Homemade chicken soup: everything you need to make it delicious

At this time of the year, nothing is more appetising than a comforting broth to keep the cold away.

BY Silvia Cardona | 29 January 2025

Chicken soup is one of the most popular traditional recipes during the winter. As well as being easy to prepare, it is very versatile to use as stock for other recipes and dishes.

Chicken soup is very easy to digest, as it is low in calories and fat. On the other hand, it is loaded with minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, etc.) and collagen, excellent for the health of your skin, bo n es and joints.

The following steps will enable you to prepare homemade chicken soup with everything you need to make it delicious.

Ingredients

100 g onions
150 g leeks
150 g carrots
100 g turnips
1 stick celery
2 chicken carcasses
2 chicken thighs
1 bay leaf
3 l water
5 g salt

Instructions

Wash and peel all the vegetables. Then chop into large pieces (about 3 cm).
In a large pot, place the chopped vegetables, the chicken carcasses and thighs, the three litres of water, the bay leaf and a teaspoon of salt.
Cook over a high heat, uncovered, until it comes to a boil.
Remove any impurities that may float to the surface of the broth with a skimmer.
Lower the heat to low medium and cover the pot. Allow to boil for at least one and a half hours.
Strain the broth and, once it is at room temperature, store it in the fridge.
The next day or after a few hours in the fridge, a layer of chicken fat will have formed on the surface. Now is the time to remove it and enjoy your homemade chicken broth.

Tips and tricks to make the best homemade broths

Finally, we will share some tips and tricks that will enable you to get the most out of this recipe and find your own favourite version.

Don't discard the vegetables after boiling them. You can use them to add to a soup or to make a vegetable cream. As for the chicken thighs, you can shred them and use them in a soup or any other recipe.
If you want a broth with a stronger flavour, you can bake the chicken carcasses and thighs in the oven before boiling them. You can also do this in an airfryer.
If you have a pressure cooker, that will reduce the cooking time by more than half!
Go easy on the salt. A teaspoon should be enough to season the broth, the rest of the ingredients will add flavour.
If you like, you can add a ham bone and/or a veal knee bone for extra flavour.
You can freeze the stock for use at your convenience. Be sure to do so in a suitable container (glass jar, Tupperware, Ziplock bag, etc.) without filling it to the brim, as it will increase in volume when it freezes.
You can enjoy it on its own or use it as a stock in different recipes. For example: vegetable soup, shredded chicken soup, pasta soup, mushroom risotto, rice soup, chicken thighs with vegetables, chickpea stew, meat stew, vegetable cream or purée.