This turmeric chicken soup is packed with tasty vegetables, leafy greens, herbs and spices that are so nourishing and warming. It's very easy to make and perfect for lunch or a light dinner for all the family.
Love turmeric as a flavouring? Check out my turmeric turkey breast fillets and my turmeric chicken thighs for your next meal!
Soups always feel cozy in the colder months, so perhaps you may like to see my paprika chicken soup, butternut squash and apple soup and broccoli and cauliflower soup. All warming and delicious! And for another 'brothy' soup you may like to see my turkey quinoa soup!
This chicken soup with turmeric is packed with tasty ingredients, from fragrant spices to leafy greens. It's perfect comfort food that is full of goodness and a real crowd-pleaser I find.
Looking for some sides or add-ins for your soup? Do check out my 25 ideas for what to serve with chicken soup!
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⭐ Why you'll love this recipe
- It's bursting with nutritious ingredients: the combination of vegetables, leafy greens and spices mean this is packed with goodness.
- You can easily customise the vegetables: don't have carrots? Then maybe swap out for squash instead. Not a fan of kale? Simply leave out or swap for a leafy green you love.
- Easy to make: although the recipe has a few steps, they are all very simple to follow.
🐓 Ingredients
This nourishing chicken turmeric soup is bursting with healthy vegetables and spices. You will need:
- Onion and garlic: the traditional base of flavour for soups. I would use fresh garlic if you have it, a touch of garlic powder if not.
- Chicken breasts: try and use fresh and as good quality as you can.
- Kale: for your leafy greens! Shred into smaller pieces.
- Celery, carrots and zucchini: for all the vegetable goodness, and tastes great too!
- Turmeric: the main spice of the soup, and gives it that beautiful bright colour too.
- Ginger: just a touch to add some heat.
- Sweet paprika: a swap out from hot or smoked paprika, this type is suitable for a low histamine diet. I like the Szeged sweet paprika.
- Chicken or vegetable broth: personally I try and make my own broth and then freeze into portions, but if store bought works for you, then that's good too.
🔪 Step by step instructions
Just a few simple steps to enjoy your turmeric chicken soup:
STEP 1
Fry the onion and garlic in olive oil and cook until softened, for 5-6 minutes. Add the grated ginger, turmeric and sweet paprika and fry for a further minute or so.
STEP 2
Add the celery, carrot and zucchini and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, stirring well to combine the vegetables with the spices.
STEP 3
Use tongs to add the chicken breasts to the soup, along with the broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a light simmer. Cook for 30 minutes.
STEP 4
Take out the chicken breast and shred (ensure the chicken is thoroughly cooked through). Place back in the pot, along with the kale. Add salt and pepper (if using). Cook for a further 2-3 minutes or until the kale has slightly wilted.
💭 Recipe tips and notes
- We aren't blending this soup, so dice the vegetables into small pieces to preference.
- You can either shred the chicken with two forks, or with a stand mixer with the appropriate attachment.
- Adjust the amount of turmeric, ginger and sweet paprika to taste preference.
- Always check for an internal temperature of 165F at the deepest point of the chicken to ensure it's thoroughly cooked.
📋 Frequently asked questions
To reduce the soup to a more stew consistency use a bit less broth and let it reduce a little. Don't cook for too long though or the vegetables will go too mushy in consistency. This recipe is for a 'brothy' chicken soup.
Definitely! Swap out for the veggies you prefer.
Simply add a bit more ginger, turmeric or sweet paprika!
For those not on a low histamine diet who would like a touch of heat, a teaspoon of regular paprika rather than sweet paprika (which scores as low histamine) can be used. Best to stick to sweet paprika if you are low histamine, in line with the SIGHI list.
If you want a creamy soup, then you can reduce the amount of broth a little and include coconut milk. Personally I decided to keep this more 'brothy' than creamy, but it's always an option!
🍽 More delicious chicken recipes
There are so many chicken recipes to choose from here, including my creamy paprika chicken and chicken and cabbage soup. Some recent recipes to enjoy:
I’m always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes. And please do leave a ⭐ star rating ⭐ if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Turmeric Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ white onion diced
- 1 garlic clove minced or diced
- 1 chicken breast (if larger cut into two strips)
- 1 celery stick diced
- 2 medium carrots diced
- ½ zucchini diced
- 2 cups kale stems removed and diced
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 cm fresh ginger grated
- small handful parsley for garnish
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper optional
Instructions
- Fry the onion and garlic in olive oil and cook until softened, for 5-6 minutes. Add the grated ginger, turmeric and sweet paprika and fry for a further minute or so.
- Add the celery, carrot and zucchini and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. Use tongs to add the chicken breast to the pot, as well as the chicken or vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a light simmer. Cook for 30 minutes.
- Take out the chicken breast and shred. Place back in the pot, along with the kale. Add salt and pepper (if using). Cook on a light simmer for a further 2-3 minutes.
- Ladle into your bowls and enjoy!
Notes
- We aren't blending this soup, so dice the vegetables into small pieces to preference.
- You can either shred the chicken with two forks, or with a stand mixer with the appropriate attachment.
- Always check that the chicken has an internal temperature of 165F to ensure it is thoroughly cooked.
- Please note that nutritional information is offered as a courtesy. It is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- kale is not rated on the SIGHI list.
- garlic and ginger, which score 1.
- chicken and vegetable broth will depend on ingredients used.
- black pepper, which scores 2.
Alice says
Made this last week and my husband and I both love it. Flavorful and healthy. I have been in need of some new recipes and am enjoying trying many of your soups.
Claire says
Lovely to hear that you both enjoyed it!
Julie Havlin says
Absolutely delicious!!
Claire says
Lovely to hear that you enjoyed the soup Julie!
Hannah says
Made this last night for dinner and it was so good! I sometimes find it difficult to cook meat but boiling the chicken in the soup was so easy and turned out perfect! Flavors were delicious and most importantly I felt great after eating it. Can’t wait to test out more recipes. Glad I found this site ❤️
Claire says
Hi Hannah! So happy to hear that you enjoyed the soup and found it easy to make. And I hope you enjoy more recipes here too! 🙂