An easy and healthy Chicken Vegetable Soup recipe is the perfect cozy lunch or dinner for a chilly day! Loaded with flavorful veggies, fresh herbs, diced potatoes and tender chicken, this simple and hearty dish is a satisfying make-ahead, freezer-friendly meal. Serve a hot bowl with cornbread, crusty baguette, or biscuits for old-fashioned comfort food!
Old Fashioned Chicken Vegetable Soup
This hearty chicken vegetable soup recipe is the perfect way to get all of those great nutrients from veggies -- without eating a salad! When the weather is cool, a warm, cozy bowl of soup is far more appealing than raw produce, and this particular dish is jam-packed with goodness. 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. Add a grilled cheese sandwich or a crusty French baguette for the perfect weeknight meal or Sunday lunch!
Ingredients
This is a quick overview of the best vegetables to put in soup! As always, the exact measurements and specific cooking instructions are included in the recipe box at the bottom of this post.
- Butter
- Carrots
- Onion
- Celery
- Garlic
- Tomato paste
- Chicken broth
- Rosemary, thyme and parsley
- Bay leaf
- Kosher salt and pepper
- Mushrooms
- Russet potato
- Zucchini
- Diced tomatoes
- Frozen peas and corn
- Chicken
Can you put raw chicken in soup?
This recipe calls for cooked, diced or shredded chicken. I typically use the meat from a store-bought rotisserie chicken for a shortcut, but you can make your own chicken broth at home and use the meat from the broth if you prefer. By adding the chicken to the pot at the very end, it doesn't get dried out while you wait for the veggies to cook.
You can also start with raw chicken for this soup. To do so, cut up about 2 pounds of raw, boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs into bite-size pieces. Season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper, and then brown the chicken in the Dutch oven with about 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside as you prepare the rest of the soup. Add the cooked, diced chicken back to the pot at the end of the cooking time, as instructed.
How to Make Chicken and Vegetable Soup from Scratch
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 carrots, onion and celery in butter.
- Add the garlic and tomato paste; cook for 1 more minute.
- Stir in the chicken broth, herbs, salt and pepper, mushrooms, potato, zucchini and diced tomatoes.
- Boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer the pot (uncovered) until the potatoes and vegetables are tender. This will take about 20 more minutes, but may require slightly longer if you dice your potatoes and veggies larger.
- Stir in the peas, corn and chicken.
- Simmer for 5-10 more minutes, just until everything is heated through. Discard the bay leaf.
- Garnish with fresh herbs and serve warm!
Crock Pot Chicken Vegetable Soup
Place all of the ingredients except for the peas, corn and chicken in a slow cooker. Gently stir to combine. Cover and cook on LOW for 5-6 hours or on HIGH for 2-3 hours (or until potatoes and other vegetables are tender). Stir in the frozen peas, corn and chicken during the final 30 minutes of cooking time. Remove bay leaf. Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste. Ladle into bowls and serve!
What to Serve with Chicken Garden Vegetable Soup
This hearty and healthy vegetable soup is perfect alongside a loaf of crusty baguette or no-knead bread, soft dinner rolls or crescent rolls, cornbread, corn muffins, pumpkin bread or pumpkin muffins. Biscuits are also a great option! Try these classic Southern buttermilk biscuits, these easy drop biscuits, or these quick 3-ingredient biscuits.
Storage
A pot of homemade chicken vegetable soup is a healthy lunch or dinner to prepare in advance and then stash in your fridge or freezer for busy days. Leftover soup will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Reheat individual portions of leftover soup in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. To reheat larger quantities of soup, place in a saucepan on the stovetop, cover, and warm over low heat just until the soup reaches the desired temperature.
Recipe Variations
- Feel free to 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.
- For a Southern spin, include okra and butterbeans in your vegetable soup.
- Omit the potato if you don't want a starchy vegetable in the recipe.
- Add cooked rice, pasta or barley to your soup when it's done cooking.
- 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.
- Start with raw chicken instead of cooked chicken. You'll need about 2 pounds of raw boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs. Brown the diced meat in olive oil before making the rest of the soup. Then add the cooked chicken back to the pot at the end.
Tips for the Best Chicken Vegetable Soup Recipe
- 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.
- You do not need to thaw the peas or corn before adding them directly to the soup. They will thaw almost immediately when they hit the hot broth.
- Fresh herbs add the best flavor to this old-fashioned soup. If you don't have access to the fresh version, you can substitute with dried herbs in a pinch. You'll need about ¼ teaspoon each of dried rosemary, thyme and parsley.
- Don't forget a side of crusty bread, warm biscuits or soft dinner rolls for dipping in that delicious broth!
- A squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the very end is a nice, bright addition.
- Garnish with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese for a delicious finishing touch!
More Chicken Soup Recipes You'll Love
- Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Farmhouse Chicken and Rice Soup
- Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo
- Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
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 pepper, to taste
- 8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
- 1 russet potato, peeled and cut into bite-sized cubes
- 1 small zucchini, diced
- 1 (14.5 oz) can petite diced tomatoes, not drained
- 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
- 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.
- You do not need to thaw the peas or corn before adding them directly to the soup. They will thaw almost immediately when they hit the hot broth.
- Fresh herbs add the best flavor to this old-fashioned soup. If you don't have access to the fresh version, you can substitute with dried herbs in a pinch. You'll need about ¼ teaspoon each of dried rosemary, thyme and parsley.
- Don't forget a side of crusty bread, warm biscuits or soft dinner rolls for dipping in that delicious tomato broth!
- A squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the very end is a nice, bright addition.
- Garnish with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese for a delicious finishing touch!
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