Best Clear Chicken Soup (broth recipe)

Why we love it:

• easy to make
• clear chicken soup recipe
• nutritious
• can be used for clear chicken broth
• can use whole chicken, chicken thighs or any part of the chicken really
• great for colds and flues
• great for baby

This recipe was inspired because of how to boil chicken thighs and the 21 best chicken tenderloin recipes and since our easy and healthy red lentil baby soup has gained such popularity we thought we must do another soup recipe for the whole family.

Soup vs broth vs stock

There does not seem to be a clear answer on this and some chefs may disagree but the following seems to be the most true.

Broth is basically a clear soup, but if it is served with vegetables and as a meal then it is considered soup.

When it comes to stock vs broth, the Culinary Institute of America and the French Culinary Institute states that to make stock you use bones and vegetables whereas broth is made with meat and vegetables. Both stocks and broth may be seasoned and unseasoned.

This clear chicken soup recipe is also a clear chicken broth recipe.

Ingredients

• Chicken - you can use a whole chicken, chicken thighs, chicken breasts etc. I prefer to use 2 quarters of a chicken, so usually a top part and a thigh. You can also use the neck and chicken feet.
• Onion - peeled and halved or quartered
• Carrots - peeled; put as many as you want to have in your finished soup
• Kale leaf - adds nutrition and depth of flavor
• Fresh Parsley - fresh herby flavor and contains several nutrients such as vitamin C, A and K and a number of minerals
• Parsnip or parsley root - depending on where you are in the world you may or may not find parsley root. But use either a parsnip or parsley root for the depth of flavor
• Celeriac - this is celery root and gives the soup a lovely flavor. You can replace it with a few celery stalks
• Celery stalk - can omit if you have celeriac. They taste similar but different and using both is preferable but using either is also good.
• Salt - we don't use artificial stock, so the vegetables combined with salt make a delicious clear chicken soup or chicken broth

How to make clear soup? Step-by-step

The reason why clear chicken soup is clear is because we remove the impurities with a fine mesh food strainer.

The amount of water you use will depend on the stockpot you use and the amount of chicken you want.

This recipe is made with 2 quarters of a chicken (about 1 kg or 2.2 lb). You can adjust the quantities in the recipe card below.

It can also be made with a whole chicken, bone-in chicken thighs or any part fo the chicken with bones.

1. Remove the chicken from the packaging; take a large stockpot, place the chicken in and add 5 litres/ 21 US cups of water.
2. Bring to boil. When it starts boiling the dark grey impurities will start rising to the top and then you start removing it with a fine mesh food strainer (or spoon). This will last about 10-20 minutes depending on the chicken. Once the water seems mostly clear (no grey) you can add the vegetables.
3. Add the vegetables and salt and bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce to the lowest heat, cover and simmer the soup for a minimum of 2 hours or how ever long you want. You can let it simmer for the whole day, it will just be tastier and the chicken will be so soft.
4. Once the 2 hours pass, take a pot that is a similar size and drain the soup. Take the chicken and shred it and add any carrots or any other vegetables you want to use in the pot. The chicken should be falling off the bones.
5. You can always heat up some homemade or store-bought noodles and add to the soup.
6. Store in fridge for up to 3 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Variations

• if you don't have a fine mesh food strainer use a spoon and just add more water when you add the vegetables
• It can also be made with a whole chicken, bone-in chicken thighs or any part fo the chicken with bones.
• instead of chicken you can use beef and the same vegetables

Tips

• the longer you cook the soup the more flavor it will have. A minimum is 2 hours but you can keep it going for 6 or more
• cook with as many carrots as you want to eat
• to serve clear chicken soup to baby as baby-led weaning place it in a cup and let them drink it. To cool it quickly add an ice cube in and wait until it melts

Storage

• fridge - in a covered stockpot or airtight container for up to 3 days
• freezer - in an airtight container for up to 3 months
• thawing - overnight in fridge; you can reheat the soup from frozen on low heat. Once thawed turn the heat up and boil it for 5 minutes to kill any potential bacteria.
• reheating - heat up and boil it for 5 minutes to kill any potential bacteria.