You only need one pot and a few simple ingredients to make this incredible chicken soup recipe. My Grandma’s homemade chicken soup recipe is made from scratch with a whole chicken, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and herbs. It is an easy chicken soup recipe with just a few easy steps. There is no pre-cooking; just add everything to the pot and turn on the stove.
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❤️ Sandi’s Recipe Summary
The Quick Bite: My Grandma’s homemade chicken soup recipe has become a tradition in thousands of homes over the years. It is a simple chicken soup recipe to make, meaning you can just add the ingredients to a soup pot, all at once. The ingredients all cook together into a bowl of comforting hot soup.
Does your Grandma make homemade chicken soup? I remember my grandmother making this chicken soup from scratch every time we visited. The memories come back every time I make it. She would dump the ingredients into a big soup pot; magic happened as it cooked.
This classic chicken soup is what I call a “dump and go” recipe. Everything goes into the soup pot at once, and the flavors all cook together from the beginning. You can add noodles or rice, though I will recommend not to cook the noodles in the soup because they get mushy with the long simmer. Our family likes to add these Gluten-Free Matzo Balls.
While you are visiting, check out all of my delicious homemade soup recipes!
The Vegetables For Homemade Chicken Soup:
This classic chicken soup recipe has onion, carrot, and celery. Over the years, I have added parsnips, turnips, and rutabagas as well, with delicious results. In writing the recipe, I made these vegetables optional because I wanted to keep it close to my grandma’s recipe for this post.
Seasoning For Chicken Soup :
My grandmother originally created this soup without adding additional chicken broth to this soup. In the years I have been making this recipe, I found that adding chicken broth improves the depth of flavor in a shorter amount of cooking time. My grandmother simmered this soup for a whole day, adding more water as it cooked down. Today, with busy schedules, most people don’t have time to simmer a soup all day long.
This soup is full of flavor from these spices and herbs:
- Dried Thyme
- Dried Basil
- Dried Parsley – I prefer fresh parsley for the garnish.
- Garlic – I use fresh garlic cloves because dried garlic powder does not add the same flavors to the soup broth.
- Salt and Pepper
I grow fresh herbs in my kitchen window, so I always have fresh herbs to use as well.
Making Homemade Chicken Soup (Step-By-Step)
I love making my chicken soup using 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 use other chicken parts…it is best to use bone-in chicken, as the bones add a lot of nutrients and flavor 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, reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer gently for 1 hour. Turn down the heat to low and allow the soup to simmer for one more hour. It is ready, or you can simmer it longer. The flavors will also build overnight while the soup is in the refrigerator.
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Step 4: When the chicken soup is done, remove the chicken from the soup carefully to a serving dish. I use two spatulas and carefully lift and remove the chicken from the soup pot to a serving dish. It is fall-off-the-bone tender, and it may fall apart a little as you do this. You can use a slotted spoon to grab any bones that fall back into the soup.
Next, I like to remove the chicken meat from the carcass and put some of the shredded chicken meat back into the soup. You can set aside the rest of the cooked chicken to use to make enchiladas or chicken salad if you want.
Step 4: Serve the soup hot with rice or noodles.
Pair this soup with gluten free bread for easy dipping: Gluten Free Biscuits or this Gluten Free Focaccia Bread.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Most chicken broth is gluten free, but I highly encourage you to read the labels. Look for any artificial ingredients or yeast extract.
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!!
If you enjoy using your Instant Pot, I created a version of this soup that you can make in it! This Instant Pot Chicken Soup recipe has the same flavors, but it cooks in less time. Our family also loves making this Instant Pot Vegetable Soup with Chicken.
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!!
- 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!
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
- 1 whole raw chicken
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1 large onion
- 5 chopped carrots
- 3 chopped celery stalks
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 quart chicken broth low sodium
- 4 cups water
- fresh parsley is optional
Instructions
- 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.
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.
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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, my rule of thumb is to add more flour if your dough or batter is wet and add more liquid if the dough or batter is too dry!
Nutrition
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.
I truly hope you enjoy this recipe. I have been testing and creating gluten-free recipes for over 15 years. Creating gluten-free recipes that do not taste gluten-free is my goal for every recipe. Sometimes I only have to test a new recipe a couple of times, and others it takes multiple times. I do this so you get reliable, delicious results every time!
Excellent! Easy to make and tastes perfect! Thank you!
I added a little oregano to kick some extra germ booty too.
I love you added extra germ-busting oregano! It sounds delicious!
This is a good recipe but the chicken gets kinda cooked out in flavor so I wrap the raw chicken in cheese cloth before putting it in the broth and discard when cooked. I add cooked or raw chicken and vegetables to the hot stock in the pot along with raw rice and cook for a half hour…..the chicken meat is tasty and it adds to the soup.
I am glad you found something to keep your chicken flavorful :-).
This soup is absolutely delicious, I added the Swede and it’s just superb.
Thank you for sharing your granny’s recipe 🙂
I am so glad you enjoyed it Clare, thank you for coming back to let me know 🙂
This is the best chicken soup recipe I’ve ever had! We eat it at least twice a month, and it’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 Grandma’s recipe!
You made my day coming back to let me know you loved her soup 🙂
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.
I am so glad you like it, Denise. Cooking in a Dutch oven is a great idea!
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.
I haven’t heard of roasting first so I am not sure how to advise.
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.
I am sure you can use a Dutch oven on the stove to make this recipe. Enjoy Suzanne 🙂
Can you add rice to recipe?
Hi Michelle, you can add cooked rice to the bowl, but I would not cook rice in this soup.
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.
I love those fresh gluten free noodles from TJ too!
How long do you cook this in your IP?
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!
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 !
Wow Cynthia, I am so glad you love it :-). Thank you!