Lemon Rosemary Chicken Soup with loads of veggies like carrots and kale, beans, chicken, and a lemon rosemary broth. So cozy.
Lemon Rosemary Chicken Soup
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Absolute perfection! A balance between hearty and healthy. My 4 & 5 year olds gobbled this soup and asked if we could have it again tomorrow. So so good!
Shelly
Watch How To Make This Chicken Soup
Or, As We Call It, Cafe Chicken Soup.
I texted my friends at 8am on Monday morning – “anyone want to come for a playdate today? I’m making soup.”
I was craving for something brothy, satisfying, and bright. Like the feeling of sinking into the couch on a cold day, wrapped in a blanket, sun on my face – that, but soup. Lemon rosemary chicken soup.
Both friends were at my house within two hours, sitting at my tiny kitchen island, drinking coffee while I chopped random veggies I had found in my fridge for soup and our kids played like wild little animals down in the basement. Which, honestly, is the exact kind of life I have always dreamed of.
We ate this brothy, veg-packed lemon rosemary chicken soup and crusty bread with rosemary butter and we decided that we were actually in a cafe, hence the nickname “cafe chicken soup”.
One of my daughters loves this soup, and Bjork also enjoys it, but I would consider this mainly a soup for me.
I am the one who wants a warm, brothy, veg-heavy soup for lunch waiting for me in the fridge or freezer when it’s 1pm and I realize I didn’t have anything planned for lunch. Honestly, this has been the ideal way to set myself up for some feel-good happiness through the crazy months of November and December.
It freezes well, too, and doesn’t it seem like it’d be perfect with leftover Thanksgiving turkey? That’s my plan for next week. Extra rosemary salt, please! And wouldn’t this be amazing with a loaf of no-knead bread? Or some homemade ranch crackers on top? Yes.
Lemon Rosemary Chicken Soup
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4–5 servings 1x
Ingredients
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Lemon Rosemary Chicken Soup
- 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
- half an onion, finely chopped
- 3 carrots, finely chopped
- 3 ribs celery, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary and/or 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 can cannellini or navy beans, rinsed and drained
- 3 cups shredded kale
- 2–3 cups cooked shredded chicken or turkey (see notes)
- 5 cups chicken broth (I like the Better Than Bouillon broth base, or bone broth)
Finishers:
- juice of two lemons
- salt and pepper to taste
- grated Parmesan, bread, and butter for serving
Instructions
- Saute Veggies: In a large soup pot, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium high heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery. Saute for 5-8 minutes or until very soft.
- Add Aromatics: Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, rosemary sprigs, thyme sprigs, and salt. Let it get nice and delicious for a minute, stirring to avoid burning or browning the garlic.
- Simmer: Add the beans, kale, chicken, broth, and remaining olive oil (optional). Bring to a low simmer for 10-20 minutes, until the kale is wilted. If you have time to cook it for a while longer over low heat, great. Delicious.
- Finish: Pull out the herb stems. Add lemon juice, more salt, fresh black pepper to taste (all optional and to taste)! Top with parm and serve with a thick slice of bread, a thick shmear of butter, and a pinch of rosemary salt. Fresh, bright, yummy!
Notes
Chicken: I typically use pulled and shredded rotisserie chicken. You can also use raw chicken breasts or thighs, add them to the pot with the simmering broth, and let them cook for about 10-12 minutes or until 165 degrees. Remove, shred, and return to pot. This would also work great with leftover Thanksgiving turkey!
Olive oil: The extra olive oil that gets added in Step 3 is there to make it taste a little extra luscious. Without it, there isn’t a lot of fat in this soup – it’s just broth and veggies and chicken. And adding a good fat to this soup, I think, helps it really go from “brothy boring soup” to “wow, that’s really good soup”. That said, the extra oil is not necessary if you’re using a homemade broth, which typically already has a nice silky feel to it because of the fat content.
Instant Pot: I have made this in my Instant Pot and it’s great. I sautéed everything as directed in steps 1-2, then for step 3 I set it to high pressure for about 3 minutes and let it natural pressure release. (If you add raw chicken to the soup, you’ll need to cook at high pressure for 10-12 minutes.)
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: chicken soup, lemon soup, leftover turkey, lemon chicken soup, easy soup recipe, soup recipe
Three More Soups I Love This Time Of Year:
November 22, 2024
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I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
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This is so good! And easy!
I had boneless skinless chicken thighs in the fridge so I used those. I put them in the simmering broth with everything except the beans & kale so they didn’t get too mushy while the chicken cooked. Such a great recipe. Thank you!
I wasn’t in the mood for chicken so I added an extra can of beans instead. It turned out great. It’s so delicious and cozy. I don’t usually go for brothy soups but I just kept seeing it on Instagram and I love so many POY recipes that I decided to try. So glad I did!
Tasty and easy to throw together! After we had our servings, there was hardly any broth left with the rest of the soup for leftovers. Next time I’ll add a couple extra cups of broth. Would make an easy weeknight meal!
This looks delicious. To make the rosemary butter you recommended do you just put the rosemary salt on butter? mix it together? something different? THANK YOU!
I’ve been under the weather this week and this soup has saved me! It was wonderful: bright and lemony and perfect for a sore throat. (I added extra broth and then cooked jasmine rice to the leftover soup to keep it going just a bit longer.) Since I had an enormous bag of shredded kale, I also made the chicken with coconut kale, which was delicious. I still have so much kale! 😉
Your blog is like a beacon of light in the vast expanse of the internet. Your thoughtful analysis and insightful commentary never fail to leave a lasting impression. Thank you for all that you do.
I’ve been under the weather this week and this soup has saved me! It was wonderful: bright and lemony and perfect for a sore throat. (I added extra broth and then cooked jasmine rice to the leftover soup to keep it going just a bit longer.) Since I had an enormous bag of shredded kale. Play game smashy road free.
when cooking with the pearl pasta do you cook that first or do you cook it in the broth?
So yummy and easy! I used the Instant Pot and added the olive oil and lemon juice at the end using the same technique as your lentil soup (blended for a minute with some broth and veggie pieces from the pot) — that added just a hint of delicious creaminess. Definitely will be a new staple in my household!
Absolute perfection! A balance between hearty and healthy. My 4 & 5 year olds gobbled this soup and asked if we could have it again tomorrow. So so good!
Wow this was amazing! I was craving a brothy hearty soup! We’ve all had colds and this was the perfect cure! Delicious!! I will make this on repeat! I love a soup that makes great leftovers and is packed with veggies!
Absolutely delicious! I will be making this all winter. Felt healthy but was easy and tasted great — what more could you want? Another wonderful POY recipe!! 🙂
Made this with leftover Thanksgiving turkey and it’s so good! The lemon and herbs make it so fresh and it feels like a cozy but healthy recovery meal after such a food-centric holiday. I love all of the different variation possibilities!
Such a flavorful & healthy meal! Will totally be making this again!
My entire family loved this soup. It was delicious, so easy, and I love how healthy it is. The lemon at the end is the perfect addition. We will be adding this to our dinner rotation!!
Made this exactly as written but subbed leftover turkey for chicken. It was delicious. Cannot wait for the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
This is such a delicious and comforting soup. Don’t skip the lemon juice – it really pulls the whole thing together. Great recipe!
This recipe is easy and adaptable for any leftover veggies you have! I also added rice and loved it. Perfect weekday meal!
This is an impressively easy soup to make given how absolutely delicious it is. I actually threw it together one morning for breakfast and it only took me an hour from prep to table. The leftovers were even better. This is going to be in the rotation all winter.
I have made this twice now and can’t recommend it enough! I put two chicken breasts in at the beginning and hold off on the kale and beans until chicken is cooked, shredded and returned to the pot along with kale and beans. This recipe does require more than 5 cups of broth- I used about 8 cups! Thank you for sharing this cozy recipe 🙂