Warm your soul with this comforting and nourishing Best Chicken Soup Recipe, made with tender chicken, aromatic vegetables, and fragrant herbs. This hearty soup is perfect for chilly days or whenever you need a comforting bowl of goodness.
This soup is NEEDED right now in Melbourne as we head into the colder months. I love making up a big batch of this on a Sunday afternoon to have throughout the week with my favourite sourdough. So hearty, wholesome and delish.
I developed this recipe when I realised how cheap chicken drumsticks are. You can usually get 1kg of them for under $10 and they are just perfect for slow cooking. Such an incredible way to get in your protein and collagen on a budget.
If you're looking for a vegetarian/vegan option, you would love my Brothy Butter Beans recipe! Or if you're after some other healthy, hearty chicken recipes you'll love my Yellow Curry Sauce on Chicken Recipe.
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Why you need to make this Best Chicken Soup Recipe
Hearty and Nourishing: Loaded with wholesome ingredients like chicken, vegetables, and herbs, this soup is not only delicious but also packed with nutrients to keep you satisfied and energized.
Simple and Flavorful: Made with basic pantry staples and fresh vegetables, this recipe is easy to prepare yet bursting with rich flavours and comforting aromas.
Versatile and Customizable: You can easily customize this soup by adding your favourite vegetables or herbs, making it a versatile dish that you can adapt to your taste preferences.
This Best Chicken Soup Recipe is full of collagen
Why Collagen from the Chicken is Good: Collagen is the most abundant protein in the body and plays a crucial role in maintaining the structure and elasticity of connective tissues such as skin, joints, and bones.
Consuming collagen-rich foods, such as chicken soup made with bone-in chicken, can support joint health by promoting cartilage repair and reducing inflammation. Additionally, collagen may improve skin elasticity, hydration, and firmness, contributing to a youthful appearance. Furthermore, collagen is beneficial for gut health, as it helps to strengthen the intestinal lining and support digestive function, aiding in the prevention of leaky gut syndrome and promoting overall gut integrity.
Ingredients
Everything you need to make the Best Chicken Soup Recipe
- Chicken drumsticks: Provide rich flavour and tender meat to the soup, making it hearty and satisfying.
- Brown onion, leek, fennel, carrots, celery: Aromatic vegetables that add depth of flavour and nutrients to the soup.
- Green cabbage: Adds a crunchy texture and subtle sweetness to the soup, balancing the flavours.
- Garlic cloves: Enhance the savory profile of the soup with their aromatic richness.
- Bay leaves: Infuse the soup with earthy undertones and a subtle herbal flavour.
- Chicken stock: Forms the flavourful base of the soup, providing a rich and savoury broth.
- Dill: Freshly chopped dill adds a bright and herby note to the soup, complementing the savory flavours of the chicken and vegetables.
- Olive oil, salt, pepper: Used for seasoning and sautéing the ingredients, enhancing their natural flavours.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Hint: Crank up the heat real high when you're browning the chicken. We want some nice dark browning, that's where all the flavour is!
Variations
- Lemon and Herb: Add a squeeze of lemon juice and fresh parsley to the soup for a refreshing citrusy twist.
- Creamy Chicken Soup: Stir in a splash of cream or coconut milk at the end of cooking for a creamy and luxurious texture.
- Spicy Chicken Soup: Add a pinch of red pepper flakes or diced jalapeños for a hint of heat and extra flavour.
Equipment
I absolutely LOVE my Le Creuset Cast Iron Dutch Oven. I use it every Sunday for slow cooking (I always say that Sundays are for slow cooking hehe). I'll link one here from Amazon, it's on sale here at the moment so could be a good opportunity to get your own if you've been thinking about it. (this is an affiliate link which means I will earn a small commission if you purchase through my link)
Storage
Store in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze in batches for up to 6 months.
Top tip
Removing Bones: Be careful when removing bones from the cooked chicken to avoid any small bones or bone fragments in the soup.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Best Chicken Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 kg chicken drumsticks
- 1 brown onion finely diced
- 1 leek thinly sliced
- 1 fennel bulb thinly sliced, a smallish one, about the size of a fist, or half a large one.
- 2 carrots finely diced
- 2 celery stalks finely diced
- ⅛ or 1 cup green cabbage thinly sliced
- 6 garlic cloves finely diced
- 2 bay leaf
- 1.5 litres chicken stock
- ½ cup dill finely chopped
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C
- Bring a large cast iron (or oven safe) pot to medium/high heat with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add to the pot. Fry on each side until browned then remove from the pot and leave aside.
- Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pot then add the onions, leek and fennel with a pinch of salt. Sauté these for 3 - 5 minutes then add the celery, carrot, and garlic and sauté for a further 3 - 5 minutes.
- Mix through the cabbage and sauté for a further minute then add the bay leafs and the browned chicken to the pot. Pour over the chicken stock, give it a rough mix to combine, pop the lid on and place in the oven for 2 hours.
- After 2 hours, take the soup out of the oven. The meat should be falling off the bone. Get 2 bowls, one for the meat and one for the bones and seperate the drumsticks into the two. Add the meat back to the soup and stir through with the dill.
- Depending on how much liquid evaporated, you may want to add an extra cup or two of water or stock. Adjust with salt and pepper as needed too.
- Serve with some buttery toasted sourdough and enjoy!
Nutrition
Food safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
Carly
Holy Moly! 10/10.
Trish
Our go-to chicken soup recipe! I bookmarked this while pregnant for postpartum meal prep and it was the best soup we had that whole fourth trimester (and people brought over a lot of soup...). I've made it numerous times since and am prepping some now for a friend who has also just had a baby. Easy to portion out and freeze (containers or ziplock bags both work great), and I reheat with just a bit more water and it tastes just as good as the day it's made. The only change I sometimes make is bone broth instead of stock for an extra helping of collagen!
Melissa
I made this and loved it so much. It’s delicious. The dill is a perfect addition 😍
Dita
Hi! Which brand of chicken broth did you use ?
Sarah
Hello! I typically use the Urban Forager Chicken Stock Concentrate 🙂
Bryce
This has become a weekly meal for us! Best chicken soup ever.
Laura S
this is our new go to chicken soup recipe. most recipes I find, I usually tweak in one way or another - absolutely no notes on this one.
Sarah
sooo happy to hear this, thank you for the lovely feedback!! xx
Hannah
This is a great recipe and really economical. I have made it twice in the past 6 weeks minus fennel which I couldn’t find. I mashed up the gelatinous broth that was leftover after myself, my husband and kids dealt to it and froze in blocks for my 7 month old to have with mashed sweet potato & pumpkin.. he loved it also.
Lisa Seaton
Absolutely delicious! My whole family loved this.
Thank you for sharing this lovely recipe 🙂
Kate
Best chicken soup I've ever made. So easy to make and the whole family were going back for leftovers. Absolutely delicious!
Patricia
Can we boil on the stove instead of putting the soup in the oven?
Thanks!
Sarah
yep you can, just a nice low simmer for a couple of hours and keep topping up with stock/water as needed! xx