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Easy Leftover Chicken Soup

Homemade chicken soup (using leftover chicken!) is so much fresher, tastier, and better for you than canned. This leftover chicken soup recipe is naturally gluten free.

Who else is comfort food cooking this week? Me, I might just be doing a little bit of stress cooking… But at least it’s both cathartic and productive, right? So, yesterday I threw together a pot of Leftover Chicken Soup with a little cooked chicken from the freezer, plus the ends of some celery & carrots from my fridge. Soup is always good food — as well as a welcome bit of aromatic comfort in unsettled times.

bowl of leftover chicken soup with carrots, celery, garlic, turmeric, and more!

Although this homemade chicken soup recipe ticks all the right boxes when it comes to comfort food, I’ll freely admit that it’s not particularly photogenic. (Part of that is the turmeric; although it’s good for you and adds a certain something to the flavor, it also tints everything a very shade of yellow.) Trust me, though — Sometimes it’s all in the taste and the comfort, rather than in the appearance.

Chicken soup now, chicken soup later…

Chicken soup also freezes quite nicely, if you want to cook up a batch and freeze individual portions in cups of 8 oz containers or in bowls of 12 oz containers. (I just ordered myself a new batch of these, since they tend to wander off over the years…) It’s always good to have some homemade soup on hand for the future. Plus:

Seriously… you can’t go wrong with chicken soup. (We always used to refer to it as Jewish penicillin in our home for a reason!)

Easy Leftover Chicken Soup

Ingredients

1 Tbsp olive oil
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
1.5 cups leftover cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
1 bay leaf
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp parsley
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne
Black pepper, to taste
Sea salt, to taste

Directions

chop up the leftover chicken for chicken soup

Chop the chicken, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic.

Heat olive oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering, then add the carrots, celery, and onion.

carrots, celery, onion, and garlic cooking up in a soup pot

Saute for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic and continue to cook over medium heat for another two minutes.

Add spices to the chicken soup and bring to a boil

Add the chicken broth, water, chicken, and spices to the pot. Stir, increase heat, and bring pot to a boil.

Skim, if necessary (if using chicken breast, you may not have to). Stir, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove and discard the bay leaf, and serve.

Note: Go light on the salt, because the broth is already salty. You can always taste and add a bit more at the end, if desired.

Basic Chicken Soup is a Basic Good

Leftover chicken soup is a basic good: Comfort food for crazy times. It's so easy to make a pot of homemade chicken soup, and so much better (and better for you) than canned.

Take comfort in a basic bowl of chicken soup, which reminds us to slow down and find some solace in the little things. It’s easy to make this leftover chicken soup recipe with shredded rotisserie chicken or leftover roasted chicken, or you can poach up a chicken breast or cook it in your Instant Pot.

Leftover chicken soup is just so good, with its classic veggies plus a little kick of garlic, turmeric, and cayenne. (We’re having leftover chicken soup leftovers for dinner here again tonight!) Homemade chicken soup is always fresher and better for you than canned, and naturally gluten free.

Leftover Chicken Soup, printable recipe

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5 from 11 votes

Easy Leftover Chicken Soup

Homemade chicken soup (using leftover chicken!) is so much fresher, tastier, and better for you than canned. This leftover chicken soup recipe is naturally gluten free.
Course dinner
Cuisine soup
Keyword chicken soup, gluten free, leftover chicken, leftover chicken soup, leftovers, soup
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 3 carrots peeled and chopped
  • 2 celery stalks chopped
  • 1 medium yellow onion chopped
  • 2 tsp minced garlic about 4 cloves
  • 4 cups chicken broth
  • 2 cups water
  • 1.5 cups leftover cooked chicken chopped or shredded
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1 tsp parsley
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • Black pepper to taste
  • Sea salt to taste

Instructions

  • Chop the chicken, carrots, celery, onion, and garlic.
  • Heat olive oil in a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering, then add the carrots, celery, and onion.
  • Saute for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic and continue to cook over medium heat for another two minutes.
  • Add the chicken broth, water, chicken, and spices to the pot. Stir, increase heat, and bring pot to a boil.
  • Skim, if necessary (if using chicken breast, you may not have to). Stir, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Remove and discard the bay leaf, and serve.

Notes

Go light on the salt, because the broth is already salty. You can always taste and add a bit more at the end, if desired.

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Recipe Rating




Patty Baker

Wednesday 25th of September 2024

I made this today with leftover chicken and my frozen homemade broth added lo mein noodles, it was great, I was never happy with the seasonings yours was just right, my grandson loved it.

chris

Sunday 15th of September 2024

I made this today (the comments are helpful). I made it as written and it is really good. I followed the instruction to not add much salt, mine needed it but easily remedied. The spice mix is perfect IMO, and I'm usually picky about that. I'll think about more vegetables I can add next time. My local store sells cooked shredded rotisserie chicken so all good.

Melisende

Sunday 17th of March 2024

I was surprised just how good this tasted because the recipe is not terribly fussy and it seemed like a basic chicken soup. However, it's actually one of the besty chicken soups I've made. Only change was adding some thin German egg noodles because I had less chicken. I liked that they soaked up some of the broth.

Patricia D

Sunday 17th of March 2024

Made this numerous times. Usually make rice onside and add to separate soup bowls. Thanks 😊

FatCatAnna

Sunday 25th of February 2024

I just made this up .. but as a stew ( near end of cooking time added 2 table spoons mixed with 1 tablespoon of olive oil). It was amazing! I did add some potatoes (about 2 1/2 cups added to the veg mixture) and a cup of frozen green peas (near the last 15 minutes). I do added 1/2 cup more of chicken to have more protein. Also, cooked an extra 30 minutes, to allow potatoes to hopefully release starch to make more gravy like ..and reason for added "roux" above. This recipe is so easily converted using what you have on hand. My 93 year old Dad said it reminded him of what his Mum made .. so that's a good sign! The turmeric.. wow 😘