The Ultimate Homemade Chicken Soup Recipes

BASIC CHICKEN SOUP

Steps:

• Bring chicken, water, and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil in a large stockpot. Skim foam. Add onions, celery, and garlic. Reduce heat. Simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes.
• Remove breast, and set aside. Add carrots. Simmer, partially covered, for 40 minutes.
• Remove remaining chicken; discard back and wings. Let cool slightly. Remove meat from bones, and cut into bite-size pieces.
• Stir in desired amount of chicken; reserve the rest for another use. Skim fat. Season with salt.

THE BEST CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

Steps:

• Add 3 of the carrots, 3 stalks of the celery, half the onion, the chicken, peppercorns, rosemary, thyme and bay leaf to a large stock pot. Separate the parsley leaves from the stems and reserve the leaves. Add the stems to the pot. Cover with 3 quarts water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the broth is golden and the chicken is cooked through, 40 to 50 minutes.
• Use tongs to remove the chicken from the pot and put in a large bowl to cool. Strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl or other container. Discard the solids. Wipe out the stockpot and pour the strained broth back into the pot.
• Cut the remaining 2 carrots diagonally into 1/4-slices. Cut the remaining 2 celery stalks into 1/2-inch slices. Dice the remaining half of the onion. Add the cut vegetables to the stock and simmer until tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
• While the vegetables are cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the noodles until al dente, about 5 minutes, then drain and reserve.
• When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and tear the meat into bite-size pieces. Discard the bones and skin. Add the meat back to the pot along with the cooked noodles. Chop the reserved parsley leaves and add to the pot. Season with 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons salt and some pepper and bring to a simmer to reheat.

HOMEMADE CHICKEN SOUP

Steps:

• Put the chicken, carrots, celery and onion in a large soup pot and cover with cold water. Heat and simmer, uncovered, until the chicken meat falls off of the bones (skim off foam every so often).
• Take everything out of the pot. Strain the broth. Pick the meat off of the bones and chop the carrots, celery and onion. Season the broth with salt, pepper and chicken bouillon to taste, if desired. Return the chicken, carrots, celery and onion to the pot, stir together, and serve.

THE ULTIMATE CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

Steps:

• Peel carrots and add peels to a Dutch oven or other large pot. Trim off ends and leafy tops from celery; add to the pot. Trim dark green stalks from leek; rinse. Cut into 2-inch pieces and place into the pot; add bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Smash and peel 2 garlic cloves and add to the pot.
• Finely chop the light green and white parts of the leek; rinse and set aside in a medium bowl. Slice carrots into small pieces and add to the bowl. Slice celery on the bias and combine with the carrots and leeks. Mince remaining garlic; set aside separately.
• Cut away the skin from the chicken breast; set aside. Place chicken in the pot with the vegetable trimmings and pour in broth to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the chicken reads at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), 30 to 40 minutes.
• Remove chicken; discard skin. Wrap chicken to prevent it from drying out. Strain broth and discard vegetable trimmings.
• Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat; cook chicken skin until lightly crisp and fat has rendered out, about 8 minutes. Remove skin and increase heat to medium-high. Add reserved chopped vegetables; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and lightly browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Add minced garlic and thyme; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Pour in strained broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.
• In the meantime, bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook egg noodles at a boil until tender yet firm to the bite, 7 to 9 minutes. Drain.
• Season broth with salt and pepper. Stir in lemon juice; taste and adjust as needed. Stir in shredded chicken and cook until warmed through, about 2 minutes.
• Scoop egg noodles into serving bowls and pour soup on top; garnish with parsley. Serve hot.

THE BEST CHICKEN SOUP EVER

Steps:

• Place chicken in a large pot and cover with water. Place celery leaves in pot and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and place in a bowl until cool enough to handle.
• Meanwhile, strain the cooking liquid, discard the celery tops and place the cooking liquid in a large pot. Place celery, carrots, onion, bouillon, soup mix and chicken broth in the pot and let simmer. Season with thyme, poultry seasoning, basil, peppercorns, bay leaves and parsley.
• Bone chicken and cut up meat into bite-size pieces. Return meat to pot. Cook until vegetables are tender and flavors are well blended, up to 90 minutes.
• Stir pasta into pot and cook 10 to 15 minutes more, until noodles are al dente. Serve hot.