This homemade chicken soup from scratch is a must to make during cold and flu season. My Grandma’s incredible chicken soup from scratch is the ultimate comfort food, and it is absolutely delicious. You only need one pot and some simple ingredients to make this incredible chicken soup recipe. See why 100s of people think this soup is the best cold and flu buster!
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Do you miss your Grandma’s homemade chicken soup? You won’t believe how easy my chicken soup is to make from scratch! I remember my grandmother making this chicken soup from scratch every time we went to visit. The memories come back every time I make it. She would dump the ingredients into a big soup pot; magic happened as it cooked.
❤️ Sandi Says: This chicken soup recipe takes time to make, but I promise it is worth it! It has hundreds of great reviews on the blog and social media. People worldwide send me messages, making me so happy that my Grandmother’s soup has brightened the day for so many.
Making classic chicken soup is so easy. You don’t need many ingredients, just a few simple ingredients, including chicken, broth, carrots, onion, garlic, celery, and seasonings. 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 mushy over time. You can use brown or white rice in this soup recipe.
You can also make the Instant Pot Version of this Homemade Chicken Soup! Delicious flavor in a fraction of the time!! 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!
Allergen Information:
This delicious soup is gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and soy-free. It is also Whole 30, Paleo, and Keto. It is perfect for anyone who has food allergies.
Pair this soup with this delicious gluten free bread for easy dipping: Gluten Free Biscuits or this Gluten Free Focaccia Bread.
Tips For Success
1. To make this recipe, You can use a whole chicken for my grandma’s old-fashioned chicken soup or chicken bone-in chicken parts. 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 make this soup so good!!
2. 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 to infuse the chicken flavor 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 For Homemade Chicken Soup:
Classic chicken soup has onion, carrot, and celery. Over the years, I have added turnip and rutabaga to my chicken soup recipe, but I made these vegetables optional because I wanted to keep it close to my grandma’s recipe for this post.
You can also try this easy Instant Pot Vegetable Soup with Chicken for a soup with many extra vegetables.
The Chicken Soup Seasoning:
This soup is full of flavor from these spices and herbs:
- thyme
- basil
- parsley
- garlic
- salt and pepper
I use dried thyme and dried basil. I also used fresh garlic cloves because dried garlic powder doesn’t add the same flavors to the soup broth. For the garnish, fresh parsley is also better than dried.
👀 Sandi Says: Find all of the Step-By-Step Photos and detailed directions after the recipe card. You can also find them quickly via the Table of Contents.
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Frequently Asked Questions:
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!
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.
You do not have to use a whole chicken to make this soup recipe. You can also use bone-in chicken parts. 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 make this soup so good!!
Add more salt and seasonings to your soup if you want the flavors to be stronger.
I gently hold two spatulas and carefully remove the chicken from the soup pot to a serving dish. I remove the chicken meat from the carcass and put the pieces of chicken back into the soup. You can set aside some of the chicken for making enchiladas or chicken salad if you want.
How to store leftovers:
This soup will remain fresh in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight 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:
- This recipe is made without a roux and tastes amazing! Gluten Free Oyster Chowder (works well with clams for clam chowder too!)
- Another great winter soup: 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!!
Love This Recipe?
If you made and enjoyed this recipe, I would be incredibly grateful if you could leave a comment below. This will help others know this recipe is delicious. Thank you!
Grandma’s Homemade Chicken Soup
Ingredients
Method
- Add 1 whole raw chicken to a large stock pot. Add 1 quart chicken broth and then fill the pot with 4 cups waterto cover the chicken.
- Chop 1 large onion, 3 chopped celery stalks, and 5 chopped carrots. Add 3 cloves minced garlic, 2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons dried basil, 2 teaspoons dried thyme, and 1 teaspoon ground black pepper. Add all ingredients to the soup pot. Cover and simmer on medium-high low until the soup boils.
- Once the soup is boiling, turn down the temperature to medium for 1 hour. Stir the soup and make sure the chicken is still covered by the soup. Add more water if needed. Put the lid back on the pot, and turn the cooking temperature down to low, and simmer for another hour.
- After cooking in the soup, the chicken will be fall off the bone soft and tender. Carefully remove the chicken from the soup pot to a serving dish. Do this carefully holding two spatulas, so the chicken doesn't fall apart. Cut the chicken meat into pieces and add the chicken pieces back to the soup. Garnish with fresh parsley if you like.
- Serve hot with rice or noodles. My grandmother served it over rice, this is totally optional.
Nutrition
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 or dried herbs.
- I like to add a small rutabaga or turnip 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 fresh for up to 4 days in an airtight container or up to 4 months in the freezer.
Nutritional 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.
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Step By Step: Making Chicken Soup From Scratch:
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, gently boil for 1 hour. Turn down the heat to low and allow the soup to simmer for one more hour hours.
Step 4: After the chicken simmers, remove the chicken carefully to a serving dish. I use two spatulas to lift the chicken out so the bones don’t fall apart in the soup. The chicken is fall off the bone tender after cooking.
Step 4: Serve the soup hot with rice or noodles. I recommend cooking them separately and then adding them to the bowl.
Hi! I’ve made this soup several times now and have finessed it to perfection (for us)! It makes so much so I shared with neighbors & my in-laws. It’s always well received.
I add fennel seed ( 1.5 tsp) and extra vegetables to balance the amount of broth.
Thanks for sharing this great recipe! Truly food that makes you feel good.
Hi Laura, that is so interesting about the fennel seed. It sounds intriguing and I can’t wait to try that. I am so glad you love this soup and had fun changing it up!
So delicious- just like my Grandma made
I am so glad you bring back great memories of having soup with your grandma. Thank you, Di.
Perfect, many thanks,
We all had flu so thought I would add son chilli flaks to your recipe, also served it with egg noodles.
It was perfect, very comforting and warming.
I am so sorry to hear the flu got you. I hope you are feeling better soon. I love the idea to add some chili flakes for a nice kick!
WOW! delicious. Thank you Ms. G., perfect chicken soup. Now that I am an adult and living on my own, your grandma’s homemade chicken soup came in just in time. My first time cooking chicken soup from scratch and it would not be my last.
I paired this soup with jasmine rice and a homemade hot toddy.
Oooh, I love the idea of serving this with a hot toddy. I am so glad you loved my grandma’s soup recipe. Thank you for coming back to let me know, Alex.
I added more chicken broth and water, extra carrots, celery, and onions. This was so good!
I am so glad you loved this soup. Thank you so much for coming back to leave a review. It is very much appreciated.
Great, traditional chicken soup! I’ve made it 3x since September 😂. Thank you for the easy to follow, tasty recipe.
Thank you so much for your note. I am so glad you loved this recipe enough to make it 3x!!
I also tried your instapot version and it was even better under pressure! only issue is finding a small enough chicken to fit the pot and veggies. I am back to the stove top today. I started freezing leftovers for a quick lunch. honestly thanks again for sharing your recipe, much appreciated:)
You are very welcome, Susan. It has been awhile since I have made it in my Insta Pot, but you can also use kitchen shears to cut up a chicken so it fits better before cooking. Have a great weekend!