Chicken soup is the ultimate comfort food. It soothes us when we are sick and warms us up on a cold winter day. This chicken and vegetable soup combines traditional chicken soup ingredients with extra veggies for added flavor, nutrition, and heartiness.
Flu Season + Cold Weather = Homemade Chicken Soup!
Has your family been hit with the flu? I hope not! It’s crazy this year! Several of my little students have been out sick this week. My husband had some kind of bug last weekend, but so far we have been flu-free. My daughter’s wedding is a few weeks away so I am praying we all stay healthy.
This is my favorite chicken soup recipe because it’s loaded with veggies! It takes some time but it is well worth it. I recently made it on a Sunday afternoon and ate it for lunch all week. It also makes a great freezer meal. I like freezing it in individual serving size mason jars for lunch and to have on hand when someone is sick.
Chicken and Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
- For Stock
- 1 3-4 pound chicken
- 1 large onion, halved
- 2 carrots, coarsely chopped
- 2 stalks of celery with leaves coarsely chopped
- 2 sprigs thyme
- salt and pepper to taste
- For Soup
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 Roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 3 stalks of celery, chopped (stems removed)
- 1 large potato chopped
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup brown rice
Instructions
-
Place chicken in large pot with onions, carrots, celery, and thyme. Cover with water and add salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Skim off any froth.
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Remove chicken from stock and allow to cool. Strain stock and discard solids. Remove skin from chicken and discard. Remove chicken from bones and shred.
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Heat oil in large pot. Add onion and cook over medium heat until tender, 4-5 minutes. Add garlic, cook 1 minute. Add tomato, cook stirring 2-3 minutes. Add remaining vegetables, parsley, Italian seasoning, bay leaves and stock to the pot. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 30 minutes.
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Add the chicken and rice to the pot and continue simmering for 20 minutes or until rice is cooked. Discard bay leaves and serve.
Recipe Notes
This soup freezes well.
We recommend using organic ingredients whenever possible.
kelly says
This looks amazing! Can’t wait to try this healthy recipe. Love to hear it freezes well too!!!
smallgesturesmatter@gmail.com says
Let me know how you like it!
Kellyann Rohr says
Mmmmmmm…this looks so good! Prayers everyone stays well at your house. I’m sure your daughter’s wedding will be marvelous and I can’t wait to see the flowers you design!
Have a wonderful weekend!
xo,
Kellyann
smallgesturesmatter@gmail.com says
Thank you so much Kellyann! You are so sweet!
Carolyn Biron says
Looks delicious!! We’ve been making alot of healthy soups too…love recipes that can be made with or without meat for the vegetarians here….and leftovers for lunches are always o bonus! Thanks for sharing!
smallgesturesmatter@gmail.com says
Thanks Care! Soups are my favorite! I make some kind of soup almost every week. The girls might like the potato soup I posted. It’s a favorite here.