What an easy pulled pork soup recipe. Don't mistake easy for boring though! This pulled pork soup is a one pot wonder packed full of veggies and healthy homemade chicken stock. The pulled pork and torn kale give this soup a hearty, rustic feel that is extremely welcoming too!
THIS PULLED PORK SOUP RECIPE IS: GLUTEN FREE, PALEO AND DELICIOUSLY HEALTHY FOR YOU.
SUPER AWESOME PULLED PORK SOUP
I've been thinking about this soup for a couple weeks now. I knew that I wanted to make a pulled pork soup, but wasn't sure if chicken stock would work or if a pork stock would really kick it into high gear. Then I was thinking about the veggies and how it would all come together. It was a lot of thinking about a soup, but well worth it. You're going to love the hearty, rustic nature of this pulled pork soup.
SWEATING VEGETABLES FOR SOUP
Ok. Sweating vegetables for soup is an important step to building flavor. What we are trying to do is give the aromatics (the veggies) a head start in the cooking process. We are going to sweat the veggies in a little bit of olive oil and a pinch of salt. The salt will help draw the moisture out of the cut vegetables and release it in the form of steam. As the moisture continues to evaporate, the veggies start to break down just a bit in the pan, concentrating their flavors.
One other reason to sweat the veggies, particularly for this pulled pork soup, is to allow the harder veggies (think carrots in particular) a chance to soften up a bit. Sure, we could increase the cook time once the soup is made to soften up the vegetables, but the soup will turn to mush. The pulled pork will disintegrate and the zucchini will fall apart before the carrots are cooked. Yikes... seems like the soup apocalypse!
MAKING CHICKEN STOCK VS. BUYING CHICKEN STOCK
Years ago, I put up a post on a different blog (now long gone) comparing the absolute best boxed beef stock you can buy against homemade beef stock. The pictures were worth a million words alone. I poured both stocks into canning jars and let them sit for an hour. The results were astounding. The boxed stock had different layers of "stuff" in it that just looked kinda gross. The color of the stock was pale gray with the brown coloring settling to the bottom of the jar. On the other hand, the homemade stock was brown all the way through and just looked great. I wish I had the picture still... you'll just have to take my word for it!
You can make a really simple chicken stock out of the bones from a rotisserie chicken you have for dinner. Or, pick up a couple necks and backs from the market. Stock doesn't need to be made in huge quantities. Just a few veggies, some bones and a little time make all the difference in the world. The nutrients and rich flavor of homemade stock is just wonderful.
Now, I understand that making your own stock isn't always an option. If you have to buy stock, buy stock with the least amount of ingredients on the label. Make sure you can understand what all the ingredients are as well! When I buy stock, if it is available, I try to purchase the organic kind. Most important: purchase stock with NO SALT! You want to be able to control the amount of salt you add into your soup. The people who manufactured the boxed stock don't know how much salt you like!
QUICK COOKING TIP: We are going to make everything in one pot. This reduces the amount of cleanup and makes the pulled pork soup a really easy recipe to make again and again. The most important tip is adding in the vegetables in the order shown in the recipe below. Oh yeah... a quick note about straining the tomatoes. Canned tomatoes pack a lot of flavor. The juice in particular is very strong. I wanted tomatoes in the soup, but not have a tomato tasting soup. I just strained the tomatoes over a juice glass and drank it down. So tasty! You don't have to do that, but straining the tomatoes helps balance the flavor of the soup.
Let's get moving on this pulled pork soup recipe... I want it in my belly!
Healthy Pulled Pork Soup
A delightfully delicious pulled pork soup recipe which is also both hearty and healthy. Packed full of goodness with kale, zucchini, mirepoix and homemade chicken stock!
Ingredients
- 8 Cups Chicken Stock, homemade preferable
- 3 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 2 Cups Carrots, Diced
- 2 Cups Onions, Diced
- 2 Cups Celery, Diced
- 1 Cup Zucchini, diced
- 1 14.5 OZ Can Diced Tomatoes, strained
- 4 Cups Cooked Pulled Pork
- 2 Cups Kale, torn leaves with no stems, loosely packed
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 Pinch Fresh Cracked Pepper
Instructions
- In a heavy bottom soup pot, add in the olive oil. Heat at medium-high until the oil starts to shimmer. Add in the carrots, celery and onion. Add in a pinch of salt. Stir and sweat the mirepoix for 6 minutes.
- Add in the zucchini and continue to cook for another 4-5 minutes. Add in the strained tomatoes, pulled pork and chicken stock. Increase the heat to high.
- Bring the soup to a boil for 1 minute, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Add in the kale and stir to submerge. Add in the salt and pepper.
- Taste. Adjust seasonings and taste again.
- Enjoy hot and happy eating!
Notes
For this recipe, I have assumed that you have cooked pulled pork available. The cook time will change significantly if you need to start the pulled pork from scratch.
Looking for a quick Pressure Cooker Pulled Pork recipe? You go it!
Nutrition Information
Yield
8Amount Per Serving Calories 306
Did you make this recipe?
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Final thoughts on the Hearty Pulled Pork Soup Recipe:
The recipe makes a lot of soup. Twelve cups is more than some people may want to have on hand. I wanted to make enough to freeze off at least 4 cups to enjoy on another day! The funny thing is that this soup just seemed to evaporate after lunch today. Everyone loved it.
Want to make some pulled pork but don't have six hours to get it done? Check out my recipe for delicious pressure cooker pulled pork! Ready in under 2 hours. Tender, juicy and flavorful!
If you don't have pulled pork on hand, you can substitute some of my easy shredded chicken. The shredded chicken is ready in much less time than it takes to make slow cooked pulled pork. Thinking that you want a more traditional soup? Take a look at my chicken zoodle soup... yep, this soup is packed with veggies and served over zucchini noodles. Oh man, is it good.
Ths soup sounds and looks delicious. I'm so glad I stumbled onto your site.
Hi Jeff:
Somehow I missed your comment- sorry about that! Glad you like the soup- it is really good. I just added my recipe for pressure cooker pulled pork that might help cut down some of the prep time too.
Thanks for reading, I appreciate it very much. Hope to see you back soon.
Take care,
Scott
[…] for some other good soup recipes that are good-for-you (and will fill you up), take a look at my Healthy Pulled Pork Soup or if you’re looking for a more traditional soup with a modern spin, how about my Homemade […]
[…] Healthy Pulled Pork Soup: Delicious with kale, zucchini and homemade stock. […]
What a amazing soup, and great for my growing family. We're all out getting fresh veggies at our local market and sharing this site along the way. This site has given us several healthy recipes that we still use often.
Thanks chef
V/R Somers family
Hey Derek:
So glad to hear that you were inspired by my recipes - this truly gives more meaning to what I'm doing. And it inspires me to discover better ones.
Than you so much- I appreciate it more than you think.
Take care and have a fantastic day!
Scott
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Warming and wonderful. I used a bunch of my leftover pulled pork in this recipe and it was just perfect. The whole fam dug in for a filling lunch.
Hi Eliza:
I love having lunch with my family. Thanks for making this divine soup and giving me some feedback.
Have a delicious day in the kitchen!
Scott
[…] Healthy Pulled Pork Soup […]
Found this recipe this morning to figure out a new way to use my leftover carnitas... this soup is going to the front of my recipe scrapbook! Everyone loves it and I can't wait to take it in to work and swat my coworkers away at lunchtime! Thank you!!
Hi Jenn:
So happy to hear you liked it. I can't wait to make it again!
Thank you so much for taking the time to tell me how it went.
Have an excellent day in the kitchen!
Scott
Fantastic soup ... I will make this again and again. My two teen/tween-age kids loved it.
Hi Mindy:
Excellent! My kids love it too.
Thank you for sharing your beautiful thoughts.
Hope you have a delicious day in the kitchen!
Scott
Hi - I just stumbled on this recipe - I just went KETO and have lost 13 lbs in 2 weeks! I put this recipe in my nutrition calculator and it says there are 42 carb grams per serving! That is a lot of carbs even though they are good carbs - right?? What modification would you suggest?
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Thank you! Making Pulled Pork to have on hand for a variety of recipes. Also making Chicken Stock from Chicken backbones. So happy to find this Pulled Pork Soup Recipe. We are also following Whole30 diet and this is perfect!