In this recipe I show how to make a roasted chicken, how to turn that chicken into chicken stock, and then how to turn it into my favourite chicken soup with rice. You do not need to go through this labour intensive process in order to make this soup! I make roasted chicken regularly as it is quite inexpensive for me, and I turn it into broth to get the most out of the process. When going to family gatherings, I always volunteer to take home the roasted turkey bones/carcass and turn it into stock. That is, if the host is not going to do this themselves.
If you would like to make the chicken soup with rice quickly/in a few minutes vs. making it on the third day after the stock is cooled and skimmed, skip to the Chicken Soup with Rice portion of the recipe, and use pre-made chicken stock or broth and pre-cooked chicken.

Ingredients

Roasted Chicken
1 whole chicken (not frozen!), giblets removed (if you chicken came with giblets, you can save these for gravy and/or adding to the stock)
butter or oil
dried or fresh herbs (I typically use rosemary, sage, thyme, and savoury), poultry seasoning, or herbs de Provence
salt or seasoned salt
optional: additional herbs on the stem

Chicken Stock
roasted chicken (from above recipe or store-bought)
1 whole onion, top and tail removed, roughly chopped
2 cups carrots (or 1 cup carrots and 1 cup celery)
6-8 whole peppercorns
8-12 cups water
optional: clean veggie scraps (ex. carrot tops, onion/carrot peels, kale/broccoli stems, etc.)

Chicken Soup with Rice
1/4 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1/4 cup spinach, chopped
1/2 cup chicken, cubed or shredded
2 cups chicken stock (or broth)
salt (or seasoned salt) to taste
1/2 cup cooked medium- or long-grain rice (leftover rice works best)

Method

Roasted Chicken

1. Heat oven to 325°F.
2. Rinse chicken and dry with paper towel.
3. Rub chicken with butter, herbs and salt. If you can get some between the skin and the meat on the breasts and drumsticks, I highly recommend doing this too! Fill the cavity with herbs on the stem if you choose.
4. Place breast-side up in a baking dish. Place in the oven and cook for 25 minutes per pound (ex. I had a 3lb chicken for this recipe and cooked it for 1 hour and 15 minutes [75 minutes] and it was perfect) OR until 160°F in the breast meat, and 170°F in the thigh meat. Baste chicken with any drippings or melted butter in the baking dish half way through cooking time and just before it comes out.
5. Allow to cool before handling. Remove chicken from the bones and shred or cube to add back into your soup later. If eating as roast chicken and then using the bones/carcass for later, I highly recommend removing the meat from the drumstick bones, as you may not want to use bones in your soup that someone has been eating off of. Then, save any leftover meat in the fridge for your soup.

Chicken Stock

1. Remove any remaining chicken meat from the carcass if you have not already and save it in the fridge until ready to use.
2. Add everything for the stock into large pot and place a lid on. I usually start with 8 cups of water (as that is all that fits into my largest pot) and then add more if I have accidentally had the heat too high and boiled off too much of the water. Don’t add too much more water (or overheat too many times) as this could make your stock watery and flavourless.
3. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to low/simmer and simmer for 3-5 hours, longer if possible, keeping the lid on the entire time. Everyone’s stove and pots are different, and so will simmer at a different stove setting. You want to turn the heat down as low as possible without losing the bubbling/simmering of the stock, and not high enough to maintain a rolling boil. Keep an eye on it at the beginning, and intermittently while cooking, to make sure that you stock is still simmering.
4. After the 3-5 hours (or more if possible), strain out all of the solids from your stock. I find it easiest to return the stock to the original pot (I typically rinse it out with cold water to cool it down and remove any bits that may have stuck to the pot). Then I just place the lid on, let the pot cool to the touch, and place in the fridge overnight. Alternatively, I place the stock into large mason jars, cool to the touch, and then place in the fridge. This is so that the fat solidifies on the surface and makes it easy to removed… if you would like soup immediately, you can skim the fat carefully while the stock is hot and move to the final recipe.
5. Once cooled in the fridge overnight (if using this method), skim the cooled, solid fat from the surface of the stock and it is ready to use!

Chicken Soup with Rice (for 1-2 servings)

1. Heat a small pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add onions to pot. Sauté until golden in colour. Season with a pinch of salt.
3. Add garlic, shredded carrots, and chopped spinach. Sauté for 1 minute. Season with a pinch of salt.
4. Add chicken and chicken stock (or broth). Turn heat to high and bring to a simmer.
5. Taste the broth and season to taste (add a bit at a time, as you can always add more, but can’t take it out). If you are using pre-made and seasoned broth, you may not need to season at all.
6. If using leftover rice, add to soup and allow it to come to your preferred temperature and then serve. If using just-made rice, portion into your bowl(s), pour soup over rice and serve.

Notes:

1. As you may notice, the full recipe from start to finish can be time-intensive as I typically make it on 3 separate days. However, it doesn’t take a lot of effort, since I just pop the chicken in the oven, pop the ingredients into a stock pot, or sauté the ingredients quickly to make the final soup. I prefer making this long-haul way as it is significantly less expensive (for me!) than purchasing pre-made stock and chicken, since a whole chicken itself can cost the same as bone broth and makes significantly more broth than a container of broth itself.
2. This recipe is a great guideline if you are planning to make stock with leftover roasts of any kind! I often make this recipe with leftover turkey, and have made and incredible, rich duck broth. You don’t just have to use poultry either… this stock would be incredible with elk, bison, or beef, and even the shells of crabs and prawns! If you are using a different type of meat please be sure to cook it to the specific requirements of that meat type – the roasting recipe applies to whole chicken only.
3. You can easily make the stock recipe without roasting your own chicken by purchasing a whole roasted/rotisserie chicken from your store if you have that available. These can often be very similar in price as a whole, uncooked chicken.
4. Extra broth? If you made the stock yourself and have a bunch leftover, I recommend freezing it in mason jars to use in later recipes. It is great in risottos and substituted for water when making quinoa (ex. for my Harvest Bowl recipe). My favourite recipes to use it in are Roasted Cauliflower Soup and my Leek and Potato Soup. You can also just sip on it hot or cold as a nutritious drink.
5. I make my rice using a rice cooker, as this is the lowest maintenance method possible, the rice turns out perfectly every time, and the cooker itself was very inexpensive.
6. If you have access to wild rice this recipe would be INCREDIBLE with the taste of wild rice and all of its added health benefits!
7. Of course, you can make chicken noodle soup instead of chicken soup with rice! Just add pre-cooked, al dente noodles instead of rice (I prefer precooked to prevent the broth from getting starchy and the noodles from getting too mushy).