Healthy Lemon Chicken Soup is a delicious, simple dinner easily made in the instant pot or crockpot. Packed with veggies and paleo/whole30 friendly.
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This Healthy Lemon Chicken Soup recipe is one of my favorite winter meals. Packed with veggies and hearty portions of chicken, it’s super filling and loaded with light lemony flavor.
You can keep it paleo/whole30 by serving as is, or adding zucchini noodles. It’s also great with rice, orzo or quinoa!
Easily made in the instant pot, or in your crockpot, I promise this Healthy Lemon Chicken Soup will make you want to enjoy soup year round!
For me, there is nothing more comforting than cozy-ing up on the couch with a mug of soup. It’s delicious, and makes you feel all kinds of warm + fuzzy.
This Whole 30 Italian Wedding Soup was on repeat for a while, and I was really into it, but when I got the flu a few months ago – I wanted my favorite lemon chicken soup from the diner.
What you need to make Lemon Chicken Soup:
You’ll need a few pantry/fridge staples to make Lemon Chicken Soup. You probably already have them on hand!
I often crave soup but don’t always have hours to spend over the stove. I love that this healthy lemon chicken soup can be made in the crockpot or instant pot to save time and effort!
My favorite way to make it is in my instant pot. It is completely finished in under 30 minutes, and I think it really locks in all the flavor due to the pressure cooking!
How to make Lemon Chicken Soup:
You can make this soup in the instant pot or crockpot. Here is how to make it in the instant pot:
- Saute onions/celery, garlic until translucent
- Add in carrots/spices.
- Lay chicken on top of veggie mixture
- Add both
- Cover and cook
- Remove chicken, shred, and add back to the soup!
SO delicious!
Can I make this Healthy Lemon Chicken Soup in the crockpot?
Yes! Instead of sautéing your veggies in the instant pot in step one of the recipe, sauté your celery, onion + garlic on the stove in a pan. Add sautéd veggies to the crockpot. Stir in carrots, halved lemons, lemon juice + spices.
Place whole chicken breasts on top of vegetables in crockpot. Cover with chicken broth. Place the lid on the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours. Follow steps #6-9 in the recipe.
Substitutions for this Lemon Chicken Soup
- Pasta – You can add orzo or pasta noodles to this and it will be delicious. Cook the pasta separately and then add it to your soup once the soup is completely cooked. (Don’t try to add raw pasta in to the soup when it’s cooking.. it will turn to mush!) *If you add pasta it will not be gluten free, paleo or whole30.
- Zoodles – If you’re looking for a whole30/paleo/gluten free noodle option I like adding zucchini noodles to this soup, although it’s delicious on it’s own!
- Parmesan Cheese – If you’re not paleo/whole30 I recommend tossing in a parmesan cheese rind with the soup while it’s cooking – it adds so much flavor!
Other healthy soup recipes:
- Paleo Butternut Squash Soup
- Whole30 Italian Wedding Soup
- Crockpot Chicken Quinoa Taco Soup
- Vegan Pasta Fagioli
Healthy Lemon Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup celery chopped finely
- 1 cup onion chopped finely
- 2 tablespoons garlic minced, about 5 cloves
- 2 cups carrots sliced in small circles
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoons pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1 teaspoon thyme leaves optional
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 4 bay leaves
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 quarts chicken broth
- 1/2 cup lemon juice (off to the side)
Optional:
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Chop all vegetables (I prefer to put mine in the food processor!) Turn instant pot on sauté mode. Heat olive oil in the pan and sauté celery, onion + garlic until fragrant and softened, approximately 10 minutes.
- Stir in carrots and spices (including bay leaves).
- Place whole chicken breasts on top of vegetables in instant pot. Cover with chicken broth. Do not add lemon juice to the pot.
- Cover instant pot and set to ‘Soup’ for 13 minutes
- Allow the soup to come to pressure and cook. Once finished, quick release the pressure.
- Remove bay leaves from the broth and discard. Stir in lemon juice.
- Remove chicken from the pot + shred on a cutting board with forks or in a mixer.
- Place shredded chicken back in instant pot, and stir to combine.
- Optional: add in cooked orzo or zucchini noodles. Serve + enjoy!
Crockpot Instructions:
- In a pan, heat olive oil over stovetop. Sauté celery, onion + garlic until fragrant and softened, approximately 5 minutes.
- Add sautéd veggies to the crockpot. Stir in carrots and spices.
- Place whole chicken breasts on top of vegetables in crockpot. Cover with chicken broth. Do not add lemon juice to the pot. Place the lid on the crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours.
- Once cooked, remove bay leaves from the broth and discard. Stir in lemon juice.
- Remove chicken from the pot + shred on a cutting board with forks or in a mixer.
- Place chicken back in crockpot, and stir to combine.
- Optional: add in cooked orzo or zucchini noodles. Serve + enjoy!
Notes
- Pasta - You can add orzo or pasta noodles to this and it will be delicious. Cook the pasta separately and then add it to your soup once the soup is completely cooked. (Don't try to add raw pasta in to the soup when it's cooking.. it will turn to mush!) *If you add pasta it will not be gluten free, paleo or whole30.
- Zoodles - If you're looking for a whole30/paleo/gluten free noodle option I like adding zucchini noodles to this soup, although it's delicious on it's own!
- Parmesan Cheese - If you're not paleo/whole30 I recommend tossing in a parmesan cheese rind with the soup while it's cooking - it adds so much flavor!
Anna De Loache
October 23, 2018 at 10:14 pmThis is my favorite soup of all time!! Thank you so much!
The Clean Eating Couple
October 24, 2018 at 9:48 amI’m so glad you like it, Anna!! It’s one of my favorites too!
Jane
May 7, 2019 at 11:48 amIt is unclear in this recipe. In some spots you add lemon halves and then add lemon juice at the end? Please clarify the steps when it comes to the lemon juice and halves.
The Clean Eating Couple
May 7, 2019 at 12:10 pmHi Jane – Based on reader feedback I edited this recipe months ago to add the lemon juice to the pot after cooking instead of adding in lemon halves. The directions in the recipe state this, so please re-read and you should be good to go! Thanks!
Elizabeth
October 26, 2018 at 7:34 pmLove this recipe! The lemon is so refreshing in the soup.
The Clean Eating Couple
October 27, 2018 at 7:33 amTotally agree!! I’m glad you love it 🙂
Alyssa Maas
December 6, 2018 at 6:01 pmThis recipe is amazing! It’s satisfying but light which makes it perfect if you are feeling under the weather. It’s so easy to make, I used my crockpot and am happy to have lots of leftovers for lunch. I thought I would want the orzo, but I used carrot noodles from Trader Joe’s and it’s rsally hearty as is!
The Clean Eating Couple
December 8, 2018 at 11:33 amI’m so glad you like it!! I have to try that with the carrot noodles from Trader Joes – that’s such a good idea!!
Kate
December 15, 2018 at 6:14 pmThis soup was so delicious! Made it in the crockpot! Deffinetly a favorite 🙂
The Clean Eating Couple
December 15, 2018 at 7:38 pmI’m so glad you liked it, Kate!!
Emily Waffird
December 28, 2018 at 2:47 pmI’m making this right now! I can not wait to try it! Question- I am a calorie tracker (and macro counter), and i know its 193kcal per serving, but can you tell me what a serving size is? Want to make sure I get to eat as much as i can, lol! I apologize if its listed somewhere on the post, I may have overlooked it. Thanks!
The Clean Eating Couple
December 28, 2018 at 6:01 pmHi! The recipe serves six, so I’d portion it out in 6 even containers and that will help you! 🙂
Emily
December 30, 2018 at 11:26 amYou’re the best, thank you! It was delicious!!!
The Clean Eating Couple
December 30, 2018 at 4:18 pmI’m so glad you liked it 🙂
Cailee
January 4, 2019 at 5:48 pmShould this have a bitter taste?
The Clean Eating Couple
January 5, 2019 at 10:05 amHi Cailee – No it shouldn’t be bitter. I’m guessing this has to do with your lemons. Often when lemons are old they start to get a bitter taste! I’m sorry this happened to you 🙁
Tara
January 27, 2019 at 4:24 pmMine was also bitter. I wonder if it would be better to add more lemon juice instead of having the actual lemons in there
The Clean Eating Couple
January 27, 2019 at 8:02 pmHi Tara- I actually went back and retested this recipe twice after Cailee mentioned it was bitter. I didn’t have a problem either time! I truly think it is because of the lemons, but you can try just adding the juice instead of the actual lemon!
susan
April 27, 2019 at 3:07 pmI was teaching some friends how to use a pressure cooker and chose this recipe. It was great! I let it sit a few minutes after adding the (fresh) lemon juice and it was perfect.
The Clean Eating Couple
April 28, 2019 at 6:53 amI’m so glad you liked it, Susan! It’s one of my favorite things to make in the pressure cooker!
Jennifer mccarty
June 10, 2019 at 4:55 pmI absolutely love this recipe! I could make it weekly if my family would let me!
The Clean Eating Couple
June 12, 2019 at 8:34 amThanks Jennifer! I’d make it every week too if Ty would be ok with it.. it’s my favorite soup!
Megan
July 30, 2019 at 6:57 pmSoup came out great! Wondering if I can use low sodium chicken broth instead of the regular one next time?
The Clean Eating Couple
July 31, 2019 at 8:29 amSure! You can use whatever type of broth you’d like. bone broth, low sodium, veggie broth, etc. All will work fine!
Sandra
August 5, 2019 at 8:39 amI am so glad to find a healthy chicken soup! Quick question: Do you cook the zuchhini zoodles slightly before adding them, after the soup is cooked? Thank you so much!
The Clean Eating Couple
August 5, 2019 at 11:29 amHi Sandra- I do not cook the zucchini noodles. I add them in raw to the soup when I am ready to eat the soup. The warmth of the soup is enough to soften them! If you cook ahead of time they will get too mushy.
Kimberly
August 5, 2019 at 10:29 pmI’m not the biggest soup fan but this soup is delicious! I love how light it is making it the perfect summertime soup!
The Clean Eating Couple
August 6, 2019 at 9:57 amThis makes me so happy to hear! We eat this all summer long too 🙂