Pesto Chicken Kale Potato Soup
Pesto Chicken Kale Potato Soup, a simple seasonal homemade soup recipe made from scratch that's ready in under an hour and is perfect to make ahead for meal prep or freeze to eat all season long. Chicken soup for the soul!
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
Serving: 1servingCalories: 387kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 20gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 242mgPotassium: 1615mgFiber: 8gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 7118IUVitamin C: 44mgCalcium: 117mgIron: 3mg
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