This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
Chicken soup doesn’t have to be limited to the same ol’ chicken noodle soup every time. In fact, some of the best chicken soup recipes veer away from that! This collection will show you how to kick things up a few notches by adding bolder flavors and classic comfort food twists.
Table of Contents
The next time you have chicken you want to throw into a soup, think outside the box. There are a ton of chicken soup recipes that stray from the usual—and in the best way. You can swap your noodles out for orzo, or add cream or yogurt for a nice rich and cozy broth. You can also find inspiration from comfort food classics! Think chicken florentine, chicken pot pie…even chicken marsala!
What’s the Secret to a Good Chicken Soup?
- A good thick-bottomed pot. this helps transfer heat evenly, which prevents scorching.
- Start with aromatic vegetables. You’ll notice in recipes that onions and garlic typically hit the pot first, and for good reason. It mellows out the pungent flavors and gets a good flavor base going.
- A good broth is key. If using a low sodium broth, you’ll likely need to season your soup a little more. I love using a homemade broth like my convenient Instant Pot Chicken Stock. A little spoonful of Better Than Bouillon soup base is a great way to bring on big flavor as well.
- Cut your vegetables as close to the same size as possible. Roughly chopped uneven veggies will cook at a different pace. Undercooked veggies will give you an unwanted crunch.
- Simmer, don’t boil. Letting your soup sit at a rolling boil can cause certain veggies to break apart and it can toughen meats. A nice simmer is our gentle happy place.
- Season at the end. Let your ingredients mingle and cook before getting in too deep with the seasoning. It’s at the very end you want to decide on whether or not you need more salt, and how much. You’ll also want to wait until serving time to add a spritz of citrus if you’re using it.
Brothy Chicken Soup Recipes
Say hello to the perfect candidates to cure what’s ailing you!
Healing Chicken Soup With Turmeric & Ginger
This golden chicken soup with turmeric and ginger is brimming with anti-inflammatory ingredients to soothe and fight flare ups! And the flavor is incredible.
Easy Italian Wedding Soup With Chicken Meatballs
You're going to LOVE this Italian Wedding Soup recipe! It's soothing, flavorful, and packed with little homemade chicken meatballs!
Chicken Pastina Soup Recipe
This recipe is a cozy, comforting, and delicious Italian soup with tender morsels of chicken, fresh vegetables, parmesan cheese, and pastina!
Herb Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
This tasty gluten-free soup is made up of a rich broth and is chock full of chopped vegetables and fresh herbs. It’s perfect for fall and winter!
Trader Joe’s Holiday Vegetable Hash + Sausage Stew
This hearty soup brings Trader Joe’s Holiday Vegetable Hash to your bowl along with chicken-apple sausage, kale, garlic, and a delicious broth. Best of all, it only takes 20-25 minutes to bring together!
Spring Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup with Dill
Sure, we love soup in fall and winter, but it can be great during springtime, too! This hearty and wholesome lemon chicken orzo soup with dill is full of bright flavors and nourishing seasonal vegetables.
Spicy Curry Chicken Noodle Soup
This smooth and slightly punchy curry chicken noodle soup is sure to warm you up. It offers up a nice helping of veggies too, with bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, and carrots.
Soothing Lemon Chicken Soup with Kale
Here’s a soup that will fill your belly, warm you up, and cure whatever’s ailing you. Serve it with a hunk of crusty fresh bread and you’re set for a great lunch or dinner!
Chicken Tortilla Soup
This soup is full of warming spices, tender shredded chicken, fire-roasted tomatoes, and hearty black beans. A great option for Taco Tuesday, soup edition!
Cozy Chicken Curry Ramen Soup
This recipe is a riff off of a Ramen restaurant fave in Cary, NC! The broth is liquid gold, made up of yellow curry and coconut milk. Between the veggies and slurp-worthy noodles, you’ll fill up and feel good.
Rich & Creamy Chicken Soup Recipes
These bowls are filled with comforting chicken soup for the soul.
Chicken Florentine Soup
This soup gives the classic French entrée a comforting makeover by spinning it into a tasty and warming soup! It’s extremely flavorful and best of all, easy!
Creamy Chicken Marsala Soup
Chicken Marsala gets completely reimagined in this recipe. Shredded chicken, mushrooms, and potatoes give the comfort food classic a proper nod.
Chicken Pot Pie Soup
This easy one-pot soup is brimming with flavors! It’s loaded with tender veggies and shredded chicken (or you can use leftovers from your air fryer turkey breast!), and it’s a guaranteed hit for the dinner table.
Pesto Chicken Orzo Soup
This orzo soup brings pesto and chicken to your bowl for a hearty and comforting meal. It’s incredibly simple and ready in just 30 minutes, making it doable for weeknights.
Easy Healthy Chicken Broccoli Soup
This recipe brings broccoli soup as you know it to a WHOLE new level. The cheese has been put on hold, but it’s got chicken, veggies, and a wonderful milk base to keep that cozy vibe.
Copycat Panera Chicken & Wild Rice Soup
When you don’t want to make the trek out in the cold, make Panera’s Chicken and Wild Rice Soup in the comfort of your own home! It’s warm, creamy, and super flavorful. The perfect comfort food for a cozy night in!
Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Soup + Pasta & Spinach
This soup is super tasty, rich, and silky in texture. To counter the richness, it’s packed with veggies! It’s a great balanced bowl for a cold day or when you’re feeling under the weather.
Crack Chicken Soup
With shredded chicken, crisp bacon, pasta, and ranch seasoning, this soup is jacked with flavor! Plus all of your other favorite creamy crack-inspired ingredients, like cream cheese and heavy cream.
Storage, Freezing, and Reheating
- Leftover brothy chicken soups can last in the fridge for 3-5 days, whereas creamy chicken soups will last 3 days. Be sure to let your soup cool to room temperature prior to storing them in airtight containers.
- Both brothy soups and creamy soups can be frozen. Note that creamy soups often suffer from a loss of quality in texture and become slightly grainy, sometimes separating. Store soups in freezer-friendly containers, like silicone soup containers or gallon freezer bags for 4-6 months.
- Brothy chicken soup can be reheated in the microwave in 35-second increments until heated through. It can also be done on the stovetop over low heat until it comes to a simmer. Cream soups are better reheated low and slow on the stovetop.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Though it is best to sear your chicken in the pot prior to starting the soup, because the browned pan bits from frying the meat give the soup more flavor, you can add it in raw instead. Keep in mind that the simmer time will be longer so that you can ensure the chicken reaches doneness, which is an internal temperature of 160-165º F. You can check the internal temperature with a meat thermometer.
It’s best to keep the soup partially covered at a low simmer to slow down reduction. You will get more concentrated flavors and a thicker consistency by letting the soup simmer without a lid.
Chicken noodle soup is the famous go-to, but any hot clear-broth chicken soup rich in nourishing vegetables will do the trick by stimulating nasal clearance and boosting the immune system. My personal go-to is this Healing Chicken Soup With Turmeric and Ginger! Stay away from creamy soups as they will thicken mucus.
More Easy & Delicious Soups to Try…
If you try any of these chicken soup recipes, please let us know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Italian Wedding Soup With Chicken Meatballs + 17 More Chicken Soup Recipes
Ingredients
CHICKEN MEATBALLS
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp cracked pepper
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp fresh thyme
- 2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 1 red onion, diced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes (or more if you like more heat)
- 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
- 1 cup thinly sliced celery
- 3-4 handfuls baby spinach, ribboned or roughly chopped
- 8 cups chicken broth
- Parmesan rind (optional), If you save an freeze parmesan rinds to enhance your sauces and soups, this is a great recipe to use it in!
- Sea salt & cracked pepper, to taste
- 1/3 cup acini de pepe pasta
- Freshly grated parmesan, for garnish
- Lemon wedges, for serving, Squeezing some fresh lemon over your soup really brightens things up!
Instructions
- Place all of the meatball ingredients into a large mixing bowl. Use your hands to mix everything up until the meat mixture is well blended.
- Because you want the meatballs to be smaller than regular meatballs, scoop the mixture up with a small spoon or a melon baller (that's what I like to use as it's the perfect size) and gently roll the mixture in your hands to form a meatball. Set the meatball onto a baking sheet covered with parchment and repeat until you've used up all the meat. You should end up with 34 meatballs, give or take. Tip: Rub some olive oil into your palms—it makes handling the mixture much easier as the mixture is a little tacky (which is normal).
- Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven or stock pot over medium heat and when the oil is hot, lower the heat to medium-low and transfer a few meatballs into the pot (don't overcrowd them). Cook them for 30 seconds to a minute or until they're lightly browned, then flip them over with tongs and cook for another 30 seconds to a minute. Transfer them to the baking sheet and continue until all of the meatballs are cooked; set aside.
- Add a smidge more olive oil to the pot. Add the onions, carrots, and celery, and season with just a bit of salt. Sauté until the veggies have softened, then stir in the garlic and chili peppers; sautée for 30 seconds.
- Add the meatballs back to the pot. Poor the chicken broth into the pot, then stir in the spinach. Finally, pop the parmesan rind into the pot. Bring everything to a rolling boil, then decrease to a low simmer for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked, registering an internal temperature of 160º F.
- While the soup simmers, cook your acini de pepe as per the directions on the package. When done, add the pasta to the soup. Another option is you can spoon it into bowls and ladle the soup over top.
- Garnish each bowl with some freshly shaved parmesan and a spritz of lemon juice! (Optional, but highly recommended!)
Notes
- Leftover brothy chicken soups can last in the fridge for 3-5 days, whereas creamy chicken soups will last 3 days. Be sure to let your soup cool to room temperature prior to storing them in airtight containers.
- Both brothy soups and creamy soups can be frozen, but note that creamy soups often suffer from a loss of quality in texture and become slightly grainy, sometimes separating. Store soups in freezer-friendly containers, like silicone soup containers or gallon freezer bags for 4-6 months.
- Brothy chicken soup can be reheated in the microwave in 35-second increments until heated through, or on the stovetop over low heat until it comes to a simmer. Cream soups are better reheated low and slow on the stovetop.
