Slow Cooker Chicken Soup
, Updated Jan 29, 2024
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Slow Cooker Chicken Soup – this hearty and healthy soup is made using a whole chicken and it is SO full of flavor. A great warming soup that your family will love.
If you like this and fancy something different, why not try a Greek classic, Avgolemono Chicken Soup (Greek Lemon Chicken and Rice Soup)?
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Soup weather is just around the corner and this Slow Cooker Whole Chicken Soup has got to be on top of your must-make list!
Slow cooking a whole chicken with onions, celery and carrots created THE most incredible broth. The chicken poaches in the broth until it is literally meltingly tender.
The shredded chicken and broth make up the backbone of this amazing chicken soup. Add a handful of vegetables and some noodles, orzo and herbs you have a healthy and delicious meal that can see you through the week!
Here’s why you will LOVE it!
- It is simply PACKED with flavor
- Hearty and healthy
- Easy to make and thrifty too!
- Can feed a crowd
- Perfect if you a nursing a cold
- Freezer friendly
Whole Chicken Soup Grocery List
You can add any vegetables you like in this soup, provided they cook relatively quickly so they go in with the pasta.
- Large whole chicken
- Onions, celery and carrots
- Water and apple cider vinegar
- Bay leaves and whole peppercorns
- Tomatoes
- Noodles, long grain rice or orzo
- Lemon juice
- Parsley and dill
HOW TO MAKE SLOW COOKER CHICKEN SOUP
Full measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page. Please take a look at the steps and video before attempting this recipe!
MAKE THE BROTH
Place the chicken in your slow cooker and arrange the onion, celery, carrots, parsley sprigs and bay leaves around it. Add the apple cider vinegar and enough water to just cover the chicken.
Cover and cook for 6 hours on HIGH or 8 hours on low. Use a large colander to strains the contents of the slow cooker into a large bowl.
Transfer the chicken onto a platter and shred it using two forks. Discard any skin and all the vegetables apart from the carrots.
MAKE THE CHICKEN SOUP
Add shallots, celery, the cooked carrots from earlier, broth and bay leaves into your slow cooker. Stir in the lemon juice, shredded chicken and orzo. Add salt, pepper and thyme. Cover and cook for 45 minutes or until the orzo is cooked through.
Stir in half the chopped herbs, reserving some to garnish with. Have a taste and adjust the seasoning.
Serve with some crusty wholemeal bread, garnished with herbs and a little grated Parmesan.
STORING AND FREEZING
The soup will keep for up to three days in a covered container in the fridge. The orzo will absorb some liquid so you will need to add a bit of water when reheating the soup.
You can also freeze the soup, ideally without the added orzo. You can add the orzo or any kind of small pasta when you reheat the soup.
RECIPE TIPS
- Why not keep some of the shredded chicken to use in other recipes? You can make a chicken pasta bake, use it to make a Satay Chicken Salad, use it in sandwiches or make other types of chicken soup, such as this Sicilian Chicken Soup.
- To remove the fat from the broth, place the cooled slow cooker in the fridge for a couple of hours or until the fat solidifies. Scrape the fat using a spoon before using.
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Slow Cooker Chicken Soup
Video
Equipment
- Large slow cooker
Ingredients
For the broth
- 1 large whole chicken approx. 4 pounds (1.7 kg)
- 1 onion halved
- 4 celery sticks
- 4 carrots
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ tsp black peppercorns
- ¼ cup (60ml) apple cider vinegar
- 2 sprigs parsley with stalks
- water as needed
For the soup
- 4 large shallots finely diced
- 2 celery sticks finely diced
- 4 carrots ( use the ones from the broth) finely diced
- the broth we made earlier and extra water if needed
- 2 tbsp lemon juice or to taste
- 3 tomatoes seeded and chopped
- 1 cup (200g) orzo
- 1 tsp salt
- ⅓ ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp flat leaf parsley chopped
- ½ tbsp fresh dill (optional)
TO SERVE
- grated Parmesan
- bread
- lemon wedges
Instructions
MAKE THE BROTH
- Place the chicken in your slow cooker and arrange the onion, celery, carrots, parsley sprigs and bay leaves around it. Add the apple cider vinegar and enough water to just cover the chicken.
- Cover and cook for 6 hours on HIGH or 8 hours on low. Use a large colander to strains the contents of the slow cooker into a large bowl.
- Transfer the chicken onto a platter and shred it using two forks. Discard any skin and all the vegetables apart from the carrots.
MAKE THE CHICKEN SOUP
- Add shallots, celery, the cooked carrots from earlier, broth and bay leaves into your slow cooker. Stir in the lemon juice, shredded chicken and orzo. Add salt, pepper and thyme. Cover and cook for 45 minutes or until the orzo is cooked through.
- Stir in half the chopped herbs, reserving some to garnish with. Have a taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Serve with some crusty wholemeal bread, garnished with herbs and a little grated Parmesan.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.
Hello! I tried your recipe and have hopes for a better second try, but here were my thoughts:
Positives: The chicken was SO tender and delicious. The broth also turned out flavorful!
Overall I love the idea of this soup.
Problems: The new celery and onion I added for 45 minutes on low was still crunchy. I prefer all veggies to be soft. Any suggestions?
I also didn’t put the carrots back in for those 45 minutes because they were already VERY soft and I was afraid they’d get mushy.
I didn’t see when to add tomatoes, so I added them for the 45 minutes and I thought that turned out well.
Finally, I would double or triple the amount of orzo. It wasn’t really noticeable. This is just my preference.
Thank you, and I hope to hear your suggestions!
Hi Katie you can cook the onion and celery for longer or sauté them for 5 minutes first to soften. The carrots be kept whole and sliced after they are soft or cooked for less long. You can add more orzo of course but you may also need to up the amount of broth