This chicken and vegetable soup recipe is probably the most versatile soup I make. When we serve it, we add noodles, rice or barley, depending on our mood. It also makes a great base for chicken and dumplings; just add the raw dumplings once the soup is heated and let them cook in the hot broth until done.
Yield: 14 pint jars or 7 quart jars
Ingredients
- 3 pounds boneless cubed chicken thighs or breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
- 12 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups chopped onions*
- 2 cups corn kernels*
- 4 cups diced carrots*
- 4 teaspoons noniodized salt
- 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
*You’ll need ~3⁄4 pound unprepared onions, 3 ears of corn and 1 1⁄3 pounds unprepared carrots.
For serving per 1-quart jar
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch or flour for thickening (optional)
- fresh thyme or parsley
Read more: New to pressure canning? Here are some basics to get you started.
Preparation
Prepare pressure canner, jars and lids. You’ll need 14 pint jars or 7 quart jars. Fill the canner with a few inches of water, according to the manufacturer’s instructions, and put the canner on the stove over low heat with the jars inside to stay hot. This is a hot-pack recipe, so the water needs to be about 180 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large stockpot, combine the chicken with the broth and bring to a boil. Boil over medium heat until the chicken is cooked, about 10 minutes.
Add onions, corn, carrots and spices to stockpot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to a gentle boil. Boil for 5 minutes.
The vegetables will not be fully cooked by the time they are done boiling; they will finish cooking in the jars while being processed.
Remove the stockpot from the heat. Carefully ladle the soup into the prepared jars, making sure to put the solids evenly into the jars and leaving 1 inch of headspace.
Remove the bubbles with a bubble removal tool and recheck the headspace. If you end up short of liquid, top the jars off with boiling water or hot chicken broth. Wipe the rims with a clean, damp cloth. Put the lids and bands on the jars and load them into the pressure canner.
Process the jars, according to the manufacturer’s instructions, at 10 psi for 75 minutes for 1-pint jars and 90 minutes for 1-quart jars, adjusting for altitude if necessary.
After processing, allow canner to depressurize naturally, then remove the jars and let them cool on the counter for at least 12 hours. Check the seals and store the jars for up to 1 year.
For serving, empty a jar of soup into a medium stockpot. Heat over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until bubbling. If you like a thicker soup, thicken with a cornstarch or flour slurry. Serve with pasta, rice, barley or dumplings. Garnish with thyme or parsley.
This recipe for chicken and vegetable soup originally appeared in the January/February 2022 issue of Chickens magazine. It is reprinted with permission from Pressure Canning for Beginners and Beyond by Angi Schneider, Page Street Publishing Co., 2021.
