You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to make this Homemade Chicken Soup Recipe from scratch! And you’ll discover just how much more delicious the homemade version is; not to mention, it’s packed with tons of 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.
Homemade Chicken Soup Recipe
Every time I make Homemade Chicken Soup, 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!
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!
Pro Tip: According to my mom, there’s no cutting corners! If you want the best Homemade Chicken Soup Recipe, you need to start with a whole chicken.
Making this soup with a whole chicken lets you build on the flavor, and it yields a rich, nutrient-dense broth.
Ingredients for Chicken Soup From Scratch
Chicken Stock:
- Whole, raw organic chicken, cleaned and giblets removed
- Organic yellow onion
- Garlic
- Organic celery ribs
- Fresh organic thyme
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Bay leaf
- Water
Chicken Soup:
- Chicken Stock
- Organic carrots
- Organic celery
- Yellow onion
- Garlic
- Cooked, chopped chicken
- Salt
- Black pepper
Pro Tip: For a gorgeous golden-colored chicken stock, add organic yellow onion peels!
How to Make This Homemade Chicken Soup Recipe
There are two general steps to making this soup:
- Make the chicken stock (you’ll boil a whole chicken, so you’re simultaneously cooking the chicken for the soup), and
- 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. Add the cooked, chopped chicken at the end when the vegetables are tender just to heat the chicken through.
How Do You Make Flavorful Soup?
I have a few tips for making a really flavorful soup:
- Start with a whole chicken! Use it to make the chicken stock that goes into the soup. This is where the depth of flavor comes in.
- 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!
- 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, Livestrong, and SFGate.)
More Homemade Soup Recipes to Try:
Did you make this recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment below because I love hearing from you! You can also tag @anediblemosaic on social media. To stay up-to-date FOLLOW ME on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Xoxo, Faith
Homemade Chicken Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Chicken Stock:
- 4 pound whole organic chicken cleaned and giblets removed
- 1 organic yellow onion unpeeled and quartered
- 4 large cloves organic garlic unpeeled and cracked
- 2 organic celery ribs quartered
- 4 sprigs fresh organic thyme
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bay leaf
- 6 ½ cups water
Chicken Soup:
- Chicken Stock you just made plus water to make it 8 cups
- 1 pound organic carrots sliced
- 1 stalk organic celery about 8 to 10 ribs, sliced
- 2 yellow onions diced
- 8 cloves garlic minced or crushed
- 4 to 5 cups cooked chopped chicken
- Salt to taste
- Black pepper to taste
- Fresh herbs such as dill or parsley, for garnish
- Fresh lemon wedges for garnish
Instructions
For the Chicken Stock:
- Add all ingredients to a 5-quart soup pot or Dutch oven.
- Bring to a boil, and then cover the pot, turn the heat down slightly so it doesn’t boil over, and cook 90 minutes.
- Cool, and then remove the chicken and strain the liquid through a fine mesh sieve. You should have at least 1 liter of chicken stock. To make this Chicken Soup, you’ll need 2 liters (about 8 cups) of liquid, so add enough water to the chicken stock so you have 8 cups.
- Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, pull the meat off and chop it into large chunks to use in this soup.
- Save the carcass (the skin, bones, fat, any meat that’s stuck to the bones) to make chicken bone broth (or freeze them to make bone broth later).
For the Chicken Soup:
- Add the Chicken Stock and enough water to make 8 cups total to a 5-quart soup pot or Dutch oven. Add the carrots, celery, onions, and garlic. Bring to a boil, and then cover the pot, turn the heat down slightly so it doesn’t boil over, and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Add the chicken and let it cook 2 minutes to warm up the chicken, and then remove the soup from the heat. Don’t stir it too much, or the chicken will shred.
- Taste and add salt and black pepper if desired.
- Serve with fresh herbs and lemon wedges if desired.
Faith's Tips
- Net Carbs: 7g per serving
- For a gorgeous golden-colored chicken stock, add organic yellow onion peels!
- 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.
- Fast Version: My mom would kill me for saying this, but if it’s all you have time for, the end result will still be better than soup from a can! In a real pinch, you can use store-bought chicken stock stock and a rotisserie chicken.
How to Make This Soup in the Instant Pot
- Add the chicken stock ingredients to an Instant Pot. Reduce the amount of water to 3 cups and keep everything else the same. Cook on "Manual, High Pressure" for 6 minutes for every 1 pound of chicken. So, our 4 pound whole chicken will need to cook for 24 minutes.
- Let the pot naturally release its pressure for 15 minutes, and then vent the steam.
- Remove the chicken from the Instant Pot and chop it. Strain the liquid and add enough water to get 8 cups. Or if using leftover chicken or turkey, use 8 cups of chicken stock.
- Add the 8 cups of liquid along with the carrot, celery, onion, and garlic to the Instant Pot. Cook on "Manual, High Pressure" for 2 minutes. Once it's done cooking, vent the steam. (If you want to add noodles, add them along with the vegetables. If you do add noodles, you might need to add more chicken stock later because they tend to absorb a lot of liquid.)
- Once the steam is vented, stir in the chopped chicken, place the lid on the pot, and let it sit for 2 minutes to warm the chicken.
- Serve.
Nutrition
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links to products I believe in, which means that even though it doesn’t cost you anything extra, I will receive a small amount of money from the sale of these items. Thank you for helping to support An Edible Mosaic!
Deborah says
My last review should have read “Excellent Recipe”not Eccentric” recipe. Even my non-keto family members enjoy these biscuits.
Deborah says
Eccentric recipe! Even my non-keto family members enjoy these biscuits.