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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.
Table of Contents
If you love soup as much as we do, be sure to try our summer vegetable soup, this easy taco soup, and the forever favorite ham and bean soup, too!
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. Serve a hot bowl with a grilled cheese sandwich, cornbread, crusty baguette, or biscuits for old-fashioned comfort food!
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: to saute the vegetables. I typically use salted butter, but unsalted butter or olive oil will also work well.
- Carrots, onion, celery, and garlic: fresh veggies that add savory flavor to the pot.
- Tomato paste: adds a rich tomato flavor to the broth.
- Chicken broth: use homemade broth if you have it, or a high-quality store-bought broth for a nice shortcut. Low-sodium broth is great if you’re watching your salt intake.
- Rosemary, thyme, parsley, and bay leaf: for even more earthy, savory flavor. You can also use other fresh herbs such as basil, oregano, or chives.
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper: to enhance the other ingredients.
- Mushrooms, russet potato, zucchini, and canned diced tomatoes: even more veggies that bulk up the dish and add great flavor.
- Frozen peas and corn: no need to thaw them first. I like to stir them into the pot at the very end so that they don’t get too mushy.
- Chicken: use a store-bought rotisserie chicken for a shortcut, take advantage of leftovers from a previous meal, or boil your own chicken at home to use in the soup. This is a great way to add satisfying protein to a classic vegetable soup.
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
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.
The detailed directions are included in the recipe card below, but here’s the short version:
- Sauté the vegetables in butter.
- Add broth, herbs, and additional veggies.
- Simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Stir in the peas, corn, and chicken.
- Simmer for about 5-10 more minutes.
- Ladle into bowls, garnish with fresh herbs, and serve!
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 the bay leaf. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls and serve!
Serving Suggestions
Here are a few simple options to pair with the chicken garden vegetable soup:
- House Salad with Candied Pecans, Southern Caesar Salad, Green Salad with Red Wine Vinaigrette, a Classic Caesar Salad, Mixed Greens with Dijon Vinaigrette, or a Wedge Salad
- Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits, 3-Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits, Cheddar Biscuits with Bacon and Chives, 4-Ingredient Butter Swim Biscuits, 7UP Biscuits, Sweet Potato Biscuits, Cheese Biscuits, Pumpkin Spice Biscuits, or Drop Biscuits
- Cast Iron Cornbread (shown here), Honey Butter Cornbread, Sour Cream Cornbread, Broccoli Cornbread, Fluffy Bakery-Style Corn Muffins, Southern Cornbread, Jiffy Cornbread with Creamed Corn, Sweet Cornbread, Pumpkin Cornbread, Cake Mix Cornbread, Skillet Cornbread, Corn Sticks, or Honey Cornbread
- Pumpkin Bread or Pumpkin Muffins
- 3-Ingredient Sour Cream Muffins
- Cranberry Orange Bread or Cranberry Muffins
- Cheddar Chive Beer Bread (No Yeast, No Knead) or Honey Beer Bread
- Homemade Crescent Rolls or Soft Dinner Rolls
- A loaf of crusty Dutch Oven Bread, No-Knead Cranberry Walnut Bread, or French Baguette
Preparation and Storage Tips
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 you can freeze it in airtight containers or Ziploc freezer bags 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 stove, cover, and warm over low heat just until the soup reaches the desired temperature.
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 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 boneless skinless chicken 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 skillet cornbread for dipping in that delicious broth.
- A squeeze of fresh lemon juice or a splash of cider vinegar at the very end is a nice, bright addition.
- Garnish with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese for a delicious finishing touch.
More Chicken Soup Recipes to Try
Easy Chicken Noodle Soup
45 minutes mins
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
30 minutes mins
Chicken and Stars Soup
40 minutes mins
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 skillet cornbread for dipping in that delicious broth.
- A squeeze of fresh lemon juice or a splash of cider vinegar at the very end is a nice, bright addition.
- Garnish with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese for a delicious finishing touch.
This recipe was originally published in January, 2021. The photos were updated in August, 2023.
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!