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This is the best Chicken Soup Recipe to make when you’re craving simple comfort food or feeling under the weather. Made with bone-in chicken thighs simmered into a flavorful broth and filled with tender onions, carrots, celery, and juicy shredded chicken.
This classic chicken soup is my all-time favorite soup recipe. Much like my homemade chicken noodle soup recipe, this noodle-free version is wholesome, delicious, and filled with zero processed carbohydrates. Whether you make your own broth or purchase pre-made, this wintertime staple is perfect for chilly nights, sore throats, good days, and bad days.
It’s also my family’s favorite.
Filled with onions, carrots, and celery, feel free to add all your favorite vegetables, including leeks, cucumber, parsnips, potatoes, and kale.
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients
1. Chicken: I have prepared this soup using chicken breasts, bone-in skin-on chicken thighs, boneless skinless chicken thighs, a combination of each, and every other combination you can imagine. While there is no “wrong” chicken for chicken soup, if you plan to prepare your own “quick” broth as I explain in this recipe (different from homemade chicken stock or bone broth), I find that skinless bone-in chicken thighs are the best. The broth is flavorful, but not overly fatty, and the chicken remains juicy – unlike chicken breasts, which are prone to drying out from prolonged boiling.
2. Broth: Prepare your own or use your favorite store-bought broth. For this recipe, I simply simmered chicken thighs in water to make the broth base. For heartier broth recipes, check out my homemade chicken stock or beef bone broth recipe.
3. Vegetables: Nearly every country has its own version of chicken soup. As such, each version will look and taste a little different from the next. The most common vegetables, however, include a mixture of onion, celery, and carrots (also known as the mirepoix).
4. Herbs: Keep it simple or go wild, the herbs you choose to flavor your soup are entirely up to you. In this version, I left things super simple and only added a touch of fresh chopped parsley after the soup was finished cooking. Other popular herbs, dried or fresh, include oregano, rosemary, and thyme.
5. Optional: Try adding some anti-inflammatory ingredients, including garlic, ginger, and turmeric. If you’re new to cooking with any of these ingredients, start with a small amount and add more as needed.
How to Make Chicken Soup
1. Make your broth: Since we’re not making chicken stock, this should only take about 30-45 minutes at the most. Simply add the raw chicken thighs to a large stockpot, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the chicken is fully cooked. If you’re short on time, skip this step and use your favorite store-bought chicken stock, and add shredded rotisserie chicken.
2. Cook the vegetables (mirepoix): While you wait for your chicken to finish cooking, cook the vegetables in a separate pot or Dutch oven set over medium heat. Cook the vegetables for 10-15 minutes or until they start to soften. Toward the end, add the salt, black pepper, bay leaves, and garlic (if using).
3. Strain the broth: Once the chicken is fully cooked, carefully remove the chicken from the pot and strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into the same pot containing the vegetables.
4. Shred the chicken once it is cool enough to handle. Do not return the chicken to the pot.
5. Simmer & serve: Simmer for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are fully cooked and tender. In the last 10 minutes, add the shredded chicken and lemon juice and season to taste.
How to Freeze Leftover Chicken Soup
To freeze, allow your soup to cool at room temperature before transferring to the refrigerator to cool completely. Next, transfer to freezer-friendly containers or double-bag in freezer-friendly zip-lock bags. Remove most of the air, leaving just a small amount of space to allow the liquid to expand as it freezes.
- To reheat, allow the soup to thaw in the fridge overnight, then transfer to a pot and cook until heated through.
- Keep frozen for up to 6-8 months.
But what about if you don’t plan to freeze the leftovers? Enjoy within 5 days, thoroughly reheating each time.
How do You Add Flavor to Chicken Soup?
For the best possible flavor, make your own stock or chicken broth using fresh ingredients – ditch the bouillon cubes (most contain MSG). Brown your chicken pieces and add chicken bones, vegetable scraps, a few garlic cloves, and toss in some fresh herbs (fresh dill, fresh thyme, fresh parsley) to the simmering broth.
More Chicken Soup Recipes to Try
- Aguadito de Pollo (Peruvian Chicken Soup)
- Lemon Chicken Soup Recipe
- Chicken Enchilada Soup Recipe (Instant Pot)
- Matzo Ball Soup
- Easy Chicken and Rice Soup Recipe
- Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup Recipe
- Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
- Chicken Vegetable Soup Recipe
Chicken Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs, (about 2 1/2 pounds)
- 8 cups cold water
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 5 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
- 2 small bay leaves
- 1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice, juiced
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley, for serving
Instructions
- Make the chicken broth. Add the chicken thighs and cold water to a large stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Cook for about 30-40 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.8 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs, 8 cups cold water
- Cook the vegetables. While the chicken cooks, heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the carrots and celery and continue cooking for 10-15 minutes, or until the vegetables have softened. Reduce the heat if they begin to brown.1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 large yellow onion, 5 medium carrots, 3 stalks celery
- Add the aromatics. Stir in the garlic, salt, black pepper, and bay leaves. Cook for 1-2 minutes, just until the garlic is fragrant.4 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 2 small bay leaves
- Strain the broth. Remove the cooked chicken from the pot and transfer it to a clean cutting board. Carefully strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer directly into the Dutch oven with the vegetables.
- Simmer the soup. Bring the soup to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for about 30 minutes, or until the carrots and celery are tender.
- Shred the chicken. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the bones and shred or chop it into bite-size pieces. Discard the bones.
- Finish the soup. Return the shredded chicken to the pot during the last 5-10 minutes of cooking, just long enough to heat it through. Remove the bay leaves and stir in the lemon juice. Taste and add additional salt and black pepper as needed.1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- Serve. Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped fresh parsley.2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
Video
Notes
- Chicken: Bone-in, skinless chicken thighs are my favorite for this recipe because they make a flavorful broth while staying tender and juicy. Chicken breasts, leg quarters, or a whole chicken can also be used, but cooking times will vary.
- Shortcut: If you’re starting with cooked or rotisserie chicken, skip the homemade broth step and use 8 cups of low-sodium chicken broth or stock. Cook the vegetables until tender, then add the shredded chicken during the last 5-10 minutes.
- Vegetables: Feel free to add other vegetables such as parsnips, leeks, potatoes, kale, or cabbage.
- Storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Best ever chicken soup! I’ll never go back to using chicken breasts..it was so tender & delicious. My husband had the flu & he actually enjoyed this as his main source of nourishment for 4 days. I’ll be making this on a regular basis.
Yes, thighs add a lot of flavor – thanks for the feedback 🙂
Great recipe – easy to make modifications. I added cauliflower rice, reduced the lemon and added a few tablespoons of tomato sauce.
I have searched and searched for a delicious chicken soup recipe, and now, my search is over. This soup is perfect. I made it with air fried chicken breast shredded and added in the bowl served with the hot soup over top. It is so good. So very good.
Thanks Faith 🙂
Best chicken soup recipe that I’ve found! I made it when my husband got the flu. We both loved it. My only modification was adding a teaspoon of rosemary and an extra clove of garlic, since I am partial to those flavors.
I am happy to hear both you and your husband loved it 🙂
Hi! Could this be done in the slow cooker? And the cooker chicken just be added in the end?
Sure, but the mirepoix wont be as nice in a slow cooker as it wont sauté well…
I made this recipe 100% organic, locally grown food (some from my garden), and it was delicious with even less than a quarter teaspoon of oil. I added sweet potato, a green bell pepper, and a can of Ortega chilis (small can, diced). I used bay leaf, thyme, rosemary and a lot of garlic. I admit I cooked the chicken with the skin on. I do this because organic meat and poultry has very little fat – and sadly, the fat has the flavor. My parrots were overjoyed to have thigh bones to eat and they ate a small bowl of soup (I added noodles to their soup).
Very good, yummy! Can I add white rice in this? If yes, should I cook it before adding it or it will cook in the soup while making it. Thank-you
Yes, you can add wild rice when making it 🙂
You can also see this Creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup for inspiration.
Hello I am planning on making this soup because of all these amazing reviews! I do love bayleaf and rosemary. Can I ask how much do you think I should add in this recipe ? Thank u!
The recipe call for 2 bay leaves. For the rosemary, I would start with one sprig(stalk), and from there add to taste if need be.
Yes but it would be SO much better if you used brown rice or quinoa. White rice is converted to sugar rather quickly in the body. Rice has the problem of arsenic – rinse it again and again before cooking. Quinoa would be a delicious addition and it is very good for you. If you really want rice, check out brown basmati rice. It doesn’t have the “heaviness” of a brown rice.
Made as is & we loved it. Should the bay leaves be taken out before serving?
Thanks, Brigadier!
The bay leaves can definitely be taken out before serving.
I tend to leave them in the pot as I reheat the whole pot for leftovers.
If one accidentally ends up in a bowl, I push it to the side 🙂
I’ve tried so many chicken soup recipes and this one is by far the best one I have found. It’s my go-to recipe whenever my family craves chicken soup. It’s easy, tasty and healthy.
Thanks for such wonderful feedback, Isadora 🙂
If using store bought chicken cooking stock, would you still cook the boneless thighs in the store bought chicken stock or just cook them separately?
I would cook it in stock, so the flavor from the thighs is saved 🙂