Healthy chicken potato soup is a simple and hearty recipe that’s comfort food in a bowl. This from scratch vegetable packed soup is absolutely perfect for fall and the colder months.
Healthy Chicken Potato Soup
Have you ever tried adding bacon to your chicken soup before? If not, you’re missing out! If you love bacon, you are going to really love this chicken potato soup. The bacon really does bring the flavor to a whole new level.
This simple soup is so full of chicken, soft delicious potatoes, and just the right amount of vegetables. It leaves you feeling full and warm, which is perfect for those colder months. Plus, you know it’s good when you give your nephew a taste test, and he starts begging for his own bowl!
Ingredients
This recipe uses all whole simple ingredients. To make it, you’ll need boneless skinless chicken breasts, bacon, onion, garlic, russet or Yukon gold potatoes, carrots, celery, chicken broth, dried thyme leaves, dried parsley flakes, fine sea salt, and ground black pepper.
How To Make Simple Chicken Potato Soup
Start by sauteing the sliced bacon in a large Dutch oven, then add the celery and carrots and saute those for a bit. (See the recipe card below for the full written printable instructions.)
Mix in the onion and garlic, and saute until the onion is translucent, then stir in the spices.
Add the potatoes and the chicken breasts on top of the sautéed and seasoned vegetables.
Pour in the chicken broth, and bring the soup to a simmer. Simmer until the chicken breast is fully cooked through.
Remove the chicken from the pot and let it cool for a few minutes. Once it’s cool enough to handle, shred the chicken and then return it to the pot. See the recipe card below for the full written instructions, including ingredient amounts, cooking times, and helpful tips, etc.
Optional Adaptations
There are a few ways you can play with the flavors in this soup. Some of my favorite options are:
Protein: I think boneless skinless chicken breasts are perfect in this recipe, but you could definitely use leftover rotisserie chicken if you want to make this dish even faster. You could also use turkey in lieu of chicken. If you don’t have any bacon, you could use turkey bacon or ham instead.
Vegetables: This is a really great soup to add more vegetables into, which is so wonderful when you’re trying to get your family to eat lots of healthy whole ingredients. Some of my favorite vegetable additions are sweet potatoes, kale, corn, tomato, cabbage, and spinach.
Carbs: If you want to make this homemade soup a bit heartier, you could add in rice, dumplings, gnocchi, or your favorite noodles.
Creamy Soup: Depending on what you’re going for, you might want to make this soup a little creamier. You could add a dairy free milk to keep this soup dairy free, or you could add a splash of cream when it’s finished cooking if you’re not concerned about that. You could also top it with a bit of shredded cheese when you serve it. If you want it to taste creamy without any additional ingredients, you could use an immersion blender to blend up some of the potatoes while you have the chicken out of the pot.
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Healthy Chicken Potato Soup Recipe
Healthy chicken potato soup is a simple and hearty recipe that’s comfort food in a bowl. A vegetable packed soup that's perfect for fall.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 3 large chicken breasts)
- 5 slices bacon (cut into 1/4 inch slices) *
- 1 medium yellow onion (diced)
- 2 medium cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (cut into 1/2 inch cubes, about 4 - 5 medium potatoes or 3 1/2 cups cubed potatoes)
- 1 cup carrots sliced into half moons (about 2 medium carrots)
- 3/4 cup sliced celery (about 2 stalks)
- 8 cups chicken broth (64 ounces)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt (plus more to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (plus more to taste)
- Chopped fresh parsley (for garnish, optional)
Instructions
- Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Once hot, add the bacon and lower the heat to medium. Cook the bacon for 4 minutes, then add in the celery and carrots and cook for another 4 minutes. Add in the onions and garlic and cook for 5 more minutes, or until the carrots and celery are softened and the onion is starting to turn translucent. Be sure to keep an eye on it and don’t let the garlic burn.
- Mix in the dried thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper. Then cover the seasoned vegetables with the potatoes.
- Place the chicken over the potatoes and sauteed vegetables. Pour in the chicken broth, place the lid on the pot, and turn the heat to medium-high for about 3 minutes, or until the soup reaches a gentle boil.
- Bring the temperature back down to medium-low, or until the soup reaches a rapid simmer, and simmer for about 25 minutes (or until the chicken is cooked through and reaches an internal temperature of 165 F on an instant read meat thermometer). Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the broth and let it sit for 5 minutes before shredding it into bite size pieces.
- Check the potatoes to see if they are fork tender. If they’re not, continue to simmer for a few minutes until they’re cooked through.
- Mix the shredded chicken back into the soup and garnish with the chopped parsley and serve.
Notes
*Since the bacon will be boiled, it will be chewy. If you’d prefer it crispy, saute it until it’s cooked through and crispy, then remove it from the pot and continue with the instructions. Once the soup is finished cooking, top it with the crispy bacon and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1/6Amount Per Serving: Calories: 299Total Fat: 6.2gCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 2.8gSugar: 4.2gProtein: 33g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
This naturally dairy free and gluten free soup is loaded with tons of vegetables, and it makes the perfect healthy dinner! You’ll love this easy chicken and potato soup, so be sure to add it to your list to make this fall!
