Chicken and Vegetable Soup with Ginger

Lauren holding a bowl of chicken and vegetable soup in a black bowl wearing a white sweater.

5 from 5 votes

Chicken and Vegetable Soup with Ginger

This Chicken Soup Without Noodles is made by sautéing onions, ginger, and garlic, building on that aromatic base with slowly simmering chicken, and rather than noodles adding carrots, celery, potatoes, and beans at the end.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Total Time1 30

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 522kcal

Author: Lauren Skardal

Ingredients

2 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 whole chicken, or an assortment of bone-in skin on chicken pieces
8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
3 large carrots, sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
3 medium red potatoes, diced (1 lb potatoes)
1 large sweet potato, diced
1 15oz can kidney or black beans (or both)

Instructions

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven to medium heat. Add a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until translucent. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 more minutes.
Add the chicken, chicken broth, and 2 cups of water to the pot and bring to a boil. Ensure that the chicken is submerged in the broth. Reduce to a low simmer and cover.
Simmer for about 1 hour or until the chicken is completely cooked and no longer pink. It should be falling off the bone and easily torn apart with a fork. Remove the chicken or chicken pieces from the pot and place on a plate or cutting board to cool.
Skim off any extra fat from the top of the broth.
Add the carrots, red potatoes, and celery and cook for 5 minutes. Then add the sweet potatoes and cook for another 10 minutes or until fork tender.
Meanwhile, remove the meat from the bones and shred it into small pieces. Discard the fat and bones. Add the shredded chicken back to the pot. Add the kidney and/or black beans and allow to warm through.
Add salt and pepper to taste and serve warm in bowls.

Notes

Onion: The smaller you dice the onion, the more it will disappear into the soup. If you prefer noticeable pieces of onion in your soup, dice them bigger. If you want them to more or less disappear into the broth, dice the onion small (this is my preference).

Ginger: You can peel ginger using the edge of a spoon. I find this more time-consuming than just using a knife, but you preserve more of the ginger this way. Do NOT use dried ginger spice.

Simmering the Chicken: Check the chicken a few minutes before the hour mark. If the chicken does not easily come apart with a fork in the pot, then it needs more time. Add 5-10 more minutes and check again.

Shredded Chicken: Do not let the shredded chicken sit out for an extended period of time or it will dry out. If you're waiting for the soup to finish you can cover it with a little bit of broth and wrap it in tin foil to prevent it from drying out.

Nutrition