The Best Chicken Soup

Name: The Best Chicken Soup
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 12 cups (2 ½ liters) chicken stock, recipe link in notes; 4 cups (946 ml) cooked shredded chicken; 5 large carrots, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces; 2 large parsnips , cut 1 ½into bite-size pieces and grate the rest; 1 head celery cut into bite-size pieces; 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces; ½ teaspoon salt * see note

December 12, 2014 — last updated April 21, 2023

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There’s chicken soup, then there is The Best Chicken Soup and that is what I have for you today. Find out my tips of how to get rich flavorful broth/stock with tender chicken and vegetables that will soothe the soul. To write the word ‘best’ in front of any recipe is tooting your own horn a little bit, but I’ve been making this soup for years and I think that is that good!

A bowl of chicken soup with crusty bread

Not just in the cold weather months, I can eat this soup all year long. I make it a lot and it’s taken years of tweaking, experiments, tips and secret ingredients to finally get it to the ‘best’ stage.

A close of chicken soup with chunky carrots and vegetables

The health benefits of chicken soup

There’s a reason why they say to eat chicken soup when you have a cold. When you make your own chicken stock, there is a natural amino acid in the chicken bones called cysteine that can thin mucus (sorry that’s not the best word) the same can’t be said for canned.

There are also valuable minerals like calcium, magnesium that have anti-inflammatory properties so make your own chicken soup. It’s not difficult, I promise and tastes so much better than anything you could buy.

Good chicken soup starts with good broth/stock or bone broth. Homemade is best and this is my recipe for the best chicken stock/broth as well as in the video. If there is a store bought stock that you like, by all means use that, just watch the salt/sodium level.

A ladle of broth being poured in to a cast iron pan

Chicken Bone Broth is the key to any good soup. Making a good chicken stock/bone broth is, I think, the most important part of making chicken soup. And just like I always say, homemade is best.

Making the stock/broth does not labor intensive at all. I use a whole chicken because you need the flavor from the bones as well as the the meat for your finished soup. You can find all my tips and secrets here, Chicken Bone Broth.

Nutritional Yeast in Chicken Soup

I’ve recently started adding nutritional yeast flakes into my chicken soup. Not only does it add great savory (or umami) flavor, but there are health benefits too in addition to added protein.

Once you have your stock, you strain it and save the meat, then it’s time to add the vegetables. I like celery, carrots, parsnip and sweet potato. You can, of course any vegetables you choose. This soup is also without noodles so you can add any cooked noodles you prefer at the end.

Fresh herbs in soup

Another way to add a fresh flavor to chicken soup is to add a mild herb at the end. I like fresh dill (picture above).

Just like stews and chili, this chicken soup is even better the next day. I like to make a huge batch on a Sunday then I have lunches all week. When the soup is in a container with a lid and refrigerated, it can last 3-4 days.

Yield: 6