Last Updated on October 5, 2021 by Anne-Marie

Who doesn't love a hearty chicken vegetable soup? This is a terrific way to use leftover shredded chicken, add some healthy vegetables, and enjoy them in a zesty tomato broth.

How to make chicken vegetable soup

This delicious soup is an easy weeknight dinner with a cooking time of about an hour.

1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven. You can also use a large soup pot.

2. Add diced medium onion, celery, and carrots. Cook the vegetables until they're softened and begin to brown, about 5-6 minutes

3. Add minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds more.

4. Then add Italian seasoning and salt and pepper (to taste) to the pot.

5. Stir in diced chicken, tomatoes, potatoes, and sliced mushrooms.

6. Pour in vegetable or chicken stock and give everything a good stir.

(If you’re gluten free, check the vegetable or chicken stock you’re using to make sure it’s certified as GF or doesn’t contain gluten or any other allergens.)

7. Bring soup to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender.

8. Stir in green beans and corn, continue cooking for 5 minutes until everything is heated through.

9. Sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve immediately

10. Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

What kind of chicken can I use?

This soup is a terrific recipe for using up any leftover rotisserie chicken from the previous night’s dinner.

If you don’t have any leftover chicken, cook up some with using your favorite recipe.

Make a Crockpot Whole Chicken or Instant Pot Whole Chicken. Have some for dinner and use up leftover for this chicken vegetable soup recipe.

You could also try Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Chicken or Smoked Beer Can Chicken, too.

Grill a few chicken breasts using this easy chicken marinade recipe or bake some Sheet Pan Chicken Thighs.

In a pinch, you can also use canned chicken. It’s always good to have a few cans in the pantry for an emergency.

Any type of chicken is good – shredded white breast meat, or thigh meat or bits you’ve picked off the wings or drum sticks. It's all good in soup.

Can I use raw chicken?

Don’t have any leftover rotisserie chicken? Cook raw chicken breasts or thigh meat in the soup pot before you cook the vegetables.

The best way to do this is to cut up the uncooked chicken into bite-sized pieces, then sauté them in the olive oil for a few minutes before adding the diced onions, celery, and carrots.

Proceed with the rest of the recipe. (Obviously skipping the part about adding the chicken, since it's already in the pot.)

What herbs do you use?

You can use 2 to 3 teaspoons of your favorite dried Italian blend of seasonings.

I like having a bottle of this since it saves me time instead of measuring out individual portions of oregano, basil, thyme, rosemary, and marjoram.

However, if you like you can make your own Italian blend!

• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried marjoram
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 dried crushed pepper flakes

You can play with the amounts of herbs if you like. You could even add a bay leaf or two or fresh herbs from the garden.

What vegetables do you put in chicken soup?

This is homemade chicken soup is Italian based so it uses tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, and mushrooms.

(If it was a Jewish chicken vegetable soup, it would have carrots, parsnips, and dill.)

Potatoes: Use thin-skinned varieties that you don't have to peel like red or Yukon Gold.

Additional vegetables: you can add just about any fresh vegetables you'd like to this vegetable soup recipe such as diced butternut squash.

Do I need to defrost the frozen vegetables?

I love using frozen veggies since they're already cleaned, chopped, and ready to go.

You don't need to defrost them. Just add them straight from the freezer to the chicken vegetable soup recipe.

What kind of cooking pot?

If you can afford it, purchase a large Le Creuset Round French (Dutch) Oven.

If that's too pricey, I recommend any large Dutch oven, such as a Lodge 7.5 Quart Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven.

Lodge is a wonderful American Brand and their cast iron pots will work on any stove including induction cooktops.

Of course, you also use any type of large stock pot.

How to serve up this veggie soup

Since this hearty soup is chocked full of veggies, there's no need to serve it with a side salad.

Instead, add some grated parmesan and serve with crackers, chips, or French bread.

Can I make this soup in the slow cooker?

If you don't have time to stand over a soup pot, you can make this in your crock-pot. Here's how:

1. Place all the ingredients in your crock-pot. (Use a slow cooker liner for easy cleanup. Stir to combine.
2. Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3.

Making this soup in a slow cooker is almost as good as making it on the stovetop. However, I do find that sautéing the garlic and vegetables does add a slightly better flavor.

Can you freeze chicken soup?

Yes! You can turn this chicken soup recipe into a freezer meal.

After cooking, wait for the soup to cool. Then portion out the leftover soup into dinner ready portions.

To freeze: Pour the soup into freezer-safe food storage containers. (Remember to label and date the containers.) The soup should remain good for at least three months.

To thaw: Defrost the container overnight in the refrigerator. Or place the closed container in a large bowl full of water. The soup should thaw in a few hours.

To reheat: Then warm the soup in the container in the microwave or pour into a saucepan and heat on the stovetop.

More soup recipes

Looking for more easy soup recipes? Give these a try:

• Instant Pot Vegetable Soup
• Leftover Turkey Soup Recipe
• Easy Cioppino Seafood Stew Recipe
• 7 Can Taco Soup Recipe
• Best Split Pea Soup Recipe
• Easy Dairy Free Oyster Chowder Recipe
• 30-Minute Pozole Recipe
• Kale Soup Recipe