Ahh nothing says “Welcome to Spring” like a hot bowl of chicken soup, right? Ok, maybe not. But this chicken soup is so good you won’t care if it’s 40* or 80*. I also give you the option to keep it straight Paleo or add a little bit of goodness at the end to make it primal. And I can promise this soup is so hearty you won’t miss the fact that there’s no noodles or rice in it.
I make my own broth to start this soup off. It’s unbelievably easy and no doubt adds the the richness of the flavor. Don’t be scared off by making your own. I literally take an 8 qt stockpot, dump my leftover chicken carcass into it with two handfuls of baby carrots, an onion quartered, two stalks of celery chopped in half, some cloves of garlic and and about a Tbsp of lemon pepper. Add water to the top, bring to a boil and simmer for about 45 – 60 minutes. THAT’S IT! Then I’ll have some store bought on hand to add to it if I want to make a bigger pot, which I usually do.
You also have the option to use your own home roasted whole chicken or a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. I have to say, there’s a lot more crap added to the rotisseries at the store than I thought sadly. If I have the time, I’ll do a quick roast on our own and use that. Whole Foods however has a great one, if you choose to buy one instead of roast your own, head there. Your call. And here we go!
chunky chicken + veggie soup
Ingredients
- 6 QT homemade chicken broth
- 1 whole chicken w roasted chicken meat stripped off
- 1 T. lemon pepper
- 2 C. chopped carrots
- 1/2 onion chopped
- 2 C. chopped celery about 4 stalks
- 2 C. finely chopped cauliflower
- 3 C. shredded kale
- 32 oz. organic chicken stock
- 1/2 C. shredded pecorino romano optional, note it will not be Whole30 compliant then
Instructions
- In a large pot or dutch over bring your broth to a simmer and add carrots
- Simmer for 5 minutes and add your onions and celery
- Simmer another 5 minutes
- Add in cauliflower and simmer 5 minutes
- Add the kale and chicken
- If using pecorino, add now
- Salt and pepper to taste
The recipe calls for 6 quarts of chicken broth, and also 32 ounces chicken stock. There can’t possibly be 28 cups of liquid in this recipe! Can you clarify? Or am I reading it wrong?
There is also 32 oz organic chicken stock in the ingredient list but not in the recipe. Do you use it or not? TIA