Detox Chicken Soup
by Chungah
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This detox chicken soup is cleansing and immune-boosting with all the feel-good vegetables! Perfect for cold season or when you need a reset!
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why you’ll love this detox chicken soup
- Immune-boosting. This soup is the perfect remedy for post-holiday resets, cold and flu season, or when you’re simply in need of something veggie-packed and fast for those busy weeknights. Loaded with vitamin C-rich kale and lemon juice, inflammation-battling mushrooms, metabolism-boosting protein and antioxidant-packed garlic.
- Flexible recipe. Because this is such a flexible recipe that is also incredibly forgiving, any lingering veggies or extra herbs can be thrown right in for a great clean-out-the-fridge hearty meal.
- Freezer-friendly. This detox chicken soup is incredibly freezer-friendly (without the orzo, of course), making it perfect for meal prep or a lightning fast meal during the week.
What is detox chicken soup?
Detox chicken soup is a soup made with lean protein, aromatics, vegetables, and low-sodium chicken broth to support immunity, provide hydration, and nourish the body after cold and flu season.
How to make detox chicken soup
- Brown the chicken. Generously season the chicken with salt and pepper, then cook until golden brown in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat, about 6-8 minutes.
- Cook the vegetables. Sauté the onions, carrots, and celery until tender, then stir in the garlic and mushrooms until the mushrooms are browned.
- Sauté the aromatics. Stir in the thyme and oregano.
- Simmer. Add the chicken stock and bay leaves, and bring to a boil. Then stir in the orzo, rosemary, and chicken, simmering until the orzo is tender and cooked through, about 10-12 minutes. Pro tip: if preparing for leftovers or to freeze for later, cook the orzo separately or else the orzo will continue to soak up the broth.
- Add in leafy greens. Stir in the kale and beans until the greens have wilted. Then stir in the lemon juice and parsley, seasoning one last time with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve. Serve warm with crusty bread.
what to serve with detox chicken soup
Tools For This Recipe
Detox Chicken Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
Mushrooms can be skipped or you can substitute eggplant, zucchini, or tofu as they can absorb all the good flavors and mimic the texture of mushrooms.
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent and concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. For example, the correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh thyme = 1 teaspoon dried thyme.
You can use either chicken broth or chicken stock but always season, to taste, as store-bought broth is often saltier than store-bought stock. Broth is made from meat and vegetables while stock is often lower sodium and thicker than broth, and is made from bones and vegetables.
The orzo pasta is cooked directly in the soup, absorbing all the flavorful broth. But if you are planning for leftovers or freezing, the orzo should be cooked and stored separately.
Spinach, collard greens, swiss chard, or arugula are all excellent substitutes.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers without the orzo (or else they will get mushy) in individual freezer bags, thawing overnight and gently reheating on the stovetop until warmed through and adding freshly cooked orzo just before serving.
Detox Chicken Soup
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 ribs celery, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 16 ounces cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ cup orzo pasta
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
- 1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves chopped
- 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chicken, and cook, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned, about 6-8 minutes; set aside.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the stockpot. Add onion, carrots and celery. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add garlic and mushrooms, and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and browned, about 5-6 minutes. Stir in thyme and oregano until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in chicken stock and bay leaves; bring to a boil. Stir in orzo, rosemary and chicken; reduce heat and simmer until orzo is tender, about 10-12 minutes.
- Stir in kale and cannellini beans until the kale has wilted, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in lemon juice and parsley; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
- Use good-quality stock. The better quality your stock, the better your soup. Many brands love to pack in the salt so always opt for unsalted or a lower-sodium variety. Homemade stock is even better.
- Add freshly squeezed lemon juice. Lemon juice will elevate your detox chicken soup, adding a fresh, bright flavor and balancing out all the saltiness and richness of the soup.
- Add in leafy greens. This is a great recipe to sneak in leafy greens for those picky eaters. Kale, spinach, collard greens, swiss chard, or arugula are all great options.
- Mix it up. Swap or add in additional vegetables such as bell peppers, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, corn or peas and extra herbs such as lemongrass, ginger or dill.
- Freeze without the orzo. Orzo acts like a sponge and will continue soaking up the liquid. If preparing for leftovers, cook the orzo just before serving.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Made this yesterday and it was fantastic. Very good instructions that are easy to follow. Great taste. We used spinach vice kale. not a disappointment at all.
This is the best chicken soup I’ve ever had. I substituted the kale with spinach
Had this printed for 5 years or so and never made it until tonight! Delicious!!! Used a Stubbs peppery blend for chicken instead of S&P and a little Cajun seasoning for some heat. Omitted rosemary. Will absolutely make this again. Once again, another hit. Not one thing I have tried got bad reviews!
This soup is amazing!
I have made this soup approximately a million times, we love it. It’s delicious, satisfying, reheats and freezes beautifully. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!
After several years, this is still our go to soup when we are sick with colds, bronchitis, etc. Not only is it comforting, packed with nutrients, and very tasty!
All
The ingredients work together to bring healing to your body ❤️
My new favorite soup! The lemon juice really sets this soup apart.
Wow! I made this tonight using some leftover turkey, but followed for everything else. The flavour was fantastic, very tasty, but nothing overwhelming. This soup will definitely cure anything that ails you!
Hi Chungah,
I’d like to try this soup, it looks delicious! I have a question, can Baby Bella mushrooms be substituted for the Cremini mushrooms?
Thank you in advance!
Absolutely!
Absolutely delicious, but watch out if the kale you are using is especially bitter. Our kale was quite bitter and the flavor leached out into the broth. Next time I’ll use spinach or a milder tasting green, because I plan to make this again!
This soup is Amazing. Everyone in the house Loved it. I added fresh dill, parsley, oregano, garlic, ginger, turmeric. Will be doing this again, soon. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Fantastic and part of my favorite recipes now! After reading reviews only made few small additions mentioned by others. Made in crockpot on low 6-8hrs. Added more broth. Worcestershire, Cheyenne pepper and the lemon at end. Didn’t have mushrooms to add so I left out but still awesome!!! Thank you for sharing!
I made this tonight and it was so delicious! I didn’t change a thing, except I forgot to add the lemon juice at the end. This tasted amazing and I love how healthy it is!
Absolutely delicious, will be adding this into my regular rotation! It has a more robust flavor than your standard chicken noodle soup. Subbed Jovial gluten-free noodles for the orzo and it worked well.
Even better than I imagined!
I just made this soup and it’s delicious. I’ve been sick all week and hopefully it will ease my congestion. Excellent recipe and I will be making it again.
Are any nutritional values available?
Would this soup be even healthier if brown rice or wild rice were subed in for the orzo or would those flavors be too strong and over power the recipe?
Made this before and it was excellent! Wondering if I could make it in the crock pot?
I’ve made this soup twice now and I love it! I doubled the amount of cannellini beans and it worked out great!