Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup (With a Ramen Twist)

This is definitely one of the best homemade chicken noodle soup recipes out there (at least we think so♡). It brings together two of our favorite dishes in one delicious chicken noodle soup - ramen and the homestyle chicken soup I grew up with.

This tasty chicken soup is made 100% from scratch using homemade egg noodles and chicken broth, along with crispy panko-crusted chicken cutlets for extra deliciousness. However, you can absolutely use dried ramen noodles or packaged egg noodles as a quick shortcut.

Throw in a few jammy mirin-soy ramen eggs, a few crunchy vegetables, and a special seasoning, and you have the best of both worlds. As always, you can find the chicken noodle soup step-by-step recipe photos below.

No food blog would be complete without a chicken soup recipe or two. And since we absolutely love Japanese Ramen and the classic chicken noodle soup I grew up eating, I combined the two ideas, taking "a little of this and a little of that" from each.

And the result is a delicious homemade chicken noodle soup that has even more flavor than we'd expected, and it's really easy to make.

Plus, you can always substitute the homemade chicken broth and egg noodles with your favorite store-bought varieties (which makes this one of the easiest chicken soup recipes you'll ever cook.

Why We Love This Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

• This chicken noodle soup is easy to make
• Homemade chicken broth adds lots of extra flavor 
• It's a good stand-in for Japanese ramen when you're short on time
• Special seasoning added to the broth gives this chicken soup even more flavor
• It's comforting like homestyle chicken noodle soup, but with extra flavor
• Crispy chicken cutlets add extra flavor and texture to this soup
• Homemade egg noodles are chewy and delicious
• Easy make-ahead components make this a great soup to pull together last minute
• Easily substitute store-bought chicken broth & egg noodles for an even quicker (and still healthy), homemade chicken soup

Did I Mention How Easy This Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe Is?

You're guaranteed a tasty bowl of chicken noodle soup when you make everything from scratch, but not everyone has time for that.

So, if you're interested in making this recipe but lack the time (or motivation) to make homemade chicken broth and egg noodles, just use store-bought.

If you do, this chicken soup can be made in just about 30 minutes (and that includes the ramen eggs). 

Homemade Ramen-Style Chicken Noodle Soup Ingredients

This is a straightforward, simple, and easy chicken noodle soup recipe. It all starts with using the best chicken broth (in this case a 30-minute homemade pressure-cooked stock) and egg noodles (also homemade).

If you're opting for store-bought instead, look for the best quality low-sodium chicken broth and some good ramen or egg noodles.

And for even more flavor, I use the soy sauce-mirin mixture (used to marinate the ramen eggs) to add even more flavor to the base of the finished soup.

Normally, for traditional Japanese ramen, I make a salty amen seasoning to drizzle into each bowl, but I really loved how much flavor the soy-mirin seasoning added, so I skipped making it.

• chicken breast cutlets
• homemade chicken stock (sub store-bought) 
• homemade egg noodles (sub store-bought)
• panko bread crumbs
• all-purpose flour
• onions
• carrots
• celery
• parsley 
• chives
• eggs
• soy sauce
• mirin 
• salt to taste
• extra virgin olive oil (sub neutral frying oil)

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How to Make The Best Chicken Noodle Soup 

Using a mandoline to julienne the carrots and make paper-thin slices of celery definitely helps, but isn't totally necessary. Just use a sharp knife or a julienne vegetable peeler here instead.

The goal for this ramen-style chicken soup is to get the vegetables thin enough that they become tender when the hot soup base is added to the bowl. 

1. Make the chicken stock. (Skip to step #2 if you're using store-bought broth). Heat a 5 to 6-quart pressure cooker (or Instapot, or large stock pot) over medium-high heat, and add 2 chicken wings or any other parts of a whole chicken along with some leftover vegetable ends and peels (like carrots, onions, celery, and leeks), plus a pinch of cinnamon (trust me on this one). *I save all of my leftover vegetable peels and pieces in a bag in the freezer for making homemade stock, but you may sub ½ carrot, ¾ onion, and ½ celery rib. Cover the chicken and vegetables with 4 quarts of water and add 1 teaspoon of salt, cover and bring to high pressure, cook for 30 minutes and allow it to release naturally for a clear broth (or run it under cold water for a quick release). When the pressure cooker has released, remove the chicken to a bowl to cool and strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve to remove the solids. Skim the desired amount of fat from the stock and set aside. When the chicken pieces are cool enough to handle, remove the skin, debone the meat, chop or shred it into bite-sized pieces and set aside. You may add this leftover shredded chicken to the bowls of ramen, or reserve it for another use.
2. Make the ramen eggs. In a liquid measuring cup, mix together the soy sauce, mirin, and water and stir to combine. To a pot of boiling water, gently lower the eggs into the water and allow them to cook for exactly 6 minutes, remove them to a bowl of ice water and allow them to cool completely to stop the cooking. Gently remove the shells and add them to a bowl (or a bag), pour ½ of the soy-mirin sauce over the tops and cover with cheesecloth, or a paper towel (if using a bag, twist it up so that the eggs are completely covered with the sauce on all sides). Allow the eggs to marinate while you prepare the rest of the soup. *I like to make the ramen eggs the night before, but even a quick marinating time like this is delicious and adds a lot of flavor to the soup. 
3. Cook the chicken soup base. Add a drizzle of olive oil and the chopped onions to a large pot and cook the onions over medium-hi heat for 2 minutes, add the strained chicken broth, and season lightly with salt to taste (you'll be adding the soy-mirin sauce to the finished soup, so don't add too much salt here).  Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. 
4. Bread and cook the chicken cutlets. While the soup base is cooking, set up a breading station with one bowl containing flour, another containing one to two well-beaten eggs, and another with panko bread crumbs. Dip the chicken cutlets into the flour and coat completely. Dip the floured chicken into the egg wash and coat completely. Add the chicken to the bowl of panko and cover completely, pressing the chicken down into the bread crumbs to get good coverage. Add the breaded chicken to a preheated skillet with about ¼ inch of oil in it, season with salt, and cook over medium-high heat until golden brown (about 5 to 6 minutes), flip them over, season with salt to taste, and continue cooking until crispy and golden (about 5 to 6 more minutes). Remove to a paper-towel-lined plate to rest for 5 minutes. Slice the cutlets into strips and set aside. 
5. Cook the noodles. Bring the simmering chicken soup base to a boil and add the noodles and cook just until al dente about 3 minutes (homemade egg noodles cook more quickly than store-bought so test them frequently to make sure you don't overcook them). Strain the noodles and divide them evenly between bowls. 
6. Assemble the chicken bowls and finish the soup. Add the chicken soup toppings (halved ramen eggs, julienned carrots, sliced celery, and chives) to each bowl grouped in mounds around the noodles. Pour about 2 cups of boiling chicken soup base over the top of each bowl (or just enough to almost cover the toppings), drizzle it with soy-mirin sauce, and serve. Leave the soy-mirin sauce on the table to allow everyone to add more to taste, and Enjoy!

How to Make Cheater Ramen-Style Chicken Noodle Soup step-by-step recipe photos

How to Store and Freeze Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup 

For most chicken noodle soup, I recommend making and freezing the broth (with or without the chicken in it) for up to 3 to 6 months. But I don't recommend freezing chicken soup with cooked noodles in it unless you unexpectedly just got invited to fly to Paris overnight and you don't want the soup to go to waste.

The recipes out there telling you that you can freeze chicken noodle soup (with the cooked noodles in it) are technically correct. You can. But it doesn't mean you should.

When you freeze noodles in a broth (after they've already been cooked), then thaw and reheat them, they're already mush, turning into whatever is beyond mush.

My best advice for when you have noodles leftover in the soup that you want to freeze -- first, remove the noodles to a bowl (eat those for lunch or dinner tomorrow) and freeze the soup base. When you're ready for more chicken noodle soup, reheat the base and cook new noodles so they're fresh and al dente. 

More Easy Soup Recipes to Make 

If you need a few more good soup recipes to make, here are some of our favorites you might also enjoy.

Our Favorite Authentic Ramen Recipes 

If you want to perfect authentic Japanese ramen at home without the cost of expensive restaurant (ramen-ya's) ramen, look no further!

I've got you covered with these easy recipes, starting with homemade noodles, to the perfect tonkotsu broth, and all the delicious homemade ramen toppings and accompaniments you could ever want!

Let's get started!

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