Slow cooker chicken soup

Pop the ingredients for this chicken soup into the slow cooker in the morning, and it will be ready by dinner time. Add noodles at the end, if you like

Prep:15 mins
Cook:8 hrs

Easy

Nutrition per serving

kcal 352
fat 21g
saturates 6g
carbs 4g
sugars 3g
fibre 3g
protein 35g
salt 1.6g

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
2 carrots, chopped into 1½ cm pieces
2 leeks, halved and sliced
1 bay leaf and 3 thyme sprigs, tied together
1 whole medium chicken (about 1.4kg)
2l chicken stock
1 lemon, juiced
½ small bunch of dill or parsley, finely chopped
crusty bread, to serve (optional)

Tip

Add noodles, if you like
Add broken spaghetti or noodles to the soup 1 hr before the end of cooking, if you like.

Easy egg-drop noodle soup
Bring any leftover chicken soup up to a simmer, season with soy sauce and add some shredded ginger, if you have any. Stir in 1 beaten egg. Simmer for a minute until set in strands, then add cooked noodles.

Method

Set your slow cooker to low. Tip in the onion, celery, carrots and leeks and nestle in the bunch of herbs. Sit the chicken on top of the veg and pour over the stock. Cook for 6-8 hours.
Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and transfer to a board. Shred the meat from the bones using two forks, then return the meat to the slow cooker, discarding the bones. Season to taste and stir through the lemon juice.
Remove and discard the bunch of herbs. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the dill or parsley. Serve with crusty bread, if you like.