Healthy chicken soup made with tender chicken, fresh veggies, herbs, and finished with lemon juice for delicious flavor. This simple and easy chicken soup recipe is nourishing, comforting, and the perfect healthy lunch or dinner.
Cozy and Delicious Healthy Chicken Soup
Soup! I am such a huge fan of soup, ok? It’s nourishing, usually full of veggies and protein, and most of all…SO EASY to make.
A hearty soup is my go to meal when I can’t figure out what to make for dinner or lunch. I love soup so much that I have a round up post dedicated solely to all of the best healthy soup recipes on All the Healthy Things.
This healthy chicken soup recipe is perfect for the cooler fall and winter months when cold and flu season arrives. It’s made with superfood ingredients like nourishing chicken broth, turmeric, fresh herbs, veggies, and protein packed thanks to chicken.
Watch How to Make Healthy Chicken Soup
Not only is it delicious and healthy, this chicken soup is also incredibly easy to make. After just a few minutes of prepping and sautéing, the soup comes together in around thirty minutes or less!
Soup Ingredients
Chicken: You can use boneless skinless chicken breast, boneless skinless chicken thighs, or a combination of both for this recipe. It’s up to you!
Onion, Celery, Carrot, Garlic: These veggies and aromatics create a flavorful base for the soup. Sautéing the veggies and garlic for just a few minutes before adding in the broth helps to develop and build flavor for an extra delicious soup.
Fresh Herbs: This soup gets another boost of flavor from fresh herbs. Fresh thyme simmers in the soup to build flavor and fresh dill is added at the end for even more deliciousness.
Chicken Broth: You can use a homemade chicken broth or store bought for this recipe. If you use store-bought broth, I would choose a low-sodium variety so that you can control the level of salt in the soup.
Turmeric: This chicken soup gets its pretty yellow color from ground turmeric. Ground turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties and makes this healthy chicken soup even more healing.
Bay Leaves: These are a must-have in any good soup. Dried bay leaves add flavor and make this soup taste like it has simmered all day long.
Fresh Lemon Juice: If you have never added fresh lemon juice to your chicken soup, you are missing out! The combination of fresh lemon and dill is absolutely delicious and really brings this soup to life!
Helpful Kitchen Tools
This simple soup recipe is so easy to make but having a few of these staple kitchen tools will help make the process even easier!
Here are a few of my kitchen favorites:
Dutch oven
Measuring cup
measuring spoons
wooden spoon
soup bowls
How to Make Healthy Chicken Soup
Step One: First, heat the avocado oil or ghee (whichever you are using) in a large pot or dutch oven. Season the chicken with a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper on each side. Sear the chicken until browned on each side, around four to five minutes per side, and then remove from the pot and set aside.
Step Two: Next, it’s time to build the flavor base of the soup. Add the diced onion, garlic, carrots, and celery to the pot and sauté for 2-3 minutes until everything is fragrant.
Step Three: Once the veggies have sautéed a bit, add the chicken, broth, bay leaves, turmeric powder, salt, and thyme to the pot. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low to simmer.
Step Four: Let the soup simmer for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked through. Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the soup and use two forks to shred the meat.
Step Five: Once the chicken is shredded, add it back to the pot and stir until everything is well combined. Turn the heat to low and stir in the fresh dill and fresh lemon juice. Give the soup a taste and add more salt, pepper, or lemon juice to taste and then enjoy!
Recipe Variations
This healthy chicken soup is a great base for any variations you want to make! Here are a few ways to get creative with this soup recipe:
- Add your favorite veggies. Baby spinach or tuscan kale would be great additions to this soup. Just stir the spinach or kale into the soup at the end and let it cook until wilted.
- Add more carbohydrates. This is a naturally low-carb soup so adding more carbohydrates to the soup is a great option. Some great ideas are yellow potatoes or gluten-free noodles. If you want to bulk up the soup a bit more while still keeping it low-carb, cauliflower florets are a great option.
- Make the soup creamier. If you are looking for a creamier soup base, you can try adding in a bit of full-fat coconut milk at the end of cooking for a creamier soup option.
Can You Freeze Chicken Soup?
Yes! This is a great recipe to prep in advance and then freeze for a quick healthy lunch or dinner later. To freeze the soup, add it to an airtight container or freezer safe storage bags. Freeze the soup for up to three months.
When you are ready to reheat and eat the soup, I recommend letting the soup thaw in the fridge first before reheating on the stovetop for the best results.
I hope you give this Healthy Chicken Soup a try! It’s classic, cozy, and so delicious.
If you do give this recipe a try, I want to know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. You can also snap a photo & tag @allthehealthythings on Instagram. Your reviews help support All the Healthy Things and make it possible for me to continue to create the recipes you know and love.
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or ghee
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 celery stalks
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 2 dried bay leaves
- ½ teaspoons turmeric powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
Method
- Heat the avocado oil or ghee in a large pot or dutch oven.
- Season the chicken with a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper on each side. Sear the chicken until browned on each side, around four to five minutes per side, and then remove from the pot and set aside.
- Add the diced onion, garlic, carrots, and celery to the pot and saute for 2-3 minutes until fragrant.
- Add the chicken, broth, bay leaves, turmeric powder, salt, and thyme to the pot. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low to simmer.
- Let the soup simmer for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the soup and use two forks to shred the meat.
- Add the chicken back to the pot and stir until everything is well combined. Turn the heat to low and stir in the dill and fresh lemon juice. Give the soup a taste and add more salt, pepper, or lemon juice to taste. Enjoy!
Keywords: healthy chicken soup, chicken soup, paleo chicken soup, whole30 chicken soup
Recipe by: Ashlea Carver / All the Healthy Things | Photography by: Casey Colodny / THE MINDFUL HAPA
Leave a comment
Ashlea!! Your recipe has seriously been chicken so fur my soul!!! Tested positive for covid yesterday and am feeling miserable! Found your recipe today sent out to my hubby and he went shopping and served me this soup! Best Valentine ever!! So grateful I found you! I look forward to trying more of your recipes! Happy Valentines Day to you! Thank you so much!❤️
★★★★★
I absolutely love this recipe. I made it tonight for the third time and I decided to have a little fun improvising with some items I had on hand. I added some gluten free elbow pasta as it was simmering, and I added some fresh organic baby spinach that I needed to use up. It was so delicious!
★★★★★
This is hands down the BEST chicken soup I have ever made! I literally just finished my first bowl and had to say how much I love it! The turmeric gives it that lovely warmth I agree but the lemon and dill takes it to the next level for me. I followed the recipe as stated. The only thing that I added was a thumb of fresh ginger root which I fried with garlic and other ingredients. I added a couple of extra thin ginger slices when the broth was in. I also made some brown rice vermicelli noodles separately and added them to my bowl of delicious chicken soup when it was ready. Super easy meal that packs a lot of great nutrients and taste. Thank you for sharing on your blog Ashlea!
★★★★★
We loved this soup last winter, and I just made it for the first time this season. It was just as amazing as I remember! I only used about 1/2 the dill to suit our personal taste preferences. Thanks for another delicious dinner, Ashlea!
★★★★★
I’m so glad you loved it, Melissa!
Just put this soup together. It must be the tumeric that gives this soup that warm unique taste without overwhelming things. Absolutely delicious and so easy to bring together. I did sneak in some lemon zest too!
Thank you for such an easy hearty soup!
★★★★★
Delicious! The turmeric adds a nice warmth and dimension. My whole family loved it!
★★★★★
This soup is insanely good. It was so easy to make tasted so much better than anything I get at Whole Food! It’s light, fresh and so comforting. Thanks Ashlea!
★★★★★
I love this soup! Just made it for the second time, clearing out random veggies from the fridge. Flexibility is so practical in recipes – I always seem to be missing one or more ingredients. Thank you!
★★★★★
Hi I made this and really enjoyed it. My chicken was a bit rubbery any idea why or how to prevent that. Thank you
Hi, Linda! I’m so glad! I would try taking out your chicken a few minutes earlier if you found it to be rubbery. It might have cooked more quickly than anticipated. hope that helps!
My wife was down with flu resulting in me being the chef for a few days. I was very lucky to come across your healthy chicken soup recipe. It was a walk in the park – all ingredients in the cupboard and I could just go crazy )). The soup came out perfect, so much so that my wife has everybody looking for a copy of the recipe. Thank you so much for turning me into a Michelin soup chef )))
Regards. Hans
★★★★★
This is the MOST flavorful chicken soup I have had…everyone agrees! I added some frozen peas at the end for color. So Yummy! We just finished off the leftovers for lunch. I’ll be making this on repeat. A total winner! Thanks, Ashlea:)
★★★★★
Absolutely the best chicken soup, and I love the variations and substitutions! I’ve made it twice in the last week- the fist pot disappeared immediately! So glad I found this recipe- it’s a total winner!
★★★★★
Your healthy chicken soup is a weekly favorite for me! I have sent the recipe to probably five others as well. It’s just perfect – from the searing chicken to added lemon zest and juice. It’s a five-star winner!!
★★★★★
so happy you loved it, Susan!
This is delicious. More flavor than other recipes I’ve tried. Next time I will use one bay leaf instead of two.
★★★★
I made this soup using the breast meat from a roasted chicken. I didn’t know if it would work using already-cooked meat, but I followed the recipe and simply cooked the veggies longer, then added in the chicken toward the end. I also added some oyster mushrooms and some small yellow potatoes diced. The flavor for this soup is outstanding, and love the tumeric and thyme and the bit of lemon. I will definitely make this again! I love to make chicken soups and this is one of my top three recipes now.
★★★★★
Ashlea,
This chicken soup is amazing. I brought it to a friend who was sick and it was the only
thing she could eat. She thought it was yummy. Your comments in the blog are so helpful.
I am looking to find other recipes for my family. This quick but healthy soup is now in my file to make again and again.
Thans so much.
Paulette
★★★★★
Another winner! I made this for myself when I was feeling under the weather, but my husband ended up eating it as well. He even drank the last of it straight from the bowl (and he usually doesn’t like anything with shredded chicken). So many thanks for the great recipe!
★★★★★
This soup is so good! I knew I’d be able to find the perfect chicken soup recipe here 🙂 I added rice to my bowl. Will definitely be making again!
This is so simple and perfect!
The numeric, dill and lemon take it over the top. I don’t miss rice or noodles in it at all.
★★★★★
Love this soup. Fairly easy and loads of flavor. It’s my number one chicken soup and I make lots of them!!! Thank you
★★★★★
I’m so glad you loved this recipe, Sue! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
This soup is amazing delicious! I made it last night with Turkey and just WOW! Thank you for this amazing recipe!
★★★★★
You’re so welcome, Aliya! I’m so glad you loved the recipe! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!
This soup is a bowl of comfort! Big hit in my family, even from my littles.
★★★★★
So glad everyone loves it, Karis! Thank you for sharing!
This soup was amazing! It seems so simple yet has so much flavor! I’ve made other soups like this before and the flavor is always lacking but this was so so good! I hate leftovers of any kind and even ate this for lunch the next day. Thanks Ashlea for an amazing chicken soup recipe!
★★★★★
You’re so welcome, Catie! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!
I’m pescatarian so I left the chicken out of this soup and it was *still* absolutely amazing. I used vegetable broth for the base and it was perfect. I might even add some roasted tofu on top next time but either way, delicious!
★★★★★
Thank you for sharing, Casey! I’m so happy you loved the recipe!!
Delicious!!! I made this for dinner last night, just subbed leftover Christmas turkey for the chicken. My whole family loved it— will definitely make again with chicken.
★★★★★
I’m so happy you loved it, Kate!
Already made another batch with chicken– just as delicious and so easy to make and freeze for lunches! I love the freshness of the lemon and dill.
★★★★★
I’m so glad you love the recipe, Kate! Thank you for taking the time to leave a review!