A homemade chicken soup recipe with a twist: zoodles! The family loves this recipe with shredded dark meat, perfectly cooked veggies and soul satisfying homemade chicken stock.
This homemade chicken soup recipe is: Gluten Free, Paleo and Low Carb!
An Easy Homemade Chicken Soup Recipe
Not sure what is happening at your house, but around mine right now we have the annual winter head cold in full force. It’s a whole lot of no fun. Whenever the sneezing starts, it’s time for me to make some homemade chicken stock and get the soups rolling. This time I wanted to make a twist on a classic to keep it healthy and gluten free: chicken zoodle soup! It’s light, fresh and delicious. You’re going to love it.
Chicken Stock
I’ll be posting up my pressure cooker chicken stock recipe in a couple days, which allows for fantastic stock in under an hour. However, I realize that making chicken stock at home isn’t always an option. Boxed stock is readily available at just about any grocery store. Here’s the deal: look at the ingredients! Get the one that is organic and has the fewest ingredients on the label. Look for unsalted stock as well.
Chicken Thighs
I’m a huge fan of using chicken thighs in chicken soup. I brown them first which gives them a ton of flavor, cook them off in the oven and lastly shred them with some forks. The thighs add a great depth of flavor, stay moist and bring almost a rustic characteristic to the soup. Many homemade chicken soup recipes basically boil the chicken in the stock. I’ve just never been a fan of this method. The extra time to brown, bake and shred the chicken will pay off for sure!
QUICK COOKING TIP: Let’s not overcook the veggies… the added texture really enhances the soup. The last thing we want is to have mushy veggies. Make sure that your soup doesn’t boil after the veggies are added! Also, take the pot off the heat 30 minutes or less after the veggies have been added!
First brown the chicken thighs in a sautee pan, then cook them off in the oven before shredding.
Sweat the mirepoix for five to seven minutes over medium high heat. Then simply add to the chicken stock.
Add in some zoodles rather than noodles for a refreshing twist on a classic. Chicken Zoodle Soup!
HOMEMADE CHICKEN SOUP RECIPE
Ingredients
For the chicken soup
- 8 Cups Chicken Stock
- 2 Cups Carrots peeled and chopped
- 2 Cups Celery diced
- 2 Cups Spanish Onion diced
- 4 TBSP Olive Oil divided
- 8 Chicken Thighs boneless and skinless, fat trimmed.
- ¼ TSP Balsamic Vinegar
- Salt & Fresh Cracked Pepper To Taste
For the Zoodles
- 1 Medium Zucchini washed
- A spiralizer
Instructions
For the homemade chicken soup
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or foil.
- Heat the chicken stock in a large pot over medium high heat.
- While the stock is warming, add the carrots, celery and onion to a heavy bottom satutee pan with 2 TBSP olive oil and a pinch of salt. Heat over high heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring every minute or two. Add the veggies to the chicken stock.
- Add the remaining olive oil to the sautee pan over medium-high heat. Salt and pepper the chicken thighs and add 4 to the pan. Brown on both sides for about 3 minutes each. Remove from the pan and place on the lined baking sheet. Repeat for the remaining thighs. When all thighs are browned, place them in the oven for 15 minutes.
- Remove the thighs from the oven and shred with two forks. Add to the chicken stock and veggies.
- Add in the balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to the soup. Taste, adjust seasoning and taste again.
- Turn off the heat so the veggies don’t overcook.
For the Zoodles
- Cut the ends of the zucchini and spiralize.
- Add some to the bottom of a bowl. Ladle some of the soup over the zoodles. The heat from the soup will cook the zucchini.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
Nutrition
Final thoughts on the Homemade Chicken Soup Recipe:
There are a couple resources you can check out for components to this recipe. The first is to see how to make Zoodles. In this post, I cover a bunch of tips, using the spiralizer and more. Additionally, you can check out how to make really easy shredded chicken. We use shredded chicken for so many meals, from fajitas to soups and more!
If you have any questions about how to make the chicken stock, sweat the veggies or anything else… post up in the comments. If you have your own favorite homemade chicken soup recipe, add the link to it so I can check it out!
Yummy this looks so delicious. Thanks for sharing this for us.
Simon
Hi there:
This soup is an absolute delight. Thank you for posting.
Take care,
Scott
Great soup. Love the zoodles. I bought the spiralizer you suggested and it works fantastic.
Hey Tara:
So glad you bought the spiralizer – I love it. What else did you use it for?
Thanks for writing.
Have a great day!
Scott