Lemon Chicken Soup – Soup to Brighten your Day

Lemon Chicken Soup

Ever have those days where you just NEED a good chicken soup? This recipe comes from a day when chicken soup was just thing to save the day, but I decided to put a little "zip" to the flavor profile by including lemon. Chickpeas replace noodles to make a nourishing chicken soup that doesn't skimp on protein, fiber, vegetables, or flavor.
Print Recipe
Prep Time:15 minutes
Cook Time:45 minutes

Equipment

  • 1 Soup pot or slow cooker

Ingredients

  • 3 chicken breasts
  • 1 onion diced
  • 3 large carrots peeled and diced
  • 3 celery sticks chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 2- 15 oz cans of chickpeas rinsed and drained
  • 32 oz chicken broth
  • 1 large yellow squash chopped into about 1″ pieces
  • 1.5 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1/3 c lemon juice
  • 1/4 c fresh parsley chopped
  • Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Heat oil in a heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven. 
  • Once pot and oil is heated, add onion, carrots and celery to pot and stir until softened and onions have started to caramelize.
  • Then stir in minced garlic until fragrant. Then move onions/celery/carrot mixture to the side of the pot, making space for the chicken breast to brown.
  • Next lightly sear all sides of the chicken breast in bottom of pan until golden brown.
  • Add in about 1/2 cup of the broth to the pot to “deglaze” any brown bits from pan. Add in remaining broth, chickpeas, and seasonings–stir. Then bring to a boil then reduce to simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour, covered (until chicken is cooked through).
  • Remove chicken breasts from pot and shred. Return to pot. Add in chopped squash and lemon juice. Then stir and allow squash simmer for 15 minutes until squash is tender.
  • Top with fresh parsley and enjoy with a thick piece of hearty whole wheat sourdough.

Slow Cooker Instructions

  • To make using slow cooker: add all ingredients except lemon juice, squash and parsley to slow cooker and set to low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. When chicken is tender, shred, add lemon juice and squash, cook on high for another 15 minutes or until squash is tender.
Course: Dinner, Soup
Cuisine: American, Mediterranean
Keyword: chicken, Chickpeas, Lemon, Soup
Servings: 8

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