The Best Chicken Soup Ever
on Oct 19, 2021, Updated Oct 26, 2023
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This is simply The Best Chicken Soup Ever. I have been enjoying this soup since I was a little baby, and it remains my absolute favorite soup in the 🌎 world to this day. This soup is the definition of comfort food. Traditionally, my family makes this with “fide” which are super thin soup noodles in 🇧🇬 Bulgaria, but I personally switch between rice, soup noodles, or pasta. Any variety of 🍚 rice or noodles will work here, so use what you ❤️ love.
I hope you give it a try and share it with your loved ones. Don’t forget to tag someone who would love this recipe and leave a review on the blog.
Why You’ll Love The Best Chicken Soup Ever
This soup is simply made with a few fresh ingredients: chicken, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and 🌿 parsley. It’s healthy and comforting and the perfect meal if you’re feeling a bit under the weather.
The flexibility of this soup is so wonderful. From various cuts of chicken, different veggies, and your choice of pasta or rice, you can certainly make this soup your own. The combination of the seared chicken and the vegetables in this soup creates an amazing flavor profile that is not only tasty but also healthy!
How To Prepare
- First, heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat.
- Then, sear the 🐔 chicken on both sides for a few minutes, seasoning with 🧂 salt and pepper.
- Add onions, carrots, and celery; let them cook for a few minutes to release their aroma.
- Next, add the 🧄 garlic and cook for about 1 minute to remove the raw flavor.
- Pour in hot 💦 water or stock and bring to a boil.
- Now you can reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover the pot with a lid, and then let it simmer for 35 to 40 minutes.
- As always, taste and adjust the soup with 🧂 salt if needed.
- After 40 minutes, remove the chicken and add the rinsed 🍚 rice to the pot.
- Shred the chicken with a fork after removing any skin and bones and then add it back to the pot once the rice is cooked.
- Finally, you can garnish with fresh parsley and optionally, add a squeeze of 🍋 lemon juice to each bowl for extra flavor.
Nonna’s Tip
For enhanced flavor, try using my homemade vegetable stock cubes in this recipe!
Substitutes and Variations
The Best Chicken Soup Ever lends itself to a number of different add-ins or variations. Let me know in the comments if you try any!
- Substitute the rice for quinoa, orzo, brown rice, pastina, broken-up angel hair pasta, or couscous. There are so many options for this aspect of the soup! Choose what you ❤️ love.
- Feel free to try this recipe with different 🌿 herbs like dill, thyme, or basil for added flavor.
- Try adding other vegetables to your soup, like peas, spinach, or kale.
- The soup can be made 🥬 vegetarian by omitting the chicken.
- For enhanced flavor, add my homemade chicken bouillon cube to the broth along with the rice. Alternatively, you can swap half or all of the water for chicken or vegetable broth.
Best Served With
Consider serving this easy Best Chicken Soup Ever with some delicious homemade bread. Here are some of my favorites:
- No-Knead Peasant Bread
- No-Knead Gluten-Free Bread
- Cheesy Roasted Garlic Bread
- Grandma’s No-Knead Olive Bread
- No-Knead Focaccia
Similar Recipes
Don’t forget to explore other similar recipes on my blog if you’re interested in comforting soups:
- Lasagna Soup
- Pastina Soup
- Greek Lemon Soup
- The Best Lentil Soup
- Hidden Veggie Orzo Soup
- Healthy Cream of Broccoli Soup
- Healthiest Cream of Hidden Veggie Soup
- Hidden Veggie Meatball Soup
- Chicken Noodle Soup
Most Common Questions
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Absolutely! Feel free to use fide, orzo, or pastina in this soup instead of rice. You can even break angel hair pasta into small pieces and use that as well. This soup is extremely versatile so be sure to make it your own.
Allow the soup to cool to room temperature before transferring it to an airtight container. Then, place it in the refrigerator within two hours of cooking. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Any time you add starch to soups, it tends to absorb the beautiful broth the following day. Therefore, what I recommend is cooking the rice/pasta/orzo separately or adding more stock to your soup the following day.
If you have more leftovers than you can consume in a few days, freezing is a great option. First, portion the soup into airtight containers or resealable freezer bags, but be sure there’s some room for expansion to prevent containers from cracking. Then, label the containers with the date. The soup can be stored in the freezer for up to 2-3 months.
When you’re ready to enjoy your leftover soup, simply thaw it in the refrigerator overnight if frozen. To reheat, use a microwave, stovetop, or an oven. Make sure to heat it thoroughly until it’s steaming hot. You may need to add a bit of water or broth to adjust the consistency.
Start by preheating a thermos with boiling water and keep it closed. While the thermos warms up, heat the soup on the stove. This entire process should only take about 10 minutes. Once the thermos is ready, empty the hot water and add the soup, leaving some space at the top to prevent a vacuum seal, which would make it harder to open. If desired, sprinkle some fresh Parmesan over the soup before serving.
Yes, you can make this soup vegetarian by omitting the chicken and using vegetable broth instead of water.
For enhanced flavor, you can add any seasonings you enjoy. You can also add a bouillon cube (or 1 tablespoon bouillon paste) to the water/broth, or use Vegeta as my mom does.
I add 8 to 10 cups of water or broth depending on how much chicken and rice I use. You can definitely add more if you see that it’s way too thick at the end.
I used 4 skin-on, bone-in thighs, and 3 small chicken breasts – any cut of chicken will work here: bone-in or boneless. You can also use a whole chicken; just increase the quantity of liquid and fully submerge the chicken. Once the chicken is fully cooked, remove the skin and bones and shred the meat. 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.
I use Redmond Real Salt, please note that depending on the salt you use, your dish may be less or more salty. Salt is always to taste. Always taste and adjust as you cook.
The Best Chicken Soup Ever
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil, any oil
- 4 chicken thighs, any cut of chicken works
- 3 chicken breasts, small
- salt and pepper , to taste
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 1 celery rib, finely diced
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 4 garlic cloves, finely diced
- 8 to 10 cups unsalted vegetable broth , or water
- ½ cup jasmine rice, washed
- fresh chopped parsley , for garnish
Instructions
- In a big soup pot over medium heat, add the oil and let it warm. 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.
- Add the onions, carrots, and celery and let them cook for a few minutes to release their aroma.
- Add the garlic and cook off the raw flavor, 1 minute. Add the hot water or stock let everything come to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and semi-cover the pot with a lid. Let everything cook on medium-low heat for 35 to 40 minutes. Taste and adjust for salt.
- After 40 minutes, remove 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.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was delicious. I made just a few changes. I used 2 cups of chicken broth and 8 cups of water. I also added a 1/2 TSP of turmeric and a touch of red pepper flakes.
Thank you for sharing Wendy! So glad you enjoyed 💕
Love this recipe!!
Thank you Vee! It’s one of my favorite comfort foods.
Gets better with every bite. I used rotisserie chicken.
Yum!! That makes it so easy, Anna. I love it! 🥰❤️
halfed most of the ingredient amounts to make a single serving each for me & my husband. next time would try without rice but other than that happy.
very impressive how easy it was to make! and i get stressed when cooking but this was super easy. 10/10 recommended.
So glad this worked well for you, Mimi! I love when families can enjoy my recipes together. It warms my heart! ❤️
I stumbled on this recipe on Instagram and finally made this chicken soup today. I used rotisserie chicken instead of cooking the chicken thighs due to a time crunch and it was perfect! Thank you so much for sharing this.
Hi Yuliya! so wonderful, I am glad you enjoyed it
This is just like my mom taught us how to make chicken soup and it is absolutely delicious. This is going to go great with your crusty bread recipe.
Aw I just love Mom’s! They always know best. Thank you Gloria
Thank you for this soup base receipe. I actually used some of the broth (without rice in it) for making curry noodle soup.
Sounds delicious! So glad you enjoy it.