This healthy chicken vegetable soup is loaded with hearty veggies, potatoes, herbs, and tender chicken. A cozy, freezer-friendly meal that’s perfect for lunch or dinner!
The easy soup comes together in about one hour from start to finish, takes advantage of leftover meat or a store-bought rotisserie chicken, and makes a big batch that you can store in the fridge or freezer to reheat for quick meals. Whether you’re fighting a cold or just craving something wholesome, this soup hits the spot every time.
Chicken Vegetable Soup: A Cozy Classic Made Easy
When the weather turns cool or you need a comforting meal in a hurry, nothing beats a pot of chicken vegetable soup. This timeless favorite is brimming with old-fashioned flavor, nourishing ingredients, and feel-good comfort. It’s like a warm hug from Grandma’s kitchen.
If you love soup as much as we do, be sure to try our summer vegetable soup, this easy taco soup, our slow cooker chicken tortilla soup, and classic ham and bean soup, too!
Incredibly delicious! And, so healthy and easy to make!
– Sally
Ingredient Notes and Tips
- Butter: Adds a rich, savory base flavor. You can substitute with olive oil if preferred.
- Carrots, Onion, and Celery: The classic soup “trinity” for building depth. Dice the vegetables uniformly so they cook evenly.
- Tomato Paste: Adds richness and body.
- Fresh Herbs (Rosemary, Thyme, Parsley): Fresh is best, but substitute with dried herbs in a pinch. You’ll need about ¼ teaspoon each of dried rosemary, thyme, and parsley.
- Russet Potato: Holds up well in the broth and adds heartiness.
- Zucchini & Mushrooms: Lend flavor and texture. Feel free to omit or swap based on the season or availability.
- Frozen Peas and Corn: No need to thaw; they heat quickly in the hot broth.
- Chicken: Rotisserie chicken makes prep a breeze, but leftover roast chicken works great too. If you prefer to start with raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, see my notes in the recipe card below.
- This makes a very large pot of soup! You can either save the leftovers for later meals, or cut all of the ingredients in half to prepare a smaller batch.
How to Make Chicken and Vegetable Soup
This recipe is slightly adapted from my Crock Pot vegetable soup. While you can certainly add chicken to that slow cooker recipe, I prefer making this dish in a big Dutch oven on the stovetop. The stovetop method gives you more control over the cooking time and temperature, so that you don’t end up with any over-cooked, mushy vegetables or potatoes.
- Sauté the vegetables in butter.
- Add broth, herbs, and additional veggies.
- Simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Stir in the peas, corn, and chicken. Waiting to add the chicken at the end prevents the meat from drying out while you wait for the veggies to soften. Adding the frozen vegetables at the end also avoids mushy, overdone peas and corn. Simmer for about 5-10 more minutes.
- Ladle into bowls. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice or a splash of cider vinegar at the very end is a nice, bright addition. You might also like to garnish your bowl with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese.
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Watch How to Make It
Chicken Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 ½ cups peeled and diced carrots
- 1 small onion, finely-diced
- ¾ cup diced celery
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh parsley
- 1 bay leaf
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
- 1 medium russet potato, peeled and cut into bite-sized cubes
- 1 small zucchini, diced
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, with juices
- 1 ½ cups frozen peas (or sub with frozen cut green beans)
- 1 ½ cups frozen corn
- 3-4 cups cooked, diced or shredded chicken (the meat from about 1 rotisserie chicken)
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the carrots, onion and celery and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are translucent – about 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 more minute.
- Stir in the chicken broth, rosemary, thyme, parsley, bay leaf, salt and pepper, mushrooms, potato, zucchini and tomatoes. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, until the potato and vegetables are tender – about 20 minutes.
- Stir in the peas, corn and chicken. Simmer for 5-10 more minutes, or until heated through. Discard bay leaf. Garnish with additional fresh herbs and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Serving Suggestions
Serve chicken and vegetable soup with a loaf of crusty no-knead Dutch oven bread, garlic bread, Southern cornbread, or flaky biscuits; apple salad, a crisp green salad with lemon vinaigrette for a fresh contrast; or grilled cheese sandwiches for dipping.
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Make Ahead: This soup tastes even better the next day! Prep a pot in advance and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freeze: Cool completely, transfer to airtight containers, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
- Reheat: Warm gently on the stovetop or in the microwave until heated through. Add a splash of broth if it thickens too much after chilling.
Recipe Variations
- Use any vegetables that you prefer. For instance, instead of frozen peas, use frozen, cut green beans. Or swap out the mushrooms and replace them with an extra zucchini or an extra potato.
- Add about 3-4 cups (half of a head) of coarsely shredded or chopped green cabbage, spinach, or kale.
- For a Southern spin, include okra and butterbeans.
- Omit the potato if you don’t want a starchy vegetable in the recipe. Sub with cauliflower florets.
- Add cooked rice, pasta, or barley to your soup at the end.
- Instead of using a store-bought rotisserie chicken and store-bought chicken broth, make your own chicken broth from scratch and use the meat from the broth in this recipe.
- Make it spicy: Add crushed red pepper flakes or a dash of hot sauce.
Very nice soup in very little time!
– Rick
More Chicken Soup Recipes to Try
Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
45 minutes mins
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
30 minutes mins
Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
3 hours hrs 10 minutes mins
Originally published in January, 2021, this post was updated in August, 2025.
Incredibly delicious! And, so healthy and easy to make!
Thank you, Sally! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it!
I love this recipe. I just made my third batch of it yesterday since you posted it on your Week in Meals. Easy to make, and great flavor. My husband loves it too. Thanks for all of your great recipes and have a great week.
That’s amazing, Patti! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoy it. What a great way to squeeze so many healthy veggies into one meal! 🙂
Very nice soup in very little time!
Thanks, Rick! I’m glad that you enjoyed it!
Hello Blair, I have never made soup before and would love to make your chicken soup. This question is probably going to sound really silly, but in the instructions there is no mention of when to add water ?
Hi, Michael! There’s no water in this recipe. The liquid base is chicken broth, which you add in Step #2. Hope that helps, and enjoy the soup. 🙂
Great recipe ~ delicious soup. The only change I made was subbing a rutabaga for the potato for a lower carb version. I’ll definitely make this again. Thank you!
Sounds great, Amy. Thank you for your note! 🙂
This is an outstanding recipe. It is very tasty and very adaptable. My family enjoys this every time I make it. It allows me to add an array of vegetables that I like. This is a simple recipe that anyone can make. Thank you for posting this.
Thank you, Donna!
This is one of the best soups I’ve ever made. I did use seasoned salt instead of kosher and added a bit of chicken Better than Bouillon to taste. Thanks so much for the recipe! My husband can’t stop raving about it!
Thank you, Norma! I’m so glad that you both enjoyed it!
I don’t eat tomatoes. Will this recipe be good without them?
Hi Carolyn,
We haven’t tested it but unfortunately don’t think this recipe would do well without the tomatoes as they contribute to the broth. We do have lots of other soups you might enjoy, though!
Are the calorie count right? If so, I’m making tomorrow and will be my lunch this week. I will update when tasted!
Hi, Weazie! The calorie counts are always just an estimate, and are automatically calculated by the recipe card software. If you need a more exact count, I recommend using a nutritional calculator that you trust, entering the exact ingredients that you use. Hope you enjoy the soup!
Thank you. I will be making exactly as written. Can’t wait to try.
This was so delicious! Made it for my parents and my boyfriend and they all loooved it. Added in some “better than bouillon” and subbed out some stuff I didn’t have. Great way to use up our excess frozen vegetables ❤️
We’re so glad you were able to make it work for you and that it was a hit! Thank you for trying it out, Aidan.
This soup is delicious and hearty – one I’ll definitely make again. I left out the potatoes, added extra veggies, 1/2 cup of orzo and a spoon of chicken base. Thank you!
Thank you, Amy! We’re glad you were able to adjust it to your liking.
Great recipe and simply delicious. Second time today that i’ve mad e this in the last two weeks.
I’m so glad that it’s a hit, Thomas. Thanks for letting me know!
Sure wished you had made note on the recipe itself 1 tsp fresh or 1/4 tsp dry herbs…I was in a rush and guess what happened? My fault for not taking time to sit and read the whole article. But I just didn’t have time…ty for posting!
Sorry about that, Naomi. We hope you still enjoyed the recipe!
Delicious!!! I left out mushrooms and rosemary. This recipe is definitely a keeper! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Sheila! We’re so glad you enjoyed it.
I never get tired of this soup. I couldn’t wait for the weather to get cool and drizzly to make it again this year! I get a rotisserie chicken, shred the meat, and make a broth from the carcass- then use the broth to make this soup. I like to stay close to the original recipe, but we have a zucchini-hater in our house, so I sub in some cannellini beans instead for some extra fiber. Thank you for this awesome recipe!
Thank you for such kind feedback, Shayna! We’re so glad you enjoy the recipe and are able to adjust it to suit your needs.