Chicken Vegetable Soup

This chicken vegetable soup is a healthy broth-based soup loaded with shredded chicken, butternut squash, carrots, onion, garlic, and potatoes! Add in some kale (or spinach) and garnish with some freshly grated Parmesan for a filling, flavor-packed meal. 

Pair this comforting soup with some homemade dinner rolls or some crusty bread.

A great healthy soup recipe!

I took one of my favorite recipes on the site — these roasted vegetables and turned them into a hearty, healthy chicken soup.

And this chicken vegetable soup combines so many of my favorite things into one pot: caramelized roasted root veggies, tender seasoned chicken, a simple herby broth, and greens. It’s an easy soup that’s pretty hands off once you’ve chopped up all the veggies. 

This soup is one of those meals you’ll feel great eating; it’s hearty, warm, and comforting while also being filled with good, healthy ingredients! If you’re looking for a flavor-packed soup to keep you on track with healthy eating goals, this chicken vegetable soup is IT.

What to put in this soup: the ingredients

The great thing about this chicken vegetable soup is that it doesn’t require a whole lot of ingredients. It’s fairly simple and straight-forward with plenty of pantry staples and root vegetables.

• Carrots: we coin and roast the carrots which adds a nice natural sweetness to this soup.
• Butternut squash: another ingredient that adds a sweetness to this soup. Butternut squash becomes gorgeously caramelized and more intensely flavored when roasted. You can use sweet potatoes in place of the squash in this soup.
• Red potatoes: these add bulk and hearty texture. Yukon gold potatoes or even russets would work nicely in this soup.
• Red onion: the onion adds a nice mild flavor. For a stronger onion flavor, use a yellow or white onion.
• Olive oil: the oil helps get that beautiful caramelization on the veggies.
• Garlic: we roast the garlic and smash it into a paste which really amps up the flavor of the soup.
• Chicken broth or chicken stock: this pantry staple forms the base of the soup. Chicken bouillon or better than bouillon and hot water can be used instead.
• Rotisserie chicken: to keep everything simple, we use chicken that has already been perfectly cooked & seasoned. It cuts down on the seasonings required in this soup and the hands on coking time. (I’ll share below how to prepare raw chicken in this soup.)
• Herbs: another way we’re using pantry staples is by using dried herbs in this soup. Of course, if you have fresh, use those! You can also garnish with fresh herbs if you have some around.
• Kale or other greens: the greens add color, texture, and flavor. I like kale best in this soup, but collard greens or spinach would also work great.

What can I add to chicken soup to make it taste better?

Vegetables add flavor, color, and tons of texture to a chicken soup. But what makes those vegetables taste even better? Roasting them!

When you roast vegetables, the natural sugars in the vegetables become caramelized which creates an amazing depth of flavor. With all the different vegetables roasting together, that flavor becomes quite complex resulting in a naturally sweet, nutty, and toasted flavor.

Also, roasting veggies is such an easy step to do! Once the veggies are chopped, the oven does all the work.

How to make chicken vegetable soup

The second photo down in this post is a photo showing the vegetables roasting. Directly above this text is a quick photo collage overview of the soup coming together. Below are written descriptions that correlate with the photo collage.

1. While the vegetables are roasting, add chicken broth to a large stockpot with the dried herbs and a dried bay leaf. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Add in the shredded chicken.
2. Pour in those hot roasted vegetables straight from the oven.
3. Add the chopped kale right on top.
4. Next the garlic paste goes in. The garlic will be so soft from roasting, it will slip right out of the papery covering and mash into a paste easily by using the side of a chef’s knife. Add that to the soup.
5. Stir everything together and heat until the kale is wilted.
6. Serve the chicken vegetable soup and garnish as desired with fresh herbs and Parmesan cheese.

Can you put raw chicken in soup?

What to serve alongside this chicken vegetable soup:

• Parmesan cheese and fresh herbs: while these additions wouldn’t be on the side of your soup, both make a great topping. I like grating Parmesan cheese with a microplane right over individual soup bowls. My favorite fresh herb on this soup is fresh thyme.
• Crusty bread: every chicken soup needs a hearty hunk of bread or some good crackers and this chicken vegetable soup is no exception! Bonus points for toasting that bread first 🙂
• Light salad: while you’re getting a ton of veggies in this soup, a simple side salad never hurts! I like this copycat Olive Garden salad best with this soup.

More amazing soup recipes:

• Pasta Soup with Italian sausage
• Instant Pot Beef Stew hearty, filling stew
• Broccoli Cheddar Soup reader favorite recipe!
• Zuppa Toscana Soup made in the crockpot
• Creamy Vegetable Soup easy stovetop soup

5 from 4 votes

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Chicken Vegetable Soup

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

45 mins

Total Time

1 hr 15 mins

 

This chicken vegetable soup is a healthy broth-based soup loaded with shredded chicken, butternut squash, carrots, onion, garlic, and potatoes! Add in some kale (or spinach) and garnish with some freshly grated Parmesan for a filling, flavor-packed meal. 

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chicken vegetable soup

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 179 kcal

Ingredients

• 1 cup coined carrots (2 large carrots)
• 4 cups cubed butternut squash (1 small squash)
• 2 cups cubed red potatoes (3 potatoes)
• 1 cup cubed red onion (1 small red onion)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 9 cups chicken broth or chicken stock Note 1
• 1/4 teaspoon EACH: dried marjoram, sage, crushed rosemary, thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken Note 2
• 2 cups (lightly packed) kale
• Salt and pepper
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese and fresh thyme, optional

Instructions

1. PREP: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking pan (21 x 15 inch) and line with parchment paper.

2. VEGGIE PREP: Peel the carrots and butternut squash. Remove the seeds and stem from the butternut squash. Coin the carrots (about 1/4th inch thick) and cut the squash into 1 inch cubes. Leave the skin on the red potato and cube into 1 inch pieces. Remove the skin from the onion and cut into 1 inch chunks. Grab 3 cloves of garlic (leave in papery covering) and add to a square of foil. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil to the garlic cloves on the foil and then wrap the foil with the garlic into a small ball (so no garlic is exposed) and place on the prepared sheet pan.

3. ROAST VEGGIES: Add the prepared carrots, squash, red potato, and onion to 1 very large (21 x 15 inch) sheet pan or 2 smaller ones. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. I add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, but add to preference. With your hands toss all the veggies and then spread into one even layer. Make sure veggies aren't overlapping -- they'll steam not roast. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip and stir veggies around, bake for another 15 minutes, flip and stir them around and bake for 10-15 more minutes or until veggies are tender and caramelized. Remove from the oven.

4. KALE: remove the thick stems and cut into bite-sized pieces. Rinse the kale throughly and then dry in a salad spinner or with some paper towels. Set aside.

5. CHICKEN: Meanwhile, add 9 cups chicken broth or stock to a large stockpot. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, add in the seasonings: 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram, dried sage, crushed dried rosemary, and dried thyme. Add the bay leaf. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Stir in the 3 cups prepared and shredded rotisserie chicken. Add in the roasted veggies (except for the garlic) right on top. Then add in the 2 cups rinsed and dried, chopped kale. Remove the garlic from the foil. Press the garlic out of the papery covering on to a cutting board. Use the side of a large chef's knife to press down the garlic and mash to a paste. Add as much of this paste as you'd like to the soup. Stir everything together. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until kale is wilted to desired preference.

6. SERVE: taste and adjust seasonings to preference adding more salt and pepper as desired. Serve the soup and garnish individual bowls with freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I like to grate with a microplane) and fresh thyme if desired. Enjoy hot!

Recipe Notes

Note 1: alternatively use chicken bouillon powder and hot water or chicken better than bouillon and hot water. 

Note 2: if you'd rather use raw chicken breasts, grab 1.25 pounds and follow the directions below:

• Add the 9 cups of chicken broth or stock to a large stock pot and bring to a boil.
• Slice the large chicken breast(s) (use 1.25 pounds) into 3 even pieces which will help the chicken cook quicker.
• Place the chicken pieces in the boiling water, season generously with salt & pepper, and cover with a lid. Let the chicken boil until cooked through, about 10 minutes (check temperature with a food thermometer, should be 165 degrees F).
• Turn the heat to a simmer, remove the chicken breasts to a cutting board, and allow to slightly cool. Shred the chicken and return it to the pot. (You may want to add a few additional cups chicken broth).