How to Make Homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup

Chicken Vegetable Soup

Make a pot of this soup on the weekend so you will have ready-to-go food during the week. You can vary this recipe by adding different vegetables to the soup portion. Replace the green beans with diced zucchini. Try shiitake mushrooms, lemongrass, and grated ginger for an Asian-inspired soup. You could also add diced root vegetables such as parsnips, rutabagas, celeriac, turnips, and golden beets for a winter vegetable chicken soup. 

Broth:
1 whole organic/pastured chicken (about 3.5-4.5 pounds)
1 onion, chopped
1 head garlic, cut in half cross-wise
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
3 to 4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 to 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon sea salt
12 cups filtered water

Soup:
1 small onion, diced
1 small leek, chopped (optional)
3 to 4 large carrots, diced
3 to 4 stalks celery, diced
½ pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 to 3 teaspoons dried thyme
3 to 4 cups chopped kale
½ cup chopped parsley
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

To make the broth, first rinse the chicken inside and out, then place it into an 8-quart pot. Add the remaining ingredients for the broth. Cover and bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 1.5 to 2 hours.

Place a colander over another large pot. Pour the broth through the colander. Let it drain well. Then place the broth back on the stove. Carefully remove the whole chicken (it will be hot) from the colander and place it onto a plate to cool.

To make the soup, place the onion, leek, carrots, celery, green beans, and dried thyme into the pot with the broth. Cover and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Pull all of the meat from the bones of the chicken and cut larger pieces into smaller ones. Add it to the pot of simmering vegetables. Then add the kale and parsley, simmer for about 5 minutes more. Season with sea salt and black pepper as desired. Serve.