Easy Chicken Tortellini Soup (2024)

FAQs

What to do if you don't have enough chicken broth? ›

To substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth, simply use a 1:1 ratio. No additional salt is needed, as vegetable broth is typically seasoned. Chicken bouillon granules or cubes: These are concentrated chicken flavorings that can be dissolved in water to make a broth substitute. To substitute bouillon for chicken.

Add herbs and spices.

"Ground paprika, turmeric, nutmeg, ground ginger, and other powdered spices add a touch of color and spiciness to broths," she says. As a general rule, use fresh herbs at or near the end of cooking and dried herbs and spices early on.

While broth and stock both get richer and richer the longer you cook them, the problem is that the chicken meat will dry out and get tough if you let it go too long. Vegetables will also have an unpleasant texture if you overcook them, turning mushy and falling apart.

But if no chicken parts are nearby, and you still want that thicker, richer texture that homemade stock has, here's another trick. This one's a little "out there," but it works surprisingly well if you want to add body. Dissolve a tiny bit of unflavored gelatin in cold water or stock, and add to the simmering stock.

Chicken Broth Substitute: Salted Butter + Water

If you don't have broth on hand and want a little more flavor than just plain water, try subbing in 1 cup of water plus 1 tablespoon of butter for every cup of chicken broth in your recipe. The butter will help create a richer flavor than just water alone.

The simple answer is yes, it's usually okay to substitute vegetable stock with water. In most recipes that call for vegetable stock, its main advantage over water is that it provides flavor, which is especially important if you're making vegetarian or vegan food that's missing the richness from meat.

To thicken a soup, stew, or sauce, leaving the lid uncovered is ideal. "It must be off, or semi-covered, if you are slowing down the reduction process," says Stephen Chavez, chef-instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education.

Woody herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, sage, tarragon, and marjoram release tons of flavor as they slowly simmer in stock. Give them a rinse and toss in a big handful of sprigs per quart of store-bought stock.

For a deeply flavorful chicken soup, get some boneless, skinless chicken thighs, season them, brown them in a skillet, then finish them in a 375 F oven. You can refrigerate them until you're ready to make the soup, then simply dice them up and add them to the soup at the very end.

Roast the Ingredients Before Making the Soup Broth

You can put all the meat bones and vegetables on a baking sheet and roast them until golden brown. Then, scrape the brown bits and add them to a pot of water. Doing this adds depth, savoriness, and color to broths.

What thickens chicken broth? ›

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

If you do, it will clump up on top. Instead, ladle a small amount of broth into a separate bowl and let it cool. Add a few tablespoons of flour or cornstarch to the bowl and whisk until it's blended smooth. Next, bring the soup to a simmer and add the mixture back to the pot.

Fortunately, we're here to let you in on a game-changing secret: Water makes a more than acceptable replacement for chicken stock in most soups, stews, sauces, and braises. And in many cases, water actually produces a better-tasting result.

Although broth, stock and bouillon are not exactly the same, they can generally be used interchangeably in cooking. If you have the option, go for broth or bouillon when the flavour of the liquid is a key element of your recipe, and reach for stock to add new depths to a well-seasoned dish.

Chicken bouillon cubes are a great, conveniently concentrated substitute for concentrated chicken stock. A single cube can be enough to season a main course. You could also make a stock concentrate by dissolving a cube in 1-200 mL of hot water. These cubes come in both vegan and non-vegan varieties.

Herbs and spices: Bay leaves, dried rosemary, dried thyme and peppercorns add subtle flavor to the broth. Before you choose a peppercorn blend, keep in mind that pink peppercorns aren't actually peppercorns.