This recipe for Chicken Noodle Soup for Kids is the perfect kid-friendly soup. It is full of flavor but not full of ingredients that kids hate. No onion, no garlic, no celery, and no green stuff! It is a homemade chicken noodle soup, with a few adjustments that make it a kid friendly dinner, perfect for your picky eaters.
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It will be the dinner your kids will ask for again and again, and eat without crying.
Isn’t that what we all want, no tears at dinner.
Recipe Inspiration
I have the most wonderful niece, Ashley. She is the kind of girl you want your younger girls to look up to.
She is 21, however she eats like she is 8, sorry Ash♥. She likes a strict diet of carbs with a little sugar mixed in. She loves being in the kitchen and learning how to cook, which you know I love and am more than willing to show her everything I know.
So, over the Holidays I had her make my Chicken Noodle Soup recipe. She made it perfectly! I thought it would be her most favorite soup recipe ever. However, when she sat down to eat, she picked around the celery, chicken, and onions. She only wanted to eat the thick egg noodles (which, btw, are awesome), the carrots, and broth.
That got me thinking…. most kids like a soup that only has the carrots, broth, noodles, and chicken. So why not create a kid-friendly chicken soup recipe that has a good amount of flavor, and that the kids don’t have to pick around the things they hate.
And so my Chicken Noodle Soup for Kids recipe was born! I hope your kids love it.
Thanks for the recipe inspo, Ashley ♥
What Ingredients to Use in Chicken Noodle Soup for Kids
Above ALL: If you love a quiet night and a peaceful dinner, for the love of God use the noodles that your kids like to eat! I know that all pasta tastes the same, but I don’t think my kids do. If I make angel hair pasta when they want penne you would think I was trying to poison them. The struggle is real.
Noodles: In this recipe I recommend using Kluski Noodles, which are very similar to the noodles in canned chicken noodle soup, or Spaetzle Swabian Egg Noodles (I get them at Aldi and they are the BEST).
You can also use Reames frozen egg noodles, if your kids love the thick noodle and the egg-y pasta flavor (It’s what my niece prefers). If you use the Reames frozen noodles, just up your cooking time to 20 minutes.
Of course you can also use a tiny star shaped pasta, called Pastina, or wagon wheels, or ditalini, whatever your kids will like and eat.
Chicken: I always recommend buying a rotisserie chicken, cutting off the two breasts and dicing them up for your soup. The chicken has a lot of flavor and it is super easy. (Don’t forget to save the carcass to make This Homemade Chicken Stock)
You can also use poached chicken, roasted shredded chicken, or this All Purpose Instant Pot Chicken recipe.
Whatever chicken you use, I recommend cutting it into a small dice so your kids won’t complain about large chunks of chicken! So much work for such small human beings!
How to make Chicken Noodle Soup for Kids
First, do not even think about grabbing an onion or garlic. We may want those flavors in the soup, but we do not want our kids to KNOW that flavor is in there. So, we will add the onion and garlic flavors by using powder instead of the real thing. Sneaky! I call them “invisible ingredients”.
- Now, grab those baby carrots that you put into the kids lunches, the one vegetable they will actually eat. Right!?
- Sauté those carrots in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes. Do not let them brown because for God’s sake, you know they will be able to taste that you burned the carrots and then your delicious soup will all of a sudden be hot garbage.
- Next, add all the sneaky seasonings to add flavor, but not too much flavor, we are feeding kids after-all.
- Now pour in the broth and stir in the chicken base. Increase the heat to medium/medium-high and bring the soup to a simmer.
- Now serve a bowl of this soup to your kids with confidence!
I hope you give this recipe for Chicken Noodle Soup for Kids a try in your kitchen.
More Kid Friendly Food
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Did you make this recipe?
I would love to hear your review, especially if you have tips and tricks to add! Pop down to the comment section and connect with me
Chicken Noodle Soup for Kids
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 cup baby carrots, diced - (can also use whole peeled carrots)
- ¼ teaspoon each: garlic powder, onion powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt, celery salt, turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon chicken base - we like Better Than Bouillon
- 32 oz chicken broth
- 1 cup cooked chicken, diced small
- 1 cup Kluski Noodles (up to 1 ½ cups) - Can use other types of noodles, just adjust the cooking time for your noodle type
Instructions
- In a large pot, over medium/medium-low heat, sauté the carrots in the oil for 3-4 minutes.2 teaspoon olive oil, 1 cup baby carrots, diced
- Stir in the garlic powder, onion powder, salt, celery salt, and turmeric powder. Pour in the chicken broth and add the chicken base, stir to combine.¼ teaspoon each: garlic powder, onion powder, ⅛ teaspoon salt, celery salt, turmeric powder, 32 oz chicken broth, 1 teaspoon chicken base
- Turn the heat up to medium/medium-high, and bring the pot to a simmer. Add the noodles and chicken, cook for 12-15 minutes, until the noodles are cooked thru.Taste for additional seasoning.1 cup cooked chicken, diced small, 1 cup Kluski Noodles (up to 1 ½ cups)
Caitlin
My 20 month old INHALED this. I added fresh onion and garlic to it as well. Definitely a winner!
Susie Weinrich
That is amazing!! Love that the baby loves the onion and garlic too.
Brooke
I’m a picky adult with a huge aversion to the texture of onions. I’ve tried to modify other recipes but the flavor was never right. This recipe is PERFECT!!! Thank you so much! We just moved to the PNW from Southern California & I needed some cold, rainy day recipes & this is perfect!! Also, in case anyone else is super picky, The Little Potato Co. has a Loaded Potato soup recipe that’s onion free (skip the chive garnish) & is delicious!!
Susie Weinrich
This is so great!!!! There is nothing better than a warm bowl of soup (that you LOVE) on a cold night. And great tip
about the potato soup recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Becky
My kids LOVE this recipe! We sub egg noodles for whole wheat macaroni noodles due to an egg allergy and it still tastes great.
Kris
The only soup my pickiest of picky eaters will eat!
MA
Thanks so much! As a sixteen year old who eats like an eight year old no onions and no green stuff was exactly what I was looking for 🙂
Kendall O'Shannessy
8yr old: “This soup is not bad”
5 yr old: “Not bad!?! It’s amaaaazing”
Being that my 8yr old is a fussy, white food with a side of processed junk muncher, this is a very big win for us! Thankyou!
Irene
My kids are very picky eaters. So I was looking for a simple but delicious soup recipe. Easy to make! And I got a complement from my pickiest one – “ this soup is great, I don’t even have to pick anything out!” 😁
Susie Weinrich
YES!!! Perfect, exactly why I published this recipe.
Amanda
This is my families favorite chicken noodle soup. When it’s really cold or when someone gets sick I make this. My husband isn’t a big vegetable eater so he was super excited it didn’t have all the extra stuff. I use Tyson’s already cooked and cubed chicken when I make it. One whole bag added with the carrots and seasonings to get the yummy seasoning on the chicken. I cook the noodle separately and add noodle to a bowl then pour the soup over them. That way the noodles don’t get to mushy, which is a big issue with one of my kids. This recipe has been so great! Thank you for sharing.
Julie Dunn
It was so comforting last night. I used whole wheat noodles. I think the peas would make a great addition. It was super simple to make, and it made the house smell great.
Anna
Absolutely delicious. I will be keeping this recipe. Replaced noodles with rice and it turn out great
Amanda
Made this when my kids got the flu. Everyone loved it. Great taste and they didn’t complain about to many veggies. I used the Tyson grilled chicken that is cut up to pieces. It’s in the frozen area usually near the nuggets. I set it to simmer while I go pick them up from school and add the noodles when I get home. 15 min and soup is on. Serve with crackers or a sandwich. So good!