Easy Chicken and Vegetable Soup

This easy chicken and vegetable soup is the perfect comforting, hearty meal that will warm you up this winter. The chicken adds a source of protein to make it filling, and combined with the veggies this is a well-balanced dish that is so good for you.

❤️ Why You’ll Love Chicken and Vegetable Soup

• Healthy: This dish is full of wholesome, healthy ingredients that will give you the energy to get through the cooler winter months
• Versatile: You can make this soup your own by choosing your favorite beans, swapping the noodles, or even using different veggies

🍲 Ingredients

Fennel – Fennel is such an underrated vegetable. It’s so flavorful and good to eat raw or to add in recipes like this chicken and vegetable soup. Fennel is a member of the carrot family but unlike carrots, it has a very mild anise or licorice flavor. Not everyone likes it for this reason.

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Butter Beans – Also known as lima beans, butter beans have a creamy and buttery taste. I love them and there are so many things you can do with them like add them in a stew or bake them in a curry.

👩‍🍳 How to Make Chicken and Vegetable Soup

1. Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and set aside. Into a large stock pot add olive oil and turn to medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts and sear, 2 minutes per side, then remove to a bowl or plate.
2. Turn the heat to medium and add the chopped onion, carrot, celery, fennel. Cook for 8-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and more caramelized.
3. Add the minced garlic, salt, pepper, dried oregano and bay leaves and cook 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and their juices and rinsed beans.
5. Stir in the chicken stock paste and cook for 1-2 minutes.
6. Add the water and stir. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
7. Once simmering, add the chicken breasts (along with any juices) and then turn to medium-low, keep at a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, lid on the pot part of the way, until the chicken breasts are cooked. Stir occasionally.
8. Optional: While the soup is simmering, cook the orzo pasta to al dente in a separate pot, drain and set aside.
9. Once chicken is cooked, remove chicken from pot, shred with forks or cut into bite-sized pieces and add back to the pot. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon and stir. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if desired.
10. Serve as-is or with a scoop of cooked orzo pasta. Top with crumbled feta cheese and minced fresh parsley and another squeeze of lemon if desired.

🪄 Tips and Tricks

• If you don’t think you’ll eat all the soup the night of, you can cook the orzo can be cooked separately. I find when you have leftover soup with noodles, all the soup gets absorbed in the noodles and you end up with a sloppy stew. Keeping them separate will prevent this

🗒 Substitutions

• Chicken or Veggie Stock Paste: If you don’t have any paste on hand, you can use chicken or vegetable broth instead and skip adding the water
• Butter Beans: If you can’t find butter beans, they may be under the name lima beans. If you can’t find them at all, you can sub for other beans like cannellini or navy beans
• Orzo: Swap the orzo for quinoa or other small noodles you have on hand like macaroni
• Chicken: If you don’t like or have chicken breasts, you can use thighs, or you can skip the meat entirely and double the number of beans to make it heartier and vegetarian

🗒 Best served with

• Fluffy Greek Pita
• Cheddar Biscuits with Sage
• Italian Chopped Salad

👝 How to Store Leftovers

Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Keep the orzo separately in its container if you can and just combine when you’re ready to eat.

🤔 Common Questions

Easy Chicken and Vegetable Soup

5 from 3 votes

This chicken and vegetable soup is easy and healthy. It's a great meal to meal prep for the week and feed to the whole family.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Course Soup

Cuisine Greek-Inspired

Servings 4

Calories 456 kcal

Ingredients

  

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• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 400-500 g chicken breasts (about 2)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 1 fennel bulb, diced
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 1/2 tbsp chicken or vegetable stock paste
• 7 cups water
• 1 398ml/14oz can butter beans (or other white beans of choice)
• 3 medium-sized tomatoes, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 cup dry orzo pasta, cooked (optional)
• juice from half a lemon

Toppings

• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• small handful fresh parsley, minced
• pinch of chili flakes

Instructions

 

• Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper and set aside. Into a large stock pot add olive oil and turn to medium-high heat. Add the chicken breasts and sear, 2 minutes per side, then remove to a bowl or plate.
• Turn the heat to medium and add the chopped onion, carrot, celery, fennel. Cook for 8-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened and more caramelized.
• Add the minced garlic, salt, pepper, dried oregano and bay leaves and cook 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
• Add the chopped tomatoes and their juices and rinsed beans.
• Stir in the chicken stock paste and cook for 1-2 minutes.
• Add the water and stir. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
• Once simmering, add the chicken breasts (along with any juices) and then turn to medium-low, keep at a simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes, lid on the pot part of the way, until the chicken breasts are cooked. Stir occasionally.
• Optional: While the soup is simmering, cook the orzo pasta to al dente in a separate pot, drain and set aside.
• Once chicken is cooked, remove chicken from pot, shred with forks or cut into bite-sized pieces and add back to the pot. Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon and stir. Taste and season with more salt and pepper if desired.
• Serve as-is or with a scoop of cooked orzo pasta. Top with crumbled feta cheese and minced fresh parsley and another squeeze of lemon if desired.

Video

Notes

• If you don’t have chicken or vegetable stock paste, use chicken or vegetable broth instead of water.
• If you love this recipe you’ll enjoy our Black Eyed Pea Soup (Blue Zone Ikarian Stew)
• If you can’t find butter beans, cannellini or navy beans would also be delicious.
• You can serve this soup with quinoa instead of orzo pasta.
• Instead of the chicken, double the amount of beans in the recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 456kcal | Carbohydrates: 43.2g | Protein: 37.3g | Fat: 15.2g | Saturated Fat: 4.7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6.8g | Cholesterol: 98.8mg | Sodium: 1634.3mg | Fiber: 7.5g | Sugar: 6.7g

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