Best Easy Homemade Chicken Soup Recipe from Scratch

By Emma Williams

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Chicken Soup for the Soul; Homemade Chicken Soup Recipe

When we think of comfort food, we think of a homemade chicken soup recipe, when we think of medicine, we think of a homemade chicken soup recipe. A good chicken soup recipe may be passed down from generation to generation. If you have a chicken soup recipe that is near and dear to your heart and to the roots of your own family tree, I’m so glad! But if you don’t have your own tried and true homemade chicken soup recipe, I have one for you.

Grandpa Jim’s Famous Chicken Soup

It was warm. A sticky, humid warmth – the kind that made you feel lazy. Nothing about that afternoon made you feel like it was a good idea to eat chicken soup. 

That morning had started out crisp and delightful, one of the first days of the year that didn’t feel decidedly like winter. It was bread day, so I slipped out of bed carefully, not to wake my husband or baby, and tiptoed to the kitchen to preheat the oven and prep my dough. I opened the windows – perhaps a controversial thing to do on a morning that was technically still wintertime, but there was something that felt like freedom and childhood about open windows in the morning. You could hear the birds waking up and feel the breeze; it was like waking up on the hard, bumpy ground in a sleeping bag. Delicious. It was easy to deeply drink in all the wonders of the world on a morning such as that.

But mornings such as that often led to fickle afternoons that turned into Indian summers. As lovely and sweet as those warm afternoons outside were in and of themselves, it felt a little less gracious in the heart of a kitchen that had its oven set at 450 all morning. It didn’t feel like it was shaping up to be a chicken soup for dinner kind of evening. Maybe it was the humidity making me feel lazy, or just being in the first trimester that was getting to me, or maybe just maybe it was because I had made a beautiful loaf of sourdough bread that just wouldn’t be the same tomorrow. That told me we were in too deep to change plans now, so chicken soup it was.

Chicken Soup: The Taste of Nostolgia

I remember as a child that I never looked forward to soup nights. Maybe it was because I associated it with being sick, or maybe it was because I was a notoriously picky eater and I hated seeing all the ingredients of my meal swimming around together, but regardless of the reason, I disliked it, and I assumed my children would have a similar reaction as well. I hoped that the thick slices of warm sourdough and melted butter would help appease them. But much to my surprise and delight, they all happily scarfed it down, some even asking for seconds. God is good.

I had been aching for some of my dad’s chicken soup that entire first trimester, especially on days when I was making sourdough, but I was always out of celery, or carrots, or chicken… the list goes on.

But I remember one day when my husband grabbed some cans of soup at the store and I tried a bite of his chicken noodle and looked at him confused and disappointed. “That’s not what chicken soup is supposed to taste like,” I said. He laughed. “Show me then,” he said. “What is chicken soup supposed to taste like?”

So, dear readers, for anyone who cares to know, this is what chicken soup is supposed to taste like.

Grandpa Jim’s Famous Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken

2 medium onions

3 potatoes

7 medium carrots

4 celery stalks (and celery leaves!)

1 bunch fresh parsley

1 bulb garlic

Salt

Black Pepper

Garlic powder

Bay leaves 

Simple ingredients add the best flavor.  

Directions:

Fill a Dutch oven, a large stock pot or large soup pot with cold water, enough water to cover the raw chicken as well as the chopped vegetables.

Cut the onions and potatoes into eighths and slice the carrots and celery stalks into bite-sized slices to your liking. Cut up celery leaves and tops and chop up fresh parsley. Peel and crush 2/3 of the garlic cloves but leave them whole. Peel and dice up the remaining 1/3 of garlic cloves.

Put the cut-up potatoes and carrots into the water and set on the stove to boil.

While you wait for the water to boil, prepare the chicken. Wash your chicken and cut it into large pieces by cutting off the leg quarters (the bone-in chicken thighs and legs) and then cutting the remaining body (chicken breasts and carcass) in half.

Once the water begins to boil, place chicken parts as well as all the remaining ingredients to the pot.

Cook for about 30-45 minutes until the potatoes will take a deep poke from a fork. At this point, you can use a slotted spoon to remove the potatoes from the pot and set aside. You can leave the potato in if that is your personal preference, but they are mostly added for adding body to the soup broth, but if you choose to leave them you will have a slightly more creamy chicken soup as opposed to a more classic chicken soup.

Continue to cook the soup until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken pieces and set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove chicken from bones and chop or shred into bite-sized pieces. Add half the chicken back into the pot and save the rest for a future meal, or for a heartier soup, add all the meat back into the soup. Add salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.

At this point, you can cut up the potatoes into chunks and add back to the soup or save for a future meal. The potatoes’ main purpose is to add body to the chicken stock.

Mangia!

Serve as is or add cooked white rice and be sure to enjoy with warm bread! It pairs perfectly is fresh sourdough bread. It’s the ultimate comfort food. Homemade chicken broth is the most flavorful broth, and you will definitely be hooked. There’s no going back to storebought after this, it’ll become one of your go-to recipes. 

Leftovers (the best part) can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for later that week or in the freezer (in a freezer-safe container) for a future sick or lazy day.

Bonus Meal Recipe Idea with Leftover Chicken

Bonus meal: If you choose to only add half the chicken meat back into the soup, you can use the remaining leftover chicken and the cooked potatoes for an easy dinner the next day! Make mashed potatoes out of boiled potatoes and make gravy (either white or brown gravy works) and serve gravy over mashed potatoes and shredded chicken. Serve with a vegetable of your choice (make it fancy by adding fresh herbs for garnish or leave it super simple). Use the time you saved in front of the stove by playing a card game with family or curled up on the couch with a book. Remember, saving time somewhere means extra time for something else; use it for something special and intentional.

*It is best not to use pre-cooked chicken or a store-bought rotisserie chicken if you want the best flavor and most nutrient dense bone broth.

For more recopies and meal inspiration click here! Let’s Fast and Feast together..

AMDG

Emma

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