When the weather starts to dip my mind (and tummy) automatically turns to soup. Not literally, but you know what I mean. But I have to say, not just any kind of soup. I love a good, hearty soup that will act as my entire meal. Don’t get me wrong, a light tomato soup is always delicious but when it comes to cold weather? I need a hearty bowl in front of me. And if it contains both veggies, protein AND healthy fats even better. And oh, what do you know! This Loaded Broccoli + Chicken Sup covers all of those bases.
There’s nothing better than being able to make one meal in one giant batch and this soup is no exception to that. I love being able to cook up some veggies, throw it into my Blendtec and call it a day! Not only does that usually mean less dishes (always a win!) but it usually means simple and quick which is always welcome in our house. Particularly during the winter when the kids are in school and activities, have homework etc. Even better is when you have leftovers. And yes, this soup will provide you with leftovers as well!
So let’s talk soup now. I know there’s a million broccoli soup recipes out there and I really wanted to create something that tasted special, beyond traditional broccoli soup if you will. I wanted to showcase the broccoli of course but I really wanted to cram in a lot of other flavors. Like onion, garlic, thyme, some mushrooms and more. I also wanted to maximize each of those flavors and to do that I sautéed the vegetables prior to adding them into the soup. I roasted the entire bud of garlic for that warm, roasted, sweet flavor and sautéed the mushrooms in the pan so the most flavor and texture was brought out. Guys, don’t just steam the hell out of some veggies and throw them into your Blendtec. That’s no way to make a proper soup. Baby food, yes. A grown up soup? No.
One way that I kept this recipe simple was by using a rotisserie chicken. I can’t tell you how versatile these little birds are. From chicken salad to chicken soup we’re always eating them up. And it was no exception with this soup. You can obviously roast your own and use the Whole Smiths’ Whole Roasted Chicken but if you’re looking to save some time, feel free to grab one at the store.
And finally I’m going to leave you with the cooking tip du’ jour. When you’re adding your broth to the blender to blend in with your veggies only pour in about half of your broth. Whip up the veggies & broth and pour into the stock pot. THEN instead of scraping all of the extra soup out, add the remaining broth and blend. It will get every bit of processed food from that blender and you can just add it to the stock pot. It also makes your clean up on that thing easier. You are welcome for the time saver. Even if it is just a few minutes.
Ok, now go make this soup and enjoy!
Loaded Broccoli + Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 bulb of garlic edges cut off
- 1 onion chopped large
- 1 C. carrots finely chopped
- 1.5 lbs. broccoli
- 4 C. chicken broth
- 1 lb. sliced mushrooms
- 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 2 tsp. chopped thyme
- 3 tsp. salt
- 1/2 C. almond milk
- 3 C. shredded rotisserie chicken
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400*
- Add 1 Tbsp. of olive oil over garlic bulb and coat well
- Place on baking dish and bake for 30 minutes
- Heat a large sauté pan to medium high heat and add olive oil
- Once hot, add onions and sauté for 5 minutes
- Add chopped carrots to pan and sauté until onions are golden brown and carrots are tender
- Remove onions and carrots from pan and set aside
- Using the same pan add additional oil if needed and add mushrooms
- Sauté mushrooms until tender and set aside
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and steam broccoli until tender, approximately 10 minutes
- Add broccoli, garlic, 1/2 of carrot and onion mixture and 2 C. of chicken broth to your Blendtec and blend on soup cycle
- Pour soup into large stock pot
- Add remaining 2 C. of chicken broth to your Blendtec and blend well until all bits are scraped off of the sides
- Add broth mixture into the rest of soup
- Add remainder of the carrots and onions, mushrooms, red pepper flakes, onion powder, thyme, salt and almond milk into pot and stir
- Add chicken to pot and combine
- Simmer soup for 10 minutes prior to serving
Hi – sounds so good!! Can’t wait to try it. I love adding protein to my veggie soups 🙂
One question.. when do you add the roasted garlic back in?
When you blend the broccoli up, sorry I messed that up! Fixed it now!
What do you do with the garlic after roasting?
Oh geez, sorry I didn’t catch that. Just blend it up with the broccoli!
I made the broccoli n chicken soup tonight….it is excellent ! The recipe was a little confusing or maybe it was just me You don’t mention when to add the garlic and at the end you mentioned onion powder? I omitted it. This will become a keeper!
You’re right! Thank you for noticing that and letting me know, I fixed it. So glad you loved it anyways, lol.
Plan to make tonight! Do you just top with the mushrooms? Or blend them too? Thanks!
When do you add the mushrooms?
Excellent recipe.
Hello, I have a nut allergy. Will this work with coconut milk? Thank you!
Hi! I have a son who is allergic to almonds. What kind of non dairy milk would you suggest as a substitute? Coconut milk? Have you tried that before? This looks delicious. Can’t wait to try it. I always love your recipes.
Oops forgot to click on “notify by email” when you respond. Don’t want to miss a response :).
What does c mean in the ingredients list?