Chicken and Bacon Soup (Stove or Slow Cooker)

This Chicken and Bacon Soup with vegetables is absolutely our favourite chicken soup. Even my son who isn’t a massive soup fan, enjoys this one. This is actually based on a chicken stew recipe from bbcgoodfood.com that I used to make years ago. Over time I tweaked and evolved it into a chunky soup packed with flavour. 

Using bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and smoked bacon, gives the broth a satisfying richness.  I double down by adding tomato paste paired with thyme and garlic for a really full-bodied broth. The mushrooms and the carrots work in harmony with everything else to complete this hearty soup. It’s the perfect meal to end a cold winters day.

You can make four servings of this soup for just £1.80 per serving*. Now even though there is salty bacon in this soup, it is still possible to share this meal with a weaning baby, see how here >

*when ingredients are bought from Aldi.

The Stars of my Chicken and Bacon Soup

The Chicken Thighs

When making soup, always go for bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs as the bones and skin give a deeper layer of flavour and stop the soup from falling flat.

The Bacon

You’ll want to go for smoked bacon to give the soup a slightly smoky note. And if you aren’t already doing it, use clean kitchen scissors to trim and the fat off and dice the bacon - it’s the easiest way!

The Mushrooms

I’ve said in the recipe a bag of pre-sliced mushrooms, because this saves soo much prep time and usually they are the same or very similar in cost as buying them whole. But of course, you can buy whole mushrooms and prepare them yourself.

The Carrots

I’ve said to use 3 medium carrots, but of course the rough equivalent of this is fine. Slice them lengthways in half and then slice thinly. 

The Thyme

I LOVE thyme, I use it a lot in cooking. It’s earthy flavour makes it perfect for hearty meals like chunky soups, stews and casseroles. And in this soup, it pairs like a dream with the woody flavour of the mushrooms. I always prefer to use fresh thyme, but you can substitute fresh for 2 teaspoons of dried instead.

Eating More Sustainably

You can use less chicken thighs in this soup to eat more sustainably.  That will also help to lower the cost.

Prep my Chicken and Bacon Soup in Advance

You can prep the carrots, onion and thyme in advance. Just refrigerate in separate, covered prep bowls.

Kids Cook Too

Get younger children involved in cooking this soup, have them help measure out the tomato puree and the flour. They can also help you strip the thyme leaves off the stalks.

Feed a Crowd with my Chicken and Bacon Soup

This is a great soup to double for guests, or to freeze for another meal - so long as you have a cooking pot large enough. 

Storing My Chicken and Bacon Soup

You can store soup leftovers in an air-tight container or resealable food bag in the fridge for up to 3 days (cook day + 2). You can also freeze them, just defrost for 24 hours in the fridge and reheat until steaming hot all the way through.

For more on safe food storage and reheating read here >

Diet Details

This Chicken and Bacon Soup is egg, nut and diary-free. You can make it gluten-free by omitting the flour.

Adapting My Chicken and Bacon Soup For Your Family

Eating together is beneficial for families of all ages and stages, for a multitude of reasons; nutritional, behavioural, psychological and for healthy family functioning. This section will show you how to tweak this Chicken and Bacon Soup recipe for sharing with a weaning baby, toddler or a fussy eater, to help make it easier for you to eat together as a family.

Keeping Picky Eaters Happy

If your fussy eater doesn’t like soup usually or meals with a lot of sauce, or runny sauce, then you could do what I recommend for baby-led weaning and use a slotted spoon to dish their soup up, so leaving behind the broth and serve their chicken and vegetables alongside a bread roll.

See more from me on fussy eaters here >

Making My Chicken and Bacon Soup Suitable for Baby Weaning  

You’ll want to use no or low added salt chicken stock and hold back on adding salt to the cook. You will also need to fry the bacon in a separate pan near the end of the cook and then stir it through the soup once you have dished up baby’s.

How to Serve to Babies & Toddlers 

BABY-LED WEANING 

When you dish up little one’s soup, use a slotted spoon and hold it up for a few seconds to allow the broth to drain away. Finely shred their chicken and chop the mushroom pieces and carrots into bitesize pieces. Fold into together so they can scoop up mouthfuls. Serve with toast fingers or a bread roll torn in half.

SPOON FED-WEANING

You can dish their serving up with a slotted spoon to drain away the slightly salty broth (because of the bacon) and add the chicken and vegetables, along with some low or no salt chicken stock to your stick blender pot and whizz into a purée.

TODDLERS

Ensure any large pieces of chicken, mushroom or carrots are cut into bitesize pieces.

I’ve also added these notes to the bottom of the recipe so you have them to hand when you come to cook. For more info on how I keep my family meals suitable for baby weaning, read here >

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Chicken and Bacon Soup

This chunky Chicken and Bacon Soup with vegetables is bursting with flavour and guarantees to bring warmth and comfort on wintry nights. It can be cooked on the stove or in the slow cooker.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine British

Servings 4

Equipment

• Chef’s knife + chopping board
• Clean scissors (easiest way to chop the bacon), optional
• Garlic mincer
• Prep bowls
• Large measuring jug
• Mezzaluna (to chop the thyme), optional
• Measuring spoons
• Large casserole pot / dutch oven or saucepan

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 200 g smoked bacon diced
• 1 onion finely diced
• 1 tablespoon tomato puree
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 25 g plain flour / all-purpose
• 1.3 litres chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dried
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt & pepper to taste, remember the bacon is salty
• 1 kg chicken thighs bone in, skin on
• 3 medium carrots halved lengthways then sliced
• 250 g bag sliced mushrooms

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

• Heat the oil in a casserole pot / dutch-oven or large saucepan over a medium-low heat. Then add the bacon and onion and fry for 5 minutes, stirring often.
• Add the flour, garlic and tomato paste and fry for 1 more minute.
• Gradually add in the chicken stock, stirring as you go.
• Then add in the thyme, bay leaf, salt & pepper. Nestle in the chicken thighs. Increase the heat to high and scatter over the carrots and mushrooms. Level out and bring to the boil, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 40 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
• Remove the pan from the heat and take out the chicken thighs using a slotted spoon. Remove the skin and shred the chicken off the bone. Then add the chicken back into the pan and stir in. Leave the lid off while you do this so the soup cools off a little and remember to remove the bay leaf.

SLOW COOKER

• Do steps 1-3 in your removable slow cooker pot on the stove. Transfer it back into the base and add in the remaining ingredients, ensuring chicken thighs are at the bottom. Cook for 5-8 hours on low, or 4-5 hours on high. Remove thighs and shred. Stir the chicken back through the soup.

Notes

STOCK

When adding such a large volume of stock, it’s easier to crumble all the stock cubes into a jug with just some of the hot water and stir until dissolved. Then add that into the pan, and measure and add the remaining quantity in hot water.

SALT - I usually don’t add salt as the bacon makes it salty enough!

GO GLUTEN-FREE - just leave out the flour!

Baby & Toddler

You will also need to fry the bacon in a separate pan near the end of the cook and then stir it through the soup once you have dished up baby’s.

BABY-LED WEANING Dish up their soup a slotted spoon and hold it up for a few seconds so the broth can drain away. Finely shred their chicken and chop the mushroom pieces and carrots into bitesize pieces. Fold into together so they can scoop up mouthfuls. Serve with toast fingers or a bread roll torn in half.

SPOON FED-WEANING You can dish their serving up with a slotted spoon to drain away the slightly salty broth (because of the bacon) and add the chicken and vegetables, along with some low or no salt chicken stock to your stick blender pot and whizz into a purée.

TODDLERS Ensure any large pieces of chicken, mushroom or carrots are cut into bitesize pieces.

FUSSY EATERS

If your fussy eater doesn’t like broth usually, use a slotted spoon to dish up theirs and leave behind the broth.

Nutrition

Calories: 3399kcalCarbohydrates: 117gProtein: 250gFat: 211gSaturated Fat: 56gPolyunsaturated Fat: 41gMonounsaturated Fat: 93gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 1120mgSodium: 4617mgPotassium: 6198mgFiber: 12gSugar: 39gVitamin A: 32158IUVitamin C: 48mgCalcium: 342mgIron: 17mg

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