Recipe Time: Chicken & Roasted Vegetable Soup

I cannot get enough of this soup! I hope you’ll feel the same way.

I adapted the recipe from the original by Tracy Spaulding, head instructor for the natural foods chef program at Nutrition Therapy Institute in Denver.

What makes her soup truly sing are the roasted vegetables. And I think the fennel. This soup is quite easy to make, but I usually save it for a weekend afternoon because there’s a good amount of chopping.

Tracy’s recipe is vegetarian. In my adapted version below, I add chicken to boost protein and chicken bone broth for its incredible health benefits — collagen, minerals, etc. My version also cuts back on the beans. Too many are a no-go in my house, and not because we don’t like them… You get the idea. 😜

For a paleo version of the soup, skip the beans altogether.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. bone-in chicken thighs (nutrition, flavor!) or 1.5 lbs. boneless thighs 

• 2 quarts chicken bone broth

• 1 large yellow onion, diced

• 2 small zucchini, half bias cut

• 6 large carrots, cut into bias rounds

• 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced

• 1 fennel bulb, sliced

• 1 C celery, sliced

• 3 garlic cloves, minced   

• 1 28-oz. can fire roasted diced tomatoes (I like Muir Glen)

• 1 15-oz. cans beans (i.e. garbanzo, white, pinto) drained and rinsed

• 1 small bunch lacinato/dinosaur kale, stems removed

• 1 small package basil, sliced thin

• 2-4 T coconut oil or ghee

• parchment paper (I buy unbleached)

Instructions

Chicken:

For the best flavor, start the chicken 3 hours before the veggies in a slow-cooker with a little broth, S&P, low setting. (Or cook in the Instant Pot 15 minutes). Short on time? Roast or grill chicken until cooked through, and set aside to cool while you prep the veggies. 

Veggies

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Chop the first four vegetables. Toss each separately in a large bowl with some melted coconut oil or ghee, and S & P to taste. Place each vegetable on its own parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast until not quite tender, roughly 15-25 min. (Time varies by type of vegetable and size of cut).

In a large stock pot, heat some oil/ghee on medium heat. Add the fennel, celery and garlic. Stir about 5 minutes, until soft. 

Add the diced tomatoes, broth, beans, onions, carrots and sweet potatoes. Bring to a brief boil then reduce heat to a simmer for 30 minutes. If using bone-in thighs, pull the meat off the bones, then shred the chicken into bite-size pieces. In the last 5 minutes of simmering, add the chicken, zucchini and kale to the pot.

Remove from heat, stir in basil and serve.

Serves 8+