Chicken Soup
135 Comments
Oct 22, 2023
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The best chicken soup doesn’t need much — just tender poached chicken, hearty winter vegetables, and fresh herbs simmered in chicken broth. It’s a simple combination that’s a cozy hug for your taste buds and the best kind of immunity boost.
I’ve been making this exact chicken soup for over a decade now. It’s my go-to recipe when the cold weather strikes and I’m craving something light, brothy, nourishing, and warm. And while many chicken soup recipes often contain pasta noodles, they’re definitely not needed. I swap those out for parsnips which are equally filling, but add a deliciously sweet flavor that works so well with the fresh herbs.
What’s the secret to making a phenomenal chicken soup? My answer is to keep the ingredient list minimal and simple. This chicken soup is jam-packed with a ton of nutrient-dense vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, leek, celery, and onion, plus fresh herbs. Vegetables are a big component of many of my soups recipes, from my lentil soup, to classic vegetable soup, and cabbage soup. But, it’s the fresh thyme and tarragon that really makes this chicken soup special and unique.
If you’ve made my chicken salad recipe you know that tarragon pairs beautifully with chicken, and I’d say it’s the one ingredient that really gives this soup that “wow factor” as well. So if you’re on the hunt for a chicken soup that’s cozy, healing, and flavorful, this should be at the top of your list!
Simple Chicken Soup Ingredients
- Chicken Breast: You’ll need two boneless, skinless chicken breast for poaching. Though you could also swap in chicken thighs if you’d like. Poached chicken is the best method for an easy and healthy way to cook chicken!
- Vegetables: This is a classic and hearty mix of carrots, parsnips, leek, celery, onion, and garlic. If you’re not a fan of parsnips, you can also use turnips or potatoes. Just keep in mind that potatoes may need a few extra minutes to cook until fork-tender.
- Fresh Herbs: When it comes to seasoning your chicken soup, sprigs of fresh thyme, tarragon, and a bay leaf lend herbaceous goodness. See my notes below if using dried herbs.
- Chicken Broth: With a simple ingredient list, it’s important to choose a high-quality chicken broth for the best flavor. If you’re curious about the brand I use, I’ve linked it in the recipe card below.
Find the printable recipe with measurements below
How To Make Chicken Soup
Saute the veggies. Heat the oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add the carrots, parsnips, celery, leek, and onion to the pot and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Then, add the garlic, salt, and pepper, and stir for another minute.
Poach the chicken. Add the thyme, tarragon, bay leaf, chicken, and broth to the pot. Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Simmer the soup for 15 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked. You can also use an instant-read thermometer to see if the chicken has reached 165°F.
Shred the chicken. With tongs, remove the chicken to a cutting board and gently shred the chicken with two forks. Place the shredded chicken back into the pot and simmer for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.
Garnish and serve. Remove the sprigs of thyme, tarragon, and bay leaf. Don’t forget to garnish the fresh parsley and black pepper before serving. Those little additions will make a difference!
Common Questions
While I’m no doctor, I think most would agree that chicken soups are nourishing. And for me personally, it’s always been one of my go-to remedies for when I’m feeling under the weather. The light and warm broth soothes my body and the mix of healthy protein and veggies gives me the nutrients I need to keep my gut happy.
While I do feel that fresh is best in this recipe, if you only have dried herbs on hand, go ahead and use them! Just keep in mind that dried herbs are a bit stronger in flavor, so I’d recommend starting with ½ teaspoon of each, and then adding more if you’d like.
You can always add more veggies to this soup, like peas or zucchini. In fact, I add zucchini noodles along with spicy ginger and earthy turmeric in the golden chicken zoodle soup recipe in my Healthy Meal Prep cookbook!
Storage Tips
- To store for the week: Always allow your soup to come to room temperature before storing away in the fridge in an airtight container. This soup will stay good for 4 to 5 days — making it the perfect healthy meal to quickly reheat and enjoy throughout the week!
- To freeze for later: If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I’m a big fan of freezing extra portions of soups, whether that’s in a glass storage container or this silicone freezing tray. Leftovers will stay good for up to 3 months in the freezer.
- For reheating: To reheat a single serving, microwave it in a bowl for a few minutes until it’s warm to your liking.
More Healthy Soup Recipes
Soups always have a designated spot on my menus, especially during fall and winter. If you’re looking for some new inspirations, I’ve got plenty of soup recipes to choose from. Give one of these a try next!
- Butternut Squash Soup: A must-make during winter squash season!
- Stuffed Pepper Soup: This hearty soup with ground beef, rice, bell peppers, onion, and tomatoes will satisfy even the hungriest bellies.
- White Chicken Chili: This chicken chili is loaded with white beans and lots of veggies.
- Avgolemono Soup: A Greek lemon, chicken, and rice soup that’s naturally creamy.
- Split Pea Soup: Green split peas are simmered with veggies and a meaty ham bone for ultimate flavor.
I hope this chicken soup recipe becomes your new cold-weather favorite. If you make it, I’d love to hear what you think of it in the comment box below. Your review will help other readers in the community.
Ultimate Chicken Soup
Description
Video
Equipment
- Le Creuset Dutch Oven My favorite soup pot!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 3 parsnips, peeled and sliced
- 3 celery ribs, sliced
- ½ medium onion, diced
- 1 leek, halved lengthwise, sliced, and rinsed
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh tarragon
- 1 bay leaf
- 5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- ¼ cup roughly chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Saute the veggies. Heat the oil in a large pot on medium heat. Add the carrots, parsnips, celery, leek, and onion to the pot and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper, and stir for another minute.
- Poach the chicken. Add the thyme, tarragon, bay leaf, chicken, and broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and cover the pot. Simmer the soup for 15 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked.
- Shred the chicken. With tongs, remove the chicken to a cutting board and then gently shred the chicken with two forks. Place the shredded chicken back into the pot and simmer for an additional 1 to 2 minutes.
- Serve. Remove the sprigs of thyme, tarragon and the bay leaf. Stir in the parsley, and garnish with additional fresh parsley and black pepper before serving.
Lisa’s Tips
- Those of you with an eagle eye may have noticed I added the garlic first in the video above. While that’s not detrimental, I do believe the steps listed above are best – so follow those.
- For the shredded chicken hack (using a stand mixer) that I mention in the video, check out my shredded chicken recipe.
Nutrition
©Downshiftology. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Recipe originally published January 2016, but updated to include new information and photos for your benefit!
Can I double this recipe with this Dutch oven? I have the same and am not sure if it would be too full.
It might be a bit too full if you double the same recipe in this Dutch oven.
This truly is an ultimate chicken soup. How can chicken soup be that much better? There is a harvest full of fall flavors with every spoonful. No one guessed that the white vegetables were parsnips but thought they were potatoes. I enjoyed my family loving on the soup for all of dinner. Thank You
Thanks so much for the review and I’m glad that the whole family enjoyed this chicken soup, Bonnie!
Awesome recipe! I am now a fan of parsnips! Easy and delicious soup!
Glad this chicken soup recipe made you change your mind about parsnips!
This is by far the Best chicken soup recipe I’ve ever had!! I love all the veggies and the seasoning is phenomenal!! I did add an additional garlic clove (or two!) just because we love garlic. It cooked quickly and was so easy to make! This will be my go-to chicken soup recipe from here on out!! Thank you Lisa!!
Oh wonderful, I’m so thrilled to hear that, Susan! And I’m always a fan of more garlic as well. ;) Enjoy!
I made this as part of my meal prep on Sunday. I did not have parsnips so used 3 red potatoes and no tarragon- couldn’t find it in the shops and my thyme plant has died. So I put 2 teaspoons of Italian herbs instead. Otherwise, followed the recipe as you described. At the end of cooking, I took out some of the soup and blitzed it and put back in the soup to thicken it. It was easy to make and was delicious, full of flavour. It made 5 generous portions. Thank you for this great recipe.
I’m happy you loved the recipe, Rita! And sounds great with those tweaks as well.
Just made it!
Delicious as always.
Easy to make and well worth it. Great for the cold weather.
Thanks Lisa.
Wonderful! I’m happy you loved the chicken soup, Neil. And yes, it’s a great cold weather soup. :)
Absolutely delicious-best chicken soup ever. Can’t wait to make again!
Thanks so much, Marge! Happy you loved it!
This week as the most flavorful chicken soup I have ever made. Fabulous recipe and easy for the kids to contribute to the cooking! Can’t wait to double the recipe!
Woot! So happy you love the recipe, Jayme! And yes, it’s always a smart idea to make a double batch. ;)
Hi Lisa,
I made your chicken soup last evening for dinner and it’s the BEST chicken soup I have ever had. I can’t wait to make it again
I printed your cabbage soup recipe and plan to make it very soon
Thank you so much for your recipes
Gary
I’m thrilled to hear you enjoyed the chicken soup, Gary!
Can you use a slow cooker to make this?
I haven’t made this in a slow cooker yet, but I’m sure you can! Although, you’ll still need to take the chicken out to shred it.
Yum! I saw the YouTube video and knew I wanted this for the week. It’s so delicious. I used chicken thighs instead of breast and it turned out great! Thanks for another delicious recipe! I wish I would have made this sooner since it’s been in your website so long.
Thanks so much, Chelsie! I’m happy you loved it! And yeah, just goes to show that new photos are important on some of those older recipes, haha.
Super simple, my husband and I loved it. Even better for lunch today!
Sorry. I didn’t see it is for four. How would I make it for sixteen?
You will have to quadruple the recipe!
How many people is this recipe for?
I’ve never seen a parsnip in my country. The nearest thing is the parsley root!!!!
It certainly overpowers my humble chicken soup.
I don’t know how to poach chicken. Is it done in the same saucepan or separately? Thank you 😊
You can see how I poach the chicken in the instructions :)
Made this last night and it was delicious! Served it with rice!
This chicken soup pairs perfectly with rice! Glad you enjoyed it, Jayne.
So simple and quick to make on a weeknight! Wholesome goodness that warms the soul!
This looks both tasty and nutritious and exactly what I need, since I woke up with a bug this morning. I had to have the ingredients delivered, in order to avoid infecting anyone else, and unfortunately, both parsnips and fresh tarragon were not available. On hand at home, I do have sweet potatoes and dried tarragon leaves – could I utilize either of those as substitutes?
Also wanted to say I’m a big fan of your work and just purchased your cookbook – thanks so much for what you do! It’s really helped me become more proficient and healthy in the kitchen.
Yep, that’s totally fine for substitutes!
So easy to make on weeknights! The flavors are just wow!! Another healthy winner!!
This is an amazing soup recipe! I added 2 potatoes and a cup of orzo then a squeeze of lemon at the end and it’s it great here in Pittsburgh for flu season. It warms the body and soul
Great way to add some oomph to this simple chicken soup!
HI, is this a meal I can freeze for a later time? Baby on the way and I want to make ahead meals I can save for baby.
Yes, you can freeze this!
I’ve been following your recipes for about two months now and I love all of your recipes. This was delicious. I’m feeling a bit under the weather and looked for a chicken soup. Delish! I also added one squeezed lemon. I love the taste of lemon in my chicken soup. I just don’t know if I overcooked the chicken. It was a bit hard. I didn’t have parsnips, but I added potatoes and they were still hard. Any suggestions on what to do next time? I also used the Ninja chop to shred the chicken. Was super easy to do. Thank you again!
Glad you enjoyed this chicken soup Nancy! As for the potatoes, they need a lot longer to cook. So, I would parboil the potatoes first before you add them into the soup with the other veggies.
I was so excited to make this soup. For me, the parsnips ruined it. It takes on what I would describe a sweet taste. I used the recommended 3 parsnips but maybe mine were too thick so they over power the soup.
You can always swap out the parsnips for a different vegetable, such as turnip!
This is the best chicken soup period. I had to use chicken thighs instead of breasts and didn’t have fresh teragon so I subbed some poultry seasoning powder. But I couldn’t get enough of the soup! Thanks for sharing.
Made this tonight! I used roasted chicken on hand instead of fresh. It was so good – probably the best chicken soup that I’ve ever made. Had a bowl at lunch everyday – so satisfying and the best part – so nutritious! Thank you dear Lisa.
Happy to hear this turned out perfectly with roasted chicken! I’m sure it added a wonderful flavor to the soup :)
Delicious!!!!
Hi Lisa!
The recipe sounds delicious! Have you ever cooked the soup and then frozen it for later use?
Ben
Yes! You can freeze this soup for up to 3 months.
loved this recipe !!!!!!! I added a can of diced tomatoes as I am tomato freak !!!! yummo
Sounds great with added tomatoes to this Ruth :)
I make my own Beef broth, but no luck with chicken. So, I decided to order Bonafide Chicken Bone Broth. The supplier said “out of stock, and didn’t know when, or if, it would be in stock again”. 😒 What’s your 2nd choice?
Hi Shirley – I normally just buy the Pacific Foods brand chicken stock :)
Another winner Lisa! I poached the chicken separately because I wanted to make extra broth and was my first time attempting poaching. My chicken didn’t shred as beautifully as yours. Do you have any videos on that? Maybe it would have been different cooking with the veggies? Either way when all put together it was absolutely delicious and light and airy and I feel so accomplished that I could make this at home!!!
Hi Asma- Yes! You can head on over to my shredded chicken post to see how I shred it :)
Hi! I’m planning to make this for my family, however, they don’t like parsnips. What would you suggest substituting?
Hi Megan – you can use other root vegetables or potatoes.
Hey there, I really want to try this recipe but I’m immune suppressed and worried to cook the raw chicken in the same broth that I would be eating.. I know it boils and all but I’m still wary! Any advice?
Hi Angie – there’s no safety issues with this recipe because it is boiled. :)
Our family absolutely loves this soup. It is an easy, comfort food full of nutrients. Each time I have made this recipe, everyone always comments on how good it is and most go back for second bowl.
Hi Lisa – So glad your whole family enjoys this warm and nourishing soup :)
I’m craving soup this week so I made the roasted cauliflower and this chicken and vegetable soup… they came out soooooo good!! – thank you Lisa for the delicious recipes!!
Hi Geovanna – So glad you loved this soup as well! These would be great to keep on hand while we’re quarantined!
I love the flavors.. and how easy it was too make. My only problem is my chicken did not shred with 2 forks. I added 5 more minutes and it was still not shredding. I ended up cutting it up into chunks and adding it back in. I need to work on my poaching skills😕
Such an amazingly comforting meal for the cold weather! Everyone at my house loved it.
Hi Toni – Amazing! Glad to hear everyone enjoyed this recipe :)
OMG! This Winter Soup looks absolutely incredible! I’m loving how much chicken and veggies are in it! My kind of dinner!
Hi Shanika – Fresh chicken soup is the best – and of course have to throw in veggies when I can :)
Just in time for cold and flu season! This looks like a tasty and filling soup to warm up with this winter. There’s just something about a bowl of chicken soup that I love.
Hi Annissa – Definitely one to make during the flu season! This will help keep your body warm and healthy.
I love the fresh herbs and vegetables in this recipe! It’s a hearty, comforting soup.
Hi Alison – So glad you loved this recipe! Its definitely a light and refreshing soup for the colder days.
Beautiful soup! And just what I needed to start eating healthy again. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Hi Paula – It’s a great warm soup that will help boost the immune system :)
I’ve never had parsnips before and cooking with leeks was a first for me as well. This soup is delicious and turns out, the parsnips are the star in this dish! I will definitely make this again! Thank you!
Hi Jackie – The parsnips definitely add some texture and flavor in this soup :) Happy you enjoyed it!
Best chicken soup in all the land!
Wonderful! I’m so happy you love this chicken soup Madison. :)
Hi Lisa,
This recipe looks delicious. I’m starting keto today and looking for recipes that are low carb and keto friendly. Since I saw this listed under low carb keto friendly recipes I was surprised to see that one serving has 36 grams of carbs. Where is the bulk of carbs coming from? I’m new to all this so still learning. Thank you. Love your website and recipes.
Hi Pam – most of the carbs are coming from the parsnips in this recipe. You could always remove those and replace with more celery, green beans or another veggie. So this recipe is would fall on the spectrum of low carb, but definitely not keto (both are included in this category). Hope that helps! :)
Hi Lisa,
I just wanted to ask if the nutritional values are for the total meal or per serve?
Hi Vanessa – they’re per serving. :)
Delicious and nourishing, and perfect for beating a lingering cold. The tarragon really sets off the flavour. Loved it and can’t wait to make it again!
Wonderful! I’m happy you enjoyed the recipe Isabella! I’m such a fan of tarragon as well. :)
Made this tonight for my family who are feeling under the weather and absolutely loved it. I used the recommended chicken broth which was excellent. It was also my first time cooking with parsnips and they were delicious in this! Thanks for a great dinner!
You’re welcome Christin! I’m happy you loved the soup and it’s perfect for this time of year when many are feeling under the weather. :)
With all the cold weather everywhere this is perfect! I want to warm up to a bowl of it tonight!
Yes, it’s perfect for those cold, rainy nights. Hope you enjoy the recipe Haley!
I made this for dinner last night and it was a hit with the whole family! Thanks for sharing!
Awesome! So happy you loved the recipe Tayler. :)
This chicken soup is exactly what I’ve been looking for to get me through the long winter. It looks so good!
Thanks Sharon! I hope you enjoy it!
I can’t believe how many healthy and delicious ingredients this soup has! It can easily become my new veggie favorite now – just exactly what I need for those days when I feel a bit under the weather. Delicious recipe!
It’s a nourishing, immune boosting chicken soup for sure! Glad you love it Elaine. :)
This soup sounds so comforting and healing. I love that it comes together in 20 minutes as well!
Fast soup recipes are the best, aren’t they? I hope you enjoy it! :)
Thank you so much for stopping by and sharing this gorgeous recipe Lisa… It is a new fave!! xoxo
My pleasure! So happy you like it! xo
LOVE this hearty soup! Noodles are overrated :)
Lol. I agree! ;) x