Chicken & Veggie Soup
I personally love soup because you can make so many different combinations and I find it hard to mess up. Sure you might pour too many seasonings in, or maybe not enough (in which case you can always go back and add more to the pot!), but soup is really hard to ruin. Have fun with it, experiment, and make it your own!
Let’s begin!
INGREDIENTS.
- 1 medium to large yellow onion chopped into small pieces
- 3-4 garlic cloves minced (more/less depending on preference)
- 3-4lb package of skinless, boneless chicken thighs OR breast (we always use thighs but you can use either) cut into small chunks
- Chicken stock or broth, two 24 oz containers (*but if you don’t have it or only want to use 1 container you can always use water it just won’t pack as much flavor and immune-boosting properties)
- We use this chicken stock from local farmers at Grassroots Farm & Foods
- Water – you’ll likely still use some water even with stock/broth – I still added about 1 cup because I use so many veggies) but it depends on how thick you want it. But you can add later once all ingredients are in.
- Veggie variety. We experiment with veggies based on what I have on hand but this particular dish is made with:
- 2-3 carrots sliced into round pieces
- 3 zucchini cut into medium size chunks (we like bigger pieces but you can do smaller)
- 2 yellow squash cut into small-medium pieces
- ½ a bunch of kale, chopped (remove the spine of the leaves)
- Celery chopped
- Seasonings of choice. There are a variety of chicken soup seasoning combinations you could do (See the notes below for more potential seasonings in case you don’t have these on hand/want to try something different). Here’s what I did this particular day:
- 1 ½ Tbsps Basil
- 2 Tbsps Thyme
- 1-2 Tbsps Salt
- 1-2 Tbsps Pepper
- 1 Tbsp Marjoram
- (optional but not Gluten-Free) Sometimes I add a drop or two of Worcestershire sauce)
TOOLS/WHAT YOU’LL NEED FROM THE KITCHEN.
- Cutting board and knives for chopping veggies
- Cutting board and knife for chopping chicken
- Stovetop
- Spoon for stirring
- Garlic mincer if adding fresh garlic
- Large pot, it will get pretty full (large dutch oven size or a deep pot)
STEP-BY-STEP HOW.
- Sauté. In a large sauce or soup pot add some butter or oil and sauté the chopped onion for 5 minutes. Then add minced garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- (if you haven’t already) Chicken prep. While the onion is cooking begin to chop the chicken. Add the chicken to the pot once onion and garlic have cooked. Cook chicken on medium to high for about 10 minutes.
- If you haven’t cut up all your vegetables you can use this time to cut those up now while chicken cooks.
- Stir chicken occasionally.
- Add Broth. Once the chicken is cooked through, add chicken stock or broth. You can reduce heat to medium to low and let it simmer. Boiling the broth/chicken stock will cause any soluble proteins and rendered fat to emulsify.
- Seasoning. Add your seasonings of choice. Stir to combine.
- Veggies. Add the chopped vegetables, and let the soup simmer for 10-15 minutes (or more if you want to put on low and simmer until ready to serve). I like to use the lid and leave it cracked a little so it doesn’t boil.
- **Optional: you can wait to add the chopped kale 10 minutes prior to serving. The longer it is in there the more wilted it becomes. I do both depending on time, sometimes I pour everything in at once and let it simmer and walk away until we’re eating.
- Eat! Serve as is or with rice, crackers, bread. The ones we use are below in the notes.
ADDITIONAL TIPS & NOTES.
- Chicken Soup Seasonings: Experiment with what seasonings and find out which ones you prefer. If you don’t have a particular one, you can rely on a variety. Don’t stress if you don’t have something, a lot of the other ingredients will help add flavor anyways.
- Herbs de Provence (you can consider doing this one without any others – it’s a unique blend of herbs already to pack some flavor)
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Parsley
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Thyme
- Basil
- Optional ADD-Ons or Things that go well with it:
- Rice – oftentimes we like to make a pot of rice with the soup, but we prefer to add rice per bowl (instead of adding it to all of the soup). This way folks can add it if they want, and the rice won’t become soggy in the soup.
- Bread or crackers – we like this Keto bread from Breadlam’s Uprising with some raw butter on top (toasted/untoasted)
- If you’re going to add water in addition to broth/stock to make it soupier be sure to not overdo it, do a little at a time. The more you add the more your flavor will be diluted.
- Use organic when you can for the veggies for the most nutrients and freshness (without the pesticide use), but don’t fret if you use non-organic or even frozen veggies! Some veggies are better than no veggies 😉
- Use free-range, antibiotic-free chicken when you can but also, don’t fret if you can’t!
SATISFYING FACTS.
- IF made without the Worcestershire sauce it’s gluten-free
- Soup is soothing! There’s research to back this up and how eating soup can remind us of loving care and positive relationships.
- Soup has even been shown to increase positive feelings towards others (eating or just holding it!) – read about that interesting study now, all about how just experiencing physical warmth promotes interpersonal warmth.
As always, I’d love to hear if you try the soup and or any other veggie combinations you like to do. It’s great to play with the veggie combinations season-to-season.
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