Here is a recipe everyone should have in their kitchen: Classic Chicken Soup. We all know it as comforting, cozy, magical chicken soup for the soul to eat when we’re not feeling well… an immunity boost. And it’s also a soup that’s a cold weather favorite. The best part is that it’s incredibly easy to make too. Turn it into chicken noodle soup, if you’d like!
Ingredients Needed:
- Chicken: Buy a 4 to 5 pound whole chicken for this soup recipe.
- Chicken Broth: Some chicken soup recipes direct you to add a chicken and veggies to a pot of water and call it a day. But in this recipe, we’re going to be slow simmering the whole chicken in chicken broth. Imagine how delicious that broth is going to be. It’s like an intense flavored chicken broth!
- Vegetables: You’ll need onion, carrots, celery, garlic and parsnips.
- Fresh Herbs: Fresh parsley and fresh dill are the best herbs to use for classic chicken soup!
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
How to make Classic Chicken Soup:
The complete, printable recipe is at the bottom of this post.
Rinse off your chicken and pull out any of the inside parts and toss them. Put the chicken into a pot and add the chicken broth. If the broth does not cover the chicken, just add some water to the pot until it’s covered. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for two hours. Then you will remove the chicken to a cutting board and let it cool off. Skim any fat off the top of the broth (or strain it for a clean, smooth broth).
Add the veggies to the broth, bring it to a boil and then reduce to a simmer again. The veggies should take about 20 minutes to cook. Stir in the fresh herbs. Add salt and pepper. Shred the chicken, and stir it into the broth. It’s done!
Recipe Tips:
- Don’t add the vegetables to the broth along with the chicken or they’ll be mushy after two hours of simmering.
- Use fresh thyme in place of fresh dill.
- You can choose to add both white and dark meat to this classic chicken soup, or you can use one or the other.
- Want more flavor in your chicken soup? Add more salt or a little bit of freshly squeezed lemon juice.
- Change up some of the vegetable choices. Add peas, chopped zucchini or even a little finely chopped potato.
- Add your favorite pasta to turn it into chicken noodle soup.
- Store this soup in a sealed container for 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator. It will also keep for 3 months in the freezer.
What you’ll love about this recipe:
- It’s very easy to make, and it’s even easier to eat!
- You will love dipping King’s Hawaiian Rolls into this soup (that’s a tip from my son). Trust him!
- It’s going to make your kitchen smell pretty amazing.
Here are a few more chicken soup recipes you may enjoy:
Classic Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 pound whole chicken
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 3 large carrots, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 stalks celery, finely chopped
- 1 medium garlic clove, minced
- 1 large parsnip, peeled and finely chopped (optional)
- 2 heaping tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- ½ tablespoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- noodles (optional!)
Instructions
- Rinse the chicken and remove the inside parts. Place the chicken in a large stockpot, add the chicken broth, and then add enough water to cover the chicken. Bring the chicken in broth to a boil, if there is visible fat, skim it and discard. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the chicken is tender, about 2 hours.
- Remove the chicken from the broth to a cutting board and let it rest until it's cool enough to handle. Skim the top of the broth, or run the broth through a strainer to get rid of anything floating around. Then add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic and parsnip to the broth. Bring back to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook the veggies until tender (about 20 minutes). Shred the chicken apart, then add back to the soup. Stir in the parsley and dill. Taste and add salt and pepper. If you want noodles in the soup, add them to the broth, bring to a boil again and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes (or until the noodles are tender).
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you take that chicken and roast it ( since it’s going to be boiled too, it needn’t be cooked through) to brown up and add lots of flavor. Cut it in half and flip once when it browns up, you could even do that in a large fry pan. PS remember to pour in the drippings too, you can pull the grease off later.
does this recipe freeze well?
I don’t see why it wouldn’t… I actually put my leftovers in the freezer 🙂 The only thing you’ll probably have to do when you defrost it later is to add a can of chicken broth to it.
Lori,
Your son is lucky to have an understanding Mom. I bet this soup put him on the path to recovery.
Annamaria