The ultimate comfort food! This homemade chicken soup recipe delivers rich, savory flavor with every spoonful—it’s the best old-fashioned comfort food around.
This traditional chicken soup recipe is made on the stovetop in a dutch oven or stock pot and takes some time. Need a fast and easy chicken soup recipe? Try our Instant Pot Chicken Soup Recipe. Have the same classic flavors of homemade chicken soup made in a fraction of the time.
Looking for more tasty soup recipes? Don't miss our delicious Pasta e Fagioli, Cheesy Potato Soup, Instant Pot Chicken Soup, Beef and Cabbage Soup, Best Ham and Bean Soup, or Homemade Chicken Soup recipes!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
This Homemade Chicken Soup Recipe has been passed down through the generations in my family and it remains a family favorite today. The original recipe came from my Oma (German for Grandmother), who I imagine got it from her Mom. Oma taught my Mom how to make it and then they passed it down to me.
If you're craving comfort food, this tasty soup recipe is sure to please. Full of flavor and a such a healthy dinner idea your whole family will love.
Jump to:
Ingredients
You just need a few fresh ingredients to make this tasty soup recipe.
- 1 Whole Chicken, Cut-up, (Giblets optional). You can usually find a whole chicken at the grocery store already packaged up with all you need, but really anything you find will work just fine. I have gone all out organic sometimes and other times I've just used a few random pieces that I've had on hand.
Note on Giblets: If you can't deal with the giblets…forget them. Although, they really do add a depth of flavor that makes the soup taste incredibly good and I really do notice the difference when I don't use them. And besides, they're really easy to just pluck out and toss later. - 4 quarts Cold Water, enough to cover chicken in the pot. Cold water will make clear broth.
- 1 Tablespoon Salt
- Onions, 2 cups, diced.
- Carrots, 2 cups diced.
- Celery, 2 cups diced.
Struggling with your knife skills? Buy prepared, diced vegetables from the local grocery store. Or do what my mom did and just toss them in whole. The soup will still taste great! - 5 Wyler's Chicken Bouillon Cubes- We always add Wyler's Chicken Bouillon Cubes to enhance the flavor. They make the soup taste so good!
Substitution Suggestion: Substitute 1 Tablespoon of Salt for 5 Chicken Bouillon Cubes. We use Wyler's but feel free to substitute your favorite brand. - 0.5 Pound Cooked Pastina or Egg Noodles for serving.
- Ground Pepper to taste when serving.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Here's How To Make It
- Put Chicken in Pot.
- Add Cold Water.
- Bring to Boil.
- Reduce heat to simmer.
- Add Vegetables and Seasonings.
- Bring back up to Boil.
- Simmer.
- Remove Chicken.
- Debone.
- Cut Chicken into Pieces.
- Serve.
Tasty Tips
Choice of Pasta: We like to add some cooked Pastina (commonly called Acini de Pepe), which is a tiny little Italian pasta. As with the chicken, we prefer to keep the pasta in a bowl on the side and add it to the soup when it's served. If its added directly into the pot of soup, the pasta will become soggy and soak up all the broth!
Substitution Suggestion: Swap out Pastina for Israeli Couscous, Orzo, Ditalini, or the more traditional Egg Noodles.
Do Not Add Pepper: You may be tempted to add some ground pepper while you are adding the other seasonings, but don't. It will completely take over the flavor of the soup. So, add ground pepper to taste when the soup is served and not during the cooking process.
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
The Easiest Way to Debone Chicken
Debone the chicken while it is still warm. If you wait until it's cold, it will be more difficult to do. Just take a piece of chicken in your hand and slide the skin off with your thumb and discard it. Then either with a fork or your fingers, take the chicken off the bones and set the pieces aside and discard the bones. It's that easy and it takes just a few minutes to do!
Topping Suggestion
Try adding a little Parmesan Cheese to the top of your soup just before you serve it. It's a super delicious flavor addition.
Recipe FAQs
Breadsticks
Garlic Bread
Toast
Crostini
Biscuits
Dumplings
Saltine Crackers
Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Freezing Suggestion
This delicious chicken soup recipe freezes easily in these handy food storage containers (Affiliate Link).
Did you love this recipe? If you make this recipe and love it, stop back, give it a 5-star rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a comment. THANK YOU!! Follow Seanna's Kitchen and share this recipe with your friends on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, and subscribe to my Newsletter for ALL the latest recipes! We'd love to hear from you!
📖 Recipe
Homemade Chicken Soup Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Whole Chicken Cut-up, (Giblets optional).
- 4 Quarts Cold Water enough to cover chicken in the pot.
- 1 Tablespoon Salt.
- 2 Cups Onion Diced.
- 2 Cups Carrot Diced.
- 2 Cups Celery Diced.
- 5 Wyler's Chicken Bouillon Cubes.
- 0.5 Pounds Cooked Egg Noodles or Pastina for serving.
- Ground Pepper to taste when serving.
Instructions
- Put Chicken in Pot. Place clean pieces of chicken and giblets in an 8-quart stock pot.1 Whole Chicken
- Add Water. Add approximately 4 quarts of cold water to the pot. You need enough water to just cover the chicken.4 Quarts Cold Water
- Bring to a Low Boil. Set the pot on medium high heat until the water begins to boil. Once it begins to boil, you may notice a foam has appeared on the surface of the water.
- Reduce heat to simmer. Turn the heat down to simmer (or low) and use a small strainer or slotted spoon to skim off and discard the foam or impurities.
- Add Vegetables and Seasonings. Add the Onions, Carrots, Celery, Salt, and Chicken Bouillon Cubes.1 Tablespoon Salt., 2 Cups Onion, 2 Cups Carrot, 2 Cups Celery, 5 Wyler's Chicken Bouillon Cubes.
- Bring back up to Boil. Bring soup back up to a boil. When it begins to bubble, turn the heat down and reduce back to a simmer.
- Simmer. Simmer the soup, uncovered, for 3 hours, until the chicken is beginning to fall off the bones.
- Remove Chicken. Take the chicken and giblets, if used, out and set aside.
- Debone. Take the meat out of the soup when it is just beginning to fall away from the bones. Debone chicken and discard bones and giblets.
- Cut Chicken into Pieces. Cut the cooked chicken up into bite sized pieces and reserve for serving. In our house, we like to keep the chicken in a bowl on the side and add it to the soup when its served, so that it stays in nice pieces and doesn't shred throughout the soup.
- Serve. Serve soup with reserved chicken and cooked pasta.0.5 Pounds Cooked Egg Noodles or Pastina for serving., Ground Pepper to taste when serving.
Video
Kathy says
My family’s fav chicken noodle soup recipe!
Seanna Borrows says
Thank you so much! I'm so happy to hear!
Russ B says
Perfect on a cold day!!
Seanna says
Thanks Russ!
Russ says
Family favorite!! Grandpa B loves it!