This Detox Immune-Boosting Chicken Soup is the perfect remedy for flu season filled with antioxidants that boost immunity and keep you warm all winter long!
With the new year officially in full swing, not only are we kicking off better eating habits and attempting to stay warm in all this cold weather, but we are also battling coughs, colds and the dreaded FLU season. This Detox Immune-Boosting Chicken Soup is the perfect remedy for cold and flu season, but is also filled with tons of nutrients, minerals and antioxidants that boost your immunity and keep you warm and cozy all winter long! I mean with ingredients like garlic, chickpeas, turmeric, mushrooms and dark leafy greens all simmering together in a flavorful hot broth, you’ll be sure to fend off those pesky colds while staying healthy and on track with your goals!
Why You’ll Love This
- Supports immunity – not only is this nourishing soup great for digestion and metabolism, but also has added anti-inflammatory benefits and antioxidants that help boost immunity.
- One pot recipe – this soup is made all in one pot making this an easy recipe you can throw together any time and is also great for meal prep.
- Comforting – a bowl of this soup is perfect for cold weather, when you need a reset after the holidays or simply just feeling under the weather and need a pick me up!
- Great for meal prep – I like to make a big batch ahead of time to last me a good part of the week or just freeze in small batches so I can grab some anytime I feel a cold coming on.
Here’s What You’ll Need
- chicken – I like to use shredded rotisserie chicken because it’s quick and easy with so much flavor, but you can also use chicken breasts or chicken thighs. Leftover chicken (or turkey) works great too!
- veggies – I used a combination of carrots, celery, onion, and mushrooms, but feel free to add in some bell peppers, butternut squash or even chopped sweet potatoes
- garlic – we are using A LOT in this recipe (yes 10 garlic cloves!), but trust me it tastes absolutely amazing. Garlic is such a powerful antioxidant that strengthens immune function and just overall makes you feel really good. Don’t worry, the garlic definitely mellows out while cooking so don’t expect the flavor to be too intense!
- chicken stock – I used low-sodium chicken broth, but vegetable broth would work or any stocks you have in your pantry. Make sure to adjust the amount of salt used if you don’t use a low-sodium broth
- chickpeas – also known as garbanzo beans, these add extra protein and delicious texture to this soup
- kale – this is a hearty leafy green that packs in the antioxidants, vitamin C and other nutrients good for your health. You could also use fresh spinach in place of the kale and even sprinkle in some fresh parsley or other fresh herbs
- herbs and spices – a combination of turmeric, crushed red pepper, salt, black pepper and bay leaves
How to Make Detox Chicken Soup
The great thing about this soup is that everything comes together in just 30 minutes in 3 simple steps! Here’s how I make it:
- Sauté the veggies. In a large soup pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat and saute onion, celery and carrots, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic, cooking another 3 minutes.
- Let the soup simmer. Stir in the chicken stock, bay leaves, turmeric, crushed red pepper, sea salt, pepper and chickpeas, bringing everything a boil. Mix in the shredded rotisserie chicken, cover and turn down the heat to a simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. If you are using boneless skinless chicken breasts, you’ll want to add them in with the chicken stock and let them simmer for about 25 minutes until cooked through and no longer pink. Then remove the chicken breasts, shred with two forks, and add the chicken back into the pot.
- Mix in kale and serve! Add in the chopped kale and simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Discard bay leaves and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed. You could also sprinkle in some fresh parsley. Enjoy!
How to Customize this Chicken Soup
- Make it gluten-free – lucky for you, this soup is already naturally gluten-free!
- Add more veggies – this soup is already super healthy, but feel free to add in more vegetables like zucchini, green beans, cauliflower, or broccoli florets.
- Make it spicy – feel free to add in more red pepper flakes or a dash of cayenne pepper for some added heat.
- Boost of protein – this soup is already packed with protein thanks to the chicken and chickpeas, but feel free to add in some white beans or extra chickpeas.
- Lower sodium – for a low-sodium option, use unsalted chicken broth and season the soup lightly at the end.
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Prepping and Storing
To Store: This detox chicken soup will last in your fridge in a sealed, airtight container for up to 5 days. You can easily reheat this soup in the microwave or stovetop for a quick, delicious meal. I love making this soup for my weekly meal prep!
To Freeze: If planning to freeze this soup, first let the soup cool completely and then store it in a sealed container in the freezer for up to 3 months. When ready to enjoy, let the soup thaw completely in the fridge. Warm it up in a pot on the stove or re-heat individual servings in the microwave.
More Soup Recipes
- Chicken and Wild Rice Soup – the perfect cozy soup packed with flavor and loaded with chicken, veggies and tender wild rice
- Creamy Broccoli Cheddar Soup – a delicious low carb soup packed with veggies and made in under 30 minutes
- Chicken Tortilla Soup – the perfect weeknight meal that can easily be made in your Instant Pot, slow cooker or even right on the stove
- Sausage and Spinach Tortellini Soup – creamy, cozy and made with cheesy tortellini, sausage and fresh veggies
- One Pot Spicy Sausage & Kale Soup – this soup is hearty, delicious and literally takes just 5 minutes to throw together in a pot or slow cooker
- Creamy Tomato Hummus Detox Soup – packed with flavor as well as tons of immune-boosting ingredients like garlic, ginger, chickpeas, turmeric, carrots and leafy greens to help you stay healthy all season long
Hope you all enjoy this Detox Immune-Boosting Chicken Soup! If you love this as much as we do, please leave me ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ below and don’t forget to tag me on Instagram using the hashtag #eatyourselfskinny!
Detox Immune-Boosting Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 large celery stalks, diced
- 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 cup mushrooms, sliced
- 10 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- 2 cups baby kale leaves
Instructions
- In a large pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat and sauté onion, celery and carrots, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic, cooking another 3 minutes.
- Stir in the chicken stock, bay leaves, turmeric, crushed red pepper, salt and chickpeas; bringing to a boil. Mix in cooked shredded chicken, cover and turn down heat to a simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Add kale, cover and simmer an additional 5 minutes. Discard bay leaves, serve and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Fabulous soup,, eating for breakfast to get me jump started in the morning while dealing with this head/chest cold. Thank you for the recipe.
So, I’m trying this recipe tonight, I’m using raw chicken breasts instead of rotisserie, and adding in watercress cause it’s high in antioxidants instead of kale. (Also because my boyfriend doesn’t like kale.) Looking forward to trying it!
Hope you enjoyed this Stacie! 🙂
OMG… This was so delicious! I did not include the chickpeas…just not my thing. But I followed everything else to a T and then added some freshly grated ginger. So perfect! And it made so much. Bringing the extra for some team members at work tomorrow. Thanks!
Just made this, and it was delicious! My boyfriend’s in a soup-coma, and keeps saying how good it was. Only differences – we used baby spinach instead of kale, and roughly scaled the recipe up 1.5x. Excluding the basics we already had, it cost about $20 (bigger expenses being the stock and the cooked chicken), which was totally worth it considering the number of servings. .
This is incredible! Making this soup and freezing up portions is making it easy to stay on my diet. The healthiest “comfort food” in my fridge by far. Im usually not even a kale lover but this might have me hooked.
I want to make this tonight but i only have can spinach. What i want to know is can i use this.
Yes spinach would be fine! 🙂
O em gee. This is the best soup I’ve ever had. I didn’t put any crushed pepper in it cos I didn’t have any and didn’t even think that I could’ve put cayenne pepper in it instead – ah well, next time!
I also used baby spinach instead of kale because the only kale I had was frozen chopped and had some fresh spinach. Just as good! I have leftovers for dinner tonight and I can’t wait. Thank you so much, a definite fave.
Made this soup tonight and it was delicious! Pretty easy prep and didn’t take too long to cook. Love that it’s got a little kick with the red pepper flakes and turmeric. Definitely a create pin thank you for sharing!!
What can be used in place of chick Peas and can spinach replace the Kale??
Do you think the chick peas could be substituted with something else?
You could always add cannellini beans, noodles OR just omit the chickpeas altogether! 🙂