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Transform that leftover chicken into the most delicious homemade chicken noodle soup for baby with this easy recipe! It’s such a simple, timeless dish that’s absolutely perfect for little kids (or big ones). Plus, it’s the ultimate comfort food, perfect for soothing a cold or warming up on a cold day!
Easy Chicken Soup for Babies
Broth-based soups are a great first food for babies! Everything is soft and tender, including the noodles and veggies, making them easy for babies to eat.
For this chicken noodle soup for babies and toddlers, I like to use large, chunky noodles that are easy for little ones to grab and hold with their hands.
This easy chicken noodle soup recipe uses very simple ingredients you probably already have on hand, so you can make it from scratch anytime!
Why We Love This Chicken Soup Recipe for Baby
- Quick & easy: This simple chicken noodle soup is basically the ultimate one pot meal! Everything cooks together in the pot, and as soon as the vegetables are tender, the soup is ready. It’s so simple that it’ll quickly become one of your go-to recipes!
- Kid-friendly: Even picky eaters love hunting down the soft noodles in the soup! This delicious soup doesn’t take much work, but it’s really flavorful, thanks to the classic blend of vegetables, flavorful chicken, and delicious noodles. The entire family will love it!
- So comforting: This is the best chicken noodle soup! It’s so warm and comforting, perfect for recovering during cold and flu season or just staying warm during cold weather.
Ingredient Notes
- Olive oil: Use a little oil or butter to saute the vegetables for this healthy chicken soup for toddlers.
- Vegetables: Dice and saute the classic mirepoix mix of onion, carrot, and celery. Keep them slightly large for a hearty, easy-to-eat soup for babies. Mince fresh garlic for extra flavor.
- Chicken broth: Use low sodium chicken stock from the grocery store or simmer a whole chicken with different vegetables and herbs to make a big pot of homemade stock.
- Diced chicken: Diced tender bits of chicken can be easier for babies to eat than really long pieces of shredded chicken. You can either use leftover rotisserie chicken or gently boil chicken breasts in water.
- Uncooked pasta: Use a large, easy-to-grab noodle like fusilli or rotini. Feel free to use whole wheat, regular, or gluten free noodles depending on your dietary preferences.
- Parsley: Add freshly minced parsley as an optional garnish for a little extra color.
How to Make Chicken Noodle Soup for Baby
- In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add in the onion and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes or until translucent.
- Add in the carrots and celery and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Pour in the chicken broth. Adjust heat to high and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Next, add the chicken and pasta and cook for another 10-15 minutes, or until vegetables are soft and pasta has cooked through. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley, if desired.
- Allow soup to cool slightly and serve. Garnish with finely chopped parsley, if desired
Keep scrolling to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
RECIPE TIPS
- If the soup has been sitting for a while, the noodles will absorb some of the liquid. You may wish to add more broth, or cook the noodles separately and add them in just before serving if preparing the soup in advance.
- Cut the vegetables into small bite sized pieces. It not only helps them cook faster, but it also makes the veggies more kid-friendly and easier to chew.
- For super easy prep, use leftover chicken or dice up the meat from a rotisserie chicken.
Recipe FAQs
Babies can begin eating soup as young as 6 months, so right when they start eating solid foods. However, we typically recommend pureeing it or spoon feeding the soup to them, as your baby hasn’t really figured out how to handle soft noodles wriggling around in a bowl of broth yet. Babies are better able to handle chicken noodle soup around 9-12 months of age.Â
Yes, but keep a few things in mind. Store-bought soups typically have a high amount of sodium, which isn’t recommended for a baby. That’s why it’s recommended that you prepare your own chicken noodle soup so that you can control the sodium level.
In terms of serving the soup, there are a few options. You can place the components of the soup (i.e veggies, noodles, chicken) on their tray for babies to feed themselves if they’ve started to develop their pincer grip. Then simply pour the broth into a sippy cup for them to drink along the way. Or, you can spoon feed them the soup. Always keep a close eye on your little one to avoid choking.
Yes, absolutely! You can easily make homemade soups for your babies. This is a great way to use higher quality ingredients and to reduce the sodium content, as most store-bought soups have a ton of salt. Â Be sure to adjust the consistency of the soup and the size of the ingredients based on your baby’s motor development.
For example, really young babies should be served pureed soups as they won’t have the dexterity to handle broth with lots of pieces. Older babies can be served noodles and vegetables, but cut the noodles into small bite-sized pieces if they’re on the larger side for easier eating.
Storage Guidelines
- Allow leftover chicken noodle soup to cool at room temperature for a maximum of two hours, then store the soup in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat in a small saucepan until fully warmed.
- Although you can freeze chicken noodle soup, the noodles will become very plump after thawing. It’s best to store the cooked noodles separately if you’re making this soup for leftovers.
Serving Suggestions
Serve a bowl of chicken noodle soup either on its own or with these yummy sides:
- Black Bean and Cheese Quesadilla
- Dinner rolls
- Crackers
- Grilled cheese sandwich
- Crusty bread
Recipe Variations
- Try a different noodle: Use thick egg noodles for soft, plump noodles your babies can hold with their hands. Pastina noodles are so much fun for older kids!
- Add lemon juice: A little fresh lemon juice really brightens up any pot of soup.
- Slow cooker chicken noodle soup: Saute the vegetables like normal, but then add all of the ingredients to the crock pot on low for 8 hours. Add the noodles halfway through.
- Creamy chicken noodle soup: Either add a 1/4 cup of heavy cream or make a cornstarch slurry to give your soup a creamy texture.
- Add more veggies: This soup would be great with even more fresh vegetables like sweet potato, zucchini, green onion, green beans, spinach, and more.
More Similar Recipes
- Soup Recipes for Toddlers
- Vegetable Noodle Soup Recipe
- Seashell Soup
- Roasted Carrot Pasta Sauce
- Pumpkin Soup for Baby
- Green Pasta Sauce Recipe
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Easy Chicken Noodle Soup for Babies and Toddlers
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 large carrot peeled and finely chopped about 1 cup diced
- 2 stalks celery finely chopped about 3/4 cup diced
- 6-8 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth homemade or store-bought
- 1 1/2 cups finely diced chicken about 2 small chicken breasts
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked fusilli or rotini noodles whole wheat, regular or gluten free
- Garnish with finely chopped parsley if desired
Instructions
- In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add in the onion and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes or until translucent.
- Add in the carrots and celery and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Pour in the chicken broth. Adjust heat to high and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 25 minutes.
- Next, add the chicken and pasta and cook for another 10-15 minutes, or until vegetables are soft and pasta has cooked through. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley, if desired.
- Allow soup to cool slightly and serve.
Notes
- If the soup has been sitting for a while, the noodles will absorb some of the liquid. You may wish to add more broth, or cook the noodles separately and add them in just before serving if preparing the soup in advance.
- Cut the vegetables into small bite sized pieces. It not only helps them cook faster, but it also makes the veggies more kid-friendly and easier to chew.
- For super easy prep, use leftover chicken or dice up the meat from a rotisserie chicken.
Making this tonight! I forgot to get garlic, could I use some garlic powder?
Sure, that should work! Or you could skip the garlic, but it might not be quite as flavorful. Hope you enjoy the soup!
Made this tonight and it was a hit!
Yay!! So happy it was a winner 🙂 Thanks so much for returning to leave a rating and review!