Nourishing Paleo Chicken Soup Recipe (2024)

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Few things are as soothing and comforting as a bowl of homemade chicken soup. With garlic, ginger, and turmeric, this Nourishing Paleo Chicken Soup recipe can help you warm up and feel better when you are feeling under the weather!

This soup truly is amazing, in so many ways. First of all, your entire family will love this simple paleo soup. It’s kid-approved and even picky eaters love it!

My kids gobble up this nourishing meal and ask for more, every time—even though it’s filled with vegetables. 😉

this idea now...

You don’t need to wait until you’re sick to make this one. There are just some days when I’m in the mood for chicken soup, and this is my go-to recipe every single time!

It’s fairly quick and easy too; you can have dinner ready within an hour (or even less if your chicken is already cooked).

Nourishing Paleo Chicken Soup Recipe (2)

Hearty Paleo Soup

This paleo chicken soup recipe has a lot of yummy, good-for-you ingredients. But let’s take a minute to talk about what this soup doesn’t have.

My soup recipe is gluten-free, grain-free, and dairy-free! This means it can be enjoyed by almost anyone.

This paleo chicken soup also has an amazing combination of spices and vegetables. It’s a wonderful way to get nutrients into your family’s diet.

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A Twist on a Classic Staple

I grew up with the canned chicken soup as our “sick food” and never really liked it. Those squishy noodles and tiny chunks of flavorless chicken are really kinda gross when you think about it. For years, I avoided chicken soup because of that.

Then my best friend introduced me to her family’s chicken soup recipe. She’s Filipino and includes some of her favorite spices and flavors in her soup, like soy sauce and extra extragarlic. She has no hesitation about putting two whole bulbs of garlic in her soup!

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Now me? When I met Allie, I had never used real garlic, only garlic powder. Needless to say, Allie fixed that quickly and I now love garlic almost as much as her.

Anyways, when Allie made her chicken soup for me a couple of years ago, I was amazed at how incredibly delicious it was. She gave me the recipe and I’ve made it many times since.

But when I had to cut out grains and soy from our diet a few months ago, I knew I had to rework that chicken soup recipe to fit. I wanted something that would incorporate my friend’s flavorful recipe, but stay true to what we could eat.

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After two+ months of testing, this is the result – a chicken soup that is so good and so nourishing, we call it Nourishing Chicken Soup.

And just to prove how good it is, all four of my kids gobble up this soup and ask for more, even after eating it once or twice a week for several weeks while I’ve been perfecting the recipe!

Ingredients in This Paleo Chicken Soup

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This soup is delicious thanks to the addition of simmered vegetables and spices coupled with chunks of flavorful chicken. Some of the ingredients in this paleo soup are:

  • Chicken. I recommend purchasing organic chicken when you can. For this recipe, you can use white meat, dark meat, or even add a whole chicken!
  • Organic Chicken Broth or Bone Broth Again, I highly recommend purchasing organic broth if you can – you may be surprised to see how many additives are in the non-organic versions!
  • Vegetables.This paleo soup recipe calls for several different vegetables including onion, celery, carrots, and cauliflower. These veggies will keep your soup filled with fiber, minerals, and other nutrients.
  • Herbs and spices.Remember what I said about Allie showing me how to make a soup flavorful? This is where all of that comes into play! This hearty chicken soup has a fantastic blend of spices and herbs that will make this the best soup you’ve ever tried.

The Importance of Garlic

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Garlic is essential in this Nourishing Chicken Soup recipe, not only because it adds to the flavor profile, but because it has tons of nutrients.

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Either way, when you combine all of that with chicken, vegetables, and a few choice herbs and spices, you have a powerhouse meal that is nourishing for your whole family.

Enjoy!

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Nourishing Chicken Soup

Nourishing Paleo Chicken Soup Recipe (9)

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★★★★★4.9 from 41 reviews

This easy family-favorite chicken soup is packed with ingredients and nutrients that are both nourishing, warming, and delicious!

  • Author: Erika Bragdon
  • Cook Time: 45 mins
  • Total Time: 45 mins
  • Yield: 8-10 servings 1x
  • Category: soup
  • Method: cook
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Ingredients

Scale

  • 23 lb chicken thighs, breast, or a whole chicken
  • 4 cups organic chicken broth
  • 6 cups water
  • 1/2 cup onion, chopped
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
  • 34 cups carrots, chopped
  • 23 cups celery, chopped
  • 68 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • 1 tsp fish sauce
  • 1/2 Tbsp basil
  • 1/2 Tbsp parsley
  • 3 Tbsp coconut aminos
  • 1.5 tsp sea salt, more or less to taste
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper, more or less to taste

Instructions

  1. Fill a large pot with water. Add the chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until fully cooked through. Remove the chicken and set aside.
  2. While the chicken is cooking, you can cut up the vegetables.
  3. Add the broth and 6 cups of the water the chicken was cooked into a large stock pot. Add the onions, ginger, carrots, celery, garlic, and turmeric. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cook, covered, for about 10 minutes.
  4. While the broth and vegetables are cooking, cut up the cauliflower and pulse several times in a food processor until it resembles grains of rice. If you don’t have a food processor, you can just cut it up into small pieces.
  5. Shred the chicken and add the chicken and diced cauliflower to the pot, along with the remaining ingredients: fish sauce, basil, parsley, coconut aminos, sea salt, and pepper.
  6. Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste.

Keywords: soup, chicken soup, herbs

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Nourishing Paleo Chicken Soup Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes chicken soup so healthy? ›

Vegetables. The best chicken soup recipes are chock-full of veggies like carrots, celery and onions — all of which are rich in vitamins C and K, not to mention other antioxidants and minerals. Vitamin C is a nutrient your body needs to form blood vessels, cartilage, muscle and collagen in your bones.

How to make can chicken soup better? ›

How To Make Canned Soup Taste Like Homemade
  1. Sauté some onions and/or garlic: Low and slow is the way to go. ...
  2. Add protein: Leftover chicken or steak, some cooked diced ham or bacon or sausage (just a little — that soup is already salty). ...
  3. More vegetables: This is a great place for leftover cooked veggies.
Apr 25, 2023

Does chicken soup really help when you're sick? ›

“In particular, chicken is an excellent source of the amino acid cysteine, which has been shown to help thin mucus and help you manage cold and flu symptoms.” The broth that serves as the base of chicken soup can also provide fluids and electrolytes that help the body fight off infections, Collier noted.

How to make chicken soup without drying out the chicken? ›

Cold-poaching the chicken breasts, then removing them until the end of the cooking process, guarantees a perfectly tender and juicy texture. Using stock reinforces the flavor of the broth, creating a more deeply flavorful soup.

Is it OK to eat chicken soup everyday? ›

Eating chicken noodle soup as your main meal daily may provide some benefits, but it's important to consider your diet's nutritional balance and variety. It's important to remember that chicken noodle soup alone may not provide all the nutrients your body needs.

What is the healthiest soup to eat why? ›

Vegetable soup is one of the best soups to eat. Vegetable soup is made with potatoes, carrots, onions, green beans and green peas. The combined nutrition of each vegetable adds a great number of vitamins and minerals to your diet. Potatoes are a good source of potassium and carrots provide beta carotene.

What brings out the flavor in chicken soup? ›

Incorporating aromatics like onions, garlic, and celery for added complexity. Seasoning with salt, pepper, and other spices like bay leaves or paprika to taste. Adding a splash of lemon juice or a dash of vinegar to brighten the flavors.

Does chicken soup get better the longer you cook it? ›

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.

What thickens chicken soup? ›

Add Flour Or Cornstarch

You can thicken soup by adding flour, cornstarch, or another starchy substitute.

What is the best broth to drink when sick? ›

Bone broth serves as a great way to replenish the fluids that you're losing, while also providing your body with valuable electrolytes from the sodium in the broth. These electrolytes will also help you absorb the water more easily.

Does chicken soup reduce inflammation? ›

The famous chicken soup study from 2000 focused on its impact on inflammation. “The 2000 study basically found that chicken soup inhibited neutrophil chemotaxis, which is a fancy way of saying it helped temporarily decrease inflammation so those who were sick could temporarily breathe easier,” Pike said.

What is the best soup to eat when sick? ›

Here's our list of soups that put their feel-good magic to work!
  • Chicken Noodle Soup.
  • Asian-Inspired Zoodle Flu Buster Soup.
  • Harvest Vegetable Soup.
  • Butternut Squash Soup.
  • Tomato Basil Soup.
  • Coconut Curry Soup.
  • Creamy Corn and Potato Chowder.
  • Poblano Chicken Chowder.
Oct 19, 2023

How to make chicken soup taste richer? ›

"If your broth is lacking in savory richness, try adding roasted onion, tomato paste, mushrooms, seaweed, soy sauce, or miso. These ingredients add umami flavor and depth to broth," she says.

Is it OK to put raw chicken in soup? ›

You can cook the chicken at a high-enough temperature to kill bacteria by turning up the heat on the broth, but for a much safer and tastier method, brown your chicken first. Browning or searing the chicken in a separate pan is not only far more foolproof, but adds richness and extra umami to your soup.

What can I use if I don't have chicken stock for soup? ›

Vegetable broth is a simple one-to-one substitute that can stand in just about anywhere. This broth is made by steeping vegetables or vegetable scraps—and sometimes spices—instead of chicken in water.

Why is chicken soup anti-inflammatory? ›

Renard et al. (2000) found that chicken soup inhibited the migration of neutrophils, thus showing anti-inflammatory activity.

What makes homemade soup healthier? ›

7 smart tips for making a healthy soup

Use more vegetables in your soup than meats or grains. Add fresh herbs at the very end of cooking. Add milk to stocks to make a creamy soup. Add it after the vegetables are soft cooked.

How does chicken soup help immune system? ›

One notable study showed that chicken soup diminishes the presence of white blood cells associated with inflammation in upper respiratory conditions that often plague cold sufferers, suggesting that it encourages a more effective immune response and helps symptoms clear up quicker.

Is chicken soup good for weight loss? ›

Here are some potential benefits of chicken soup for weight loss: Low in calories: Chicken soup can be a low-calorie option if it's made with lean chicken, low-fat broth, and plenty of vegetables. This can help you stay within your daily calorie limit while still feeling full and satisfied.

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