly excellent flavored chicken bone broth, you would be better served to make one from scratch.
Where Does This Recipe Come From?
I don’t know the origins of the first homemade chicken and noodles. Maybe it was chicken soup. Or, maybe it was a creamy and hearty dish like this one. But, I can guess with a good deal of confidence that this idea for humble and delicious chicken and noodles started generations ago, when others like us, were trying to feed their families in an affordable way.
Even in my own family, there was no “recipe” for creamy homemade chicken and noodles. It was something we made “by feel” after having done it so many times before. I watched my mom make it hundreds of times as I grew up, I’m sure. And I’m sure she must have watched my Grandma make them.
My chicken and noodles recipe is a little different than mom’s, but the flavors and homey comfort food feel are the same. We occasionally ate it as chicken noodles soup. But, more often than not it was served over mashed potatoes. That hasn’t changed. And, there was no written recipe until I put this together for you.
Why is that important? Because I hope this is a recipe you will make your own. Let it be a starting place and then learn to “feel” as you make it for your own family. You don’t have to make it exactly like me.
This is a dish that your kids are going to remember fondly. It will always be a symbol of comfort and of your home. So, you make yours about you and them. Make it from scratch or just to use up chicken leftovers. Either way, you win!!
Make It One of Your Best Easy Recipes
Whether you choose the easy weeknight dinners version of this recipe or the equally simple but longer-cooking 100% from scratch method, your whole family is going to love creamy chicken and noodles.
To choose what’s right for you, consider the amount of time you have to work. If this is a busy weeknights dinner, then definitely use the shortcut method and list of shortcut ingredients provided below.
As with all convenience options, the shortcut method uses ingredients that have so much of the work already done for you, so you will be able to get it to the table quickly.
If you have a day to create a truly economical, full-flavored, comfort food delight the skip down to my fully from scratch cooking method. It is NOT hard, but it will require more time to create chicken broth from scratch and even homemade noodles.
I promise the extra investment in time pays HUGE flavor dividends. It’s definitely worth it when the time is available.
So, simply choose. I’ve outlined the shortcut method for you, right here. And just a bit below, you’ll find the full “make it from scratch” tutorial. You’ll never want any other chicken and noodles recipe, regardless of which version you try.
Shortcut Ingredients
There are a number of shortcut ingredients that can make preparation of my Creamy Chicken and Noodles recipe a quick and simple job. These shortcuts are ideal for busy weeknighs.
- Chicken Broth – Buy pre-made chicken broth at the store. Remember you will need chicken bouillon or chicken base and maybe even your favorite herbs to amp up the flavor of store-bought chicken stock, in most cases.
- The Egg Noodles – I have purchased and used both frozen Reames Egg Noodles or dried wide egg noodles in this recipe. Both are great if you don’t have time for homemade. The frozen egg noodles take slightly longer to cook through.
- The Chicken – We prefer white meat in most cases, so that is what I make when I prep chicken ahead or use when I’m making everything completely from scratch. The good news is there’s a quick and easy solution if you don’t have time to prep your chicken. Grab a rotisserie chicken at the market and use the meat for your chicken and noodles. This recipe is also great for using up leftover chicken.
- The Mashed Potatoes – I’m never going to recommend you use instant potatoes. Sorry. However, we do love a prepared brand you can find in the refrigerated section at your grocery store. They are the Bob Evans mashed potatoes and they heat in the microwave in 6 minutes!
Pro Hack with Rotisserie Chicken
I know it’s a busy night and you bought that rotisserie chicken to save time. But, please save the carcass (break it into pieces) and the skin in a zip-top bag in your freezer.
Do that every time you buy a rotisserie chicken. Add them to your chicken broth ingredients when making chicken broth from scratch. They’ll bring even more flavor and richness to that scrumptious homemade broth. And they’ll add nutrition as well.
It’s just one more way to stretch your grocery dollars and get the most for the money you have to spend.
How Long Does the Shortcut Method Take?
How long it takes to make my Creamy Chicken and Noodles recipe and serve it over Mashed Potatoes will depend on your ingredient choices.
If all your ingredients are made ahead of time and you’re simply pulling them out of the fridge to put this recipe together you can easily make Homemade Chicken and Noodles in about half an hour.
And, if you haven’t prepped your own ingredients, but you’re buying chicken broth, dry or frozen noodles and a rotisserie chicken at the store, this recipe will still take you about half an hour.
Making Creamy Chicken and Noodles from Scratch
Making everything on the same day, from scratch, you can expect to spend 3 to 4 hours. If you decide to do everything all on the same day, this is the sequence of preparations that I use.
Order of Preparation Totally from Scratch
- Start the Homemade Chicken Broth on the Stove.
- As the chicken broth begins to cook, make your homemade noodles.
- Take the fully cooked chicken pieces out of the chicken broth pot. Remove the skin and chicken bones and add them back to the pot. Set the chicken aside to cool and allow the broth with the bones and skin to simmer and build flavor.
- Peel potatoes for mashed potatoes. Put them in a cooking pot and cover completely with cold salted water. Set aside until ready to cook.
- Continue cooking chicken broth.
- Strain your completed chicken broth and return it to the pot. Discard the bones and skin, as well as the spent vegetables and herbs. All their flavor and nutrients are in your chicken broth now. Turn up the heat to bring the broth to a boil.
- Put the potatoes you’ve peeled onto a different burner to begin cooking them.
- Follow the rest of this Creamy Chicken and Noodles recipe from Step #4, below.
- Mash the potatoes and serve with a ladle of Creamy Chicken and Noodles over the top.
How to Make My Creamy Chicken and Noodles Recipe
Season and Boil the Chicken Broth
- Be sure your chicken broth is flavorful enough when you add it to the pot. Any flavor your noodles will have will come from this broth. If it’s bland now, your noodles will be bland when they’re finished. So taste. Does the broth need salt and pepper? Do you need to add chicken bouillon or chicken base? If so, add them now. Taste again and when it’s where you want it you can start heating the broth.
- Bring the chicken broth to a boil over medium-high heat. Be sure to use a large enough stock pot or pan so the broth won’t boil over as it’s heated.
- Add the 1 cup of whole milk and the butter to the broth as it’s warming up.
Cook the Noodles
- Add the egg noodles you have chosen once the chicken broth is at a full rolling boil. When I use fresh homemade egg noodles, I gather them a handful at a time and add them to the boiling chicken broth rather than dumping them all in at once. That helps prevent them from clumping together. With dried or frozen noodles, it won’t matter as much. You can just pour them into the boiling chicken broth.
- Stir to ensure all the noodles are separated, and then reduce the heat to medium to allow the noodles to cook. The noodles you choose will determine how long this takes. Frozen egg noodles will take the longest, and homemade pasta or dried egg noodles will cook more quickly. Again, taste and be sure the noodles are at the level of doneness and texture that you want.
Add the Chicken
- It’s time to stir in the chicken when the egg noodles are cooked through and tender. The chicken is already cooked, so, all that’s needed is to warm it through in the broth. It will take 3 to 5 minutes, tops. If you made homemade chicken broth, use the chicken you cooked to make it. If you’re using a rotisserie chicken, it will heat quickly, too. If you are using Slow Cooker Chicken Breasts or Baked Chicken Breasts that you have already prepared and stored in the fridge or freezer, they may take one or two more minutes to heat from cold.
- Tear or cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. That is our preference, at least. We aren’t huge fans of shredded chicken, here, but if that’s what your family loves, that’s definitely the way you should do it. I cut large, meaty bites of chicken to add to our homemade chicken and noodles.
Taste, Season and Thicken
- Reduce the heat to medium-low once the chicken has been added.
- Look at your creamy chicken and noodles, now. You’ve done it! Delicious, homemade chicken and noodles! Chicken noodle soup! You could literally eat this as is, but now we’ll take it to the next level.
- The last step to making this chicken and noodles creamy is to whisk together the flour and cold milk (or water) in a bowl or measuring cup. Whisk until it is smooth with no lumps, and then add it to the pot of simmering chicken and noodles.
- Stir and continue cooking for 1 or 2 minutes until the broth has thickened and become creamy.
- Do your final taste test. Salt? Pepper?
Serve
- We serve my Creamy Chicken and Noodles recipe over mashed potatoes. You could certainly just put this creamy, delectable soup into a bowl and serve it like any other soup. But, if you’ve never tried the comfort food combo of Homemade Chicken and Noodles over mashed potatoes, I encourage you to take a walk on the wild side and give it a go.
There’s no other homey, comfort food meal that satisfies and soothes in the way Creamy Chicken and Noodles over mashed potatoes does.
If you’re a noodle soup fan and you need even more ideas then you must give my Chicken Pastina Soup a try. And you’ll also love my friend Robin’s Korean Ramen. It’s savory, delicious comfort in a bowl!
The Recipe
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Creamy Chicken and Noodles over Mashed Potatoes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 8 – 10 servings 1x
Description
Creamy Chicken Noodles is the ultimate homey comfort food meal that the entire family will love. You can go all out and make it 100% from scratch or use shortcut suggestions from this post to get it on the table in about half an hour. Either way, no cream of chicken soup is needed. This Chicken and Noodles recipe will be a beloved family meal whichever method you choose.
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts, pre-cooked and cut into bite-size pieces
- 12 cups homemade chicken broth (or your preferred store brand)
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup salted butter
- half recipe of homemade egg noodles, half recipe in NOTES, or (around 18 oz. of frozen egg noodles or 16 oz bag dry egg noodles)
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup cold milk or water
Instructions
- Be sure your chicken broth is flavorful enough when you add it to the pot. Any flavor your noodles will have will come from this broth. If it’s bland now, your noodles will be bland when they’re finished. So taste. Does the broth need salt and pepper? Do you need to add chicken bouillon or chicken base? If so, add them now. Taste again and when it’s where you want it you can start heating the broth.
- Bring the chicken broth to a boil over medium high heat. Be sure to use a large enough stock pot or pan so the broth won’t boil over as it’s heated.
- Add the 1 cup of whole milk and the butter to the broth as it’s heating up.
- Once the chicken broth is at a full rolling boil, add the egg noodles you have chosen. When I use fresh homemade noodles, I gather them a handful at a time and add them to the boiling chicken broth, rather than dumping them all in at once. That helps prevent them from clumping together. With dried or frozen noodles it won’t matter as much. You can just pour them into the boiling chicken broth.
- Stir to make sure all the egg noodles are separated and then reduce the heat to medium, to allow the noodles to cook. Which noodles you chose will determine how long this takes. The frozen noodles will take the longest and homemade pasta or dried egg noodles will cook more quickly. Again, taste and be sure the noodles are at the level of doneness and texture that you want.
- It’s time to stir in the chicken when the noodles are cooked through and tender. The chicken is already cooked, so, all that’s needed is to warm it through in the broth. It will take 3 to 5 minutes, tops. If you made homemade chicken broth, use the chicken you cooked to make it. If you’re using a rotisserie chicken, it will heat quickly, too. If you are using Slow Cooker Chicken Breasts or Baked Chicken Breasts that you have already prepared and stored in the fridge or freezer, they may take one or two more minutes to heat from cold.
- Tear or cut the chicken into bite-size pieces. That is our preference, at least. We aren’t huge fans of shredded chicken, here, but if that’s what your family loves, that’s definitely the way you should do it. I cut large, meaty bites of chicken to add to our homemade chicken and noodles.
- Reduce the heat to medium low, once the chicken has been added.
- Look at your chicken and noodles, now. You’ve done it! It’s chicken and noodles. Chicken noodle soup! You could literally eat this, as is. But, take it next level.
- The last step to make this chicken and noodles creamy is to whisk together the flour and cold milk (or water) in a bowl or measuring cup. Whisk until it is smooth with no lumps and then add it to the pot of simmering chicken and noodles.
- Stir and continue cooking for 1 or 2 minutes, until the broth has thickened and become creamy.
- Do your final taste test. Salt? Pepper?
- Serve.
Notes
Half Recipe for Homemade Pasta
(For a detailed picture tutorial of making homemade pasta, visit my Homemade Pasta blog post.)
- 4 large eggs
- 295 grams All Purpose Flour
- Stir the flour and eggs together until they begin to form a shaggy mass.
- Once it has come together, into that shaggy mass, pour everything out onto a lightly floured work surface or counter top.
- Knead the dough, pressing it with the heel of your hand, folding it over, kneading, fold until it is velvety smooth. This will take around 5–10 minutes.
- Cover (I just set a bowl over the top, right there on the counter.) and allow to rest for about 20 minutes. The resting period is important, so the gluten can relax and the homemade noodles will be easy to roll.
- After the rest period, roll and cut the homemade pasta dough.
- Prep Time: 30 min
- Cook Time: 3 hours 30 min
- Category: Soup, Pasta, Chicken, Main Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
I hope you’ll get a chance to make Chicken and Noodles for you and your family, soon. If you do make my Chicken and Noodles recipe, please consider stopping back and leaving me a comment with a 5 star rating. Your 5 star ratings help others find our recipe when they do a search in Google. Thanks so much!
More Delicious and Comforting Soup Recipes
- Best Easy Chili Recipe | 6 Ingredients, 30 Minutes
- Jalapeno Chicken Corn Chowder Recipe
- Ham and Beans Recipe
- Colcannon Soup | Simple, Rustic & Delicious
- Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- Chicken Pot Pie Soup Recipe, a Big Bowl of Comfort
- Chicken Pastina Soup (Chicken and Stars)
More Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
- Italian Chicken Cutlets
- Easy Roast Chicken, Tender and Delicious
- Slow Cooker Chicken Breasts, the Juicy Secret
- Perfect Baked Chicken Breasts : Easy, Delicious & Quick
- Air Fryer Chicken Cordon Bleu, Quick and Easy
- Chicken Street Tacos, Dinner in Minutes from Leftovers
- Million Dollar Chicken Casserole Recipe
- Easy Chicken Parmesan
- Slow Cooker Pineapple Chicken in a Rice Bowl with Pineapple Salsa
About Glenda
I believe cooking from scratch doesn’t have to be complicated and that YOU can do it. My simple recipes, tutorials, and cooking tips will help you get weeknight dinners on the table with less stress. Forget takeout or the drive-thru. Let me show you how to make homemade easy. Read more...
I found your recipe while searching to refresh my memory of chicken and noodles. We were having a benefit to raise funds for medical bills of young man from church so I made about 10 batches, served them today to approx. 135 people. They were a definite hit. I got comments like” best I’ve ever had.” “Best since my grannies house” and three little girls liked them so much, they wanted to come back next week to have them again! Thanks for sharing such a good recipe and advice!
Shrill, that’s fantastic! I’m so pleased. Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m glad the recipe served you well.
I’m so excited I found this recipe I just finished making it and it looks so good. I love comfort food! And I made my own noodles for the first time and I love making everything from scratch. I just think when you take your time it means more! Thanks for posting this recipe. I love it!
Jessica, I’m so excited your found it, too! I hope you and yours get as many years of enjoyment out of it as my family has. Have a great weekend!
I’m a fan of chicken soup, and this creamy chicken and noodles recipe is one of my go-to recipes. It is very delicious and easy to make. YUM!
Journa, that’s so wonderful to hear! I’m happy you’re enjoying the recipe!
This was sooo good. My entire family came back for seconds. It’s so delicious and the homemade noodles make it even better
This chicken and noodles was pure comfort in a dish! We all loved this version.
This tasted so amazing! Thanks a lot for sharing this super easy to make creamy chicken and noodles recipe! Fam really loves it! Will surely have this again! Highly recommended!
I love how everything is homemade. Especially the noodles. It’s so easy just to buy the noodles, but the taste is so much better and different. It worth every minute making it.
I was craving comfort food, and this was perfect! Thanks for the amazing recipe.
This really looked like comfort! Would love to make this all over again!
I so agree with you. This chicken and noodles are definitely comforting food. I made it when the weather was gloomy and a bit cold, typical fall season. And the boys and I enjoyed it so much that we are planning to make it again. Thank you for the tip on mashed potatoes. It’s delicious.
Devy, I’m so glad you and the boys loved the Chicken and Noodles! I appreciate you stopping by to let me know.
This will be perfect for this weekend. A little chilly here and I can’t wait to try your noodle recipe! I’ve never done those before!
Brooke, I’m so excited for you to make them. You’re gonna want them all the time! lol
Oh yum! You had me at creamy chicken broth gravy. This looks amazing and so comforting, especially with the homemade egg noodles.
Thank you, Tara! Creamy chicken gravy is hard to beat, in my book, too. Creamy Chicken and Noodles is probably THE number one dish requested by my family for birthdays and get-togethers during the winter months.
Comfort food at its finest. Homemade, hearty and delicious!
Nikki, thanks so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
This dish is comfort food I just can’t get enough of! It’s so hearty and warming but all the awesome benefits of chicken broth too!
Thanks, Shelby! Isn’t it great when something that tastes amazing can have health benefits, too?
The title says it all – it truly is the perfect comfort food. I made this and doubled the batch so I could freeze some for when it’s super cold or a kiddo is sick. Delicious!
Aimee, I’m so glad the recipe is serving you well and that your family is enjoying it!
This is so tasty! It’s like cozy chicken soup in hearty pasta form, we all loved it!
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and let me know, Dana! I’m thrilled that your family loved the chicken and noodles!