Making Homemade Chicken Soup: A Cozy, Mix-and-Match Recipe with Beans & Vegetables
This hearty and flexible soup starts with crispy bacon, a flavorful mirepoix, and your homemade bone broth. Add chicken, beans, and vegetables for a deeply satisfying bowl that can be customized to your taste.
Servings: 8
Cost: $35
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/4 lb bacon, diced (about 2-3 slices)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (if needed for sautéing)
- 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
- 2 medium large stalks of celery small diced
- 2 medium-large carrots small diced
- 1-2 teaspoon salt, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 8 cups chicken stock or 1 batch of homemade broth, strained
- 1 cup rutabaga, peeled and chopped into ½-inch cubes
- 2 cans, 15 oz white northern, cannellini, or navy beans, drained
- 2 bone-in, skin-on split chicken breasts, roasted, deboned, and diced (about 2 cups diced chicken) Could also use 1-1.5 lbs of raw chicken breast or thigh meat, see instructions below.
- 1/2 bunch kale, washed, dried, de-stemmed, and cut into thin 1-inch ribbons.
- 1/2 lemon, optional
Instructions
Slice + Cook the Bacon
- To make slicing easier, place bacon slices on a plate in the freezer for 30-60 minutes to firm up.
- Once firm (or if skipping the freezing step), cut the slices into ¼-inch thick strips, then small dice into small dice.
- Add the diced bacon to a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the fat starts to render.
Build the Flavor Base (Mirepoix + Seasoning)
- Add the onion, celery, and carrots to the bacon in the pot. Stir to coat with bacon fat.
- Generously sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- If the mixture seems dry, add a glug of olive oil as needed. You don't want the ingredients to stick to the pan.
- Stir, then cover and cook on low heat for 10 minutes, allowing the vegetables to soften.
Add the Broth + Rutabaga
- Pour in 8 cups of strained broth and stir to deglaze, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add chopped rutabaga and bring to a gentle simmer.
- Let simmer for about 15 minutes until the rutabaga is fork-tender.
Adjust Seasoning
- Taste the soup—does it need more salt? Is the rutabaga softened?
- Adjust seasoning as needed.
If Adding Cooked Chicken + Beans:
- Add diced cooked chicken (½-inch cubes) and drained beans to the soup. Skip to the finishing step below.
If Adding Raw Chicken + Beans:
- Place raw and boneless chicken breasts or thighs into the simmering broth. Cook breast meat for about 10-15 minutes, depending on thickness. Cook thighs for about 10-12 minutes. Pull out the thickest pieces and test for the temperature to be 160° before moving on if unsure.
- Remove the whole cooked chicken pieces, slice them into bite-sized pieces, and return them to the soup with drained beans.
Finish with Kale + Final Adjustments
- Taste the soup again—do all the parts taste balanced?
- Optional: Stir in a small squeeze of fresh lemon juice to brighten the flavor or balance the sweetness from carrots to your preference.
- Adjust or add salt and pepper as needed. Simmer for up to 5 minutes to warm the chicken and beans. Stir in chopped kale, if using, for the last 2 minutes so it can soften and wilt.
- Let the soup cool slightly before serving. Enjoy!
This recipe contains affiliate links to products I know and love. I recommend any of them for this recipe!