Grandma's Chicken Soup From Scratch

Some call this soup Jewish penicillin, others just say this homemade chicken soup busts through cold and flu season. I just call it delicious. All you need is one pot and some simple ingredients to make this incredible chicken soup recipe.

Do you love homemade chicken soup? You won't believe how easy my chicken soup is to make from scratch!

This is the homemade chicken soup 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!

I remember my grandmother making this chicken soup from scratch every time we went to visit. The memories come back every time I make this soup. She would dump the ingredients into a big soup pot. Magic happened as it cooked.

For some reason, I only make this soup when someone is sick. I make a big pot full of and freeze the extras to have homemade soup on hand all of the time.

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!!

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 easy chicken soup recipe is made from scratch, with fresh simple ingredients. This chicken soup takes time to make because the flavors slowly simmer in...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.

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, Dairy-Free, 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 bone-in chicken parts to make this recipe. My neighbor loves using bone-in chicken thighs.) 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! Fresh chicken soup is always better than canned!

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.

We also love to add rutabagas to this soup.

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.

How To Make Homemade Chicken Soup:

I love making my chicken soup with a whole chicken. The raw chicken cooks in the soup adding incredible flavor! 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.

Step 1: Add your raw whole chicken to a large stockpot. Add in low sodium chicken broth, seasonings, vegetables, and water.

Step 2: Cover the pot and bring the chicken soup to a boil. It should take about 10-15 minutes to boil, depending on the depth of the soup pot.

Step 3: Once the soup is boiling, let it boil for 15 minutes. Turn down the heat to low and allow the soup to simmer for two hours.

Step 4: After the chicken cooks in the soup for 1 ½ to 2 hours, remove the chicken to a separate pan so the bones don't all fall apart in the soup.

Step 4: Serve the soup hot with rice or noodles. I recommend cooking them separately then adding them to the bowl.

Chicken Soup FAQ:

Storage:

This soup will store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an air-tight container. You will notice the chicken fat congeals on top of the soup. You can use a spoon to scrape the fat off if you like. You can reheat it on the stove, or in your microwave oven.

You can also freeze the soup. I highly recommend freezing it in Souper Cubes. These are one-cup-sized cubes that are perfect for a single serving! Freeze in the Souper Cubes, then move the frozen cubes to a freezer-safe zip style bag. The frozen soup will keep fresh for up to 5 months.

More 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 wild rice, this Chicken Rice Soup is also delish!

If you love chicken as much as we do, you will want to check out ALL of my delicious easy Gluten Free Chicken Recipes!!

Tools:

1. A big soup pot that is large enough to hold a whole chicken.
2. A vegetable chopper to chop up your vegetables.

📖 Recipe

Grandma's Homemade Chicken Soup

Sandi Gaertner

An easy homemade chicken soup made from scratch. Grandma's chicken soup recipe is easy to make using a whole chicken and vegetables.

4.73 from 363 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

Course Gluten Free Soup Recipes

Cuisine American

Servings 10

Calories 188 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 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.)

Notes

1. This recipe uses a whole raw chicken. The chicken cooks directly in the soup making the broth full of rich chicken flavors!
2. 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.
3. You can use fresh herbs or dried.
4. 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.
5. This chicken soup is even better the next day.
6. This soup will keep up to 4 days in an air-tight container, or up to 4 months in the freezer.

SPECIAL NOTE

Please know that every gluten free flour blend has a different starch to grain ratio. If you use a blend I didn't test, you may need to adjust your moisture levels in your baked goods.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 188kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 15gFat: 12gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 892mgPotassium: 337mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 5226IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 33mgIron: 1mg

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Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the actual nutritional information with the products and brands you are using with your preferred nutritional calculator.