Homemade Chicken Soup - Best old family recipe for the ultimate comfort food. Made with fresh chicken, carrots, celery, and onions. So good!This traditional chicken soup recipe is made on the stovetop in a dutch oven or stock pot and takes some time. Don't have all day? Try our Instant Pot Chicken Soup Recipe. Have the same classic flavors of homemade chicken soup made in a fraction of the time.| www.SeannasKitchen.com
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time3 hourshrs
Total Time3 hourshrs15 minutesmins
Course: Soup and Chili
Cuisine: American
Keyword: grandma's chicken noodle soup recipe, Homemade Chicken Soup, how many chicken bouillon cubes for soup
4QuartsCold Waterenough to cover chicken in the pot.
1TablespoonSalt.
2CupsOnionDiced.
2CupsCarrotDiced.
2CupsCeleryDiced.
5Wyler's Chicken Bouillon Cubes.
0.5PoundsCooked 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 coldwater 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.
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
Notes
Use Cold Water. Cold water will make clearer (not cloudy) soup.Seasoning Note: Do not add Pepper during cooking process. You may be tempted to add some ground pepper, but don't. It will completely take over the flavor of the soup. So, just add pepper to taste when the soup is served.Tasty Tip: Simmer Uncovered. A beautiful depth of flavor will come when you simmer the soup without a lid covering the pot. This will allow for some evaporation to occur, thereby concentrating the flavors of the soup.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.Struggling with your knife skills? Buy prepared, diced vegetables from your local grocery store. Or do what my mom did and just toss them in whole. The soup will taste just as great!