Loaded with fresh veggies and plenty of lean protein, this is the perfect meal-in-a-bowl chicken soup that will warm the belly and soul.
In this Post: Everything you need for Easy Chicken Soup with Greens
Have you ever tasted a dish that feels like a hug? My easy chicken soup with greens is literally a warm bowl of comfort. Whether you’re coming down with a cold or looking to cheer up a friend, this soup always seems to do the trick. Loaded with nutrients and plenty of lean protein, soups are one of my favorite meals-in-a-bowl. One of the reasons I make soups regularly is because they are perfect for using up any leftover produce I have sitting in the fridge. This particular chicken soup is a wink and a nudge to my Syrian heritage. Made with cinnamon, lemon, garlic and chickpeas, this chicken soup is naturally gluten-free because there are no noodles!
Ingredients
- Onion: Yellow or white onions add mild flavor that caramelizes well with the other vegetables.
- Carrots: Slightly sweet and crunchy, allowing them to cook without getting too soggy or mushy.
- Celery: Celery is chalk full of nutrients, and are great at soaking up the flavors of the ingredients around it as it cooks!
- Garlic: Nutty, pungent, and aromatic flavor that sweetens as it cooks.
- Cinnamon: Inspired by my Lebanese roots, cinnamon adds a bit of warmth to the soups flavor.
- Chicken broth: Makes for a flavorful base for the soup.
- Parsley: A mildly peppery and earthy tasting herb, fresh parsley is a great source of vitamin C.
- Chicken breasts: Affordable and accessible, chicken is a great lean source of protein.
- Spinach: Full of iron, potassium, and vitamin C, the somewhat bitter taste of spinach disappears as the leaves cook!
- Chickpeas: Instead of noodles, I like to add chickpeas to my soup for a change in texture, but boost of more protein and nutrients.
- Lemon: Lemon juice adds a bright, fresh flavor to the soups broth.
How to Make Easy Chicken Soup with Greens
Making this Chicken Soup with Greens is very easy. To start, begin chopping your mirepoix of celery, onions, and carrots.
Then get your garlic ready by using a microplane to grate it.
Then in the bottom of a large soup pot, sauté the vegetables over medium heat until they start to soften.
Next add the garlic, cinnamon, and some kosher salt and black pepper to taste. Stir and continue to cook until garlic is aromatic.
Stir in the chicken broth and the parsley sprigs and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the whole chicken breasts and cook at a low boil for about 10 minutes.
When chicken is cooked through, take breasts out and cut into cubes or shred, whichever you prefer. Then add back to the pot.
Right towards the end, add the chickpeas, spinach, and lemon juice and cook until spinach is wilted and bright green.
Take out any large springs of parsley, add a bit more freshly chopped parsley, serve and enjoy your Chicken Soup with Greens!
Make It Your Own
- Add a grain. You could easily add some noodles or rice to this soup, just add a bit more chicken broth!
- Use more veggies. If you have any extra veggies in the fridge, toss them in! Chopped red peppers, zucchini, or kale would all taste great as well!
- Swap the chickpeas. You could use white beans or black beans instead of the chickpeas for a similar texture and taste.
Frequently asked questions
How do you keep cooked greens green?
Don’t overcook them! It’s best to add greens to soups and other dishes towards the end, so they cook just long enough to wilt or brighten, and then take them off of the heat.
How far in advance can I make this soup?
This soup will taste even better as it sits so I often make it a day or two before we plan to enjoy it. This soup will last up to 5 days stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.
What’s the best way to freeze chicken soup?
To freeze chicken soup, bring the temperature down as quickly as possible by cooling it in an ice bath. Next, place soup in freezer safe, resealable plastic bags and seal tightly, removing all excess air. Freeze the bag flat so that it takes up less space in the freezer.
more Easy Soup Recipes
- Italian Wedding Soup
- White Bean and Chicken Chili
- Beef and Bean Chili
- Arabic Lentil Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup with Hominy
Did you try this recipe and like it? The next time you make it, snap a picture and share it to your socials! Tag @thelemonbowl and #thelemonbowl so we can admire and share your dish.
It’s good to think of all of my recipes as more of a guideline than a rule book. So take my Easy Chicken Soup with Greens and change things up! Just be sure to make extra, I’m sure someone you know could use a little extra comforting.
Your spoon is waiting.
Easy Chicken Soup with Greens
Ingredients
- 1 large onion (diced)
- 2 medium carrots (diced)
- 3 stalks celery (diced)
- 4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 6 cups chicken broth (low sodium)
- 10 large sprigs parsley (plus extra for garnish)
- 1 pound chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
- 16 ounces spinach
- 15 ounces canned chickpeas (washed and drained)
- 1 lemon (juiced (or more to taste))
Instructions
- Saute onions, carrot and celery in a latch Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat for 5-7 minutes. (I use non-stick spray to save calories but olive oil works well too.) Add garlic, salt, pepper and cinnamon and continue cooking for additional minute. Stir in chicken broth and whole parsley sprigs then bring to a boil.
- Add raw, whole chicken breasts and bring to a simmer. Cook for 10-12 minutes at a low boil. Take one chicken breast out and cut in half to check for doneness. (Will take more or less depending on the thickness of chicken.) When chicken is cooked through, remove and place on a cutting board to cool.
- Begin shreddiing the chicken when it is cool enough to handle. Add shredded chicken back into the broth and veggies. Stir in spinach, chick peas and lemon juice. Cook until spinach is tender, about 5 additional minutes.
- Remove long parsley sprigs and garnish with fresh chopped parsley to serve.
Love this soup.. how can I make it vegan for my son??
Just remove the chicken! You could replace it with tofu or extra veggies.
I will try jackfruit as a substitute for chicken
Or even banana blossoms
Absolutely delightful .. cinnamon & lemon add a little kick .. thanks!!
I made this last night and it was a HUGE SUCCESS!!! The only changes I made were to add lime zest and I used boneless chicken thighs I already had. I pan seared the chicken and then added it to the soup for about 30 min – it shredded perfectly with a fork and took on those great flavors. Then I followed the rest of the steps with a wide egg noodle.
Sounds so good! So glad you enjoyed it!!!
I never comment on recipes I try, but I can’t get over this one. It is so good!! I had a cold this weekend, and so it looked healthy, but I don’t care if I’m sick or not, I will be making this for the cold days to come. I love the uniqueness of the cinnamon and lemon. Yummm!!
Awww thank you so so much!! So glad you liked it!!
Sorry to use “Reply”, but i don’t know how to “Comment” (I don’t belong to Facebook).
So…how big a bag of spinach?
TIA,
Jazz
You’re commenting perfect! Any sized bag works – depends on how much you like. Usually 4 cups works well!
Love your recipes. I am going to make the Lemony Chicken Soup the afternoon but I am curious as to why the sodium count is so high as I don’t see a lot of salt.
Also would it be possible to list fractions in larger fonts = 1/2 tsp etc? This would make it easier to read from the screen. Thanks
I would like to substitute kale for the spinach and wondering how much extra time as kale takes longer to be tender. btw planning on cooking on the stove top, not the crock pot. Thanks.
I would say another 3-4 minutes. Kale doesn’t need as much time as you think! :)
This recipe looks good. It’s pandemic time, & I just went to 2 different grocery stores in the last 2 days. I have no fresh spinach, but I have a bag of frozen spinach (& all the other ingredients). Would frozen spinach work too?
YES frozen spinach totally works!!!
Liz! You’re a genius! So based on your instructions I added some lemon to my soup and it was fantastic! I am definitely going to be making this soup next!
Oh I’m so thrilled!!!! You’ll never eat soup without lemon juice again! I’m serious. Ok maybe chili but that’s it. ;)
This was a fantastic recipe! When I make it again I’ll probably only use 1 tsp of cinnamon, as I thought 2 made the cinnamon stand out just a little too much. Overall, though, a great twist on standard chicken soup. Thanks!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! I admit, I love cinnamon. ;)
I can’t wait to try this using a my crockpot…with me luck!
Ooo let me know how it turns out!
Yum! I did thru step 2 and then threw it all in with the raw chicken breasts and liquids into the crockpot. I think I did three hours on high but it sat on warm for longer than that. Just prior to serving I removed the chicken breasts in order to shred them and added the leafy veg (I used Kale) back in with the shredded meat! Great recipe, I have officially added it to my growing Cp repertoire!
That sounds fabulous! So glad you enjoyed!!
Very good. Added more carrots, zucchini, mushrooms and red pepper! Loved it. Thanks.
I love that you made it your own! So glad you enjoyed!!
yum! I think this sounds divine! My husband has been fighting the flu the past few days… this would be a nice twist on the traditional chicken soup!
Yes he would love it!! It’s one of my husbands requests whenever he is sick!
Liz, was looking for a chicken soup with a different flavor profile than my basic chicken soup. I am so glad that I ran across your family recipe! Was nervous about using cinnamon in a soup, but I’m so glad that I did! There isn’t a cinnamon-y smell or taste…but a wonderfully complex combination of the garlic, celery, cinnamon, etc. Used homemade chicken stock, home roasted chicken breasts, and even added potatoes ( I’d already diced up some potato, and figured this might be a forgiving recipe, so I added them). Thank you….and mom, Mary, for the name of this soup! Will make it again I’m sure!
yes, it is a Syrian recipe. it’s called chicken yuch ni.
Love you Mom!
My husband has the flu and I am recovering from it. We made our way to the grocery store to get ingredients for this recipe. This was our first time trying it and we enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing your family recipe. The flavors were very comforting and soothing while we’re sick. I only used one teaspoon of cinnamon because I am not used to using cinnamon in anything other than dessert and was a little scared to use half a tablespoon. I also used a 1/2 pound of shredded, cooked rotisserie chicken and instead of garbanzo beans, I cut a small red pepper. I didn’t use as much spinach in the soup because I wanted to save some for salad. My husband loves this soup and I will be making this again. YUM!
I am so glad you made this soup – I swear it cures all ailments. :-) Love the variations you made!! We like to change it up each time as well. Sounds delicious!!
EXCELLENT recipe! I forgot to add the lemon and, instead of chicken broth, I used chicken bouillon cubes. The soup was perfect. ;)