Here are some easy homemade chicken and turkey soup recipes. These soups are super yummy for cold weather days and great comfort foods when you’re sick!
Homemade Chicken and Turkey Soup Recipes
With the onset of cooler weather, one of the best things to learn to make from scratch is a basic homemade chicken soup stock or soup base. Soup base is so easy to make and can be used for many different dishes. We’ll make the basic homemade chicken broth today. Once you have it made, you can mix and match and put your favorite things into it. You can add rice for chicken and rice soup, barley for barley soup, use it to boil noodles for chicken and noodles or make simple Bisquick dumplings for chicken and dumplings. I also like to use it to cook rice in place of water.
It is also helpful to keep some frozen soup base that you can quickly grab and use when you need it for things like broccoli soup or egg flower soup.
Easy Homemade Chicken Soup Recipe
This first version, which is similar to what many people use, is in the Dining on a Dime Cookbook, Volume 1. The second recipe is my own quicker version which I like just as well. It is a little easier and much faster. You choose which you have time for. They are both good.
PrintEasy Chicken Soup Recipe
- Yield: About 12 cups broth or soup
Ingredients
2-4 chicken wings
Instructions
- Place chicken necks, wings, bay leaf, water, carrots, and onions in a large pot. Bring just to a boil.
- Skim off and discard any foam that rises.
- Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 2½ hours, or until the chicken is very tender.
- Remove chicken pieces and strain the broth.
- Cool and refrigerate the broth so the fat rises to the top — skim off and discard.
- Let the meat cool until it can be handled.
- Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove any meat and discard the bones.
- Return broth and meat to the pot. Add the celery, bouillon cubes, and salt.
- Bring back to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Notes
Easy freezer savings – Remove half the broth before adding the vegetables and freeze for up to 6 months. Perfect for quick last-minute soups!
Jill’s Easy Chicken Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- Place the chicken pieces in a large pot and cover with water. Add optional veggies and bay leaf if you have them.
- Sprinkle in seasonings and bouillon.
- Cover and simmer gently for 2–5 hours, depending on when you remember it. 😉
- Take out the chicken pieces.
- Strain the broth into a clean pot or bowl and let it cool.
- Refrigerate until the fat rises to the top and remove it.
- Pick any meat from the chicken pieces and return it to the broth. Discard bones.
- When reheating or serving, taste and add more salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, or bouillon if needed.
Notes
This recipe is an easy way to use leftover food items. If I have a bay leaf or a couple of carrots on hand, I will throw them in.
This is a perfect starter soup — add noodles, rice, veggies, dumplings, or leftovers to turn it into dinner!
You can make turkey soup the same way. To me, turkey soup is one soup where less is best. The less of the seasonings you use, the more you can get the yummy flavor of the turkey.
Turkey Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Turkey carcass or leftover turkey bones
Water (enough to cover the bones)
Garlic powder (to taste)
Onion powder (to taste)
Salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- Place turkey bones in a large pot and cover with water. Bring just to a boil.
- Skim off and discard any foam that rises to the top.
- Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 2–3 hours, or until the turkey meat is very tender and falling off the bones.
- Remove bones and strain liquid through a colander. Let the broth cool and refrigerate until the fat hardens on top (makes skimming easy).
- Let the meat cool until it can be handled. Once the bones are cool enough to handle, remove all edible meat and discard the bones.
- Skim the fat from the broth
- Return broth and meat to the pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.
- Add garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, to taste. Taste and adjust seasoning before serving.
Here is one last turkey soup recipe, which is a big help if you want to cook your soup right after Thanksgiving because it helps you use many leftovers besides just the turkey.
PrintGlorified Turkey Soup
Ingredients
Leftover turkey bones
5-6 cups water
3 garlic cloves (or garlic powder, to taste)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. rubbed sage
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup barley, uncooked*
Leftover veggies — cooked or uncooked
Instructions
- Place turkey bones, herbs, garlic, and water in a large pot.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 1½–2 hours.
- Take out the bones and pick off any meat. Return the meat to the pot.
- Add the barley and any uncooked vegetables, then simmer 45 minutes.
- Stir in cooked vegetables during the last 15 minutes of cooking.
- Season to taste and ladle into bowls.
Notes
- This soup freezes well. Portion into containers for quick meals later.
- Replace barley with spaghetti noodles if you prefer. Add noodles in the last few minutes along with cooked vegetables.
- Raw veggie tray bits (carrots, celery, peppers)
- Cooked carrots, peas, or green beans
- Any lonely veggies hanging out in the fridge 😄
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