Soulitinerary

Warm & Cozy Alton Brown’s Christmas Soup for Christmas Eve—rich, and comforting holiday soup that everyone craves for Christmas night!

Warm & Cozy Alton Brown’s Christmas Soup for Christmas Eve is the kind of recipe that turns your kitchen into a snow-globe of butter, broth, and pure holiday comfort!

Ingredients For Warm & Cozy Alton Brown’s Christmas Soup For Christmas Eve

For The Roasted Chicken Stock

• Whole chicken – 1 small (about 3–3½ lb), backbone removed if possible
• Chicken wings – 4–6 pieces (for extra collagen and flavor)
• Olive oil – 2 tablespoons
• Carrots – 2 medium, cut into large chunks
• Celery stalks – 2, cut into large chunks
• Yellow onion – 1 large, quartered (leave skin on for color)
• Garlic – 1 whole head, halved horizontally
• Fresh thyme – 6–8 sprigs
• Fresh rosemary – 2 sprigs
• Bay leaves – 2
• Whole black peppercorns – 1 teaspoon
• Fine sea salt – 1½ teaspoons (you adjust later, but start here)
• Cold water – about 10–11 cups (enough to cover everything in the pot by 1–2 inches)

For The Soup Base

• Butter – 3 tablespoons
• Olive oil – 1 tablespoon
• Yellow onion – 1 large, finely diced
• Leek – 1 medium, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced and rinsed well
• Carrots – 3 medium, peeled and cut into small cubes
• Parsnips – 2 medium, peeled and cut into small cubes
• Celery – 2 stalks, thinly sliced
• Potatoes – 3 medium (Yukon gold or another waxy type), peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
• Fresh thyme leaves – 2 teaspoons, stripped from stems
• Fresh rosemary – 1 teaspoon, finely minced
• Smoked paprika – ½ teaspoon
• Ground nutmeg – ⅛ teaspoon (a small pinch, but it matters)
• Fine sea salt – 1½ teaspoons to start (taste at the end)
• Freshly ground black pepper – 1 teaspoon

For The Body And Finish

• Tiny pasta (like orzo or ditalini) – ¾ cup
• OR cooked wild rice – 1½ cups
• Heavy cream – ¾ cup
• Dry sherry – 3 tablespoons
• Lemon juice – 2 teaspoons, freshly squeezed
• Reserved roasted chicken meat – from the stock, shredded into bite-size pieces

For Serving

• Fresh parsley – ¼ cup, finely chopped
• Extra thyme leaves – a pinch per bowl
• Crusty bread – warmed, for serving on the side
• Freshly grated Parmesan – optional, but highly recommended over the top

How To Turn A Simple Pot Into Christmas Eve Magic

Think of this process like decorating the tree: you don’t throw everything on at once. You layer. You build. You step back and admire.

1. Roast The Chicken And Vegetables

• Preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). This higher heat gives you deep color and flavor at the start, which carries through the entire soup.
• Place the chicken and chicken wings on a large rimmed baking sheet. Pat everything dry with paper towels so the skin actually browns.
• Scatter the carrot chunks, celery chunks, quartered onion, and the halved head of garlic around the chicken.
• Drizzle olive oil over the top of everything. Rub the chicken gently so the oil coats the skin, then toss the vegetables lightly in the same oil.
• Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt. Slide the tray into the oven.
• Roast for 40–45 minutes, until the chicken skin looks deep golden and some bits of the vegetables turn caramelized around the edges.

While this roasts, your kitchen already smells like you’ve been working since noon. Don’t correct anyone who assumes that.

2. Build The Roasted Chicken Stock

• Transfer the roasted chicken, wings, and all the roasted vegetables (plus the garlic halves) into a large stockpot. Scrape every browned bit and drip from the baking sheet into the pot. That sheet holds pure flavor.
• Add the thyme sprigs, rosemary sprigs, bay leaves, peppercorns, and the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt.
• Pour in enough cold water to cover everything by about 1–2 inches. This usually takes around 10–11 cups depending on your pot.
• Place the pot over medium-high heat and wait until you see gentle movement, not a wild boil. As soon as it approaches a simmer, lower the heat to maintain a soft, steady bubble.
• Skim off any foam that rises to the surface in the first 15 minutes. This keeps the broth clear and clean-tasting.
• Let the stock simmer for 1½–2 hours. The liquid reduces slightly and takes on a rich golden color.
• Lift out the chicken onto a plate and let it cool enough to handle. Strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve into another large pot or heatproof bowl, pressing gently on the vegetables to release their flavor. Discard the solids.
• Once the chicken cools, pull off the meat and shred it into bite-sized pieces. Set aside, covered, so it doesn’t dry out.

At this point, you already have something better than anything in a box. You built the soul of this soup.

3. Create The Aromatic Base

• Place a large heavy-bottomed soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the butter and olive oil.
• Once the butter melts and starts to foam gently, add the diced onion and sliced leek.
• Stir slowly for about 7–8 minutes, letting the onions and leeks soften and turn translucent. They should smell sweet, not harsh.
• Add the diced carrots, parsnips, and sliced celery. Stir again and let everything cook together for another 8–10 minutes. You’re not rushing this; you’re coaxing flavor out of each piece.
• Sprinkle in the thyme leaves, minced rosemary, smoked paprika, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Stir until the vegetables look lightly glossy and every piece carries some of the seasoning.

This stage creates the quiet background music of the soup. The stock sings, but these vegetables hold the rhythm.

4. Add The Stock And Potatoes

• Pour the warm roasted chicken stock into the pot with the vegetables. If the stock sat long enough to form a layer of fat on top, you decide: skim a bit off for a lighter soup or leave more in for extra richness.
• Bring the pot to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
• Add the cubed potatoes and stir once. The potatoes soften into tiny pockets of comfort in each spoonful.
• Let the soup simmer for 15–18 minutes, until the potatoes feel tender when you poke one with a fork.

Take a moment here. Taste the broth. You already know you’re in a good place.

5. Cook The Pasta Or Warm The Rice

You choose whether you want tiny pasta or wild rice. Pasta gives that classic holiday comfort. Wild rice adds a rustic chew and a little drama.

For Pasta:

• While the soup simmers, bring a small pot of salted water to a boil.
• Add the pasta and cook just shy of the package time (usually 1–2 minutes less).
• Drain thoroughly and toss with a teaspoon of olive oil so the pieces stay separate.

For Cooked Wild Rice:

• If you already have cooked wild rice, loosen it with a fork.
• Keep it covered so it stays warm until you add it to the soup near the end.
• Cooking pasta separately keeps the soup from turning cloudy and keeps the broth from thickening too much over time.

6. Bring In The Chicken And Cream

• Add the shredded roasted chicken to the soup pot.
• Stir gently, then let the soup simmer for another 5–7 minutes. This warms the chicken through and lets the flavors settle together.
• Lower the heat so the soup barely moves. Pour in the heavy cream in a slow stream while stirring.
• Add the dry sherry and the lemon juice. The sherry deepens the flavor; the lemon wakes it up. Together, they balance the richness without stealing the show.
• Taste the broth again. This is where you adjust the salt and pepper. Add another pinch of salt if the flavors feel a little flat. Add more pepper if you want a tiny bit more warmth.

This is the part where you usually stand over the stove with a spoon and smile at yourself.

7. Fold In The Pasta Or Rice

• Stir the cooked pasta or wild rice into the soup right before serving.
• Let the soup sit over low heat for 3–5 minutes so everything warms through and shares heat.
• If you use pasta and plan to hold the soup for a long time, you keep a bit of pasta aside and add it to each bowl as you serve. That keeps it from soaking up too much broth.

8. Finish With Fresh Herbs And Serve

• Turn off the heat and stir in half of the chopped parsley.
• Ladle the soup into warm bowls. Warm bowls matter; they keep the soup hot instead of stealing its heat.
• Sprinkle each bowl with a little more parsley and a few extra thyme leaves.
• Grate a shower of Parmesan over the top if you like. The heat of the soup softens it just enough to cling to the surface.
• Serve with slices of warm crusty bread, ready to dunk.
• Now you just step back and watch people wrap their hands around the bowls like they are holding small, edible fireplaces.

On the night everything feels both loud and tender, this pot on the stove gives everyone a place to land. When you serve it, you’re not just feeding people—you’re steadying them. And that, to me, is the real heart of Warm & Cozy Alton Brown’s Christmas Soup for Christmas Eve!!