This homemade egg noodle recipe is super easy and what I use to make classic homemade chicken noodle soup. In fact, these noodles are made with just 2 ingredients (four, if you count salt and water). So, if you've ever wondered how to make your own homemade noodles, this is a great fool-proof recipe to start with. And as always I've included step-by-step recipe photos for anyone new to making homemade pasta to make the process even easier.

beautiful golden yellow egg noodles that look like thin ropes (or spaghetti)

long ribbon-like noodles coming out of the pasta machine being cut by the capellini attachment

a ramen bowl with a pile of just cooked egg noodles (that look like ramen noodles) in the center

Why We Love This Homemade Noodles Recipe

It uses 2 ingredients (4 if you count salt and water)
They take just 5 minutes to measure and mix and just 10 minutes of hands-on kneading
They make the best chicken noodle soup ever
You can make these as rustic or refined-looking as you want
You can make all kinds of different noodle shapes and let your kiddos help
A great kid-friendly noodle recipe
They're so easy to make
You can use them for more than just tasty soup noodles

closeup of just mixed egg noodle dough when it has enough water and holds together and just before kneading it

closeup of properly kneaded egg noodle pasta dough

a beautifully, more intense yellow-colored fully rested egg pasta dough

3 Stages of Egg Noodle Dough (Mix, Knead, Rest)

There are three main stages to making any homemade pasta including these easy egg noodles for soup (see above photos). I've outlined the gist of it below, but if you want to learn more about making homemade classic Italian egg pasta noodles click over here or if you're interested in making authentic alkaline ramen noodles, click over here.

The first stage is bringing all the ingredients together to form a shaggy "ball" making sure the dough isn't too wet or too dry.
The second stage is properly kneading the dough to form a softer and more pliable dough with a good gluten structure.
The last stage is covering the dough and resting it long enough to allow the strong gluten network you built, to relax, and reorient itself which makes it easier to roll without pulling back onto itself.

egg noodle ingredients on a cutting board

Homemade Egg Noodles Ingredients

Depending on the humidity in the flour and the environment you're working in (and also how large your eggs are), you may need to add more or less water to the dough. I used exactly ¼ cup water (60g) for the noodles in this post, but you may need to add up to ½ cup (120g).

all-purpose or 00 Italian flour
eggs
water
salt

4 golden yellow pieces of egg pasta dough

a dough piece pressed down into a long rectangular piece to make it easier to put through the pasta machine to roll it -- getting a coating of semolina before being rolled so it doesn't stick to the pasta machine

a repeat of the same dough folded once more and now going through the #2 setting which is slightly more narrow

a smooth square of just rolled pasta dough that has been rolled on #4 setting (it's getting even longer)

long ribbon-like noodles coming out of the pasta machine being cut by the fettuccine attachment

How to Make Homemade Egg Noodles For Soup (and More) -- Mix, Knead, Rest, and Roll

Making pasta at home is a fun project when you have a little extra free time and nothing will taste better in your chicken soup. If using a pasta machine, I suggest rolling the pasta starting from 0 and going to #6 as the final setting so the noodles don't end up being too thin. If you don't have a pasta machine, it's still easier than ever to make these noodles (check the recipe notes section).

1. Make the dough. Add the flour to a countertop or large bread bowl and make a "well" in the middle. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the eggs and whisk to combine. Add the egg mixture to the center of the flour well and start bringing in flour from the sides to the center until you've incorporated all of the flour and eggs into a crumbly (pale yellow) mixture. Add water a tablespoon or two at a time until the dough holds its shape. It shouldn't be too dry or wet and tacky. (See photos).
2. Knead the dough. Form the dough into a ball and remove it to a lightly floured surface and knead it by turning it clockwise a quarter turn and repeating until the dough becomes soft and pliable, or about 10 minutes. It should be much smoother, more yellow-looking, and somewhat elastic at this point.
3. Rest the dough. Cover the dough with sustainable plastic wrap, or simply cover it with a small bowl turned upside down and allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.
4. Roll out the dough. When the dough has been rested long enough, you should be able to poke it with your finger and the hole will remain. Shape the dough into a rectangle and cut 4 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time (covering the other pieces so they don't dry out), press down to form a disc just thin enough to be fed through the pasta machine's widest setting (0 or 1). Lightly dust the dough disc with flour and feed it through the rollers while turning the crank. Fold the dough like a letter (bringing the two ends towards the middle to overlap) to form a more even rectangle. Feed the pasta sheet back through the rollers on (0 or 1) until it is long and rectangular in shape. Cut the pasta sheet in half and dust each piece lightly with flour. Set the adjustment knob to 1 and pass the pasta sheet through one time. Set the adjustment knob to 2 and pass the pasta sheet through one time. Set the adjustment knob to 3, pass the pasta sheet through one time, and continue adjusting the knob setting and passing the dough through until you've reached the desired thickness (the recommended thickness setting is typically number 6 for chicken noodle soup, or fettuccine-shaped, etc., but it's is up to you.
5. Cut the desired pasta shapes. Attach the pasta shape cutter attachment and run the sheets of pasta through them, sprinkle liberally with semolina (or other flour) and shape them into a bird's nest, or hang them on a pasta drying rack. Alternatively, you may roll up the rectangular sheets of pasta and cut them into the desired thickness for ramen-like, fettuccine or pappardelle, etc. If using immediately, allow the noodles to dry for at least an hour or two before boiling them. Cook the noodles to the desired doneness, and Enjoy!

Easy Homemade Egg Noodles For Soup step-by-step recipe photos

a well made in a mound of flour in my mom's (and great-grandmother's before her) bread bowl

one whole egg plus 4 yolks in a bowl and the whites separated

adding 1 teaspoon of kosher salt to the whisked eggs

mixing together from the outside in, the flour into the eggs

a top down view of the egg and flour mixture looking very crumbly

pouring water into the flour-egg mixture

mixing the flour-egg mixture with y hands

forming a roughly textured "ball" out of the mixture

showing the craggy dough on the undrerside so you know what it should look like at this point (dry, craggy and not yet round)

a more yellow and smoother lump of egg noodle dough

egg noodle pasta dough after being kneaded for 7 minutes in a stand mixer (or 10 minutes by hand), softer, more pliable and yellow than before

a glass bowl turned upside down to cover the egg pasta dough while it rests for 10 minutes

an indention that doesn't spring back shows the dough is ready to be rolled

dividing the dough into 4 equal pieces using a dough cutter

a dough piece pressed down into a long rectangular piece to make it easier to put through the pasta machine to roll it

sprinkling semolina flour onto a cloth-covered surface

rolling dough on the widest setting of 1 on a pasta machine

the rolled dough folded over itself like a letter about to be put back through the machine

folded pasta piece going back through the widest setting on the pasta machine

a smooth square of just rolled pasta dough

a smooth square of just rolled pasta dough that has been rolled on #3 setting (it's getting longer)

a smooth square of just rolled pasta dough that has been rolled on #6 and final setting (it's perfectly thin and very long)

How to Cook Homemade Fresh Pasta

Homemade noodles need plenty of water to boil in and usually take just a few minutes to cook to "al dente" doneness, so be sure to check them after about 1 ½ minutes to see how much longer they'll need until your desired doneness. They're easy to overcook, so keep that in mind. Also, don't salt the water to "taste like the sea" because if you do, you're all but guaranteed overly salty pasta. I used the following cooking times for the egg noodles in this post which I dried completely before cooking (see photos of these egg noodles just before cooking and the two dishes I used them for). Although you can use these noodles to make a homemade Italian dish (as photographed above), they do taste different. In fact, L asked me, "What kind of noodles are these?" after his first bite. He prefers real Italian pasta to be used for Italian dishes (I enjoyed them anyway), but he loved these noodles when paired with chicken noodle soup. You be your own judge.

Thinner ramen-style noodles took just 3 minutes to cook.
Wider fettuccini-style noodles took just 4 ½ minutes to cook.

dried homemade egg noodles that look like ramen noodles about to be added to boiling water

long fettuccine-shaped egg noodles about to go into a pot of boiling salted water

homemade chicken noodle oup with homemade noodles, sliced breaded chicken cutlet , two halves of ramen eggs with soft jammy yolks, julenned carrots, paper-thin slices of celery, and homemade swimming in homemade chicken stock with a ramen spoon

ramen looking egg noodles on a cloth covered with semolina flour after being dried and arranged in 4 nests

beautifully dried fettuccini shaped egg noodles up close

How to Store Homemade Egg Noodles

When making homemade egg noodles, you have 3 options for what to do with them once you've rolled and cut them. But before you do anything, remember homemade egg noodles should always be dusted with plenty of semolina or other all-purpose flour to keep them from sticking together. Then they should be allowed to dry for an hour or two before doing cooking or storing them in the refrigerator or freezer.

Store homemade egg noodles in the refrigerator in a sealed container for 2 to 3 days and cook as directed.
Store homemade egg noodles in the freezer in a sealed container for 3 to 6 months (even longer if stored well) and cook directly from frozen. Do not thaw the noodles before cooking.

one long rolled out sheet of pasta on a floured surface — Roll out the long sheet

a rolled up sheet of pasta ready to be cut into desired width noodles — roll it up like this

cut dough that is still rolled up (sort of like Fruit by the Foot) that have been cut from the rolled dough piece but not yet unraveled. — and slice it as thin or as thick as you want

How to Hand-Cut Homemade Egg Noodles If You Don't Have a Pasta Machine

If you don't have a pasta machine, it's still very easy to make homemade noodles and you still get to choose how thin or how wide the noodle is. Working with one dough piece at a time, roll out the dough using a rolling pin until you have a very thin sheet. Next, roll the sheet into a "log", and finally, cut the noodles to the desired width. (see the above photos)

closeup of a pasta bowl filled with a wok filled with beautifully brown glass fettuccine noodles, tender slivers of pork and garden fresh green beans

an oval platter of Singapore Mei Fun noodles with shrimp, carrots, cabbage, scallions

chicken and vegetable stir fry in a white ceramic bowl

A Few More Delicious Noodle Dishes to Make

If you love noodles as much as we do, here are a few of our favorites we think you might also enjoy.

Let's get started!

📖 Recipe

Classic Homemade Egg Noodles (For Chicken Soup)

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Author: Kelly
Total Time: 38 minutes
Yield: 4 servings 1x

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Description

Ingredients

Scale

2 cups all-purpose or 00 Italian flour (240-280g)
1 large egg plus 3 large egg yolks
¼ cup to ½ cup water (60g-120g)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (4g)

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark even when your hands have flour all over them

Instructions

Make the dough. Add the flour to a countertop or large bread bowl and make a "well" in the middle. Add 1 teaspoon of salt to the eggs and whisk to combine. Add the egg mixture to the center of the flour well and start bringing in flour from the sides to the center until you've incorporated all of the flour and eggs into a crumbly (pale yellow) mixture. Add water a tablespoon or two at a time until the dough holds its shape. It shouldn't be too dry or wet and tacky. (See photos).
Knead the dough. Form the dough into a ball and remove it to a lightly floured surface and knead it by turning it clockwise a quarter turn and repeating until the dough becomes soft and pliable, or about 10 minutes. It should be much smoother, more yellow-looking, and somewhat elastic at this point.
Rest the dough. Cover the dough with sustainable plastic wrap, or simply cover it with a small bowl turned upside down and allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.
Roll out the dough. When the dough has been rested long enough, you should be able to poke it with your finger and the hole will remain. Shape the dough into a rectangle and cut 4 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time (covering the other pieces so they don't dry out), press down to form a disc just thin enough to be fed through the pasta machine's widest setting (0 or 1). Lightly dust the dough disc with flour and feed it through the rollers while turning the crank. Fold the dough like a letter (bringing the two ends towards the middle to overlap) to form a more even rectangle. Feed the pasta sheet back through the rollers on (0 or 1) until it is long and rectangular in shape. Cut the pasta sheet in half and dust each piece lightly with flour. Set the adjustment knob to 1 and pass the pasta sheet through one time. Set the adjustment knob to 2 and pass the pasta sheet through one time. Set the adjustment knob to 3, pass the pasta sheet through one time, and continue adjusting the knob setting and passing the dough through until you've reached the desired thickness (the recommended thickness setting is typically number 6 for chicken noodle soup, or fettuccine-shaped, etc., but it's is up to you.
Cut the desired pasta shapes. Attach the pasta shape cutter attachment and run the sheets of pasta through them, sprinkle liberally with semolina (or other flour) and shape them into a bird's nest, or hang them on a pasta drying rack. Alternatively, you may roll up the rectangular sheets of pasta and cut them into the desired thickness for ramen-like, fettuccine or pappardelle, etc. If using immediately, allow the noodles to dry for at least an hour or two before boiling them. Cook the noodles to the desired doneness, and Enjoy!

Notes

I find that homemade noodles need more water to boil in than boxed pasta which needs very little water to cook in.
Homemade noodles usually take just a few minutes to cook to "al dente" doneness, so be sure to check them after about 1 ½ minutes to see how much longer they'll need until your desired doneness. They're easy to overcook, so keep that in mind.
Don't salt the water to "taste like the sea" because if you do, you're all but guaranteed overly salty pasta.
I used the following cooking times for the egg noodles in this post (which I allowed to dry completely before cooking).
- Thinner ramen-style noodles took just 3 minutes to cook.
- Wider fettuccini-style noodles took just 4 ½ minutes to cook.
If you don't have a pasta machine, working with one dough piece at a time, roll out the dough using a rolling pin until you have a very thin sheet. Next, roll the sheet into a "log", and finally, cut the noodles to the desired width.
If using a pasta machine, I suggest rolling the pasta starting from 0 and going to #6 as the final setting so the noodles don't end up being too thin.
If you want to make homemade alkaline ramen noodles for this soup instead, click over here to get that recipe.

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Resting Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes
Category: Pasta
Method: Mix & Knead
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Serving Size: 3 ounce serving

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Easy Homemade Egg Noodles (For Chicken Noodle Soup & More)