CopyCat Panera Bread Chicken Noodle Soup

Copycat Panera Bread Chicken Noodle Soup is cozy, comforting, and full of homestyle flavor. With tender chicken, hearty noodles, and fresh vegetables simmered in a savory broth, it’s the perfect recipe to warm you up. Simple to make with everyday ingredients, this soup is a must-have for chilly nights or when you’re craving a classic bowl of comfort.

Love More Soup Recipes? Try My Broccoli Potato Soup or this Chicken Tortilla Soup next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This soup is versatile, easy, and full of comfort. You can make it with rotisserie or leftover chicken for quick prep, and it delivers the same crave-worthy flavor as Panera’s classic. Ready in just about 20 minutes, it’s the perfect weeknight dinner that’s simple, hearty, and always family-approved.

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Ingredient List

For the Soup Base:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 4 cups chicken broth (I love using low-sodium so I can control the saltiness)
• 2 cups water (add more as needed for your perfect consistency)
• 4 carrots, peeled and diced into bite-size pieces
• 2 stalks celery, diced into bite-size pieces
• ½ medium onion, diced

For the Perfect Seasoning:

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf (don’t skip this – it’s the secret!)
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt (or fresh minced garlic if you prefer)
• 1 teaspoon salt (adjust to your taste)
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper (freshly ground is amazing here)

For the Hearty Finish:

• 2 cups egg noodles (uncooked – wide egg noodles work beautifully)

Substitution Notes: Rotisserie chicken works great if you’re lazy like me sometimes – just add it last 15 minutes. My sister went vegetarian last year so I use vegetable broth and white beans for her. Brother has celiac disease, those Barilla gluten-free noodles work fine but cook them separate and add at the end.

Why These Ingredients Work

Took me three ruined batches to figure out chicken needs gentle heat. First time I cranked it up high, chicken turned into rubber bands – gross. Carrots get sweet when cooked right, celery keeps some bite, onions make everything smell good.

That bay leaf makes a huge difference. Made one batch without it, tasted flat and boring. My mom always used bay leaves in her soup but I thought it was old-fashioned nonsense. Turns out mom was right again.

Essential Tools and Equipment

• Large soup pot or Dutch oven (for stovetop method)
• Slow cooker (for crockpot method)
• Sharp knife for dicing vegetables
• Cutting board
• Two forks for shredding chicken
• Ladle for serving
• Measuring cups and spoons

How To Make Panera Bread Chicken Noodle Soup

Stovetop Method (My Personal Favorite!)

Start with vegetables

Put some olive oil in your pot, throw in chopped carrots, celery, and onion. Cook about 4 minutes until they smell good and soften up.

Add chicken and liquid

Drop chicken breasts in, pour broth over everything. Add thyme, bay leaf, garlic salt, regular salt, and pepper. Add water, turn heat up until it bubbles.

Cook the chicken

When it’s boiling, turn heat to medium-low, cover it, let it cook until chicken hits 165°F. Takes me about 18 minutes but depends on thickness.

Shred chicken

Take chicken out, shred with two forks, put it back in pot.

Add noodles

Put in raw noodles, cook until they’re done but not mushy. Take out that bay leaf or someone will bite into it.

Slow Cooker Method

Put everything in

Everything except noodles goes in the slow cooker. Easy.

Wait

Low for 7 hours or high for 4 hours. House smells incredible, mailman asked me what I was cooking yesterday.

Add noodles

Half hour before eating, take out chicken, shred it, put it back, add noodles, cook on high until soft.

Remove bay leaf

Don’t forget this step. My father-in-law bit into one once and complained for an hour.

You Must Know

Don’t add noodles too early or you’ll ruin it: Made this mistake my first attempt. Noodles turned to complete slime. If you’re making ahead, keep noodles separate, add fresh ones when reheating.

Taste before serving: Every broth tastes different. I always add more salt at the end because store-bought broth is weird sometimes.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

• Cheat with rotisserie: Buy pre-cooked chicken from grocery store, warm it up last 15 minutes
• Prep Sunday hack: Cut all vegetables night before, stick in fridge in container
• Mom’s wine trick: Splash of white wine when cooking vegetables makes it taste fancy
• Leftover fix: Old noodles get disgusting when reheated, cook new ones instead

Flavor Variations / Suggestions

• Add spinach: Handful of baby spinach last minute, my teenager actually eats it this way
• Fresh dill: Stir in chopped dill before serving, tastes like my Polish grandmother made it
• Winter version: Dice up potatoes with other vegetables for more filling
• Summer light: Use zucchini spirals instead of noodles, add them last 5 minutes

Make-Ahead Options

Sunday prep life saver right here. Make everything but skip noodles, keep in fridge 3 days max. When I want soup, just heat it up and cook noodles right in there.

Freezes good too but again, no noodles. Learned this after wasting a whole batch with gross mushy noodles. Now I freeze the base, thaw overnight, reheat, add fresh noodles. Works every time.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

Don’t rush cooking the chicken or it gets tough and chewy. Made that mistake trying to speed things up when kids were whining about dinner.

Soup too thin? Take off the lid and let it bubble a few more minutes. Too thick? Add more broth or water until it looks right.

Serving Suggestions

I use whatever bread we have – usually sourdough from Costco. Kids like those little oyster crackers but my husband makes grilled cheese every time. Can’t blame him, classic combo.

Good for Sunday lunch when everyone’s around, or Wednesday dinner when I need something easy that feels special. Always put parsley on top because it looks nicer for photos.

How to Store Your Panera Bread Chicken Noodle Soup

Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Remember my tip about storing noodles separately if you want them to maintain their texture!

Freezer: The soup base (without noodles) freezes beautifully for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

Reheating: Warm gently on the stovetop over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. Add a splash of broth if needed to loosen it up.

I hope this becomes a new go-to in your kitchen – I have a feeling it’s going to be requested on repeat in your house just like it is in mine!

Allergy Information

This recipe contains gluten (from egg noodles) and may contain soy (check your broth label). For gluten-free versions, substitute with your favorite GF noodles. For dairy-free, this recipe is naturally dairy-free as written. Always check your broth ingredients if you have specific dietary restrictions.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Is Panera bread chicken noodle soup healthy?

Depends what you mean by healthy. Has protein from chicken, vegetables, but also lots of sodium. My homemade version is probably better because I control the salt and use fresh ingredients instead of whatever preservatives they use.

Can I use chicken thighs instead of breasts?

Yeah, thighs work great. More flavor actually, just takes bit longer to cook through.

Can I make this in Instant Pot?

Sure, use soup setting and add noodles when it’s done cooking for best results.

How do I keep noodles from getting mushy?

Don’t overcook them and store separate if making ahead. This is huge problem with leftover soup.

💬 Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and rating below! I’d love to hear how your copycat Panera soup turned out and any variations you tried.