Chicken Kale Soup— This chicken soup with kale is easy, hearty, and healthy. It’s packed with flavor, texture, and is a full meal in itself!!
Table of Contents
- Hearty Chicken and Kale Soup Recipe
- Chicken Kale Soup Ingredients
- How to Make Chicken and Kale Soup
- Can I Use Different Greens in This Soup?
- Can I Freeze the Soup?
- Tips for Making Chicken and Kale Soup
- What to Serve with the Soup
- Recipe Video Tutorial
- Chicken Kale Soup Recipe
- More Easy Chicken Soup Recipes:
Hearty Chicken and Kale Soup Recipe
My family loves soup and I love making it for them because with soup there are always leftovers. Bonus for the cook.
This chicken and kale soupis easy, ready in 30 minutes, hearty, and healthy.It’s packed with flavor, texture, and even for those who think that soup can’t make a meal, this one will change your mind.
There are manyrecipes for sausage, kale, and white bean soup online but I optedto go with the ease of using shredded rotisserie chicken. The beansadd heartiness and protein, while the kale, cabbage, and zucchini add texture. Even with soup I need texture and love anything green and theveggies areperfect.
Chicken Kale Soup Ingredients
To make this chicken kale white bean soup, you’ll need:
- Olive oil
- Vidalia onion
- Celery
- Green cabbage
- Garlic
- Chicken broth
- Shredded cooked chicken
- Cannellini beans
- Dried parsley and oregano
- Salt and pepper
- Kale
- Zucchini
- Lemon juice
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Chicken and Kale Soup
This is such a quick and easy kale chicken soup recipe! Here are the basic recipe steps:
- In a large dutch oven, sauté the onion and celery until soft.
- Add the cabbage and continue to cook until slightly wilted.
- Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant.
- Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
- Let the mixture boil until the chicken is warmed through, the zucchini has softened, and the kale has wilted.
Can I Use Different Greens in This Soup?
Yes, this chicken and kale soup recipe is fairly flexible in that regard. If you don’t have kale on hand, spinach or a similar leafy green may be substituted.
Can I Freeze the Soup?
Yes, this soup will last up to 6 months in the freezer. I recommend freezing it in smaller containers so you can reheat one or two portions at a time.
Tips for Making Chicken and Kale Soup
I use low-sodium chicken broth,low-sodiumbeans, and add a bit of salt to thesoupso I can control the overall salt level. The saltiness of low-sodium broth, beans, rotisserie chickens, and personal preferences for salt all vary, sosalt to taste.
At any time while making the soup, if the overall liquid level is lower than you like and you prefer more broth, adding a cup or two of water is okay because at the end you will adjust the salt level.
Before adding the kale to the soup, remove the center rib. That part is extremely tough to chew and shouldn’t be added to this soup (use just the kale leaves).
What to Serve with the Soup
Serve the kale chicken soup with your favorite bread or rolls for dipping, or a side salad for some extra veggies and freshness. Here are my suggestions for side dishes:
- Classic Skillet Cornbread
- No-Knead Make-Ahead Rolls
- Texas Roadhouse Rolls
- Parker House Rolls
- Herb Garlic Rolls
- Classic House Salad with Vinaigrette
- BLT Chopped Salad with Homemade Buttermilk Dressing
- Kale Caesar Salad
- Easy Chopped Salad(has chicken but you can omit)
- Fall Harvest Salad
Recipe Video Tutorial
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4.58 from 110 votes
Chicken Kale Soup
By Averie Sunshine
This white bean and kale soup soup is easy, hearty, and healthy. It’s packed with flavor, texture, and is a full meal in itself!
Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes minutes
Servings: 10
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups sweet Vidalia or yellow onion, peeled and diced small (about 2 medium/large onions)
- 1 cup celery, sliced thin (about 2 stalks)
- 2 to 3 cups green cabbage, sliced into thin ribbons (about 1/2 small head of cabbage)
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
- 64 ounces 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 to 4 cups shredded cooked chicken, use about 1 whole storebought rotisserie chicken to save time; or roast or cook your own chicken in a skillet
- two 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoons salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
- leaves from 4 large stalks of kale, torn into bite-sized pieces (discard the center thick rib)
- 1 cup zucchini, diced small (from about 1 medium zucchini)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, optional (brightens up the flavor)
Instructions
To a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add the oil, onion, celery, and sauté over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften. Stir intermittently.
Add the cabbage and sauté for about 3 minutes, or until cabbage wilts and softens. Stir intermittently.
Add the agarlic and sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the chicken broth, shredded chicken, cannellini beans, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper to taste, and boil about 5 minutes, or until chicken is warmed through.
Add the kale, zucchini, optional lemon juice, and boil 1 to 2 minutes, or until kale has wilted and zucchini has softened.
Taste soup and add salt or herbs, to taste. Amount of salt will vary based on how salty the brand of chicken broth used is, how salty the rotisserie chicken is, and personal preference. At any time while making the soup, if the overall liquid level is lower than you like and you prefer more broth, adding a cup or two of water is okay because at the end you will adjust the salt level.
Serve immediately. Soup will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Notes
- Soup will keep airtight in the fridge for 5 to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1, Calories: 657kcal, Carbohydrates: 40g, Protein: 60g, Fat: 29g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 17g, Cholesterol: 184mg, Sodium: 6517mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 12g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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