For this installment in our Pressure Canning 101 series, I’d like to tackle Chicken Soup.
Having home-canned soup on hand is a great way to save both money and time. A large roaster full of chicken soup is a simple way to stretch a chicken into a cost-saving plethora of jars full of goodness.
Instead of reaching for that can of “who-knows-what’s-in-it” for a quick lunch, you can reach for a jar of your very own homemade chicken soup. For a little effort put out now, you can enjoy a hot bowl of yummy homemade soup for any time. It’s great to have this on hand for those nights when you don’t feel like cooking, for a speedy lunch, or when you have a sick family member in need of some chicken soup lovin’.
I make this in my large 18 qt roaster oven. This is simply the best way to make a large amount of soup (or anything else- chili, spaghetti sauce, a large turkey, etc). If you don’t have a large roaster oven, you could certainly make this in large stock pots. I tend to “cook big”, so when I can, I want to do it all at once. I can pressure can 7 quarts at a time. I want that canner full whenever I use it!
The first step is simply to cook 2 large chickens in water, with lots of seasoning. Remember this water is turning into a broth, so I tend to season heavier than if I was making a small pot of soup. I add salt, pepper, Kick’n Chicken Seasoning, thyme, bay leaf, rosemary, garlic, onions (whole), celery (cut in half), carrots (cut in half), and chicken soup base.
Spray the roaster oven insert with non-stick spray, then place the chickens inside. Cover the chicken with spices, add vegetables, then add water. I fill the water about half-way to the top. Put the lid on, turn the heat to 300*, and let it cook. Low and slow cooking results in a moister, more tender bird. Cook this chicken at least 3 hours. Once the chicken is cooked through, remove it to a bowl with slotted spoons.
You won’t be using the vegetables that you cooked the chickens with for the final product. They were present to give the broth flavor. Separate those out when you shred the chicken meat.
While the chicken is cooling down, add your desired vegetables. I add 2 quarts of home-canned green beans, a bag of frozen corn (thawed), a large onion, several diced carrots, and several chopped potatoes. Add the vegetables that your family likes. Just be sure to add plenty. They give the bulk to the soup, saving on meat cost.
When the chicken is cool enough to work with, pull the skin off and chop or shred the chicken from the bone. Be especially careful to remove all of those little tiny bones from the meat. I like to shred the chicken onto a plate, then sift through it after it’s shredded (or chopped) with my fingers to be sure I haven’t missed a bone. Add the meat to the roaster oven. Allow to cook at 300* for another hour or so. Taste the broth occasionally to be sure it’s to your liking.
Once the soup is ready to can, it’s time to set up the canner, sterilize the jars, get the lids and bands heating up, and prepare your workspace. Ladle the hot soup into the jars. Once all of the jars are full, leaving 1″ of headspace, wipe the rims of jars well. This step is especially important with something like this as there is fat in the product being canned. Any fat left on the rim will result in a failed jar.
Add the lids and bands, hand tighten, then add the jars to the pressure canner.
When you can a mixture of foods like this, you will follow the timing and weight directions listed for the longest component. Normally, that would be the meat component. The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving recommends 90 minutes for quarts at 10 pounds of pressure. Be sure to adjust based upon your altitude. If you need a refresher in pressure canning basics, visit Pressure Canning 101- Getting Started.
If you’ve made the full roaster pan full, you’ll either have a nice large amount of soup for supper and leftovers, or you will have enough to can another 5-7 quarts of soup. Since the first round of soup in the pressure canner will take awhile to be completed, you’ll want to turn the roaster down so that you don’t overcook the soup. Remember, the soup is going to further cook while being canned.
*as always, follow the instruction manual that came with your pressure canner!*
Be sure to check out the previous installments in this Pressure Canning 101 series- Getting Started, Pinto Beans
Have you canned soup? Which type is your favorite?
- 2 large roaster chickens
- 2 TB salt
- 2 TB pepper
- 2 TB Kick’n Chicken Seasoning
- 1 TB thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 TB rosemary
- 3 TB garlic,
- 2 onions (whole)
- 5 stalks celery (cut in half)
- 5 carrots (cut in half)
- 3 TB chicken soup base
- For finished soup-
- 2 quarts green beans
- 1 16 oz bag corn
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 5 sliced carrots
- 5 potatoes, cubed
- Spray the roaster oven insert with non-stick spray, then place the chickens inside. Cover the chicken with spices, add vegetables, then add water. I fill the water about half-way to the top. Put the lid on, turn the heat to 300*, and let it cook. Low and slow cooking results in a moister, more tender bird. Cook this chicken at least 3 hours. Once the chicken is cooked through, remove it to a bowl with slotted spoons.
- You won’t be using the vegetables that you cooked the chickens with for the final product. They were present to give the broth flavor. Separate those out when you shred the chicken meat.
- While the chicken is cooling down, add your desired vegetables. I add 2 quarts of home-canned green beans, a bag of frozen corn (thawed), a large onion, several sliced carrots, and several chopped potatoes. Add the vegetables that your family likes. Just be sure to add plenty. They give the bulk to the soup, saving on meat cost.
- When the chicken is cool enough to work with, pull the skin off and chop or shred the chicken from the bone. Be especially careful to remove all of those little tiny bones from the meat. I like to shred the chicken onto a plate, then sift through it after it’s shredded (or chopped) with my fingers to be sure I haven’t missed a bone. Add the meat to the roaster oven. Allow to cook at 300* for another hour or so. Taste the broth occasionally to be sure it’s to your liking.
- If you’re going to pressure can this soup:
- Once the soup is ready to can, it’s time to set up the canner, sterilize the jars, get the lids and bands heating up, and prepare your work space. Ladle the hot soup into the jars. Once all of the jars are full, leaving 1″ of headspace, wipe the rims of jars well. This step is especially important with something like this as there is fat in the product being canned. Any fat left on the rim will result in a failed jar.
- Add the lids and bands, hand tighten, then add the jars to the pressure canner.
- When you can a mixture of foods like this, you will follow the timing and weight directions listed for the longest component. Normally, that would be the meat component. The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving recommends 90 minutes for quarts at 10 pounds of pressure. Be sure to adjust based upon your altitude. If you need a refresher in pressure canning basics, visit Pressure Canning 101- Getting Started.
- If you’ve made the full roaster pan full, you’ll either have a nice large amount of soup for supper and leftovers, or you will have enough to can another 5-7 quarts of soup. Since the first round of soup in the pressure canner will take awhile to be completed, you’ll want to turn the roaster down so that you don’t overcook the soup. Remember, the soup is going to further cook while being canned.
- *as always, follow the instruction manual that came with your pressure canner*
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I’ve never canned soup before, always just frozen it. But my freezer has been filling up lately so I might start canning soup.
Thanks for the great tutorial.
Our freezers are usually full of beef (we raise beef cows), so I had to find ways to preserve foods without freezing. 😉
Having the soup canned is so much easier than frozen. Just open the can, pour it into a bowl, and heat. Super simple.
Let me know if you try it!
I love this tutorial. I made chicken soup last week and while canning, the jars overflowed ans didn’t seal. I was super bummed. (Hubby got chicken soup every night for dinner) I am wondering what may have gone wrong? I checked for air bubbles and left a full inch of headspace. My veggies were raw, chicken was cooked, and broth was boiling. I added them seperate so the veggies wouldn’t get mushy.
Is it possible that you did not have the bands secured on the lids tight enough?
Sorry for your experience. That is a huge bummer!
Hello Laurie,
I’m new to canning. I’ve made a few jams, jellies, and some jalapeño salsa. I’d like to make chicken soup, but I am wondering if I have to cook the vegetables? Can I add them raw, or blanched to the jar and then add the hot broth with the chicken. I just don’t want mushy vegetables in the soup.
Thanks for your help!
Marlene
Hi, Marlene! Thanks for stopping by!
I make chicken soup, fully cooked, then can it. The veggies don’t get mushy. I don’t know why you couldn’t can it your way. You could cook the chicken and make broth, then add the blanched veggies to the jars just before canning.
Have fun!
I have seen websites that can with raw veggies and also cooked veggies-this is one of the better ones. I like the idea of layering the chicken 1st then the raw veggies’ in the jar to about a third of the way up and top off with broth. Just FYI.
Hi there Iam new to pressure canning and through my research it says not to add thickener. The soup I just made I added the left over gravy and it had to be made with a little flour to thicken it, would I still be able to can it?
I think it would be fine to can your soup, Anne. Have fun!
What’s the shelf life of canned soup?
Hi, Amber! Thanks for visiting!
From The National Center for Home Food Preservation- http://nchfp.uga.edu/questions/FAQ_canning.html
“How long will canned food keep?
Properly canned food stored in a cool, dry place will retain optimum eating quality for at least 1 year. Canned food stored in a warm place near hot pipes, a range, a furnace, or in indirect sunlight may lose some of its eating quality in a few weeks or months, depending on the temperature. Dampness may corrode cans or metal lids and cause leakage so the food will spoil.”
When I make chicken soup we do not add veggies. We straight up like broth from the whole chicken add in milk when almost done. Questi9n is, I pressure the whole chicken skin and all and it forms a broth the oils float on top. Do I need to let the liquid cool and scoop the grease off the soup before I can it?
Interesting! It’s always fun to hear how others make foods! So, you make chicken soup and add milk? Do you thicken it at all?
I would definitely skim some of the fat off of the top before canning.
I would love to print this recipe out and try it. Do you have a print version I could print off? The page here has lots of ads and breaks in the webpage. It would be nice to get all of that cleaned up for a printable version.
Thank you.
Hi, Donna!
I will add a recipe card to this post. Thanks for the suggestion!
Have a great day!
I make chicken corn soup and will try to use a pressure canner for the 1st time. Can I fill the pint jar just like I get it out of the pan to put into a bowl? Some sites state that you only fill 1/3 or 1/2 of jar with the solids and then top off with the broth. I have always used the hot water bath for my sauces and vegetables and never had a problem but never tried soups.
Hi, Patricia!
I’m not an expert, but I tend to just fill the jar with ladles full, solids and broth together until I’ve reached 1″ headspace remaining.
Have fun on your new adventure in pressure canning!