Healthy Chicken Soup Recipes to Fight a Cold

August 27, 2019

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Chicken soup is the ultimate comfort food, and it can even help boost your immunity. Plus, broth-based chicken soup helps you stay hydrated, which is important when trying to kick a cold. Try our Slow Cooker Chicken & Wild Rice Soup or our Southwestern Vegetable & Chicken Soup for some extra nutrition the next time you feel under the weather.

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Chicken & Spinach Soup with Fresh Pesto

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This fragrant, Italian-flavored soup takes advantage of quick-cooking ingredients—boneless, skinless chicken breast, bagged baby spinach and canned beans. It features a simple homemade basil pesto swirled in at the end to add a fresh herb flavor. If you are very pressed for time, you can substitute 3 to 4 tablespoons of a store-bought basil pesto.

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Southwestern Vegetable & Chicken Soup

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Who wouldn't want to eat their vegetables when they're tucked into a fragrant broth with bits of tasty chicken and spiked with a shot of fresh lime and cilantro? This healthy chicken vegetable soup seems even richer with the smoky flavor from roasted poblano peppers and garlic. Serve this healthy chicken soup recipe with tortilla chips.

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Chicken & White Bean Soup

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Once again, rotisserie chickens can really relieve the dinner-rush pressure-especially in this Italian-inspired soup that cries out for a piece of crusty bread and a glass of red wine.

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Classic Chicken Soup

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Classic chicken noodle soup gets a healthy upgrade with low-sodium chicken broth, whole-wheat egg noodles and tons of vegetables. To get a homemade stock flavor using store-bought broth, we simmer bone-in chicken breasts in the broth before adding the rest of the soup ingredients. But you're short on time, feel free to use pre-cooked chicken and start the recipe at step 2.

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Slow-Cooker Mediterranean Chicken & Chickpea Soup

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This set-it-and-forget-it slow-cooker recipe simmers away all day so you come home to a warm and healthy dinner the whole family will love. Using bone-in chicken is the key to making rich soup without adding broth.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken & Wild Rice Soup with Asparagus & Peas

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Use your crock pot all year with this healthy slow-cooker chicken soup recipe with fresh spring ingredients. Adding the asparagus and peas to the slow cooker for the last 20 minutes of cooking and leaving the lid off ensures that the vegetables stay bright green and are perfectly done without getting mushy.

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Slow-Cooker Pasta e Fagioli Soup Freezer Pack

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Your favorite restaurant soup just got easier and healthier with this freezer-to-crock-pot recipe. If you keep a special bottle of olive oil on hand for stand-out dishes, this is the recipe to pull it out for. The headiness of the fruity olive oil truly elevates the flavors in this Italian meal-prep slow-cooker soup.

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Asian-Inspired Chicken Soup

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What is so obliging about this hearty chicken soup is that you can add any vegetables that suit your fancy: napa or Savoy cabbage, mushrooms, Chinese broccoli, broccolini, onions, leeks, mustard or turnip greens, celery or whatever tickles your bonnet. Just be sure that you don't overcook the vegetables. Spice it up with Asian-style chile sauce, such as sriracha, and/or serve the soup over noodles to make it a more substantial main dish.

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Chicken, Mushroom & Rice Soup

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For this healthy chicken soup recipe, you'll start with raw chicken to make stock from scratch. If you're short on time, skip Steps 1-2 and use 12 cups low-sodium chicken stock and about 1½ pounds shredded cooked chicken in Step 4.

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Smoky Chicken-Chile Soup with Tamale Dumplings

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These pillowy, tamale-like dumplings made with masa harina are toothsome bites of cheesy, corny goodness.

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Chicken Soup with Passatelli

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This chicken soup is a traditional first course in the Italian regions of Romagna and the Marche. Passatelli is pasta made with breadcrumbs. The best breadcrumbs to use in this recipe come from plain Italian white bread that is a day or two old.

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Lemon & Dill Chicken Noodle Soup

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The addition of lemon and dill adds a welcome twist to this classic, slow-cooked chicken noodle soup recipe.

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Chicken Pho

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A classic Vietnamese dish, this Chicken Pho recipe is full of fragrant aromas as well as savory and spicy flavors.

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Chicken, Barley & Mushroom Soup

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This healthy chicken soup recipe is chock-full of sturdy root vegetables and whole-grain barley. You can use any combination of dried and fresh mushrooms here. The soup will thicken as it sits on the stove—thin it as needed with more broth or water.

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Pesto Chicken & Cannellini Bean Soup

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This healthy, Italian-inspired chicken soup recipe is loaded with fiber-rich vegetables and beans and gets an extra boost of flavor from a swirl of pesto at the end. To get a homemade stock flavor using store-bought broth, we simmer bone-in chicken breasts in the broth before adding the rest of the soup ingredients.

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Moroccan Chicken & Sweet Potato Soup

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This healthy chicken soup recipe gets bold Moroccan flavor from sweet potatoes, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne pepper and a touch of fiery harissa. To get a homemade stock flavor using store-bought broth, we simmer bone-in chicken breasts in the broth before adding the rest of the soup ingredients.

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Japanese Chicken Noodle Soup

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This healthy, Japanese-inspired chicken noodle soup recipe is made with udon noodles and gets a hit of umami flavor from a swirl of miso at the end. To make the miso easier to stir into the soup, combine a little bit of the hot broth with the thick miso to thin it before adding to the rest of the soup.

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Chipotle Chicken & Vegetable Soup

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This healthy chicken and vegetable soup recipe is perfect for when you're in the mood for comfort food and Mexican all in one! The small amount of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce gives it a mild spice level. For a spicier soup, stir in up to 2 tablespoons chipotle peppers. Look for the small cans of smoked chipotle peppers in adobo sauce near other Mexican ingredients in well-stocked supermarkets. Once opened, refrigerate for up to 2 weeks or freeze for up to 6 months.

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Tinola (Filipino Ginger-Garlic Chicken Soup)

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Tinola, a comforting chicken soup seasoned with plenty of ginger and garlic, has countless variations throughout the Philippines. The soup calls for malunggay leaves (aka moringa), which can be found fresh or frozen at Asian markets. Bok choy is a good substitute. Feel free to increase the amounts of garlic and fish sauce for an even more flavorful soup. Serve this easy and healthy chicken soup on its own or with jasmine rice, quinoa or wild rice.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken & White Bean Stew

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This load-and-go slow-cooker chicken recipe is perfect for a busy weeknight dinner. Serve this Tuscan-inspired dish with crusty bread, a glass of Chianti and a salad.

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Slow-Cooker Chicken Soup with Zucchini & Hominy

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This excellent chicken soup—packed with hearty, nutritious ingredients—is easy to make and may become your new standby. It makes enough to freeze a portion for easy lunches or when you need to deliver food to someone in a pinch.

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Slow-Cooker Lemony Chicken Noodle Soup

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This is a classic chicken noodle soup with bright lemony flavor. Because the noodles are whole-wheat, they have added pleasant chewiness-not to mention more fiber and nutrients-than the regular variety. Pair this delicious soup with crusty bread and red wine.

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