Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: Chicken farro soup swaps in chewy, hearty farro instead of traditional noodles, with delicious results! This chicken soup recipe is an easy, healthy, and filling weeknight meal.
How long it takes: 1 hour
Equipment you’ll need: large pot or Dutch oven
Servings: 10 cups
A Cozy Twist on Chicken Soup
I love a soup that feels like a meal (like my cream of mushroom soup and 15 bean soup with ham), and this chicken farro soup hits the mark. Thick, hearty, and loaded with “stuff,” it’s perfect when you want comfort in a bowl without a lot of fuss.
Instead of traditional noodles, I switched things up and added farro. Farro is a chewy wheat grain with an earthy, toasty flavor that makes the soup feel rustic and substantial – think of it like chicken barley soup’s cozier cousin.
Why I love this recipe:
- Super easy: Minimal prep, mostly hands-off simmering while you get other things done.
- Meal prep friendly: Keeps beautifully in the fridge or freezer. Bonus: if it’s not quite time to eat, it can quietly simmer until everyone’s hungry.
- A little different: Classic chicken soup flavor your kids will love, but with a twist they won’t see coming.
It’s cozy, satisfying, and just a touch unexpected – exactly what soup should be.
Ingredient Notes
Remember to scroll down to the recipe for all the measurements!
- Aromatic vegetables: We start with a mirepoix, which is another way of saying onion, carrots, and celery. This trio of ingredients forms the backbone of flavor for the soup and is sautéed in a splash of olive oil, or another mildly flavored cooking oil.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic cloves are another aromatic that gives this chicken farro soup lots of flavor. Use large cloves or add extra cloves if you’re a garlic fan.
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts: Using boneless skinless chicken is the easiest way to make chicken soup. It cooks fairly quickly and is easy to shred once it’s cooked. If you prefer dark meat, you can use boneless skinless chicken thighs instead. They have the added benefit of making the soup taste a little richer.
- Reduced-sodium chicken broth and water: Using low-sodium broth helps keep the salt level in check. If you prefer, you can use more broth instead of adding water.
- Dried herbs: To keep things simple, I usually use dried herbs from my pantry. For this soup, I add parsley, thyme, and bay leaf which are three classic herbs for chicken soup recipes. If you happen to have fresh herbs, by all means, they can be substituted. Since fresh herbs aren’t as potent as dried, use about 3 times more.
- Farro: Since farro is a whole grain, it should be rinsed with cool water in a fine mesh sieve before using.
How to Make Chicken Farro Soup
Cook the aromatics. Warm the oil in a large pot set over medium heat. Stir in the onion, carrots, and celery, along with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables soften, then add the garlic and cook until it’s fragrant.
Simmer. Stir in the broth, water, chicken, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and farro. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the farro is tender and the chicken is cooked through. Stir the soup every so often to make sure everything is cooking nicely.
Finish. Discard the bay leaf. Remove the chicken breasts, and shred or dice the meat. Stir the chicken back into the soup. Taste the soup, and season to taste. If you used low or no salt broth, the soup will definitely need more salt. If the soup is more stew-like than you prefer, thin it by adding more water or broth. Serve the soup steaming hot.
Recipe Variations
- Use cooked chicken. In a previous version of this recipe, I used rotisserie chicken as a quick and easy protein option. Simply shred the cooked chicken and add it at the end of the cooking time, once the farro is tender.
- Add beans. For extra protein and heartiness, consider adding a can of drained and rinsed cannellini or great Northern beans before you bring the soup to a boil. Black-eyed peas would be a great choice, too.
- Give it some green. Stir spinach, kale, or Swiss chard into the soup at the end of the cooking time to work extra veggies into your meal. I usually roughly chop the leaves before adding them.
- Simmer it with a Parmesan rind. This is an Italian trick for adding extra flavor to soups. Add the rind just before you bring the soup to a boil; if you do this, I recommend using 2 cups of water rather than 2 additional cups of broth to keep your soup from becoming overly salty. You can also serve the soup with extra Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top.
- Not a fan of farro? Try my traditional chicken noodle soup or Instant Pot chicken and rice soup! Slow cooker chicken kale soup is always a hit, too!
Serving Suggestions
- Salads. This kale and pear salad with yogurt dressing is one I serve often in the fall and winter, and it’s excellent for pairing with soups and stews. Another favorite fall-themed salad is this Brussels sprouts salad with apples, cranberries, and walnuts.
- Bread/Muffins. My Dutch oven bread is perfect for soaking up flavorful soup broth. If you’re looking for a faster option, serve the soup with homemade banana bread muffins or whole wheat cornbread. Savory pumpkin cheddar muffins are good, too.
- Toppings. Sprinkle freshly grated Parmesan over the top of your chicken farro soup, squeeze in some lemon juice for brightness, float crunchy homemade croutons on top, or add extra protein with crispy air fryer chickpeas.
Refrigerate: Store leftover chicken farro soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It will thicken in the fridge, which I personally like, but if you’d rather restore its original consistency, simply add some water while reheating.
Freeze: This soup can also be frozen for longer storage. Transfer it to a freezer-safe airtight container or a freezer bag and press out the excess air. Store for up to 3 months and thaw in the fridge before reheating.
Reheat: Warm this soup in a saucepan on the stovetop, or in the microwave in a microwave-safe bowl until heated through.
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup diced onion (1 medium onion)
- 1 cup diced carrots (2 large carrots)
- 1 cup diced celery (3 stalks celery)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
- 2 cloves garlic, minced (more if you like!)
- 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (see note)
- 2 cups water, or additional broth
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 3 breasts)
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup farro, rinsed
Instructions
- Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add onion, carrots, and celery and season with salt and pepper. Sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook while stirring, for one more minute.1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 cup diced onion, 1 cup diced carrots, 1 cup diced celery, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper, 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Add broth, water, chicken, parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and farro. Stir to combine and bring to a boil.4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth, 2 cups water, or additional broth, 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, 1 tablespoon dried parsley, ½ teaspoon dried thyme leaves, 1 bay leaf, 1 cup farro, rinsed
- Reduce heat to low to maintain a simmer and cover and cook for 30 minutes or until farro is tender and chicken is cooked through, stirring occasionally.
- Remove bay leaf from soup. Remove chicken from the soup pan, and shred or dice, and then return it to the soup.
- Taste the soup, and add salt and pepper as desired. If the soup is too thick for your liking, stir in extra water or broth. Serve hot.
Notes
- Chicken broth: We tested this recipe with reduced-sodium chicken broth and found that the soup needed a little more salt than is called for in the recipe. It’s important to taste the soup near the end of the cooking time, and season as desired, since chicken broth contains varying amounts of salt.
- Storage: Refrigerate leftover soup in a covered container for up to 3 days. The soup will thicken as it sits or when it is stored because the farro continues to absorb liquid. Add more water or broth as desired. Chicken farro soup freezes well, for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat individual portions in the microwave or in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Get a head start: To save last minute prep time, dice the onions, carrots, and celery in the morning or even the night before. Put them in a covered container and refrigerate.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Very tasty and easy to make. Always looking for ways to add more whole grain and meat budget stretchers. I used the back, ribs, wings and part of the breast of a whole chicken. Boiled the pieces in water to make broth and cook the chicken. Toasted the farro with the onions, celery and carrots. Added fresh chard from the garden and topped with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
I’m so glad you liked it! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
Made this today, I definitely will make again!
So glad you like it!
Had farro in my cupboard and used (finally)….delicious…..thank you!
So glad to hear it! I appreciate you taking the time to come back and leave a comment, means a lot!
Have you ever tried this recipe in the slow cooker? How would you adjust it, if you did?
I have not, but I think it would probably work great!
I want to know that also
I haven’t tried it but it would probably work. Let me know if you try it! I think the farro will take 2-3.5 hours to cook in the slow cooker, but like I said, I haven’t tried it so I can’t make promises. I’d love to hear how it turns out if you do it!
THIS IS FANTASTIC!!
I’m pretty sure my kids could live on chicken soup alone all winter, and it doesn’t even get very cold here :)
I actually have a bag of unopened farro in the cupboard that I had no idea what to do with. I love barley, so I’m excited to try it now!
Hope you love it!
This is a fully loaded beautiful-looking chicken soup! I love all the colorful veggies :)
We eat all the soup in the winter! Farro in soup is such a great variation! Pinned!
It’s been getting all sorts of cold here too..and I actually have yet to make ONE SINGLE SOUP!
But, this looks like THE place to start. Loving that farro! Pinned!