Hearty Chicken Vegetable Soup

There’s nothing better than a comforting bowl of classic Chicken Vegetable soup brimming with veggies and loads of shredded juicy chicken simmering in a flavorful tomato broth. This healthy soup is a simple and satisfying hearty meal the whole family will love!

My mother has made this soup my entire life! It is a definite old-fashioned favorite that I look forward to making and stocking my freezer with once the cool weather starts coming in.

As a kid, you might remember having plenty of homemade soups, especially when cold and flu season hit. The aroma of it simmering on the stove was enough to kick start your taste buds and the steam hitting your face as you sipped your first spoonful are comforting memories we associate with a good bowl of hot soup.

It’s now more important than ever to eat as many immune boosting foods as you can get your hands on. This healthy chicken and vegetable soup is packed with protein, vitamins, and nutrients, but doesn’t skimp on taste. Without the addition of any pasta, it’s also totally gluten-free! I guess we can all thank past generations for the idea of soup being a healthy, easy, inexpensive meal idea!

It’s a such an easy soup to make and very forgiving! This makes it super budget friendly and customizable because you can really use whatever veggies you have on hand. My husband likes adding little pasta in as well. It adds a little extra body and texture to what is already a complete meal!

Making it from scratch results in a fresh tasting soup with robust flavors that is not something you can find in a can! With a long simmering time, you can start it earlier in the day and have it ready just in time for dinner. Have a bowl on a chilly day and it will warm you right down to your bones. If you have leftovers, it might even taste better the next day! Take it for lunch for the rest of the week or if you want to make a big batch, it makes a great freezer friendly meal.

How to Make this Chicken and Vegetable Soup Recipe

Fill a large stock pot with water about half way full. Place your whole chicken in the water. For the sake of easy handling it’s more convenient to leave it whole, but if you have your chicken in pieces, that’s completely fine.

Bring the water to a boil and cover. Allow it to simmer for a good while until you’ve turned water into a beautiful broth. Remove the chicken and place it in a baking dish to cool.

Add all of the frozen mixed veggies, frozen green beans, frozen corn, and Lima beans along with the onion, can of crushed or diced tomato and chicken bouillon cubes, to the water and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce the heat to a simmer.

Remove the chicken meat from the bones. If it just falls off the bones and can easily be shred by hand, great. If not, you can put all the meat into a bowl and pull apart to shred with two forks. Add to the broth and allow it to simmer. Do a little taste test near the end and add salt and pepper to taste.

Adding pasta or rice will result in a thicker starchier soup if left to simmer too long. If you want to add it to the soup, add it in towards the end of the simmering time. Otherwise, cook separate and add in the precooked rice/pasta at the very end or even serve the soup over top the rice or pasta.

You can of course serve it on its own or with a side of leafy green salad or a slice of crusty bread!

Tips and variations

• If you’re serving this to a crowd who enjoys pasta in theirs, try any small pasta (pastini) such as orzo or Ditalini pasta. Little alphabet pasta is always a hit with the kids!

• If you are in a pinch you can absolutely make this soup with ready made broth (all the better if it’s homemade that you had stored!) and precooked shredded chicken.

• Substitute the veggies to your liking. You could try potatoes, zucchini, or celery.

• This soup has great flavor as is, but if fresh herbs are something you enjoy, you could add some dried or fresh herbs as an extra dimension.

• If you have a whole rotisserie chicken, already cooked, feel free to make the broth from that as well. A great way to use up leftovers!

How to Store Homemade Chicken and Vegetable Soup 

Once you’ve completely cooled your soup, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Anything past a few days, always check it (smell it) before deciding to reheat.

Freeze it for up to 3 months and allow to thaw in the fridge overnight.

Reheat in a pot on the stove top over low heat.

Try these other Healthy Soup Recipes too:

Pasta Fagioli Recipe

Broccoli Potato Leek Soup

Simple Chicken Corn Chowder

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Soup

Tomato Basil Chicken Soup

Clean Eating Chicken Vegetable Soup

This clean eating Chicken Vegetable Soup is so hearty and yummy. This recipes makes a large batch for freezing too.

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Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 5 hours

Total Time: 5 hours 30 minutes

Servings: 24

Calories: 165kcal

Author: Sherri Hagymas

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 pound whole chicken
• ▢ 1 onion chopped
• ▢ 2 pounds bags of frozen mixed vegetables
• ▢ 16 ounces bag of frozen green beans
• ▢ 16 ounces bag of frozen corn
• ▢ 16 ounces bag of lima beans
• ▢ 32 ounces can of crushed or diced tomatoes
• ▢ 3 tsp or 3 cubes of no sodium chicken bouillon
• ▢ salt and pepper to taste
• ▢ 1 lb ditalini orzo or alphabet pasta, optional

Instructions

• Fill a large stock pot half full of water and place chicken in the water.
• Bring water to a boil, then cover and simmer for 30-40 minutes.
• Remove chicken from the water and place in a baking dish to cool.
• Add all frozen vegetables, crushed tomatoes and chicken bouillon to the water.
• Bring to boil, then cover and reduce to simmer.
• Remove chicken meat from the bones and shred into pieces. I do this with my food processor or by hand.
• Simmer for 4-5 hours total.
• Serve over pasta cooked separately.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 165kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 107mg | Potassium: 447mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 2220IU | Vitamin C: 13.5mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 1.9mg

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