Light, hearty, and delicious, Chicken Clear Soup is super easy to make at home. It is made using simple ingredients and comes together in under 30 minutes. This soul-soothing soup is gluten-free and low carb too.

About Chicken Clear Soup

Soup is something that comforts me instantly when I am feeling sick or not in my best form. That’s when a simple meal of soup such as this Chicken Clear Soup recharges me and helps me in walking extra miles.

Made using simple ingredients and in under 30 minutes, this clear soup is light, healthy, delicious, and soul-soothing. It’s gluten-free and low carb too.

Clear Soup is basically a richly flavored clear broth made using any meat, veggies, spices, herbs, and other flavorings. The ingredients are simmered for a long time resulting in deep rich flavors. It is great to serve if you have a cold or fever.

This Chinese-style Clear Soup right here is just perfect, as it is neither too heavy on the stomach nor it is too light. It is both filling and wholesome. You just need some simple ingredients such as bone-in chicken, onions, garlic, bay leaves, some whole spices, salt, and pepper, and you are sorted.

This chicken clear soup recipe can be made in an instant pot or a traditional stovetop pressure cooker. You can double or triple it too.

Here are some more soup recipes that you may like

• Tom Kha Soup
• Thai Pumpkin Curry Soup
• Spicy Jambalaya Soup
• Tomato Florentine Soup

Ingredients

Chicken – This soup is best made using skinless bone-in chicken as the bones release a lot of flavor into the broth.

If you are not comfortable with bone-in chicken, then use boneless chicken breasts.

Veggies – You will need carrots, red onions, and garlic. To make the soup even more flavorful, add some chopped celery as well.

Others – You will also need bay leaves, fresh thyme, salt, and freshly cracked pepper.

If fresh thyme is not available, then you can use dried thyme as well.

How To Make Clear Chicken Soup

Wash 10 oz (300 g) of skinless bone-in chicken (cut into 1 and ½-inch pieces) well with water.

Note – It’s good to use chicken with bones to make clear soup as the bones add a lot of flavors. In case bone-in chicken is not available or you are not comfortable with it, then use 7 oz (200 g) of boneless chicken.

Cook The Chicken

In A Stovetop Pressure Cooker

Add the chicken to a stove-top pressure cooker along with

• ¼ cup chopped onions
• 3-4 cloves of garlic (smashed)
• ¼ cup of chopped carrot
• 2 whole bay leaves
• 2-3 sprigs of thyme (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
• 4 cups of water
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

and stir gently.

Pressure cook for 2 whistles on high heat.

Remove the pressure cooker from heat. Let the pressure release naturally and then open the lid of the cooker.

In An Instant Pot

Add the chicken to an instant pot along with

• ¼ cup chopped onions
• 3-4 cloves of garlic (smashed)
• ¼ cup of chopped carrot
• 2 whole bay leaves
• 2-3 sprigs of thyme (or ½ teaspoon dried thyme)
• 3 cups of water
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

and stir gently.

Close the lid and set the valve to the sealing position.

Press the PRESSURE COOK button and set the timer to 2 minutes at high pressure.

Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.

Release the remaining pressure manually and open the lid.

Make The Soup

Strain the soup using a fine-mesh strainer.

Take out the chicken pieces and shred them into small pieces. Discard the bones and veggies.

Add a few shredded pieces to each serving bowl and pour the clear soup on top.

Garnish with spring onion greens. Serve hot.

Frequently Asked Questions

Pro Tips By Neha

If you don’t have a pressure cooker (or instant pot), then you can make the soup in a pan. Add 1 cup of extra water. Cover the pan with a tight-fitting lid and cook for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is tender. Follow the rest of the recipe as mentioned.

You can add more vegetables like green beans, potatoes, celery, etc along with the chicken to make the clear soup even more nutritious and wholesome.

Want to make it more filling for your meals? Then add some boiled noodles, chicken dim sums, or veg dim sums to the clear soup.

You can also experiment with the seasonings. Add herbs like fresh parsley or rosemary, spice powders like sumac, taco seasoning, cajun seasoning, etc.

Make sure you do not overcook the chicken, otherwise, it won’t shred well.

You can also add finely chopped chicken pieces instead of shredded chicken to the soup.

Serving Suggestions

You can serve clear chicken soup on its own for a light dinner or with some hot steamed momos, fried rice, Hakka noodles, or dim sum. I like to add some boiled noodles or rice to it for a filling meal.

Serve it as a starter for your Indo-Asian meals or even for your house parties. 

Top the soup with sliced scallions before serving.

Storage Suggestions

Clear Chicken Soup stays good for 3 to 4 days. In fact, its flavor improves after a few days of making. Just store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. 

To further extend the shelf life of the soup, you can freeze it too. Cool it completely and store it properly in freezer-safe containers or heavy-duty freezer bags and it can stay good for 1-2 months. Thaw before using, heat well, and serve.

You Might Also Like