Slowcooker chicken soup can soothe a weary soul. These days mine is in desperate want of soothing. There are months when life seems to take the lead and you’re always just one step behind – months when obligations never cease, when kids and work and charitable obligations all need your attention NOW and without compromise. There are months when you forget yourself. For me, I turn to this simple recipe for slowcooker chicken soup: just wholesome ingredients, a handful of steps and nourishment that can last for days.
Slowcooker chicken soup is that simple recipe, comforting and nourishment, that will keep your belly full even in the toughest time when both money and time are scarce. When the question of how to balance time, finances and nourishment comes up, and it often does among Nourished Kitchen readers, I always answer with one single response: “Learn to love your slowcooker.” Simple steps, coupled with good quality ingredients and a slowcooker bubbling away all day ensures that you can feed your family affordably, healthfully and without a lot of time in the kitchen. For me, slowcooker chicken soup is the answer,
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slowcooker chicken soup recipe
By Published: March 15, 2011
- Yield: 1 gallon soup
- Prep: 5 minutes (active) mins
- Cook: 18 to 20 hrs (slowcooker) mins
- Ready In: 23 mins
Slowcooker chicken soup recipe featuring chicken, carrots, celery and potatoes.
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken (3 to 4 lbs)
- unrefined sea salt (as needed)
- ground black pepper (as needed)
- 2 leeks (white and light green parts only, sliced thin)
- 2 bay leafs
- 1 yellow onion (peeled and chopped fine)
- 6 carrots (scraped and sliced into rounds 1/4-inch thick)
- 6 celery ribs (sliced 1/4-inch thick)
- 1 lb potatoes (peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces)
- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
Instructions
- Rinse the chicken, inside and out, then pat it dry and season it well with unrefined sea salt and ground black pepper.
- Place the chicken in a slowcooker with leeks and bay leafs then cover with water. Cook on low for twelve hours.
- Add chopped onion, carrots, celery and potatoes to the slowcooker and continue cooking on low for an additional six to eight hours.
- Stir in parsley, pick out large bones and serve.
Which slow cooker do you use? All of the ones that I’ve come across are made with teflon or other toxic ingredients. Thank you..
This one: http://nourishedkitchen.com/6qt-slowcooker-chefs
That link isn’t working….
Yes, the link is working.
should i take the chicken skin off?
I have the same question! Leaving the skin on seems to be very greasy. Advice is much appreciated
Yes. Unless otherwise specified, all the recipes for chicken on Nourished Kitchen are bone-in and skin-on.
Do you think this would work with rabbit too?
I’m sure it would!
What about making this in an electric pressure cooker? Would it be as nourishing and good for you?
I don’t recommend pressure cookers. Pressure cooking is not a traditional practice.
Hi – just tried this recipe – my house smells great. I am not new to cooking, but am new to using a slow cooker. So, it tastes kind of fatty. I only used a half chicken and cut the recipe in half. There was skin on the chicken and I am a fan of fat, especially chicken fat. But, it’s masking flavor in the soup. And what is the point of salting and peppering the chicken if you are just going to pour water over it? I would have liked measurements of S&P to help flavor the soup. I feel like I’m adding a lot of salt at the end. Please don’t mistake my intent, I LOVE your blog, am a fan and finally trying out some recipes. (Had a baby 6 months ago and been sort of in a fog). So, any tips to help add some flavor? Should I take the skin off after the first 12 hours? What crock-pot do you use? Curious. Thanks for all your awesome work! I look forward to refining this for my family and trying out more recipes.
How to you avoid eating the spine bones and such? I’ve always cooked my whole chicken then strained out the juice and handpicked through the carcass and meat mess to separate all the edible meat. Any wiser tips?
Hi Jenny!
I’m making this soup for,the first time and my slow cooker switched to warm for about an hour early this morning. I hadn’t added the veggies yet. Does that affect the soup? I’m not sure if the chicken has to stay at a certain temperature.
Thanks!
Jen
I love chicken soup of any kind, but just not in the crockpot. Roasting the chicken first adds so much more flavor and removes a lot of the fat from the soup…unless that’s what you’re going for! and I do pick the chicken apart and remove most of the bones before serving. The other alternative is to strain the whole thing and just keep the broth.
Hi Jenny!
This looks wonderful! I’ve read mixed things on cooking whole chicken in the slow cooker, some slow cookers come with warnings not to do so because the meat will take too long to cook through and therefore be in the “danger zone” for too long. Do you have thoughts about that?
Thanks!
Kate