Our flavorful Chicken Vegetable Soup checks all the boxes! It’s hearty and wholesome, perfect for a cozy night in. You’ll love how it’s loaded with tender chicken, lots of veggies, and just the right amount of pasta.
This comforting chicken soup is definitely a family favorite. We pack five different vegetables into this soup and love it. Then, to make sure it’s super filling and hearty, we add some pasta.
It’s like our folk chicken noodle soup but has more vegetables and I add some lemon wedges to perfume the soup. The lemon adds a bright, fresh flavor to our soup. That little touch of lemon works wonders for us lentil soupalso. It really brightens up the flavor. If you’re looking for more vegetables soup recipesI highly recommend our easy vegetable soup!
Main ingredients:
- Chicken meat. You can use leftover chicken or chicken for this soup.I’ve shared the recipe for easy roast chicken thighs that I like to chop up and add to this soup whole fried chicken or these juicy ones fried chicken breast.
- Vegetables. I use five vegetables in this chicken soup. You’ll find onions, carrots, zucchini, and cabbage. Feel free to add more if you have them on hand.
- Herbs and spices. I like garlic, thyme or rosemary, bay leaf and ground turmeric to add a rich yellow hue.
- Broth. Use your favorite store-bought chicken or vegetable stock. Bone broth is also excellent and will add more protein to your bowl.I love this for home cooking chicken broth or this vegetable broth.
- Pasta. I always stir in a small amount of pasta. It’s optional, but adding a bowl of dry pasta to the pot makes the soup hearty and dinner-worthy. The potatoes will do the same.
- Lemon. I like to slide in a few lemon wedges right before serving.I do this for us lentil soup and: ham and cabbage soup. It’s so good.
How to make chicken vegetable soup
If you don’t have cooked chicken, I recommend baking some chicken thighs in the oven with some herbs. To do this, slide them into a 400°F oven and roast until cooked through. This method makes the chicken super tasty and juicy. You can even use some of the roasting juices in the soup.
We will cook the vegetables for the soup in two stages. The heartier vegetables, such as onions, carrots and dill, go in first.When they are soft and sweet, add the garlic, herbs, and broth. Then cook for about 20 minutes.
Because zucchini and cabbage wilt and soften quickly, they don’t need much cooking time, so add them at the end with the pasta, which only takes about 10 minutes. This is also when I stir in my chicken and all the juices left on the pan from cooking it.
I love this chicken vegetable soup, especially with homemade focaccia or garlic bread on the side to tuck in. I can’t wait for you to make it.
Easy Chicken Vegetable Soup
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TOTALLY
This easy chicken vegetable soup recipe contains lots of vegetables and chicken, which makes it delicious. Use about 2 cups of cooked chicken or follow our directions for cooking chicken from scratch. The soup is also delicious without the addition of chicken.
6 servings
You will need it
For the chicken
1 ½ pounds (680 g) chicken thighs skin-on, see notes
1 teaspoon of olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
4 sprigs of fresh thyme or rosemary
For soup
1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced, about 1 cup
2 medium carrots, sliced, about 1 cup
1 medium fennel bulb, cored and chopped, about 1 ¼ cups
2 cloves of garlic, minced, 2 teaspoons
1 tablespoon of chopped fresh thyme or rosemary
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
1 bay leaf
8 cups (1.8 L) chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 medium zucchini, chopped, about 1 cup
1 bunch cabbage, stems removed and chopped, about 4 cups chopped
3/4 cup small dried pasta, such as orecchiette or orzo
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 fresh lemon wedges with seeds, if desired
Grated parmesan cheese for serving, if desired
Directions:
- Cook chicken
1:Heat the oven until 400°F (204°C) Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
2:Prepare a bed for the chicken with a few sprigs of fresh herbs.Dress the chicken with a teaspoon of olive oil, then season lightly with salt and pepper.
3:Bake until a thermometer inserted in the thickest part reads 165°F, 25 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside until the chicken is cool enough to touch. Remove the chicken from the skin and bones, then shred in small pieces.Reserve the juices from the baking sheet to add to the soup.
- Make soup
1:Prepare the soup about 10 minutes before the chicken is ready. Place a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat (we use our Dutch oven). Add 1 ½ tablespoons of oil, onion, dill, and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and glossy, approx 10 minutes.
2:Stir in the garlic, herbs, turmeric and bay leaf and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the stock and simmer. You may need to lower the heat to low to keep it there. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Cook for 20 minutes.
3:Add the zucchini, cabbage, pasta, and chopped chicken, along with any remaining cooking juices from the bottom of the pan that the chicken was in.
4:Simmer for 10 minutes or until the pasta is al dente. Taste the soup and adjust for more salt (we usually add 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons total, but this will vary depending on the broth you use).
5:00Just before serving, drop the lemon slices into the soup. Serve on top with a little grated parmesan cheese (optional).
Advice from Adam and Joan
- Pasta. If you plan to serve the entire batch of soup immediately, add the pasta according to the instructions above. If you plan to enjoy the soup for several days, it is better to cook the pasta separately and add it when serving. The pasta absorbs the liquid as the soup settles and becomes mushy.
- Storage. The soup will keep in the refrigerator for several days, and in the refrigerator for up to a month. It’s best to keep the pasta and soup separate as the pasta will absorb the liquid and become too soft. the taste should be sufficient.
- The nutrition facts below are estimates.
Nutrition per serving
Serving size
1/6 of the recipe
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Calories
240:
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Total fat
9 g
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Saturated fats
2 g
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Cholesterol
34 mg
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Sodium
875 mg
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Carbohydrate
25 g
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Dietary fiber
4 g
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Total sugars
5 g
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Proteins
18 g
