This chicken vegetable soup recipe is richly flavored, satisfying, and truly nourishing-healthy comfort food that warms you from head to toe on chilly days. Tender chicken, fresh vegetables, herbs, and savory chicken broth come together for a pot of soup that's not just good, it's great. I'll show you exactly how to make it, plus how to freeze it for later. This recipe is naturally gluten-free friendly and dairy-free.
I've been making some version of this chicken vegetable soup recipe most of my life. Over the years it's become a true healthy kitchen staple-classic flavors, tender chicken, and flexibility. Stir in pasta or rice if you want something more substantial, or keep it light and naturally gluten-free.
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Why You'll Love Chicken Vegetable Soup
- Healthy and hearty - A cozy, brothy soup loaded with vegetables and tender chicken, without feeling heavy.
- Flexible chicken options - Make it with a raw bone-in chicken breast for maximum flavor, or use leftover or rotisserie chicken when you're short on time.
- Great for leftovers - The soup reheats beautifully for easy lunches and it freezes well for future "I don't feel like cooking" nights.
- Gluten-free friendly - Use gluten-free pasta (or skip the pasta for lower carb).
- Stovetop or slow cooker - Cook it on the stovetop in about 35 minutes or let the slow cooker do the work on busy days.
For more terrific soups using leftover chicken, try my Mexican chicken tortilla soup recipe or this hearty chicken minestrone soup.
Ingredients You'll Need
- Chicken: use raw chicken. For best results, use bone-in chicken as the bone adds flavor to the soup. You can also use leftover shredded chicken from baked chicken breasts or rotisserie chicken.
- Olive oil: My go-to cooking oil but you can use avocado oil or a healthy neutral cooking oil like this. Don't use standard vegetable oil (it's not healthy).
- Celery: one of the must have vegetables for cooking soup, plus it's an overlooked nutritional powerhouse.
- Carrot: adds vegetable sweetness, part of the flavorful vegetable base for soups and many other dishes.
- Aromatics: Onion and leek for great flavor. The combination of both is nice.
- Garlic: for flavor and it's good for you! Use fresh garlic.
- Fresh herbs: thyme, bay leaf (dried is fine), and fresh parsley add wonderful garden flavor and color. Tarragon is nice too.
- Broth: homemade chicken broth is best. If you prefer, use frozen, canned or boxed broth. Be sure to read the labels for unhealthy ingredients and sodium levels.
Please see the recipe card for measurements, salt and black pepper.
Need another option? Try this easy Instant Pot Chicken Soup Recipe. Done in 30 minutes.
Chef's tip: For chicken broth (or chicken stock), homemade is healthiest and most flavorful broth. If you have an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, try my fast chicken broth recipe. Or make a batch of long cooking chicken bone broth. Both have great flavor. Make batches and freeze in portions. Need to buy it? Look in the freezer section for good store-bought chicken broth options and be sure to read labels for sodium levels and ingredients. Go with low-sodium chicken broth brands.
Substitutions and Variations
Try these options for making chicken vegetable soup for your family.
- Chicken thighs - Use boneless, skinless thighs if you prefer dark meat. Trim extra fat, cook in the soup, then shred. They add rich, savory flavor.
- Boneless chicken breasts or tenders - Use about ¾-1 pound. Simmer gently, then shred or cube.
- No fresh thyme? - Use dried thyme or dried Italian seasoning, one of my go-to dried herb blends. Start with about ⅓ as much as fresh and adjust to taste.
- Pasta (optional) - For best results, cook pasta separately and add it to bowls when serving. Keeps the broth clear and prevents over-soft noodles, especially with gluten-free pasta.
- Rice - Brown or white rice both work. Add cooked rice (or frozen rice) at the end and warm through.
- More veggies - Stir in chopped cooked green beans or other favorite vegetables.
- Umami boost - Add a small Parmesan rind while the soup simmers, then remove before serving.
For another terrific hearty soup, try this turkey and wild mushroom soup. Make it with leftover turkey or use leftover chicken.
Chef's Tip: What not to use. For a healthier soup skip the jars or cubes of bullion like a famous "better than" processed paste, unless you are ok with eating stuff like sugar, corn syrup solids, hydrolyzed soy protein, dried whey (dairy), "flavoring" (whatever that is), food starch, disodium inosinate and guanylate. Read the ingredients, then toss it. You and your soup don't need it.
How to Make Chicken Vegetable Soup
Slow Cooker Option
For busy days, this soup cooks beautifully in a slow cooker. The flavors stay bright and the chicken turns tender and easy to shred.
- Sauté the aromatics first - In a skillet (or with the saute function of your slow cooker), warm the olive oil and cook the onion, celery, carrots, and leek over medium heat until softened, about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30-60 seconds. Transfer everything to the slow cooker.
- Add remaining ingredients - Stir in the thyme, bay leaf, salt, pepper, chicken broth, and the whole bone-in chicken breast (skin removed).
- Cook - Cover and cook on Low for 5-6 hours or High for 2½-3 hours, until the chicken is fully cooked (165°F).
- Shred and finish - Remove the chicken, shred the meat, and return it to the slow cooker. Add parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning.
- If adding pasta - Cook pasta separately on the stovetop and stir it into the soup at the end. Slow cookers don't reliably cook pasta evenly and can turn it mushy. You can also swap the past for cooked rice.
Serving Chicken Vegetable Soup
Serve chicken vegetable soup hot all by itself or with a crusty roll or garlic toast. If you need more, add a side leafy green salad with a tasty homemade Italian dressing. For a lift of flavor, serve with lemon wedges for a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Storage and Freezing
Leftover soup keeps in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. To freeze soup for later use, freeze in portions (12-16 ounces is good) in airtight containers for 2-3 months (labeled and dated). For storage, I use these silicone freezer containers or other airtight containers. They work great.
Recipe FAQs
If you are using store purchased broth, be sure it's labeled gluten-free chicken broth or there will be gluten. Sometimes it is hard to tell by the labels without research so don't risk it if you need to be gluten-free. The best option is make homemade broth where you control the ingredients. If adding pasta, use gluten-free pasta. If you're making a creamy version of the soup, skip the dairy or try a plant-based milk or cream, although the level of creaminess may be different.
The best vegetables for chicken vegetable soup is the classic combination of onion, carrot, and celery to start. Other vegetables to add are chopped leeks for more flavor. Parsnips, which look like white carrots, are good too. If you like to add more green to the soup, add chopped green beans, baby spinach leaves or finely chopped kale towards the end of cooking. Another delicious option is chopped fennel, one of my favorites.
To make chicken soup more filling, add cooked rice or a small cooked pasta such as elbow macaroni. Another option is adding cubed potatoes, cooking until tender. I like gold potatoes as they don't fall apart like the drier russet potatoes. Save those for mashed potatoes.
Yes. Add shredded cooked chicken in the last 10-15 minutes so it doesn't dry out.
More Chicken Soup Recipes
For more soup recipes, checkout the soups and stews page. Homemade soups are welcome almost anytime of year.
⭐️Did You Make This Recipe?
If you make this chicken vegetable soup, please add your comment. I appreciate your feedback and enjoy hearing from you. If you loved it, please give it a 5-star rating! They really help other readers.
📖 Recipe
Homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ¼ cups chopped onion half a large
- 1 ¼ cups chopped celery 2-3 ribs
- 1 ¼ cups chopped carrots 2-3 carrots
- 1 cup chopped leek pale green parts only, 1 medium
- 2-3 cloves garlic chopped fine
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme or ¾ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher or sea salt or more for your taste preference
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper
- 6 cups chicken broth, low sodium or homemade 48 ounces
- 1 large bone-in chicken breast 1 pound
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley finely chopped
Optional
- ¾ cup elbow macaroni pasta: GF or wheat optional
Instructions
- Add oil to a large pot over medium heat. When hot, add the onion, celery, carrots, and leek. Cook until the vegetables are softened, about 12 minutes. Watch your heat so the vegetables don't burn or cook too quickly. If needed, turn the heat down. Stir in the garlic, and cook another 30−60 seconds. Add thyme, bay leaf, salt, and pepper.
- Remove skin and extra fat from chicken breast. Cut chicken breast crosswise through the bone into two pieces with a chef's knife. Add the broth and the chicken breast to the pot. Bring to almost a boil, turn down to low, add a lid to the pot and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 15 minutes (to 165°F).
- Remove the chicken from the pot. Add the pasta (if using), turn the heat up a little and simmer until pasta is tender. Time depends on your pasta (about 10 minutes). When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the meat and add back to the pot when the pasta is done. Remove the bay leaf. Add parsley. Ladle into warm bowls to serve.
Notes
- Add pasta, GF or wheat, elbow macaroni is a great size.
- Add cooked rice, white or brown.
- Add small cubed gold potatoes where I add the pasta option and cook until tender.
- Add a can of rinsed and drained white beans, such as small white beans, cannellini beans, or great northern beans.
- Or skip it all together for a simple chicken vegetable soup.
Nutrition
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Jo says
I made this for me & my husband on NYE 2025 as we are both still battling colds. It was wonderful with toasted French bread rubbed with garlic and dipped into Asiago and olive oil.
I did make some substitutions:
• I used bone in chicken thighs because it’s what I had.
• I used the better than x low sodium roasted chicken base. The ingredient list is pretty straight forward. I was briefly a trucker so using the healthiest version of this was standard. Not a lot of room to store boxed broth/stock or make homemade broth on a semi. But you adapt and find the healthiest items you can to stay healthy.Frozen roasted chicken breasts were my go to on the truck.
• Small russet potatoes instead of pasta or rice. I may consider radish in future to keep carbs lower. But next time I’d like to try brown basmati rice. Not sure if quinoa would work, but the protein boost may be a welcome addition.
• Increased the onions, garlic, celery, and carrots.
• I added small cut fresh green beans and baby spinach. To keep this quick and easy I may also consider using frozen leaf spinach or kale. I no longer drive so I rely on frozen veggies quite a bit. This soup is very much suited for frozen veggies.
• I used dried thyme. It’s been my go to as I’ve not started an herb garden at my new-to-me home. Looking forward to starting Egyptian walking onions so I can use them here as well.
Thanks for the recipe & Happy New Year!
Sally Cameron says
Happy New Year Jo, and thanks for the fantastic comment explaining all that you did to make this work for you! Sounds wonderful! Dried herbs work great, love the added green beans, spinach, extra veggies and potato swap. You're a creative cook! Hope you get well soon and have a terrific 2026.
md shawon says
This soup is delightful! The broth is rich and flavorful, perfectly complementing the tender chicken and al dente noodles. It’s comforting and satisfying, making it an ideal meal for any day. Highly recommend for anyone craving a warm, homemade taste.
Jen says
This looks great! How many cloves of garlic? Thank you.
Sally says
Thanks Jen. I did not notice that the amount was cut off! I use 2-3 large cloves because we love garlic, and garlic is so good for you.
Shut Up & Cook says
Fabulous picture of you! Love those glasses!
I'm going to need to detox with this soup when I come back from Paris.
🙂
Madonna/aka/Ms. Lemon says
Sally, I am so delighted for you. I wish you a successful year. You just never know where life is going to take you.
Oh, and the soup is going on my to-do list.
Stacey says
Sally, I'm soooo jealous is all I can say! Awesome! Two of my favorites! I'm just finishing up my year long course with Inst. of Integrative Nutrition and really enjoyed both their lectures as a matter of fact I just listened to Dr. Amen yesterday. You are one lucky woman to have worked on the development of this book! Congrats and much more success to you!
Sally says
Thanks Stacey! Dr. Amen and Dr. Hyman are both absolutely terrific. Both are so deeply knowledgeable and passionate about health. In fact, Dr. Hyman said at the book launch party that this is about transforming world health. Wow. The Daniel Plan is a movement and it can and will change thousands if not millions of lives. It is such an honor a privilege to be part of this team. Stay tuned!
Stacey says
p.s. I noticed your blog has changed a bit over the past year or so but I never realized you went to IIN too until just now. Now I know why!! 🙂 Love them both, have been reading both their books for quite a few years! Best of luck and I look forward to the new book!