Brothy chicken and vegetable soup
45 min · 39 g protein · 312 cals / serving
A light, clear chicken soup with tender pieces of chicken breast, carrot, celery, zucchini, cannellini beans and spinach in a garlicky thyme broth, finished with lemon. Gentle and warming, with plenty of chicken in each bowl and nothing heavy.
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 medium carrots, sliced
- 3 stalks celery, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 7 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 lb chicken breast
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 medium zucchini, diced
- 1 can (15 oz) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 handfuls baby spinach
- 4 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt, to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Steps
- Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook the onion, carrot and celery for 6–7 minutes, stirring, until the onion is soft; add the garlic for the last minute.
- Pour in the broth, add the whole chicken breasts and the thyme, and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and poach 15–18 minutes, until the thickest part of the chicken reads 165°F. Lift the chicken out onto a board.
- Add the zucchini and beans to the pot and simmer 5 minutes. Meanwhile, shred or dice the chicken.
- Return the chicken to the pot with the spinach and simmer a minute until the spinach wilts. Stir in the lemon juice, taste, and season with salt and pepper.
Good to know
How big is a serving?
About 2 1/2 cups, with about 3 1/2 oz of cooked chicken in each bowl. If smaller meals suit you better, the pot makes six or seven modest bowls just as well.
Can I add noodles?
Yes. Cook a small handful of egg noodles or orzo separately and add them to each bowl, so they do not swell in the leftovers. The soup scores a little lower with them.
Does it freeze?
Yes, for up to three months. Freeze it before adding the spinach and lemon, and add those when you reheat.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 50
- Protein
- (54%)
- 6 g
- Fat
- (21%)
- 1 g
- Carbohydrates
- (25%)
- 3 g
- of which sugar
- 1 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 277 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. General guidance, not medical advice. Talk to your prescriber. How
As written, 1559 kcal goes into the pot and 3512 g of ingredients comes out as about 3100 g of food: 50 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.