Homemade Simple Chicken Soup Recipe – Learn the Method For Making This Classic

You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to make this homemade chicken vegetable soup recipe from scratch! And you’ll discover just how much more delicious the homemade version is; not to mention, it’s packed with nutrition.

Growing up, my mom’s homemade chicken noodle soup was one of my favorite comfort foods. It was everything a winter meal should be: hearty, nutritious, and warming from the inside out.

My mom always adds noodles to her soup. However, I skip them here because I think the soup is filling enough without them. And let’s be real, if I’m going to eat carbs, it’s going to be in the form of a croissant or a bagel or something I really consider worth the carbs, lol. But not noodles in my soup!

Pro Tip: If you want to add noodles, cook the noodles to al dente separately before adding them to this soup. Otherwise, if you cook the noodles in the soup it’s easy to overcook them, and it changes the texture of the broth because of the noodles’ starch.

The Best Simple Chicken Soup Recipe

Every time I make chicken soup from scratch, I ask my mom how to make it. It’s super easy to make, but I only make it maybe once or twice a year. And I want to make sure I don’t forget something important from mom’s recipe.

And every single time I ask my mom how to make this, she tells me to start with a whole raw chicken. I always want to cut corners so I ask about rotisserie chicken or chicken breast. And every single time she tells me NO!

Making this soup with a whole chicken lets you build on the flavor, and it yields a rich, nutrient-dense broth.

Ingredients and Substitutions

Chicken Stock Ingredients

• Chicken – To make chicken stock, you’ll need a whole, raw chicken (ideally, look for pasture-raised chicken, and if you can’t find that, then go for organic if possible). We’re using a whole chicken (including the bones, not just the meat) because we’re making chicken stock, not chicken broth. Clean the chicken by removing the excess fat and giblets (such as the heart, liver, gizzard, etc.). Sometimes you’ll find a small pouch in the bird’s cavity that contains the giblets, so make sure to check inside the bird. Experts say to avoid rinsing raw chicken because it can lead to cross-contamination, but if my chicken looks bloody I rinse it (and then clean the sink area with bleach after). (You can read more about washing raw poultry on USDA and decide for yourself what’s best for you.)
• Organic yellow onion – We don’t use just the onion here. For a gorgeous golden-colored chicken stock, we also add organic yellow onion peels to the liquid.
• Garlic – Garlic adds savory depth of flavor. I use organic garlic and leave the peels on to make the stock.
• Celery – You can substitute with celeriac (aka celery root) if you don’t have celery. This adds another layer of flavor to the stock. You can also add a couple carrots as well.
• Fresh herbs – I love adding fresh thyme to chicken stock, but rosemary, marjoram, oregano, and parsley are also delicious.
• Salt and black pepper – Don’t skip on these simple seasonings, especially the salt! They’re what transform an ordinary stock into flavor-packed liquid gold.
• Bay leaf – Dried bay leaves are commonly added to soups, broths, and stocks to give them a little boost of savory complexity. Bay leaves are also frequently made into tea. However, in addition to flavor, bay leaves are also used medicinally to support a healthy immune system (you can read more about the health benefits of bay leaves on WebMD and Flushing Hospital Medical Center.)
• Water – To make stock, we simmer everything in water. I like to use filtered water, but if you have good tap water where you live, go ahead and use that.

Chicken Soup Ingredients

• Chicken stock – First we make the chicken stock, and then we use the liquid and cooked chicken to make a traditional chicken soup.
• Carrot, celery, onion, and garlic – We already used these nutrient-packed vegetables to make our homemade chicken stock, and now we’re chopping up more to add to this chicken vegetable soup recipe.
• Cooked chopped chicken – We use the chicken meat from the whole chicken that we boiled to make the chicken stock. No waste!
• Salt and black pepper – These basic spices elevate the flavor of our soup.

Instructions

There are only two general steps to making this soup.

Step 1: Make the Chicken Stock

In this step we’re boiling a whole chicken, so we’re simultaneously making homemade chicken stock and cooking the chicken for the soup.

1. Add all ingredients to a 5-quart soup pot or Dutch oven.
2. Bring to a boil, and then cover the pot, turn the heat down slightly so it doesn’t boil over, and cook 90 minutes.

Step 2: Make the Stock Into Soup

Once you have a flavorful chicken stock, you can easily make it into soup.

It’s just a matter of chopping vegetables and letting them cook in the stock.

Then add the cooked, chopped chicken at the end when the vegetables are tender just to heat the chicken through.

Tips to Make Flavorful Soup

I have a few tips for making the absolute best flavorful soup:

• Start with a whole chicken. Boil it in water with aromatics to make chicken stock for the soup. Using a whole chicken with the bones in addition to the meat is where the depth of flavor comes in. And then add the cooked chicken to the soup.
• Add aromatics. When you’re cooking the soup, make sure to add aromatics like onion, garlic, and bay leaf. And also add fresh herbs, like rosemary or thyme.
• Don’t skimp on the seasoning. Just because we’re only using salt and black pepper to season our soup doesn’t mean it won’t be packed with flavor. The key to a soup that doesn’t taste bland is to add enough salt.
• Freshen up the flavor at the end. Garnish the soup with more fresh herbs, such as dill or parsley. And a squeeze of fresh lemon juice right before serving brightens it up.

Is Homemade Chicken Soup Good for You?

We’ve all heard that chicken soup is the natural remedy for the common cold, right? Well, it’s so rich with vitamins, minerals, and protein that it’s thought that chicken soup actually does boost your immune system!

I’m not a doctor and if you’re sick you should see a doctor. But a bowl of homemade chicken soup is a great way to nourish yourself. (Read more about chicken soup on UPMC Health Beat and Healthfully.)

More Homemade Soup Recipes to Try

• Borscht
• Broccoli Cheese Soup
• Egg Drop Soup
• Alphabet Soup