Chicken Veggie Soup
Happy New Year! January is pretty much an unofficial holiday detox month for a lot of people, myself most definitely included! That week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve is just one big carb fest leaving me craving ALL of the veggies as soon as its over!
This Chicken Veggie Soup is the perfect detox soup to get you back on track. It’s LOADED with fresh veggies – onions, celery, carrots, peas, diced tomatoes, and chickpeas. The chickpeas give the soup some heartiness without adding carbs like pasta or potatoes. This is a filling soup that will leave you satisfied and feeling good! I add a squeeze of lemon in at the end and some sprinkled Parmesan cheese on top for added flavor.
The soup reheats well making it perfect for quick and easy nutritious lunches throughout the week too!
Recipe Tips and Suggestions:
- I cook my own chicken for this recipe by letting chicken breasts simmer in some broth/stock and then shred it up. If you want/need to take a shortcut here, you can shred up some rotisserie chicken from the grocery store or use leftover cooked chicken and toss that in!
- Want to make this vegetarian/vegan friendly? Leave out the chicken and use veggie broth in place of chicken broth.
- I wanted to keep this soup lower in carbs, but you can add pasta or potatoes if desired.
- You can’t really go wrong with veggies in this soup. Feel free to substitute veggies in this recipe however you’d like. Spinach can be added in place of kale, for example!
- Other veggies to consider adding: Broccoli, spinach, zucchini, potatoes, mushrooms, or peppers.
- 1 pound boneless chicken breasts, trimmed and sliced in half lengthwise
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 large yellow onion, finely diced
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 1/2 cups sliced baby carrots
- 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6-8 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 can (15-ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 1/2 cups frozen peas
- 2 cups chopped baby kale
- 1 lemon juiced
- Add chicken breasts to pot. Fill with water and/or broth until covered. Bring to a light boil. Season water with salt. (If desired, make a broth using leftover celery and onion). Cook for approximately 20 minutes until chicken is fork tender. Remove and shred with a fork. If desired, set aside the liquid to add to the soup.
- In a large pot, add the olive oil over medium heat. Add in the onion and celery. Cook for about 4 minutes. Dump in the carrots and diced tomatoes. Season with salt.
- Pour in 6 cups of the broth (and leftover liquid/broth from the chicken). Add back in the chicken and dump in the chickpeas. Lower heat to medium low. Let the veggies simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the carrots are cooked.
- Add additional seasoning to taste. Stir in peas, kale, and lemon juice. Simmer for 5 more minutes. If needed, pour in more broth. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.
Yield: 6 servingsChicken Veggie Soup
Prep Time 15 minutesCook Time 25 minutesTotal Time 40 minutesChicken Veggie Soup - The perfect detox soup loaded with fresh veggies like onions, peas, carrots, kale, tomatoes, and chickpeas!
Ingredients
Instructions
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1/6th
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 266Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 64mgSodium: 542mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 4gSugar: 5gProtein: 32g