Chicken Veggie Soup
This delicious and nontraditional chicken soup is naturally gluten-free, dairy-free and easy to adapt for most allergies. It has a bold flavor, but the comforting taste of a homemade soup. It is one of my cold weather favorites for family meals.
How To Make Chicken Veggie Soup
Ingredients
- 2-3lbs bone-in chicken thighs
- Head of cauliflower, minced
- 10-12 oz Carrots, julienned
- 1/2 onion, minced
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- Paprika
- Cumin
- Bay leaves
- Salt and pepper
Prepare the Chicken
Remove skin from chicken thighs. Sauté half in a large skillet (or in your soup stockpot) on medium-low heat to render the fat. Set the other half of the skins aside to make chicken stock.
While fat is rendering, generously sprinkle chicken thighs with salt, pepper, paprika and a little cumin. Remove skin from pan once golden on both sides (you should have several tablespoons of oil in the pan) and turn heat to medium-high. Add chicken thighs and fry until a deep golden brown color on both sides. Remove from heat and allow to cool. When cooled enough to handle, remove meat from the bone and chop.
Note: At this point, chicken may not be fully cooked through to the bone—this is fine, since it will cook again in the soup, but use precautions for handling raw chicken.
Move chopped and cooked chicken to the fridge and hold onto the bones for the next step (bone broth).
Make Chicken Bone Broth / Stock
Did you buy bone-in chicken? If so, making broth or stock to go with the recipe is easy!
In a large stockpot, add the second half of chicken skins (about 3-4) and render on medium-low heat until golden brown on both sides. Add chicken bones. After allowing bones to heat for a few minutes add onion, peppers (optional), garlic cloves and sauté for several minutes until soft. Fill pot with water. Add carrot, celery, bay leaves and spinach. Bring to a boil and simmer until needed or (12-24 hours for true bone broth). Use a mesh strainer to separate broth from ingredients, reserving the broth in a large bowl.
Chicken Veggie Soup
While your broth is simmering, you can start softening vegetables for your soup.
In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil to shimmering. Add carrots until they begin to soften. Add minced onions and cauliflower. When all veggies are soft, add at least four cups of chicken stock and add chopped chicken. Allow soup to reach a simmer. Add more broth if desired. Once you have the ideal broth-to-ingredients ratio, taste the broth and adjust seasoning to make it very flavorful.
Optional: If you like thicker broth, mix 2 tsp corn starch in a small cup of broth to the side until a smooth mixture forms. Add corn starch broth mixture to soup pot and stir in completely, bringing back to a boil for two minutes.
Faster Veggie Prep: I run my carrots through the grating disk on my Cuisinart Food Processor. After adding the carrots to start simmering in the oil, I also run the cauliflower and onions through that disk. That allows each ingredient to be very thin and add flavor without taking over the soup. By the time the soup is ready to serve, these ingredients should practically melt in your mouth.
Add Carbs: This is a great low-carb recipe, but if you want a more filling family meal, simply add noodles to your soup! I sometimes add gluten-free (rice-based) shells. You could also use rice, tortellini or gnocchi in this soup as well. You can even cook these carbs on the side with some of the excess broth and selectively add them to the dishes for those who want more carbs. Or, add a side of delicious bread!
Freeze Extra Broth: When you are finished mixing up the soup, add water to the broth pot and keep it simmering. Bone broth can cook for 8-12 hours for additional flavor. Use a mesh strainer to drain cooled broth into a large bowl. Ladle broth into plastic (or glass) food storage containers. Label with “Chicken Bone Broth” and the date using masking tape and a Sharpie. Freeze for later recipes.
