Mom’s Chicken & Noodles – A Thick & Hearty Comfort Meal

My Mom’s thick and hearty chicken and noodles recipe made using your slow cooker. Serve it over your favorite homemade mashed potatoes or enjoy it as is for a truly complete comfort meal.

This isn’t your momma’s crockpot chicken and noodle recipe! Wait, it actually kind of is because it is my Momma’s recipe!

It seems like no matter how many times I make chicken and noodles, I can never get it quite as perfect as my Mom does. (At least that’s what my kids like to tell me.) However, it’s still a family favorite whether I make it or my mother does!

If you are looking for a warm and hearty meal to make that requires little prep work and allows the slow cooker to do the work for you, then this is a perfect recipe. It takes most of your favorite chicken and noodle soup ingredients and creates a thick and hearty mixture that you can pour over your favorite homemade mashed potatoes or enjoy just as is.

Or, add a bit more broth to enjoy it as a thick soup. (Maybe I should call it a stew at this point since it is thicker than traditional soups?)

No matter how you enjoy it, it’s a great way to take the chill off a cold winter’s night while warming you from the inside out!

How To Make My Mom’s Chicken & Noodles

*You can scroll down to the bottom of this post to see the actual recipe, including exact measurements and amounts. You can also print out the instructions. I just like to go into a bit more detail about the recipe here first though, just in case!

Equipment

You are going to need a good-sized slow cooker for this recipe. You can use those fancy slow cookers that have timers and whatnot, but I just have a plain, simple one that has four settings: High, Low, Warm, and Off. (Here’s the one I have – Product Link: Crock-Pot 7 Quart Oval Manual Slow Cooker)

I use it for all sorts of different slow cooker recipes like my Carnitas, Mississippi Pot Roast, and Bacon Cheeseburger Soup. While I do have a smaller slow cooker as well, this chicken and noodle recipe won’t fit in my smaller slow cooker. So be sure to grab one that is around seven quarts or larger.

Ingredients For My Mom’s Chicken & Noodles

• Boneless Chicken Breasts – This is a perfect recipe to use that package of chicken breasts you bought when they were on sale. You can also use frozen chicken breasts instead of those thawed out. I would stay away from using pre-shredded or cooked chicken because the whole purpose of using the slow cooker is to help with the chicken cooking process.
• Cream of Chicken Soup – The cream of chicken soup helps to thicken up the broth and make it nice and creamy. You can also use a homemade “cream of chicken” mixture, which is what I prefer to do. (Recipe for my mix coming soon!)
• Chicken Broth – Store-bought packaged broth, bouillon cubes, and bone broth all work well in this recipe. You can pretty much use whatever type of chicken broth you have on hand.
• Carrots, Celery, and Onions – The vegetables are completely optional in the recipe, but they are a great way to add even more nutrients to the chicken and noodle mixture. You can swap them out for other vegetables or add additional ones for an even more flavorful and nutrient-packed meal. Our typical go-tos are what the French like to refer to as “mirepoix”, minus cooking them in fat before adding them to the slow cooker.
• Butter – Yup, my Mom’s recipe calls for butter. This addition adds a richness to the broth that takes this recipe over the top!
• Egg Noodles – I normally use a bag of frozen noodles for our chicken and noodles. The main reason for this is that I have yet to master homemade noodles. (I’m working on it.) However, you can most definitely use homemade noodles. Feel free to add them later in the cooking time if you are worried about them gumming up.
• Salt, Pepper, and Parsley – Add these seasonings at the very end to taste. You might think that the broth and cream of chicken soup mixture makes the chicken and noodles salty enough, but feel free to adjust this to taste.

Instructions

First off, get out all of your ingredients except for the noodles and the seasonings. They will all be going in the slow cooker to begin with.

Place the chicken breasts into the bottom of a 7-quart or larger slow cooker. Set the cooker aside for now as you prep the broth and veggies.

If needed, make your homemade cream of soup mixture at this time. You will need enough to equal two cans of store-bought cream of chicken soup.

In a large bowl, whisk together the cream of chicken soups and the chicken broth until it is nice and smooth. (You can also do this in the slow cooker before you add the chicken inside if you prefer. Less dishes that way!) Pour the mixture over the chicken in the slow cooker.

Prep The Veggies – Mom’s Chicken & Noodles

If you are using vegetables, wash and peel the carrots. Cut them into discs or dice them to your preferred size. Also, remove the ends. (Bonus Tip: Toss the discarded bits into a ziplock bag and keep it in your freezer to make homemade broth once the bag is full!)

Wash and trim the celery, then cut the stalk into discs or diced pieces. (The trims can also go into your broth bag.)Toss the celery into the slow cooker.

Add in your diced white onion. I always like to dice up a bunch of onions at one time. I then measure the onion out into 1/4 cup or 1/2 cup quantities to freeze. Then, whenever I have a recipe that calls for diced onions, I can skip the cutting part and just dump in the already prepped ingredient! (Little kitchen hack there for you! I also do this with my garden garlic as well!)

Add the onion into the slow cooker, along with any other prepped veggies going that route. (Green beans and peas are also great additions.) Give the mixture a good stir.

After all your veggies are in the slow cooker, cut up the stick of butter into pats. Dot the top of the mixture with the butter pats.

Cover & Cook

Cover the slow cooker and put it on low for six hours. After six hours are up, remove and shred the chicken. The chicken should shred really easily.

However, if you hate shredding meat as much as I do, you can cheat and use a shredder tool to help with this process. (Here is the one I have – Product Link: Large Chicken Breast Shredder Tool. Yes, it may seem “extra”, but I hate shredding meat, so you do you, and I’ll do me!)

Once the chicken is shredded, return it to the slow cooker. Add in your bag of frozen noodles and stir everything together. (If you are using fresh noodles, you might need to wait to add those closer to the end of cooking time.)

2nd Cover & Cook – Mom’s Chicken & Noodles

Add the cover and cook for an additional two hours. During this time, stir occasionally if possible. The noodles will start to soak up the broth quite a bit. Remember, we aren’t making a slow cooker soup here, but a thicker chicken and noodles that will go over the top of mashed potatoes or whatnot.

If you prefer a thinner mixture, add a few more cups of chicken broth and stir. Allow the mixture to warm up before serving.

Otherwise, serve the chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes or enjoy as is. Store any leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container.

When you go to reheat the leftovers, add in a bit more broth. The amount will vary depending on how much you have left over, but a cup or two should do the trick. Enjoy!

Until next time, thanks for stopping by!
– Chelsea

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