Easy Homemade Chicken Soup

Remember a couple of weeks ago I shared an easy homemade chicken stock recipe? Well, today I want to share with you how to use that amazing stock in a healthy and filling homemade chicken soup! Let’s get this soup started!

bowl of homemade chicken soup on plate with crackers

Homemade Chicken Stock

We left off with this delicious homemade chicken stock that we made from a leftover rotisserie chicken. If you missed how easy it is to make your own stock, check out this post! It really is the easiest way to have a healthy and flavorful alternative to store bought chicken broth.

I like to freeze my stock if I don’t plan on using it right away. I can pull it out of the freezer, remove the lid, turn it upside down in a dutch oven like this and let it defrost. The chicken had been removed from the bone and was frozen along with the stock.

large measuring cup filled with homemade chicken stock. container of Broth Base in chicken flavor placed beside the measuring cup

Veggies of Your Choosing

I also like to add frozen or fresh veggies to the pot. It really depends on what I have available but here are some options:

  • frozen corn
  • frozen lima beans
  • chopped fresh carrots
  • fresh broccoli florets

For the 8 cups of stock, I like to use one cup of each veggie and I usually use two veggies. Today, I used one cup of frozen corn and one cup of fresh chopped baby carrots.

The corn defrosted along with the chicken stock in the dutch oven. The carrots were sautéed with a chopped onion and a couple of stalks of chopped celery. Technically the onion and celery are veggies but I always think of them as flavoring. A bit of extra virgin olive oil and a pat of butter help to cook the onions, carrots and celery and they add to the flavor of the soup.

I cooked the carrot mixture until the carrots were tender.

Simple Savory Spices

While the carrots and veggies sautéed, I chopped fresh parsley. The stock had been prepared with dried thyme and dried sage, but I added more to the soup. Some of the spices can get strained out when separating the bones from the broth. You can see that step in this post!

Bring it all Together!

The next step is to add the cooked veggies to the chicken stock in the dutch oven. Bring it all to a hard boil for the next step!

I also add orzo pasta to the pot! This is an interesting alternative to egg noodles or dumplings, both of which I love! The orzo looks like a large rice but in reality it is pasta. I added one cup. If you want more of a soup you have two choices:

  • add 1/4-1/2 cup of orzo
  • cook orzo in a separate pot of water and strain when finished

If you add less orzo, you will have a thinner stock because there is less starch in the soup. The same will happen if you cook the orzo separately, most of the starch will be strained out through the colander. Starch from pasta acts as a thickening agent.

I like a thicker consistency so I cook the full cup of orzo in the stock with the veggies. The orzo takes about 8-9 minutes to become al dente. Turn the burner off and let the soup/stew sit for a few minutes. The stew will thicken a bit more. If it thickens more than you like, add a bit of boiling water to thin it out.

Alternative to Pasta

If you are avoiding gluten like so many are for dietary reasons, you can use Yukon Gold Potatoes that have been cut into bite size pieces. The potatoes can be added to the boiling stock and cooked until tender. It is you choice to peel or not to peel the potatoes!

Salt and pepper to taste and there you have it!

Look at that Goodness!

Doesn’t this homemade chicken soup look so yummy?? I would have preferred a crusty piece of bread on the side instead of crackers, but a girl does what a girl’s gotta do, right??

A little sprinkle of the chopped parsley on top of the soup adds such a nice bit of color. This is such a filling meal on a cold, winter day. And it is so healthy! The bone broth is so good for us!

That rotisserie chicken served us well!

Feel Free to Pin!

Be sure and save this easy homemade chicken soup on your Pinterest Board! You will have something to do with that leftover chicken rotisserie instead of throwing it out!

So glad you stopped by for this easy and delicious homemade chicken soup! Let me know if you give it a try!

What is your favorite soup to make on a cold winter day? Share with us in the comments!

Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Easy Homemade Chicken Soup

Using homemade chicken stock, this recipe is packed with flavor and healthy benefits!
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chicken soup

Ingredients

  • 8 cups homemade chicken stock
  • 1-2 cups pulled & chopped rotisserie chicken meat
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion (approx)
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery (approx)
  • 1/2-1 cups each of veggies of choice: corn, carrots, broccoli
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 cup orzo pasta
  • 1 cup cubed Yukon Gold potatoes **Optional Pasta Replacement
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp dried sage
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 tbs butter

Instructions

  • Defrost frozen, prepared chicken stock and chicken meat.
    Sauté chopped onion, chopped celery and chopped carrots in olive oil and melted butter until tender.
    Bring stock and chicken to a hard boil.  Add sautéed veggies.
    Add orzo pasta to boiling stock mixture and cook until al dente. **Optional: cook cubed potatoes til tender.
    Turn heat off and add the spices.  Cover with a lid and let it set for about 10 minutes.
    Sprinkle each serving with fresh chopped parsley.  Salt and pepper to taste.
    Serve with saltines or French bread! Enjoy!

Notes

This is a delicious homemade chicken soup that has many variable in the ingredients.  Calories could not be calculated because of this.
Have fun with experimenting with a variety of veggies in this soup/stew!

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2 Comments

  1. Debora Foor says:

    5 stars
    I used gluten-free orzo pasta (Delallo imported Italian wheat-free pasta) made with corn and rice, and it worked well. (I think I got this brand from Safeway). This is a delicious soup, but as you said, pay attention to how much pasta you use because any more than 1 cup in eight cups of stock and you will have something akin to casserole instead of soup! I learned that the hard way. LOL. Thanks for the terrific recipe; it’s a perfect pairing to your rotisserie chicken stock/bone broth, by far the easiest method I’ve ever tried.

    1. Cynthia Gayle says:

      Thanks for reading! Glad you enjoyed the post. I will have to try that pasta you mentioned?