The best chicken soup EVER. I have been eating since I was a little baby and my absolute favourite soup in the world. Traditionally we make it with “fide” which are super thin soup noodles in Bulgaria, but I personally switch between rice, soup noodles, or pasta. This soup is super healthy and made with a few ingredients that you probably already have on hand. I hope you give it a try and share it with your loved ones. Please, don’t forget to tag someone who would love this recipe and leave a review on the blog.
The Best Chicken Soup Ever
The best chicken soup EVER. I have been eating since I was a little baby and my absolute favourite soup in the world. Traditionally we make it with “fide” which are super thin soup noodles in Bulgaria, but I personally switch between rice, soup noodles, or pasta.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 chicken thighs + 3 small breasts any cut of chicken works
- salt + pepper to taste
- 1 finely diced yellow or white onion
- 1 finely diced celery rib
- 1 carrot peeled and diced
- 4 finely diced or minced garlic cloves
- 8-10 cups hot water or unsalted stock
- ½ cup washed jasmine rice orzo, fide, pasta all work
Instructions
- In a big soup pot on medium heat, add the oil, add the chicken, and let it sear on each side for a few minutes. Be sure to season it with salt and pepper on each side. You can use skinless chicken or skin on as well.
- Add the onions, carrots, celery and let them sauté for a few minutes to release their aroma.
- Add the garlic and cook off the raw flavour for 1 minute. Add the hot water or stock let it come to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce your heat to medium-low and semi-cover the pot. Let everything cook on medium-low heat for 35-40 minutes. Taste and adjust for salt.
- After 40 minutes, take out the chicken, and add 1/2 cup of rinsed rice to the pot. Remove any skin or bones from the chicken, shred it with a fork, and add it back in once the rice is cooked. Garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy. Squeezed lemon juice in each bowl is optional, but absolutely delicious.
Notes
I used 4 skin-on, bone-in, thighs and 3 small chicken breasts but you can use any cut of chicken you like.
Feel free to use fide, orzo, or pastina in this soup instead of rice. You can even break angel hair pasta in small pieces and use that as well. This soup is extremely versatile so be sure to make it your own.
I add 8-10 cups of water or broth depending on how much chicken/rice I use. You can definitely add more if you see that it’s way too thick at the end.
Always taste and adjust for salt as you can add more but cannot take away.
Feel free to add any other seasonings you enjoy. You can definitely add a Boullion cube into the water or even use Vegeta like my mom does.
Any time you add any type of starch to soups, they tend to absorb the beautiful broth the following day, so what I recommend is cooking the pasta/rice/orzo separately or adding more stock to your soup the following day.
I compost the skin of the chicken but if you like chicken skin, you can absolutely chop it up and add it in as well.
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Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
12 Responses
This truly is the best chicken soup ever. This recipe is always on repeat in my house. I have had to double the recipe because my family can’t get enough of it. Simple fresh ingredients and so flavourful!!!! So satisfying when you’re feeling under the weather; it’s like a big hug from you MOM.
Glad you loved it beautiful
Hello! Today I made “the best chicken soup ever” it really is THE BEST! It’s easy to make and so flavourful! Thank you!!
❤️ warms my heart
Hi can I ask if I’ll be able to use a slow cooker? If yes , then how long And if I’ve to adjust any method or ingredients
Thank you
Hi Shiri,
Yes you can but I don’t want to lead you the wrong way because I don’t use the slow cooker for this recipe
Absolutely delicious and I’ve been making soup for 30 years. My new go-to recipe. I made it exactly as you stated, yum.
Yayyyyy
I made this soup for the second time today and my daughter (who is a bit of a picky eater) gobbled it up! The whole family absolutely loved it. Thank you Sneji!
Omg kisses and hugs to you and her! So glad 🙂
Hi there!
I love all your recipes, this is absolutely the BEST! My 2 year old granddaughter loves it so and so does the rest of the family. I’ve made it so much that it now feels like my own recipe! Lol
Thank you so much for sharing ❤️
Hi Carla,
so so glad! Kisses to you both 🙂