Canning chicken soup ensures you have a homemade batch of chicken soup on hand when you need it. It’s the perfect pick me up when you’re under the weather, but it also make a satisfying meal anytime.
Homemade chicken soup is just what the doctor ordered when you’re under the weather, but who has the energy to cook chicken soup from scratch when they’re sick?
My mamma’s 3000 miles away, and she’s not exactly dropping by with a care package when I’m sick. When my own kids are sick, I know that I’m next…
So what’s better than homemade chicken soup? Home canned chicken soup right on your pantry shelf when you need it!
This simple, canning safe recipe for chicken soup is an easy heat and eat meal when you need it. I tend to turn it into chicken noodle soup for serving, and I’ll cook wide egg noodles separately and add them into the pot once it’s reheated.
You can also turn it into chicken and rice soup, or chicken and dumplings at serving.
(Just keep in mind, starchy ingredients like noodles, rice and dumplings are not safe for canning, and those will have to be added at serving. Boiling up a batch of noodles takes about the same amount of time as reheating the soup, and I always have noodles on my pantry shelf, so that’s no big deal.)
I’d like to note that since posting this, I’ve been asked a dozen times…where did you get that canning funnel!?!?
Answer: Vegetable, dried bean or pea, meat, poultry or seafood soups can be canned. USDA does not recommend adding noodles, other pastas, rice, flour, cream, milk or other thickening agents to home canned soups. Noodles, other pasta and rice will become mushy.
Canning Times for Chicken Soup
The original Ball Blue Book Recipe uses canning times of 75 minutes for pints and 90 minutes for quarts for this chicken soup recipe. The USDA’s generic soup canning recipe recommends 60 minutes for pints and 75 minutes for quarts for broth-y soups like this one.
I’ve gone with the more conservative ball blue book times since I was using their tested recipe. The extra canning time does not seem to impact the quality of the soup, and allows you to fill the jars a bit more than half way if you like a soup with a bit less broth.
The canning time remains the same regardless of altitude, but the required pressure changes above 1,000 feet in elevation.
For dial gauge pressure canners:
- 0 to 2,000 feet in elevation – 11 lbs pressure
- 2,001 to 4,000 feet in elevation – 12 lbs pressure
- 4,001 to 6,000 feet in elevation – 13 lbs pressure
- 6,001 to 8,000 feet in elevation – 14 lbs pressure
For weighted gauge pressure canners:
- 0 to 1,000 feet in elevation – 10 lbs pressure
- Above 1,000 feet – 15 lbs pressure
Ingredients for Canning Chicken Soup
This tested canning recipe for chicken soup is adapted from the Ball Blue Book of Home Canning.
To make 4 quarts (or 8 pints) of home canned chicken soup, you’ll need:
- 4 quarts chicken stock
- 3 cups diced, cooked chicken (about one 3 lb cooked chicken)
- 1 1/2 cups celery, chopped (roughly 3 stalks)
- 1 1/2 cups carrots, sliced (roughly 3 medium)
- 1 cup onion, chopped (1 large)
- Salt and pepper to taste
The recipe is hot packed, which means that all the ingredients are added to a stock pot and brought to a boil for a few minutes before being equally distributed among the canning jars, leaving 1” headspace.
There’s a bit more chicken stock than you’ll need here, but it’s always better to have a little extra in the pot than end up short. In reality, you need a bit more than 3 quarts.
The blue book recipe is almost identical to what you’d end up with if you opted for the “choose your own adventure” soup canning recipe from the USDA. I’ve outlined that process below, because it gives you the flexibility to change the ingredients as you see fit, adding in veggies or taking them away to suit your tastes.
Pressure Canning Chicken Noodle Soup | How To PC | It’s EASY
FAQ
Can you can soup with pasta in it?
How do noodles not get soggy in canned soup?
Can I add noodles to canned soup?
Can you can chicken noodle soup?
Because it contains meat, it must be pressure canned. Water bath canning anything that contains meat is not safe. To can my homestyle chicken noodle soup, simply make the recipe as is with one exception. Do not add the noodles and be sure to remove the bay leaf before you process your jars.
Is it okay to eat noodles for breakfast?
Noodles is a cereal, and a healthy breakfast should include a cereal, so it’s okay to have noodles for breakfast. It is only important to be aware that this consumption is not exaggerated and that this food is whole.
Can you freeze chicken noodle soup?
If one did not seal, refrigerate and eat immediately. My chicken noodle soup recipe is also freezer friendly. You can either freeze it with the egg noodles or freeze just the soup base and add the pasta later. It is entirely up to you. I freeze it in large freezer safe soup containers in both ways depending on what I feel like doing the day I cook.
What is Canning chicken noodle soup?
Free shipping on orders over $150. Discounts for active military and students. Canning chicken noodle soup means that that you have something to gift a sick friend, and you have a portable meal that conserves freezer space.