🍗🥕 Chicken Vegetable Soup
Serves
4–6
Ingredients
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1 tbsp olive oil or butter
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1 lb (450 g) chicken (thighs or breasts, boneless or bone-in)
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Salt & black pepper
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1 small onion, diced
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3 cloves garlic, minced
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2 carrots, sliced
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2 celery stalks, sliced
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1 cup green beans or peas
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1 medium potato, diced (optional)
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1 tsp dried thyme or Italian seasoning
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1 bay leaf
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6–8 cups chicken broth
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Optional: ½ cup corn, zucchini, or spinach
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Fresh parsley or dill, chopped
Instructions
1️⃣ Cook the Chicken
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Season chicken with salt and pepper.
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In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat.
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Brown chicken lightly on both sides (doesn’t need to cook through).
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Remove and set aside.
2️⃣ Build the Soup Base
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In the same pot, sauté onion, carrots, and celery for 5 minutes.
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Add garlic; cook 30 seconds.
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Stir in thyme and bay leaf.
3️⃣ Simmer
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Return chicken to the pot.
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Add broth and potato (if using).
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Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer.
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Cook 20–25 minutes, until chicken is tender.
4️⃣ Finish
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Remove chicken, shred or dice, and return to pot.
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Add green beans and any quick-cooking vegetables.
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Simmer 5–10 minutes more.
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Adjust salt and pepper.
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Remove bay leaf; stir in herbs.
Tips for Best Flavor
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Use bone-in chicken for richer broth.
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Simmer gently—don’t boil hard.
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Add leafy greens at the very end.
Variations
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Low-Carb: Skip potatoes and corn.
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Hearty: Add noodles, rice, or barley.
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Immune Boost: Add ginger and a squeeze of lemon.
If you’d like, I can provide a slow cooker version, Instant Pot method, or homemade broth recipe 🍲