Chicken Corn Soup
By Emily Carter ·
Published
Quick answer
Simmer chicken thighs in broth with onion, carrots and celery until tender, shred the meat, then return it to the pot with sweet corn and egg noodles. Simmer until the noodles are tender, season well, and finish with fresh parsley. Makes about 3 quarts, serving 6.
Chicken Corn Soup is Pennsylvania Dutch comfort in a bowl. Tender shredded chicken, sweet corn, soft vegetables and egg noodles in a light golden broth that tastes like someone took their time, even though it comes together in about an hour. It is the soup for cold nights, sick days and second helpings.
Why you’ll love it
- One pot, about an hour, and dinner is done.
- Bone in thighs make a rich broth with no extra work.
- Sweet corn and tender noodles make it filling without heaviness.
- Tastes even better the next day, after the flavors settle.
- Simple pantry ingredients, nothing fancy to buy.
Ingredient notes
Bone in chicken thighs: the right cut for soup. They stay juicy through simmering, shred easily, and give the broth richness that boneless breasts cannot match.
Sweet corn: fresh in summer, frozen the rest of the year. It adds sweetness and color, and it holds up in the broth without turning mushy.
Egg noodles: wide or medium, cooked right in the pot. They soak up broth flavor and add just enough starch to give the soup body.
Carrots, celery and onion: the classic base trio, diced small so they melt into every spoonful. Cook them first in butter for a sweeter, rounder broth.
Fresh parsley: stirred in at the end, never cooked to death. It brightens a rich soup and makes each bowl look as good as it tastes.
The gentle simmer rule that makes or breaks it
Two rules decide chicken corn soup, and both are about heat. First, simmer gently, never boil hard. A rolling boil clouds the broth, toughens the chicken and turns tender vegetables to mush. A lazy simmer, with just a few bubbles breaking the surface, keeps everything clear and tender. Second, season at the end. Corn and noodles drink up salt as they cook, so a soup that tasted perfect at the start tastes flat at the end. Taste again before serving, adjust the salt and pepper, and the soup wakes right up.
Variations
- Rivel soup: skip the noodles and drop small flour and egg rivels into the simmering soup for the last 10 minutes, the traditional way.
- Creamy chicken corn soup: stir in 1/2 cup of heavy cream at the end for a richer, silkier broth.
- Spicy chicken corn soup: add a diced jalapeno with the vegetables and a pinch of red pepper flakes for gentle heat.
- Chicken corn chowder: add diced potatoes with the vegetables and finish with cream for a thicker, heartier bowl.
What we learned testing it
- Bone in thighs beat boneless breasts clearly. The breast batch turned dry and stringy, while the thigh batch stayed juicy and shred easily.
- Cooking the noodles in the pot beat cooking them separately. The in pot batch had a slightly fuller broth, while the separate batch tasted thinner.
- Fresh parsley at the end beat dried parsley in the side by side test. The fresh batch tasted bright and clean, while the dried batch tasted dusty.
Read how we test recipes.
Chicken Corn Soup
Makes about 3 quarts · 1 hr 5 min total · Easy
Ingredients
Equipment
Large soup pot or Dutch oven · Cutting board · Sharp knife · Tongs · Ladle
Instructions
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Simmer the chicken and vegetables
Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and celery with a pinch of salt and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add the chicken thighs, broth and bay leaf, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook for 25 minutes, skimming foam as it rises.
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Shred the tender chicken
Lift the chicken out with tongs and let it cool just enough to handle. Pull the meat from the bones and shred it into bite sized pieces, discarding the skin and bones and the bay leaf. The meat should fall apart easily at this point.
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Add corn and noodles
Return the shredded chicken to the pot with the corn kernels. Bring back to a gentle simmer and add the egg noodles, stirring so they do not clump. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, until the noodles are tender and the corn is sweet.
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Season and serve with parsley
Taste the soup and season with salt and pepper until it tastes bright and balanced. Ladle into warm bowls, shower with fresh parsley, and serve right away with bread or crackers on the side.
Notes
- Use bone in thighs, not boneless breasts. Thighs stay tender through a long simmer and give the broth body, while breasts dry out and turn stringy.
- Simmer gently, never boil hard. A rolling boil clouds the broth and toughens the chicken, while a gentle simmer keeps both clear and tender.
- Cook the noodles in the soup, not separately. They release a little starch that gives the broth just enough body without any thickener.
- Season at the end, not just at the start. Corn and noodles soak up salt as they cook, so taste again before serving and adjust.
- No protein lab numbers are claimed here; this is a home style soup built on chicken, corn and noodles in a light broth.
Nutrition per serving
Nutrition information is being calculated.
Substitutions
- Bone in chicken thighs
- Use a whole cut up chicken, or bone in chicken legs, simmered the same way until tender, then shredded.
- Egg noodles
- Use rivels, small flour dumplings, the traditional Pennsylvania Dutch way, dropped into the simmering soup for the last 10 minutes.
- Fresh corn
- Use frozen corn in the same amount, added straight from the freezer, or canned corn, drained, for a pantry version.
Storage and make-ahead
Refrigerate chicken corn soup in an airtight container for up to 4 days. The noodles will soften as they sit, so add a splash of broth when reheating. Freeze the soup without noodles for up to 3 months, then add fresh noodles when reheating.
Frequently asked questions
What is chicken corn soup?
Chicken corn soup is a Pennsylvania Dutch classic: chicken simmered in a light golden broth with sweet corn, vegetables and egg noodles or rivels. It is simple, comforting and filling, the kind of soup that shows up at family gatherings and church suppers.
Can I use chicken breasts instead of thighs?
You can, but thighs work better here. Breasts dry out in a long simmer, while bone in thighs stay tender and shred beautifully. If you use breasts, simmer them gently and pull them as soon as they reach temperature.
What are rivels in chicken corn soup?
Rivels are tiny flour and egg dumplings, the traditional Pennsylvania Dutch noodle for this soup. You rub flour, egg and salt together into small lumps and drop them into the simmering soup for the last 10 minutes.
Can I freeze chicken corn soup?
Yes, but freeze it without the noodles for the best texture. Noodles turn mushy in the freezer, so freeze the broth, chicken and corn, then cook fresh noodles in the reheated soup.
How do I keep the broth clear?
Simmer gently and skim any foam that rises in the first 15 minutes. A hard boil clouds the broth and toughens the meat, so keep the heat low and steady.
