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4.74 from 387 votes

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. All you need is 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!

Two bowls of chicken soup with a garlic press and garlic cloves next to the bowls.

Do you love 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, and magic happened as it cooked.

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 on social media. People worldwide send me messages, and it makes me so happy that my Grandmother’s soup can brighten so many days.

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.

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 it every time we visited, and the memories come back every time I make it. This easy chicken soup recipe is made from scratch with simple ingredients. It takes time because the flavors slowly simmer, but I promise it is worth it!

Making a bowl of good chicken soup from scratch is so easy. You don’t need many ingredients. 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.

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.

The top view of two bowls of grandma's chicken soup.

You can use a whole chicken for my grandma’s old-fashioned chicken soup or 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 make 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 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:

Classic chicken soup has onion, carrot, and celery. I have added turnip and rutabaga to my chicken soup recipe over the years, but I wanted to keep it close to my grandma’s recipe for this post.

(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 many 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 also used fresh garlic cloves because dried garlic powder doesn’t add the same flavors to the soup broth. Fresh parsley is also better than dried.

How To Make Chicken Soup From Scratch:

A whole chicken cooking in a soup pot.

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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.

The chicken cooking in soup with parsley and carrots.

Step 4: After the chicken simmers in the soup for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, remove it to a separate pan so the bones don’t fall apart in the soup.

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

Two bowls of chicken soup next to carrots and a garlic bulb.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Is chicken broth gluten free?

Most chicken broth is glutenfree, 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!

What gluten free noodles are good 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.

Do you have to use a whole chicken?

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!!

How do you spice up bland chicken soup?

Add more salt and seasonings to your soup if you want the flavors to be stronger.

How to store leftovers:

This soup will keep 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:

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!

Two bowls of chicken soup next to carrots and a garlic bulb.

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.
4.74 from 387 votes
dairy free allergen icon
an egg free allergen icon
gluten free allergy icon
nut free allergen icon
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes
Course Gluten Free Soup Recipes
Cuisine American
Servings 10
Calories 188 kcal

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

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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.

4.74 from 387 votes (315 ratings without comment)

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243 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This soup is absolutely delicious, I added the Swede and it’s just superb.
    Thank you for sharing your granny’s recipe ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. 5 stars
    This is the best chicken soup recipe Iโ€™ve ever had! We eat it at least twice a month, and itโ€™s delicious every time. I mix in cooked organic brown rice at the end and it is just perfect. Thank you so much for sharing your Grandmaโ€™s recipe!

  3. 5 stars
    This is my go-to chicken soup recipe! We’re currently being hit with this polar vortex and it is COLD, so I’ve been making it every other week to have on hand and warm us up on the really hard days. I make it exactly as is, just in a Dutch oven.

  4. My mother always roasted her chicken before putting it into the soup pot. Whatโ€™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.

  5. This is a question more than a comment. I canโ€™t wait to make this but was wondering if I could use a large (6.5 qt) Dutch oven instead of a stockpot? Iโ€™m new in the kitchen and donโ€™t fully know when itโ€™s best to use what, I just love the nostalgia of a Dutch oven! Thanks.

  6. 5 stars
    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.

  7. The best I have ever had in my 73 years !
    I used chicken thighs (6 or 8) … as an entire chicken is too much for us .
    Your Grandma was a great cook !

  8. How would you handle non-gluten plain ole noodles. Cook them separately and add or cook them in the soup at the end?

  9. I cook the chicken the day before with large pieces of the vegetables. Then I discard the vegetables. I do this so I can refrigerate the broth overnight and skim the fat off.

  10. I made this on the instant pot …
    high pressure for 30 minutes… followed the recipe but added extra water and broth so that I could cover the chicken…. husband said this needs to become a regular ! Thanks for the great recipe !!!

  11. Hi

    Would the overall flavor suffer too much if I simply used several chicken breasts then cut those up instead of using a whole chicken?
    Thanks
    Christi

  12. Super great recipe. Five stars. However, watching Diners, Driveins,& Divers the chef flayed the chicken, placed it on a tray, based oil and baked for an hour first. The theory was by baking it all the flavors were released into the meat. Then made soup.

      1. I made it for my daughter who is battling stage 4 breast cancer and she’s getting out of the hospital today๐Ÿฅฃ๐Ÿ™. This ought to make her feel way betterโฃ

  13. Hi! Iโ€™m cooking this for my wife who is currently sick in bed. She wants it with the frozen egg noodles… Do I cook those separately or put them in the pot towards the end of the simmer so they have more flavor? Thanks so much, it smells delicious.

    1. I am so sorry your wife is sick. I always cook the noodles separately…but then again it may be because gluten free noodles would turn to mush. I hope she feels better soon!