Chicken Zoodle Soup
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Just like mom’s cozy chicken noodle soup but made with zucchini noodles instead! So comforting AND healthy! 227.3 calories.
I think we’re having the coldest winter of all. And when I say coldest winter, I mean 40 degree F weather. No joke.
Californians are serious wimps in the cold considering we wear flip flops 350 days out of the year.
But this chicken soup is everything. Seriously, it. is. everything.
You have all your veggies in one pot, simmering away in all of it’s glory, swapping out traditional noodles for spiralized zucchini noodles (AKA zoodles), and then adding in a squeeze of lemon juice for that hint of refreshing goodness.
It’s super cozy, comforting and healthy – except it doesn’t even taste healthy.
You win all around.
Chicken Zoodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 pound 3 medium-sized zucchini, spiralized*
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Add chicken to the stockpot and cook until golden, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the stockpot. Add garlic, onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in thyme and rosemary until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Whisk in chicken stock, bay leaf and 2 cups water; bring to a boil. Stir in zucchini noodles and chicken; reduce heat and simmer until zucchini is tender, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately, garnished with rosemary and parsley, if desired.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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This popped up on my social media account and of course I had to try it with my zoodles that were in my freezer. I doubled the chicken, carrots, garlic and celery and used my stock pot. I also tinkered with the broth by using 5 parts homemade dark turkey stock to one part homemade roasted tomato with garlic soup. I also used thick cut zucchini noodles and it turned out so much better that I could have imagined. We live in rural Southern Manitoba, Canada and it’s been anywhere from -20 degrees celcius to -43 so this soup is perfect!
I omitted the zoodles and carrots and added 1/2 tsp of turmeric and a teaspoon of cayenne. This hit the spot. So good. I froze the soup in 9 oz Dixie cups, peeled the cup away once frozen and store in a gallon ziploc bag. Perfect low carb soup for one!
I also added 2 chicken bouillon cubes!
I love, love ,love this soup. Even my husband liked it.
HOW would you modify for cooking in crockpot? how long would you wait to add the zoodles? i make all soups in my crockpot for convenience
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
I tried this last night and I really like it! My grocery store has started selling zoodles in the produce section and I wanted to try them before investing in a spiralizer. The lemon juice adds a nice flavor. I’ll probably add more chicken the next time I make it. I did end up adding almost 2 more cups of water, as it was more like a stew than soup.
Looks wonderful- I will substitute chicken for tofu and vegan chicken bouillon cubes!! Thank you!
This looks yummy!
Made this for dinner last night. This definitely met all my criteria for a perfect recipe: easy, healthy, and absolutely delicious! Love it when a recipe is nutritious without compromising on flavor. This will definitely become a weeknight staple in my house. First time I’ve ever made something from your site, but I will most definitely be trying more of your recipes now! Thanks.
Did I maybe make a mistake using fresh rosemary and putting in a sprig? It’s good, don’t get me wrong, but I feel like the rosemary is overpowering. Thanks in advance!
The rosemary sprig is only used as a garnish. 🙂
This was delicious and so easy to make! It was so flavorful and filling. I’ve never used a spiralizer before but now I’m excited to try other zoodle recipes!
Made this for my husband and me tonight, and we loved it! We doubled all the vegetables and used 2 cups chicken stock + 3 cups vegetables stock (didn’t add any water). Plus, I juiced a whole lemon and added cayanne to the chicken to spice it up a bit. It was delicious!
We’re in the middle of an ice storm so I stocked up on recipes to try–this being the first one. It was so good!!! I was nervous and almost but some regular noodles in–but my husband convinced me to try it as is–so glad!! The lemon juice gives it such a fresh taste-don’t skip it. I’ll definitely put this in the soup rotation! My only tip is to use scissors & cut the zoodles as you are putting them in the pot. Easier to eat—loved this!!!
thanks for the tip on cutting the zoodles. It is my first time using them and want to do it right.
I just made the soup & it is really good! I substituted with unsalted chicken stock & increased the lemon in the end. The next time I make it I will use a higher sodium content stock just to compare. It was pretty delicious even with the unsalted stock. Thank you for the recipe & the video!
This was really good. The only things I differently was use shredded rotisserie chicken and used 2 cups chicken broth instead of water. Very yummy on a cold day!
As the weather cools off here in Ohio soup is on my mind. I made this over this past weekend and it’s was lovely. The only think I will change the next time I make it is to add additional broth rather than the 2 cups of water. The water really diluted the flavor and made it less flavorful than it could have been.
As a Californian I can say it’s not being a whimp when you are use to a warmer climate. That’s why we pay higher prices for everything here…..we don’t have to shovel snow!
do you know what the carb count would be if you did not add the carrots?
Heidi, I recommend using free online resources at your discretion (you can Google “nutritional calculator”) to obtain the nutritional information without carrots.
Do you add the zucchini cooked or raw?
The zucchini does not have to be cooked prior to adding.
Can I freeze this soup????
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
Californians are NOT wimps of 40 degrees. I am a California native, have moved back after 10 years in cold Northeast Tennessee. Snow, cold win…
We are very close to the cold Pacific ocean, and 40 degrees is about the same as 25 degrees back in TN.
Thank you for the recipe, I look forward to trying it. Love your recipes.