Rosół Polish Chicken Soup is the ultimate comfort food! It’s simple, nourishing, and budget-friendly — no special cooking skills required. With just a few humble ingredients, you’ll create a rich, flavorful broth that warms you from the inside out.
This Rosół Chicken Soup recipe is an amped-up version of my mother’s traditional rosół, made with nourishing ingredients like garlic and dried mushrooms. It’s delicious, nutritious, and comforting in the best way possible. For all those reasons, rosół — or chicken soup — is one of the most basic, beloved, and frequently cooked dishes in many Polish households.
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WHAT IS ROSÓŁ POLISH CHICKEN SOUP?
Rosół is a classic Polish chicken soup, usually made with meat left on the bone for extra flavor. It’s served with delicate noodles and topped with freshly chopped parsley. The chicken simmers slowly with a mix of root vegetables like carrots, parsnip, leek, and onion, lightly seasoned with salt and pepper to bring out all the flavors.
While rosół is often served as a traditional starter in restaurants, at home it’s a cozy, hearty soup that families love to make, especially on weekends. Delicious and packed with nutrients, it’s also believed to support the immune system, making it the perfect dish when someone feels under the weather. Warm, flavorful, and comforting, it truly is the ultimate soup.
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- This homemade chicken soup is pure comfort — rich, flavorful, and deeply satisfying. The blend of herbs and spices creates the most delicious chicken broth you’ll ever taste.
- It’s loaded with a variety of vegetables that release their natural sweetness and goodness into the broth, making every spoonful nourishing and full of flavor.
- This rosół is packed with nutrients, including protein, vitamins, and minerals — wholesome and healing in every way.
INGREDIENTS FOR ROSÓŁ POLISH CHICKEN SOUP
- Chicken
- Onion
- Carrots
- Celery roots
- Parsnip
- Dried portable mushrooms– They add some flavor and improve the color of the soup.
- Leek– Both white and green parts are fine, just make sure to clean it well as dirt tends to hide between the thick leaves.
- Savoy cabbage
- Garlic– Technically garlic is optional, use as much or as little as you’d like.
- Parsley leaves– Flat leaf parsley or curly parsley are both fine to use.
- Fresh lovage – This is an amazing herb that lends a great flavor and unexpected depth to the soup. I like fresh lovage because leaves a fresh tasting broth. You could also use 2 tablespoons of dried lovage leaves or if you can’t find fresh or dry lovage you can just omit it.
- Bay leave– Bay leaves lend a floral sweetness to the stock.
- Black Peppercorns
- Salt and pepper
- Noodles
Note: Please scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
EQUIPMENT YOU’LL NEED
- Large pot
- Cutting board and knife
- Saucepan and strainer for cooking pasta
HOW TO MAKE ROSÓŁ
It’s easy to make Rosół chicken soup at home — just a few simple steps, and you’ll have a comforting bowl ready to enjoy!
- Wash the chicken thoroughly and place in a large soup pot. Fill the pot with cold water, enough to cover the chicken. Bring to a gentle boil, skimming off any foam that forms on the surface. Simmer the chicken uncovered for about 30–45 minutes before adding the remaining ingredients.
- While the chicken is simmering, peel the onion and roast it directly over an open flame. If using an electric stove, slice the onion in half, place it in a dry pan, and heat until the surface is charred. Clean and cut the vegetables into large pieces.
- Add the vegetables, spices, and enough water to just cover everything. Season the soup with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cover partially, leaving a small opening at the top. Simmer until the meat is tender and the chicken is falling off the bones, about 2 hours.
- When ready, carefully remove the chicken from the pot. Use your fingers or a fork to shred the meat into bite-sized pieces, discarding all bones.
HOW TO SERVE
- Strain the broth: Place the large colander on the empty pot and pour the broth into it. Pick out the carrots, parsnip, celery root from colander, slice them more or less elegantly and place them back to the strained broth. Taste the soup and see if it needs more salt.
- Cook noodles separately, according to package instructions. Once cooked rinse with cold water to remove starch.
- When ready to serve, put the cooked noodles into the soup bowls, shredded chicken, vegetables and ladle the hot broth on top. Season the soup with ground black pepper to taste and garnish with a sprinkling of chopped fresh parsley. SMACZNEGO!
STORING
- Make sure the soup is completely cooled before storing, and separate any leftover broth from the vegetables and meat. Store in a tightly sealed glass container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The cold soup may set into a jelly-like consistency — this is normal, and it will return to liquid when reheated.
- You can freeze any excess broth for later use. Use the leftover chicken meat as a filling for other dishes.
- Extra noodles can be stored in the fridge for a day or two in a covered container.
TIPS
- Use the best quality chicken you can.
- Always use cold water for the soup. Adding cold water draws the flavor from the meat into the broth. If you brown the chicken or use hot water, the flavor stays in the meat.
- Burn the onion on a hot, dry frying pan before adding it to the water. This ensures a deep golden color and enhances the flavor.
- Do not let the soup boil too rapidly. Bring it up to a low boil, then quickly reduce to a simmer. Extensive boiling can emulsify the fat, leaving your rosół cloudy and greasy.
- Keep the vegetables in large pieces. Cutting them too small can cause them to disintegrate, resulting in a cloudy broth.
- Go easy on the salt; you can always adjust it at the end.
- Skim off every bit of foam that rises to the surface. This removes impurities and ensures a clear, beautiful broth.
- Cook soup noodles separately. Keeping them separate prevents swelling, preserves their texture, and keeps the broth clear.
SUBSTITUTIONS AND VARIATIONS
When it comes to chicken soup, the possibilities are endless! My rosół recipe is the way I’ve always made it, but feel free to adjust it to your taste or based on the ingredients you have on hand.
- If you don’t have celery root, use a couple of celery stalks instead.
- Dried or fresh lovage is completely optional and can be skipped.
- Instead of egg noodles, you can also serve rosół with cooked white rice.
FAQ
What to do with leftover rosół soup?
The leftover rosół broth can be used as a base for other soups. I like to freeze it in ice cube trays and add it to sauces or stir-fries for extra flavor.
The cooked chicken can be used in chicken salad, sandwiches, or as a filling for meat pierogi.
Can I use boneless chicken to make rosół soup?
Yes, you can — but I highly recommend using chicken on the bone for the best flavor.
What is lovage?
Lovage is an herb that was once very popular and often featured in nineteenth-century cookbooks, though it has since fallen out of fashion. Its leaves resemble parsley, and it has a sweet, slightly fennel-like flavor. You can find fresh lovage at farmers’ markets in spring and summer, while dried lovage is available online or at Polish and Eastern European delis.
TRADITIONAL POLISH RECIPES
- Potato and Cheese Pierogi (Pierogi Ruskie)
- Beet Greens Soup – Polish Botwinka
- Mushroom Soup
- Yellow Wax Beans With Breadcrumbs
- Cream Puffs
- Kolachkes
Craving more chicken recipes? Try my Coconut Chicken, Blackened Chicken, or Shredded Chicken Tacos — both are delicious and easy to make!
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE AND LOVE IT? Please leave a star rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and a review in the comments below! And don’t forget to subscribe for even more delicious recipes and tips.
This post was originally published in February 2023, republished in October 2025.
Rosół Polish Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 5 to 6 lb/ 2.3 to 2.7 kg whole free-range chicken whole or cut up, bone-in
- 1 onion large halved
- 3 carrots large trimmed, peeled and thickly sliced
- 2 celery stalks with leaves, coarsely chopped
- 1 parsnip large trimmed, peeled and thickly sliced
- 2 pieces dried portable mushrooms (dried forest mushrooms)
- 1 leek (white and green part) trimmed, halved lengthwise and rinsed
- ½ head medium celery roots peeled and coarsely chopped or 3 celery staks, with leaves, coarsely chopped
- ¼ savoy cabbage small savoy
- 2 cloves of garlic unpeeled
- 2 springs fresh parsley plus a generous handful of chopped for garnish
- 4 springs fresh lovage or 2 tablespoons of dried lovage (optional)
- 1 bay leaf
- 3-4 black peppercorns
- 8 cups water (depending on the size of the pot you are using; there should be enough to cover chicken)
- 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
- freshly ground pepper to taste
- noodles cooked home-made noodles or angel hair pasta
Instructions
- Wash the chicken thoroughly and place it in a large soup pot. Fill the pot with cold water, enough to cover the chicken. Bring to a gentle boil, skimming off any foam that forms on the surface. Simmer the chicken uncovered for about 30–45 minutes before adding the remaining ingredients.
- While the chicken is simmering, peel the onion and roast it directly over an open flame. If using an electric stove, slice the onion in half, place it in a dry pan, and heat until the surface is charred. Meanwhile, clean and cut the vegetables into large pieces.
- Add the vegetables (carrots, green celery, parsnip, dried mushrooms, leek, celery root, savoy cabbage, roasted onion, and parsley) along with the bay leaf and lovage. Add enough water to just cover everything, and season the soup with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt.Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Cover the pot partially, leaving a small opening at the top, and simmer until the meat is tender and the chicken is falling off the bones, about 2 hours.
- When ready, carefully remove the chicken from the pot (it will be falling apart). Use your fingers or a fork to shred the meat into bite-sized pieces, discarding all bones.If refrigerating the soup overnight, you can either add the vegetables and shredded chicken to the soup or keep them separate in another container and add them when reheating. Just don’t add any noodles yet. The soup can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or frozen at this point.
- Strain the broth. Place a large colander over an empty pot and pour the broth through it. Remove the carrots, parsnip, and celery root from the colander (discard the leek). Slice the vegetables to your liking and return them to the strained broth. Taste the soup and adjust the salt if needed.
- Cook the noodles separately according to the package instructions. Once cooked, rinse them with cold water to remove excess starch.
- When ready to serve, place the cooked noodles into soup bowls, add the shredded chicken and vegetables, and ladle the hot broth on top. Season with freshly ground black pepper and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Enjoy! Smacznego!
This recipe is so comforting and warm! Its perfect for a cold winter day, when you’re sick or when you’re craving comfort food! I grew up eating this all the time and still crave it some days. This recipe is so easy to make and PACKED with flavour! I would highly recommend trying this recipe.
Hi Natalie, I’m so glad you like it! Thank you for sharing your feedback! 🙂