Nourishing No-Noodle Chicken Soup Recipe
Servings 6 servings
This homemade nourishing no noodle chicken soup is hearty, zesty and delicious and can be made in one pot in less than 30 minutes for a speedy weeknight meal! Made without noodles, this lemon chicken soup is still super filling, thanks to the shredded chicken, veggies and couscous. Perfect for cold and flu season! {Dairy-free}
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 cup thinly sliced carrots about two large carrots
- 3 celery stalks sliced
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts (or about 3 cups shredded chicken)
- 10 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- Zest of one lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
- Juice of half a lemon (about 1 tablespoon) or more to taste
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 cup Israeli or Pearl couscous or quinoa
- ¼ cup diced green onion
- Salt and pepper to taste
Optional Garnishes:
- Crumbled feta cheese
- Additional sliced green onion
- Chopped parsley
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Cook onion, carrots, celery and garlic for 3-4 minutes or until fragrant.
- Add broth, chicken breasts, lemon zest, lemon juice and red pepper flakes. Increase the heat to high, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Stir in couscous or cooked quinoa and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off heat.
- Remove chicken from pot and shred using two forks. Return to the pot. Stir in the green onion. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve in bowls topped with a sprinkle of feta cheese and additional green onion or parsley, if desired.
Notes
- You can use Israeli couscous for this soup, or barley or quinoa also work well.
- This soup tends to thicken up the longer that it sits since the grains absorb the liquid. You may wish to add a bit more broth before serving if you prefer a thinner soup, or if making it far in advance, wait to add the pearl couscous until ready to serve.
- If serving this soup to little ones, you may wish to halve or quarter the carrot slices to make it easier for them to eat. Alternatively, sometimes I’ll chop up baby carrots for smaller pieces that are easier for the kids to chew.
- If you have some shredded chicken that you want to use up or you’d prefer to use a rotisserie chicken to cut down on prep time, skip the step where you boil the chicken breasts and simply add the shredded chicken to the soup in the last few minutes of cooking.
Nutrition
Calories: 328kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 30gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 56mgSodium: 327mgPotassium: 795mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 3797IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 89mgIron: 2mg
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