30 Chicken Soup Recipes That Are Pure Comfort in a Bowl (2024)

Chicken soup is synonymous with comfort, nourishment, and warmth; serving a steaming bowl is a simple act of care, whether it's for yourself, your family, a friend, or a neighbor. Chicken noodle soup is a much-loved classic, and there are so many more ways to prepare chicken and broth! These chicken soup recipes offer inspiration for your old favorite. Try Kwame Onwuachi's Puerto Rican pollo guisado; Josh Reisner's adobo-ramen mash-up; Leah Koenig's vibrant, fresh take on chicken matzo ball soup; and more.

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Chicken Soup with Ginger and Cilantro

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This seasonal version of a classic is loaded with summer market finds like tomatoes, zucchini, and bell peppers. Quick-cooking boneless chicken pieces are gently simmered in a ginger and cilantro-infused broth with a dash of soy sauce. The eye-catching garnish tray doubles as a colorful centerpiece, allowing guests to pile their bowls with aromatic fresh herbs, spicy chiles, and juicy citrus.

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Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

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This creamy chicken and wild rice soup makes use of leftover chicken and comes together in just 20 minutes of active cooking time. It's a great one-bowl meal for busy nights.

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Chicken Pho

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The Vietnamese chicken and noodle soup called pho is all about layers of flavor in the rich-tasting broth. The technique here also produces meat that’s supremely tender and delicious.

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Herb Garden Matzo Ball Soup

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Chicken matzo ball soup gets a glow-up in this version by cookbook author Leah Koenig, with fresh parsley, dill, chives, and fennel fronds in the matzo balls themselves, plus more herbs, lemon zest, and edible flowers adding color and bright, spring flavors to each finished bowl of soup.

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Pollo Guisado

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"The soup allabuelitasmake their grandchildren, cookinga ojo, or by feel, with a million variations," says chef Kwame Onwuachi of this recipe. "The soup is a festival of comfort. At its base are the annatto and sofrito that define much of Puerto Rican cuisine, plus a touch of cumin and, because it's me who's making it, a bit of house spice to give just the merest hint of heat."

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Chicken Tortellini Soup with Kale

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Fresh ingredients team up with store-bought shortcuts to get this comforting dinner on the table in just over 30 minutes. Frozen cheese tortellini only need a five-minute dip in the simmering broth to cook up perfectly. Don’t be tempted to just dump the whole can of tomatoes into the pot; draining them first concentrates the flavor.

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Chicken Adobo-Inspired Ramen

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For this adobo-inspired ramen recipe, chef Josh Reisner starts by braising chicken legs with black pepper, bay leaves, vinegar, and soy sauce — the key ingredients of Filipino adobo. He then infuses the ramen broth with the deeply flavored braising sauce that forms as the chicken cooks. Each bowl of ramen is topped with a piece of succulent chicken, as well as blanched spinach, scallion "nests," grilled corn, and more.

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Chicken and Shrimp Laksa

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Top Chefwinner Buddha Lo's homemade laksa paste — made with fresh lemongrass, pungent shrimp paste, and nutty peanuts — forms the base of this fragrant noodle dish, while coconut cream adds a velvety mouthfeel to the aromatic broth. Top it with poached shrimp and chicken, fresh herbs, and fried shallots, then slurp with joy.

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Chicken Pozole Verde

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There are many variations on pozole, a traditional hominy-based Mexican stew closely associated with the Pacific-coast state of Guerrero. Culinary writer Anya von Bremzen’s version, a green pozole, derives much of its flavor from tangy ingredients like tomatillos, cilantro, and green chiles.

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Chicken Pot Pie Soup with Puff Pastry Croutons

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This creamy, soul-warming soup from the legendary Ina Garten's cookbookModern Comfort Food captures everything there is to love about chicken pot pie. Plenty of aromatic vegetables, a rich, silky broth spiked with tarragon and cream sherry, and tender chicken deliver pure comfort in every spoonful. The flaky, buttery puff pastry croutons (made from store-bought dough!) are an irresistible finishing touch.

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Avgolemono Chicken Soup with Rice

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Avgolemono is a classic sauce of chicken broth, egg yolks, and lemon juice; the addition of a bit more broth, rice, and shredded chicken turns it into a satisfying soup.

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Leftover Chicken Soup

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Chef Marcus Samuelsson's chicken soup is fragrant with ginger, star anise, and lemongrass, just what you need on a chilly night. He uses the whole bird — from the bones to the skin and the livers — to make a delicious no-waste soup.

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Kubba Hamuth (Sweet and Sour Soup with Stuffed Dumplings)

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This Iraqi-Jewish soup is tangy and rich with lemon juice, beets, and chicken dumplings. Many Iraqi-Jewish recipes call for semolina for the dumpling dough, but here we use rice.

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Herbal Chicken Bone Broth with Soba Noodles

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Fresh soba noodles, hearty vegetables, and replenishing herbs come together in a soothing chicken bone broth. Look for soba noodles made from 100% buckwheat for the best flavor. If you cannot find Shaoxing wine, use sake orsojuas a substitution — or omit this ingredient if you are avoiding alcohol.

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Stracciatella

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Stracciatella is the Italian version of egg drop soup. This tasty one from chef Hugh Acheson includes shredded chicken, spinach, basil, peas, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and of course, eggs.

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Classic Chicken Noodle Soup

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This classic chicken noodle soup gets its deeply flavorful broth from a whole chicken.

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Chicken Soup with Jasmine Rice and Ginger

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There may not be any clinical proof that ginger helps fight colds or the flu, but this super-easy, gingery chicken soup will undeniably make you feel better.

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Creamy Piquillo Pepper and Chickpea Soup with Chicken

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The secret to this speedy soup is buying ingredients with lots of built-in flavor, like hummus, jarred piquillo peppers, and rotisserie chicken.

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Chicken-Chile Soup

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This Mexican-inspired chicken soup by F&W culinary director at large Justin Chapple is extremely easy to make. Justin likes serving it with diced avocado and hot sauce to stir in at the table.

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Chicken Noodle Soup with Parsnips and Dill

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Lots of carrots and parsnips give old-favorite chicken noodle soup a sweet savor. To balance this effect, use the optional parsley, which is just slightly bitter.

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White Bean and Chicken Soup

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By using chicken thighs instead of breasts, this hearty, jalapeño-spiked soup gets ultra-rich flavor. Serve it with tortilla chips, sour cream, Jack cheese, cilantro, and avocado.

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Chicken-Orzo Soup with 10 Vegetables

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Any combination of vegetables will work in this satisfying soup from chef Hugh Acheson. If including 10 vegetables isn't a priority, you can also cut some and double up on others.

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Chinese Poached Chicken Breasts with Star Anise

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Chicken breasts poached in a broth flavored with star anise, cinnamon, ginger, scallions, and soy sauce is a Chinese classic. Traditionally you would save, not serve, the broth — it improves each time you use it — but we can never resist serving it with the chicken as a light sauce. If you like, boil noodles separately and add them to the broth for a meal in a dish.

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Chicken and Noodles in Spiced Broth

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Alternative healers use star anise to fight cold and flu symptoms. Recipe developer Melissa Rubel Jacobson combines the licorice-scented spice with cinnamon and ginger — both stomach soothers — to flavor a restorative chicken-noodle soup.

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Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

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This isn’t authentic gumbo, but it's a delicious example of how Creole flavors have crept up to Kentucky.

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Chicken Hot Pot with Mushrooms and Tofu

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Cooks in Asia serve hot pots communally, setting a big pot of bubbling broth on the table alongside a platter of raw ingredients (like vegetables and thinly sliced chicken) for dipping. It's a fun way for guests to feel like they have a hand in making their own meals. In his version, chef Ethan Stowell gives each person at the table an individual bowl of sliced mushrooms, tofu, and scallions, then adds piping hot chicken broth loaded with chunks of tender cooked chicken.

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Chicken Bouillabaisse with Rouille

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Chef Jacques Pépin’s flavor-packed chicken stew is fast and easy to assemble, and it cooks in about 30 minutes.

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Silken Bread and Parmesan Soup

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Frédérick Hermé’s chicken soup is thickened with fresh breadcrumbs and enriched with cheese and egg yolks.

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Moroccan Chicken and Couscous Soup

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A mainstay in Morocco, steamed couscous topped with a very liquid stew is undeniably delectable, but not exactly quick. We’ve found, though, that combining all the ingredients in a soup yields similarly sumptuous results in a much shorter time. The dish is decidedly spicy; if you prefer less heat, just reduce the amount of cayenne.

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Chicken Meatball and Orzo Soup

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This recipe cleverly uses chicken sausage: Remove the casings, shape the meat into balls, brown them, and simmer them in chicken broth. If you have leftover cooked rice on hand, feel free to substitute it for the orzo.

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30 Chicken Soup Recipes That Are Pure Comfort in a Bowl (2024)

FAQs

What makes a bowl of soup more flavorful? ›

Add herbs and spices.

Herbs and spices add aroma, flavor, and intensity to soup broth. "Use fresh or dried basil in tomato-based recipes or fresh parsley to add freshness to clear broth soups," says Sofia Norton, RD. You can also go with more heat and spices.

Is chicken soup a comfort food? ›

Chicken soup is synonymous with comfort, nourishment, and warmth; serving a steaming bowl is a simple act of care, whether it's for yourself, your family, a friend, or a neighbor. Chicken noodle soup is a much-loved classic, and there are so many more ways to prepare chicken and broth!

How to add extra flavor to chicken soup? ›

How To Add More Flavor To Chicken Noodle Soup
  1. Homemade Chicken Broth. The secret to a flavorful chicken noodle soup lies in the broth. ...
  2. Add Fresh Herbs. ...
  3. Splash of Acid. ...
  4. Soy Sauce or Fish Sauce. ...
  5. Spice it Up. ...
  6. Roasted Vegetables. ...
  7. Experiment with Spices. ...
  8. Parmesan Cheese.
Jan 31, 2024

How to make can chicken soup better? ›

How To Make Canned Soup Taste Like Homemade
  1. Sauté some onions and/or garlic: Low and slow is the way to go. ...
  2. Add protein: Leftover chicken or steak, some cooked diced ham or bacon or sausage (just a little — that soup is already salty). ...
  3. More vegetables: This is a great place for leftover cooked veggies.
Apr 25, 2023

What not to put in soup? ›

The Worst Things to Put in Your Soup
  1. By Sara Butler. If there's one good thing about fall and winter, it's soup. ...
  2. Heavy Cream. Heavy cream creates an inviting texture for soups but that's where its positive contributions end. ...
  3. Juice. ...
  4. Turkey Bacon. ...
  5. Cheese. ...
  6. Croutons.

What is the most important ingredient in soup? ›

For clear, brothy soups, stock is your most important ingredient. If you want to make a good soup, you need to use an excellently flavored stock — otherwise, the entire pot could be tasteless.

What are the top five comfort foods? ›

Become a Jetsetter
  • 1 Chicken and Waffles.
  • 2 Spaghetti and Meatballs.
  • 3 Chicken Fried Steak.
  • 4 Mac and Cheese.
  • 5 Hotdish.
  • 6 Chicago Deep Dish Pizza.
  • 7 Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup.
  • 8 Matzo Ball Soup.
Mar 1, 2020

Why do I feel better after eating chicken noodle soup? ›

Chicken is also high in tryptophan, which helps your body produce serotonin that can enhance your mood and give you the feeling of 'comfort' that helps make chicken noodle soup a true comfort food,” Allonen says.

How to jazz up chicken soup? ›

Change up the usual chicken noodle soup completely by adding frozen corn, tortilla chips and avocados to make Mexican chicken noodle soup. You can even add a can of stewed tomatoes to really enhance the flavor.

Why do you put lemon juice in chicken soup? ›

Lemons are a chicken soup game changer. Why? They brighten up and balance the salty, rich flavors of the dish, and make all of the ingredients come into line. Like a vinaigrette on a salad, the pickle on a burger, and the sour cream in a coffee cake, a squeeze of lemon gives chicken soup a game-changing brightness.

Does chicken soup get better the longer you cook it? ›

While broth and stock both get richer and richer the longer you cook them, the problem is that the chicken meat will dry out and get tough if you let it go too long.

How do you fix bland chicken soup? ›

Salt and pepper are the basic ones. Adding soup base is another good way to kick it up a notch as is adding a little acid. You can use lemon juice or vinnegar but be sparing, a little is awesome but too much is overpowering.

What thickens chicken soup? ›

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

You can thicken soup by adding flour, cornstarch, or another starchy substitute.

How do you add Flavour to tasteless soup? ›

Use fresh, good quality ingredients like vegetables and herbs. Add a little bit of vinegar or lemon juice to your soup to make it taste better. Use a high-quality broth or stock as a base for your soup. Roast or caramelize your vegetables before adding them to your soup to bring out their natural sweetness.

How do you spice up boring soup? ›

The key here is using the right herbs. Choose tender, leafy herbs for topping soup, like parsley (flat leaf or curly), cilantro, chives, or even mint. Skip the woody herbs, like rosemary and thyme — or add them in the beginning of the cooking process — otherwise they will dull, rather than brighten, the flavor.

What spices to add to soup for flavor? ›

To season it, we recommend starting with our Vegetable Soup Mix. It contains celery salt, parsley flakes, garlic powder, sea salt, summer savory, marjoram, thyme, black pepper, turmeric and sage, which are all excellent with root vegetables, so you can incorporate things like carrots or potatoes into the soup.

Does soup taste better the longer you cook it? ›

Originally Answered: Does simmering soup longer make it taste better? If you're simmering a thing for hours, you will intensify the flavor by cooking off some of the liquid. This might make it taste better, but if cooked too long, it may end up too salty or otherwise be over-seasoned.

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