This healthy chicken zoodle soup is made with added zucchini noodles and nourishing herbs and spices. It makes a great meal during the colder months and your food cure whenever you’re not feeling well.
Healthy chicken zoodle soup is a nourishing meal that warms you up and tastes delicious! It’s a recipe that every woman needs in her back pocket during cold and flu season too!
Did you read the Chicken Soup for the Soul books when you were a kid like I did?! These books are filled with stories that just make you feel good about humanity, love and relationships — similar to how chicken soup just makes you feel good when you eat it!
My version with zoodles, turmeric, lemon and ginger has more nutrition than your average bowl and can be made gluten free and vegetarian. It’s filled with warming spices that are proven to help ease cold symptoms and make you feel better.
Growing up my mother always had a different “soup of the week” on the stove, and I’m excited to build my own library of soup recipes to have on hand during the chilly months here in Chicago!
Because there’s nothing quite like chicken noodle soup to hug you from the inside out on a cold winter day. Store bought versions simply can’t compete with one you make at home with fresh veggies, herbs and spices. In my version of chicken noodle soup, I added zucchini noodles for more nutrition along with carrots, and celery plus warming and nourishing herbs and spices like turmeric, ginger, rosemary and thyme.
I can’t wait for you to cozy up with a bowl and reap it’s nutritional benefits!
Ingredients Needed for Healthy Chicken Zoodle Soup
- chicken
- chicken broth
- carrots
- celery
- onion
- fresh garlic
- fresh ginger
- fresh or ground turmeric
- salt and pepper
- orzo
- zucchini
- lemon
- bay leaves
- fresh thyme
- fresh rosemary
Optional Tools:
- hand held spiralizer ( i don’t own a big spiralizer and find that this one works perfect for spiralizing zucchini every tine!)
How to Make Zucchini Noodles
Making zucchini noodles for this soup does not have to be as intimidating as it might sound! I love this hand held spiralizer from amazing that is under $15 and get the job done! It’s one of my favorite kitchen tools and you can sprilize carrots, zucchini, yellow squash and more with it!
Shortcuts To Making Healthy Chicken Zoodle Soup
Yes, this is a “from scratch” recipe but that doesn’t mean I didn’t take a few shortcuts to cut the prep time in half! Here’s the shortcuts I took to prepare this soup even quicker without sacrificing on taste, flavor or nutrition.
- Use a store-bought rotisserie chicken – store-bought rotisserie chickens are huge time savers whether you are meal prepping or just don’t care for cooking chicken on your own. I look for ones that are plain (without seasonings or additives) and find that the meat is perfect for soups and a wide variety of other meals. Pumpkin gets some of it too!
- Use a frozen mix of carrots, celery and onion – check the frozen section next time you’re grocery shopping to find a frozen mirepoix (the flavor base of the soup!). It cut down on time spent chopping each individual item and food waste from anything from in that trio that would have been leftover. I used the entire frozen bag in this recipe and would in any soup recipe!
- Using frozen veggies is an awesome option whenever you’re making soups — they’re just as nutritious as fresh!
Why Healthy Chicken Zoodle Soup Makes the Perfect Meal
We often turn to soups when we’re not feeling well, but they truly should be part of a well-balanced diet all of the time because you can pack a ton of nutrition into a bowl of soup!
Healthy chicken zoodle soup is a great meal because it packs, protein, veggies, anti-inflammatory benefits and more! All of these things are great on a daily basis and when you are feeling under the weather!
Anti-inflammatory Benefits – I added turmeric to this soup, which helps to give it it’s golden hue and provides a nice dose of ant inflammatory benefits. You’ll also find ginger in this soup that also contains anti-inflammatory properties that will help fight the common cold. Ginger also helps with easing indigestion and upset stomach — which is why I always have ginger tea in my pantry!
p.s. Don’t skip the pepper in the ingredient list– turmeric needs it for better absorption. They are a power couple!
Natural Antibiotic – this zucchini noodle soup packs the garlic. And for good reason! Garlic can help to boost immune function and has for a long time thought to have antimicrobial properties that may help to ease symptoms of the common cold.
Filling fiber – zucchini, carrots, and celery add fiber to this chicken zoodle soup recipe. Unfortunately most of us are not getting enough fiber and it’s needed for healthy digestion, and to keep us full too.
Hello Hydration – the liquid broth from chicken soup is super hydrating. A little salty, it will quench your thirst and is even great post-workout when you tend to crave something a little salty and need to replenish fluids. This is also why soup is great when you’re not feeling well and need extra liquids.
Nourishing Protein — chicken is the protein source in this healthy chicken zoodle soup and will help keep you fuller for longer along with helping your repair muscles.
I recommend pairing this soup with my favorite crackers from Simple Mills. They are made with nutrient dense ingredients, nothing artificial ever and are gluten and dairy free.
How to make this soup gluten free
To make this recipe gluten free, omit the orzo or use a gluten free pasta substitute. Note you may need to add more liquid when cooking a gluten free pasta alternative.
How to make this soup vegetarian
Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and omit the chicken completely to make this chicken zoodle soup vegetarian.
Healthy Chicken Zoodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 cups shredded rotisserie style or 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast thighs, cut into 1-inch chunks
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 onion diced
- 3 carrots peeled and diced
- 2 stalks celery diced
- 6 cups low sodium chicken stock
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp. fresh grated ginger
- 1 tsp. fresh grated turmeric or 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 3/4 cup uncooked orzo pasta
- 2-3 medium-sized zucchini spiralized into noodles
- 1 tsp. freshly chopped thyme de-stemmed
- 1 tsp. freshly chopped rosemary
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- freshly grated black pepper
Instructions
- Place a large dutch oven or pot over medium high heat and add in oil. Once oil is hot, add in garlic, onion, carrots and celery; cook for a few minutes until fragrant.
- Add in chicken stock, rotisserie chicken, (if using uncooked chicken add it in here too), turmeric, ginger and bay leaves; bring to a boil.
- Omit this step and skip to the next If using rotisserie chicken: Reduce heat to medium low and simmer uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked. Once chicken is cooked, remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a cutting board to shred with two forks. Add chicken back to pot.
- Stir in orzo, rosemary and chicken; reduce heat and simmer until orzo is tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in spiralized zucchini noodles, lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve and squeeze extra lemon juice over each serving if desired.
Notes
Fall in love with these soup recipes too!
Pin this recipe for later!
