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Awesomely Fantastic Homemade Chicken Soup

This awesomely fantastic Homemade Chicken Soup recipe is the ultimate in comfort food! Let it simmer on your stove top all afternoon, and enjoy the big batch of good-for-what-ails-ya all week.

Welcome to the April 24, 2016 edition of Sunday Scratchups: Your weekly recipe from scratch around grocery sales and affordable foods! This week I picked up a couple of clearance chickens for less than $2.00 each after sale price + coupon, so scratched up this Awesomely Fantastic Homemade Chicken Soup.

clearance-chicken

Whole chickens often go on sale or clearance, and weekend afternoons are a great time to cook up a big pot of homemade chicken soup. (You can also make this with chicken parts, when packs of leg quarters etc. go on sale.) Just leave the soup bubbling on the stove all afternoon while you go about your other activities, and your whole house will smell great! Mr. 9 originally dubbed this Awesomely Fantastic soup after just one bite, then asked to be in the photos today — since he’d earned the naming rights. 😉

This homemade chicken soup also freezes exceptionally well for later evenings when you might be under the weather, or unable to invest a whole afternoon cooking it up.

Awesomely Fantastic Homemade Chicken Soup

Ingredients

3.5-5 lb whole chicken or chicken parts (see Note)
One bay leaf
Parsley, to taste
Turmeric, to taste
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Water, to cover (as much as possible)

3 small or two medium onions, chopped
5 whole carrots, peeled and chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 Tbsp thyme
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp parsley
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne
Sea salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste

Directions

chicken-in-every-pot

Remove chicken innards, if present. Place chicken in large pot with cover (I used a big 7 quart Dutch oven). Add enough water to cover the chicken, then add the bay leaf plus a little parsley, turmeric, sea salt, and black pepper to taste.

skim-off-fat

Bring to a rolling boil and skim off fat, then reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook for about two hours (or until chicken falls apart easily), stirring occasionally.

shred the chicken

Turn off heat. Use tongs to remove chicken into separate bowl, then shred chicken, discarding skin and bones. Discard bay leaf.

Skim broth again if necessary, then add shredded chicken back in along with veggies, thyme, garlic, parsley, turmeric, cayenne, sea salt, and pepper. (See Note)

Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook for another 2 hours or until vegetables are softened, stirring occasionally.

pot and bowl of chicken soup

Serve hot!

Optional: Add noodles for the last 10 minutes or so of cooking time and cook them in the soup until al dente, then serve.

Note: If you use a larger chicken, reserve some of the cooked shredded chicken for other purposes rather than adding it back into the soup. Use it in everything from chicken fried rice to chicken & avocado taquitos!

A chicken in every pot…

bowl of homemade chicken soup

I’ve been meaning to write this one up for a while, because it’s just that darn good. Noodles or matzo balls would be lovely in here as well, but you don’t even really need them because this soup has such a rich and beautiful chicken flavor on its own. Gluten free, dairy free, great for a rainy day, and good for what ails ya: Give it a try when you’re next in need of comfort food.

Awesomely Fantastic Homemade Chicken Soup, printable recipe

Awesomely Fantastic Homemade Chicken Soup

Gluten free, dairy free, great for a rainy day, and good for what ails ya: Give this chicken soup a try when you’re next in need of comfort food.
Course dinner
Cuisine soup
Keyword chicken, chicken soup, homemade chicken soup, soup
Total Time 4 hours 58 minutes
Servings 10

Ingredients

  • 3.5-5 lb whole chicken or chicken parts See note
  • 1 bay leaf
  • parsley to taste
  • turmeric to taste
  • sea salt to taste
  • black pepper to taste
  • water, to cover (as much as possible)
  • 3 small or two medium onions, chopped
  • 5 whole carrots, peeled and chopped
  • 3 celery stalks, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp thyme
  • 2 Tbsp minced garlic
  • 1 Tbsp parsley
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne
  • sea salt to taste
  • black pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Remove chicken innards, if present.
  • Place chicken in large pot with cover (a 7 quart Dutch oven is perfect).
  • Add enough water to cover the chicken, then add the bay leaf plus a little parsley, turmeric, sea salt, and black pepper to taste.
  • Bring to a rolling boil and skim off fat, then reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook for about two hours (or until chicken falls apart easily), stirring occasionally.
  • Turn off heat.
  • Use tongs to remove chicken into separate bowl, then shred chicken, discarding skin and bones.
  • Discard bay leaf.
  • Skim broth again if necessary, then add shredded chicken back in along with veggies, thyme, garlic, parsley, turmeric, cayenne, sea salt, and pepper. (See Note)
  • Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to medium low, cover, and cook for another 2 hours or until vegetables are softened, stirring occasionally.
  • Serve hot!

Notes

If you use a larger chicken, reserve some of the cooked shredded chicken for other purposes rather than adding it back into the soup. Use it in everything from chicken fried rice to chicken & avocado taquitos!

Recipes in the real world

weekly ALDI meal plans from Mashup Mom -- six complete dinners for four, $60 out the door! MashupMom.com, every Wednesday.

Be sure not to miss the free ALDI meal plans, which show you how to use these easy family recipes to meal plan affordably and realistically for your family. Or, find more recipe ideas with the Recipe Search!

Recipe Rating




Cathy Harbert

Wednesday 30th of December 2020

I love chicken soup but my husband hates dark meat so I am hesitant to use a whole chicken. I know the dark meat adds more flavor to any recipe but I don't want to throw the dark meat out and I also prefer white meat. I am concerned that the white meat will be dried out or tough if cooked as long as the recipe calls for. Any suggestions will be appreciated. Love the website and the emails.

rachel

Wednesday 30th of December 2020

Using the whole chicken is what gives the broth its richness in this recipe. If you just want to use white meat, though, you might try this leftover chicken soup recipe instead -- you can use cooked chicken breast to good effect: https://www.mashupmom.com/easy-leftover-chicken-soup/

31 Hearty -Real Food- Soups, Chowders, and Stews

Friday 28th of December 2018

[…] Awesomely Fantastic Homemade Chicken Soup […]

SmartShopper

Saturday 29th of April 2017

I made this chicken soup recipe and added one box of Aldi Organic Chicken Broth to the mixture (for added broth as I like to drink it too). Came out delish. Thanks.

Lori Bauer

Monday 9th of January 2017

what does turmeric do for the recipe? That is a spice I don't have. Also, when I make chicken soup, I just put chicken thighs or breasts in the crock pot and then use the chicken from that as well as add some chicken broth. I also dice my carrots, celery onion and fry that along with garlic cloves in olive oil til softened, but it seems like I don't get enough flavor, so maybe I need to get the bay leaf and a whole chicken again and try that.

rachel

Monday 9th of January 2017

Tumeric adds some beautiful golden color and a depth of flavor -- and it's also great for you! :)

Patti

Monday 17th of October 2016

This is funny because I also got a chicken at Jewel, and just finished making chicken soup using almost the same identical recipe. The only thing missing from my recipe was turmeric. I will have to try adding it next time.

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