Homemade Chicken Vegetable Soup is an easy recipe that’s both freezer and crock pot friendly! It can be made with chicken thighs, breast, or leftover/rotisserie chicken! Optional additions include rice, pasta, potatoes, and more!
Chicken Vegetable Soup
This recipe, without a doubt, is my favorite freezd good of all time. I make it in huge batches and fill up my freezer for easy (and healthy!) lunches during the week.
It makes such a great base that you can serve as-is, but there is plenty of broth to accommodate the addition of rice, tortellini, pasta, potatoes, and more! I like to freeze the soup as-is and customize the portion sizes when I reheat it later. See below for instructions on how I recommend incorporating each of these add-ons!
Ingredients
Soup
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ¼ lbs. chicken, see notes
- Salt/Pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- ¾ cup carrots, diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 7 cups chicken broth
- 1 ½ cups frozen mixed vegetables, (corn/green beans)
Seasonings
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon EACH: Dried basil, oregano, mustard powder
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Cook Mode
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Instructions
- Pat chicken dry and season with salt/pepper. Heat olive oil in a 4.5-quart soup pot over medium high heat. Add the chicken and sear on each side for about 3 minutes, until a golden crust develops. (It’s okay if the middle isn’t cooked, it will simmer and finish cooking in the soup later.)
- Remove the chicken and set aside. Let it rest for 10 minutes, then dice or shred.
- Melt butter in the same pot over medium heat. Use a silicone spatula to “clean” the bottom and sides of the pot. This will work the brown “fond” into the broth, which adds a ton of flavor.
- Add the onions, carrots, and celery and soften for 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and seasonings. Stir to combine.
- Add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add the chicken back to the soup along with any juice from the plate and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
- Add the frozen vegetables. Cover partially and simmer for 10-15 more minutes. Serve!