Pesto Chicken Kale Potato Soup
Pesto Chicken Kale Potato Soup, a simple from-scratch homemade chicken and potato soup with kale and pesto sauce. Ready in under an hour and perfect for meal prep or freezing to eat all season long!
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Love pesto? Love chicken soup? Combine them! This simple chicken and potato soup recipe adds sturdy kale and a dollop of herb pesto for a flavorful take on traditional chicken soup for the soul.
👉 Want the recipe for this simple chicken, potato, and kale soup that’s ready in under an hour? Let’s do it!
🥔 Ingredients
- Chicken: We used boneless skinless breasts, but any bone-in cut of chicken will do for this recipe if needed
- Potatoes: Small, waxy potatoes like red potatoes or new potatoes are best for this recipe
- Kale: Sturdy kale adds a nice texture and green color; a thick green like chard will also be tasty
- Pesto sauce: Try a tasty homemade basil pesto, or get creative with other pestos (like arugula pesto or broccoli stem pesto)
- Onions, carrots, celery: A sautéed mirepoix of onions, carrots, and celery adds flavor and depth to this soup
- Chicken or vegetable broth: Either chicken or vegetable broth for the liquid base (try making your own broth!)
- Bay leaves, lemon, salt, pepper: Our chosen seasonings, but get creative with herbs and spices to make it your own
- Recommended tools: large soup pot or Dutch oven, fork, knife, cutting board
🥣 How to make (step-by-step photos)
1️⃣ Step One: Cook chicken and vegetables
The first step to making pesto chicken soup is to heat oil over medium heat in a large soup pot or Dutch oven.
Once the oil is heated, add chopped onions, carrots, and celery and cook until they begin to soften, which takes about 3-5 minutes.
Once the vegetables have softened, push them aside in the pot and add chicken breasts, salt, and pepper. Sear chicken breast about 2 minutes each side until browned.
2️⃣ Step Two: Simmer soup
When chicken is seared on both sides, add broth and bay leaves and increase heat to bring broth to a boil.
Then reduce heat to medium and simmer covered for 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked throughout.
3️⃣ Step Three: Remove chicken and add potatoes
Once chicken is cooked, remove from broth with tongs and let cool on a cutting board.
Add potatoes to broth and increase heat to bring soup to a rolling boil to cook potatoes until soft, about 10 minutes.
4️⃣ Step Four: Shred chicken and add final ingredients
When chicken is cooled, use a fork to shred it into thin pieces and then add the shredded chicken back to the pot.
Cook a few more minutes, or until potatoes are soft when speared with fork. Then add kale and lemon juice and cook until soft, about 2 minutes more.
5️⃣ Step Five: Add pesto sauce and serve
Spoon soup into bowl and top with 1 tablespoon pesto. Then serve and enjoy!
🧊 How to store
- Refrigerator storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.
- Freezer storage: Store leftover soup in an airtight container or freezer-friendly bag for up to 1 month. Place in refrigerator for 24 hours to thaw, then reheat in the microwave or on the stove.
♻️ Sustainable kitchen tips
We’re all about running an eco kitchen here at Fork in the Road! Here are some tips to go green:
- Invest in a soup pot: get yourself a large soup pot or dutch oven, it will be a workhorse in your kitchen all winter long
- Make your own broth: make your own broth with food scraps to extend the life of food, save money, and reduce packaging
- Make once, freeze for later: make a big batch of chicken soup and freeze for later busy weeknights or work lunches
- Choose responsibly-raised chicken: there’s not denying it, the poultry industry is problematic. If you do choose to eat meat, do your part and choose USDA organic and Animal Welfare Approved chicken
- Choose an interesting pesto sauce: skip traditional basil pesto and try pesto with carrot tops, radish leaves pesto, or pesto with chickpeas instead of nuts.
👉 More cozy soup recipes
Want more soups recipes? We’ve got you covered:
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Pesto Chicken Kale Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 4 medium carrots sliced thin
- 4 stalks celery sliced thin
- 1 pound chicken breasts or thighs
- 1 pinch of salt and pepper
- 8 cups chicken or vegetable broth
- 2 single bay leaves
- 6 large waxy potatoes sliced into 1 inch cubes
- 1 bunch kale peeled and shredded
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice from about 1 lemon
- 6 tablespoons pesto 1 tablespoon per serving
Instructions
- Cook vegetables and chicken: Heat oil over medium heat in a large soup pot, then add chopped onion, carrots, and celery and cook until they begin to soften, 3-5 minutes. Once softened, push vegetables aside and add chicken breasts, salt, and pepper. Sear chicken breast about 2 minutes each side.
- Simmer soup: When chicken is seared, add broth and bay leaves and increase heat to bring broth to a boil. Then reduce heat to medium and simmer covered for 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked throughout.
- Remove chicken and add potatoes: Once chicken is cooked, remove from broth with tongs and let cool on a cutting board. Add potatoes to broth and increase heat to bring soup to a rolling boil to cook potatoes until soft, about 10 minutes.
- Shred chicken and finish soup: When chicken is cooled, use a fork to shred and then add back to the pot. Cook a few more minutes, or until potatoes are soft when speared with fork. Then add kale and lemon juice and cook until soft, about 2 minutes more.
- Add pesto and serve: Spoon soup into bowl and top with 1 tablespoon pesto.
Notes
- Tools needed: cutting board, knife set, dutch oven or large soup pot
- Prep ahead: to prep ahead, the vegetables can be cut ahead of time to make preparation easier. However soups are the perfect make-ahead dishes because the longer they sit, the more powerful the flavors
- Leftovers and storage: let the soup cool to near room temperature and then store in the pot or in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to four days. This soup is a great dish to freeze and thaw later to eat throughout the winter; can be frozen for one month or more
- Nutrition notes: nutrition information calculated for 1 serving (about two cups) with 1 tablespoon pesto. It is high in protein, potassium, and vitamin A and features ingredients that are readily available in the colder months of fall and winter.
Nutrition
UPDATE: This recipe was originally published in January 2019 and was updated for clarity in November 2022.
There’s nothing better than a simple chicken soup, especially with this rainy whether we’ve been having. I’m definitely adding this to my usual recipe rotation.
I’m so happy to hear that! And I definitely agree, there’s nothing like a simple chicken and vegetable soup on a winter day. Enjoy!
I hope I will make them like you.
This soup is hard to get wrong, you can do it! Enjoy!