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!
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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.
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:
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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.
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.
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.
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:
- 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
- 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
- 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.
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
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.
This was an excellent recipe! I loved the flavor of the tyme & sweet basil.
Iโve never made much soup until the last couple of years. My husband & I have a regular โsoup dayโ where we make chicken soup to freeze. This oneโs a winner!
Thank you so much, Rachel. I love the idea of having a soup day!
Your chicken soup recipe brings back precious memories of family traditions and the heartwarming aroma of homemade meals. Thank you for sharing your secrets to creating nourishing and flavorful dishes.
Thank you so much for sharing your memory.
Excellent recipe
Thank you so much!
Would it be ok to remove the skin on the chicken for this recipe?
Hi Beverly, that should be fine!
Wow! This really is the best homemade chicken soup! I have never cooked a full chicken before but i sure will going forward. I added 4 more cups of water and 4 teaspoons better than bouillon. I even bought the super cubes you recommended- thank you for a great recipe! It’s hard to believe such simple ingredients produced such flavor too. ๐
I am so glad you loved the soup. Just a note for my readers who are gluten-free, Better than Bouillon is not gluten-free. (Herb Ox is a gluten free bouillon.)
This is so delicious. Neighborโs Grandma, on the farm, used to make chicken noodle soup for him, and his response; โthis is the best chicken noodle soup I ever hadโ. Well, I couldnโt agree more. Thanks so much
That was so nice of you to make this for your neighbor. I am so glad everyone enjoyed my grandma’s soup. I grew up with this soup and it is the best.
Do you know a way to do this recipe in an instant pot instead? I donโt have a stock pit but I would like to try this!
Yes, here is the recipe: https://www.fearlessdining.com/instant-pot-chicken-soup-from-scratch/
So Delicious! Added Egg Noodles for 10 minutes! absolutely loved it!
I am so glad you loved the recipe, Lana. Thank you!
I made this recipe tonight, I just wanted to say thank you for such an easy and precise recipe. I have been wanting chicken noodle soup for weeks but just now found the noodles and then your recipe popped up and I was wonderful! I just love when good things come together. Take care!
You are very welcome, Jay. I truly appreciate your coming back to let me know you enjoyed this soup recipe.
How big should you chop the carrots and celery? Not diced small, right? Thank you!
It really doesn’t matter that much. I make them around 1 to 2 inches. I don’t dice it.
This is the best chicken soup Iโve ever had. Everyone I make it for loves it.
Thank you so much, Sue. I am so glad everyone loves it.
Best chicken soup Iโve ever had. Keeping it forever! I added pastina pasta and blended the veg/stock so my kids would enjoy it and it added a nice thickness to the soup. Everyone who tried it loved it! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you so much for your kind words. I am so glad you enjoyed my grandmother’s recipe!
Loved this. This is how my mom cooked chicken soup also.
Thank you so much, Karen. I am glad everyone loved the recipe.
I stumbled across this recipe (canโt remember where) and itโs become our VERY FAVORITE chicken soup. I love how everything cooks right in the pot. I save the bones to make broth later.
I am so glad you found my blog, thank you so much. My grandma’s soup has so many incredible memories for me. I am so glad you love it.
I made this tonight for my husband who isnโt feeling well. We loved it!!! My teens loved it and so do their friends. Perfect recipe.
I am thrilled this soup was a hit with your family. I hope your husband is feeling better soon!
I have been searching for a recipe for thin dumplings, not drop biscuits dumplings. The one I found was terrible. Others I have found had bad reviews saying the just disappeared when dropped in the hot broth. Chicken and dumplings were my grandson favorite and I would love to make gluten free ones for him! Any suggestions?
Hi Susan, the only dumpling recipe I have is a drop biscuit-style dumpling. I am sorry I don’t have suggestions.