Some call this soup Jewish penicillin, others just say this homemade chicken soup busts through cold and flu season. I just call it delicious.
This is the homemade chicken soup from scratch recipe I grew up enjoying. If you love chicken soup as much as we do, you will want to check out all of my delicious homemade Gluten Free Soup Recipes!
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Do you love homemade chicken soup?
For some reason, I only make this soup when someone is sick. This soup is as close to comfort food as it gets. I remember my grandmother making this soup every time we went to visit. The memories come back every time I make this soup.
This chicken soup recipe takes time to make...but I promise it is worth it! You can also make the Instant Pot Version of this Homemade Chicken Soup! Delicious flavor in a fraction of the time!! If you love all types of chicken soup, check out all of these fun gluten free chicken soup recipes too!
My Grandma's Homemade Chicken Soup is Comfort Food
This soup is as close to comfort food as it gets. I remember my grandmother making this soup every time we went to visit. The memories come back every time I make this soup. This chicken soup takes time to make...but I promise it is worth it!
This chicken soup takes time to make...but I promise it is worth it!"
Our whole family loves this soup, and I really need to make it more often. Fall is finally here and soon cold and flu season will be here. We also love this delicious Turmeric Chicken Vegetable Soup during cold and flu season!! (And this turmeric chicken soup is quick and easy to make!)
This easy chicken soup recipe is made from scratch, with fresh simple ingredients."
It is so easy to make a bowl of good chicken soup from scratch. You don't need many ingredients. Just add chicken, broth, carrots, onion, garlic, and celery to a pot. You can add noodles to make chicken noodle soup, or add rice. We usually make chicken and rice soup because gluten free noodles tend to get pretty mushy. You can use brown or white rice in this soup recipe.
This soup is Whole 30, Paleo, Keto, and Gluten Free. Perfect for anyone who has food allergies. Pair this soup with these delicious gluten free bread for easy dipping: Gluten Free Light and Fluffy Cheddar Muffins or this Gluten Free Focaccia Bread.
For my grandma's old-fashioned chicken soup, you will need a whole chicken. (You can also use chicken that isn't whole. You need to make sure your chicken pieces are with the bone as the bone minerals are what makes this soup so good!!)
I prefer to use an organic whole chicken. Include the neck and organs...it all goes into the pot. You will want to cook this down for a couple of hours so the chicken flavor is infused into the broth.
If you love this soup, you will also want to try my Gluten Free Matzo Ball recipe. This soup is great with matzo balls!
The vegetables:
Classic chicken soup has onion, carrot, and celery. I have added turnip and rutabaga to my chicken soup recipe over the years, but for this post, I wanted to keep it close to my grandma's recipe.
(If you decide to add other vegetables, you would want one small turnip and one small rutabaga chopped up.) You can also try this easy Instant Pot Vegetable Soup with Chicken for a soup with lots of extra vegetables.
Chicken soup seasoning:
This soup is full of flavor from these spices and herbs:
- thyme
- basil
- parsley
- garlic
- salt and pepper
I used dried thyme and dried basil. I did use fresh garlic cloves because dried garlic powder just doesn't add the same flavors to the soup broth. Fresh parsley is also better to use.
Instructions:
Make with a whole chicken!
I love making my Grandma's soup with a whole chicken. The raw chicken cooks in the soup! If you do not have a whole chicken on hand, you can easily use other chicken parts...it is best to use chicken with the bones as the bones add a lot of nutrients to the soup while cooking.
Add your raw whole chicken to a stockpot. Add in low sodium chicken broth, seasonings, vegetables, and water. Cover and bring the chicken soup to a boil. Turn down the heat and allow this chicken soup to simmer for two hours.
Is chicken broth gluten free?
Most chicken broth is gluten free but I highly encourage you to read the labels. Look for any artificial ingredients, and also make sure the broth wasn't made on shared equipment!
Cover and bring the chicken soup to a boil. Turn down the heat and allow this chicken soup to simmer for two hours.
After the chicken cooks in the soup for 2 hours, remove the chicken to a separate pan so the bones don't all fall apart in the soup.
Can you use gluten free noodles?
Gluten free noodles are tricky, and for this reason, I do not recommend cooking your noodles in this soup recipe. Gluten free chicken noodle soup has to be made with the noodles cooked separately, and then added to your bowl just before adding your cooked soup.
What gluten free noodles are best for chicken soup?
Some brands of gluten free pasta definitely hold up better than others. I like Jovial and Barilla pasta brands for chicken soup. As I mentioned above, you do not want to cook these in your soup...but these noodles will hold up to sitting in a bowl of soup for a little while.
More Delicious Homemade Soup Recipes to Try:
- One of my favorites, this Gluten Free Cream of Tomato Soup is thick and creamy.
- This recipe is made without a roux and tastes amazing! Gluten Free Oyster Chowder (works well with clams for clam chowder too!)
- Another great cold and flu busting soup filled with turmeric flavors: Turmeric Chicken Soup
- For my spice lovers, this Taco Chicken Soup is hard to resist.
If you love chicken as much as we do, you will want to check out ALL of my delicious easy Gluten Free Chicken Recipes!! Making chicken soup is so easy!! Don't forget to check out my chicken soup story!
Tools:
- A big soup pot that is large enough to hold a whole chicken.
- A vegetable chopper to chop up your vegetables.
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📋 Recipe
Grandma's Homemade Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken raw
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large onion chopped
- 5 carrots chopped
- 3 celery stalks chopped
- 2 teaspoons basil
- 2 teaspoons thyme
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 quart chicken broth low sodium
- 4 cups water
- parsley is optional
Instructions
- Add a whole raw chicken to a large stock pot.
- Add all ingredients, cover and simmer on medium low until it boils.
- Once the soup is boiling, turn down the temperature to low and simmer for 2 hours.
- Remove the chicken to a pan. Do this carefully so the chicken doesn't fall apart. Cut the chicken meat into pieces and add back to the soup. Garnish with fresh parsley if you like.
- Serve hot. (My grandmother served it over rice, this is totally optional.)
Video
Notes
- This recipe uses a whole raw chicken. The chicken cooks directly in the soup making the broth full of rich chicken flavors!
- If you do not have a whole chicken, you can use chicken parts. The soup will taste the best if you use bone-in chicken parts. The bone broth is what adds to the flavor.
- You can use fresh herbs or dried.
- I like to add a small rutabaga sometimes for a flavor boost. It is totally optional but if you try this, peel the rutabaga first.
- This chicken soup is even better the next day.
- This soup will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.
Nutrition
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Sue
My mother always roasted her chicken before putting it into the soup pot. What’s the difference - just a different taste? Does the broth stay clear when using a raw chicken like in Won Ton soup? Moms broth was always opaque.
Sandi Gaertner
I haven't heard of roasting first so I am not sure how to advise.
Suzanne Skrzypek
This is a question more than a comment. I can’t wait to make this but was wondering if I could use a large (6.5 qt) Dutch oven instead of a stockpot? I’m new in the kitchen and don’t fully know when it’s best to use what, I just love the nostalgia of a Dutch oven! Thanks.
Sandi Gaertner
I am sure you can use a Dutch oven on the stove to make this recipe. Enjoy Suzanne 🙂
Michelle
Can you add rice to recipe?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Michelle, you can add cooked rice to the bowl, but I would not cook rice in this soup.
Bonnie
I do this in my Instant Pot, putting the chicken in a stainless steel basket so it can be lifted out without losing any of the bones, etc., into the broth. And the best GF noodles I have found are the fresh ones at either Aldi or Trader Joe. I boil them separately and add some GF chicken bouillion or canned broth to the water. Thanks for all the good recipes. My granddaughter has celiac disease and LOVES chicken soup.
Sandi Gaertner
I love those fresh gluten free noodles from TJ too!
Cassandra
How long do you cook this in your IP?
Sandi Gaertner
Hi Cassandra, I wrote up the instructions to make my Grandma's soup in an IP here: https://www.fearlessdining.com/instant-pot-chicken-soup-from-scratch/
Enjoy!