Healthy Lemon Chicken Soup is a delicious, healthy Greek dinner. Easy to make in the instant pot or crockpot. Packed with veggies and keto, paleo & whole30.
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This Healthy Lemon Chicken Soup recipe is one of my favorite 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, pasta, 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 bowl 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 we’re big fans of Asian Chicken Soup, but when I got the flu a few months ago – I wanted my favorite lemon chicken soup from the diner.
I swear this soup is what helped me get over the flu, along with my Home Remedies for Colds, Coughs and Flu.
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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!
You’ll need garlic, carrots, onions, olive oil, celery, chicken, spices and chicken stock or broth.
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 energy!
I also included stove top instructions for you in the recipe so you can make it on the stove if you’d like!
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 Greek Lemon Chicken Soup:
You can make this soup in the instant pot or crockpot. Here is how to make it in the instant pot, although making it on the stove or in the crockpot is very similar!
Step 1: Sauté onions/celery, garlic until translucent
Step 2: Add in carrots/spices.
Step 3: Lay chicken on top of veggie mixture
Step 4: Add broth.
Step 5: Cover the instant pot and cook per the directions below
Step 6: Remove bay leaves and parmesan cheese rind. Discard. Remove chicken, shred, and add back to the soup!
SO delicious and easy.
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. You can also make it on the stove! This is all outlined in the recipe below.
Substitutions for this Healthy Lemon Chicken Soup
This soup is SUPER easy to make substitutions. Use whatever you have on hand to make it!
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!) Gluten free pasta will work just fine *If you add pasta it will not be gluten free, paleo or whole30. Quinoa, rice or cous cous will also be delicious!
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! You can also top with parmesan or feta.
Leftover Chicken – You can use this shredded chicken or chicken from a rotisserie chicken. Cut the cook time in half if you’re not using raw chicken.
Herbs – You can use most herbs interchangeably here. If you don’t have thyme or rosemary, use parsley or dried basil. Any of them will be delicious! You can also use dried or fresh herbs. The recipe calls for dried herbs, but if you’d like to use fresh herbs double the amount.
Cauliflower Rice – Cauliflower rice is a great low carb addition to this soup instead of zoodles!
Spinach – You can add a couple cups of chopped spinach when the soup is finished cooking. It’s a delicious addition!
Broth – Any broth will work in this. You can use bone broth, chicken stock, vegetable stock, etc.
Vegetarian – You could substitute beans for chicken in this recipe and it would be delicious. You’d also need to sub for vegetarian broth.
Chicken – You can make this using chicken tenders or chicken thighs if you prefer. You can also use pre cooked/shredded chicken or a rotisserie chicken!
Creamy Chicken Soup– You can add 1/4 cup of heavy cream to the soup to make this soup creamy.
Serving/Storing this lemon chicken soup:
For serving:
I like to serve this soup with zucchini noodles. I will squeeze the zoodles with a paper towel and trim them so they’re in smaller pieces. It’s delicious + extra veggies
You can also serve this recipe with cooked pasta (pastina, ditalini, orzo, etc) rice, quinoa, cous cous or farro!
The soup is also fine without any of those additions. If you do choose to add pasta or zucchini noodles, I do NOT recommend adding either directly to the pot. Rather, add your serving of pasta or zoodles to your soup bowl, pour the soup over it, and stir to combine.
This will help you avoid soggy noodles or pasta!
For storing: This soup keeps for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Freezing this soup: This soup freezes very well! I do not recommend freezing or refrigerating it with the zucchini noodles or pasta as they will get mushy. Freeze in airtight containers and store for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to eat, defrost the night before in the refrigerator. You can also heat in the microwave or on the stove directly from frozen.
Other healthy soup recipes:
We love making healthy soups for dinner. They’re an easy, light dinner that everyone loves! We have tons of healthy soup recipes here but these are our favorites:
- Paleo Butternut Squash Soup
- Easy Minestrone Soup
- Healthy Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Healthy Potato Soup
- Vegan Pasta Fagioli
- Leftover Turkey Soup
- Healthy Beef Barley Soup
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
- 1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves optional
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 4 bay leaves optional but recommended
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 quarts chicken broth
- 1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (off to the side)
- 1 parmesan cheese rind optional
Optional:
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Chop all vegetables (I prefer to put my onion/garlic/celery in the food processor!) Turn instant pot on Sauté mode for 10.
- Heat olive oil in the pan and sauté celery, onion + garlic until fragrant and softened (about 5-10 minutes)
- Once cooked, stir in carrots and spices (including bay leaves).
- Place whole chicken breasts on top of vegetables/spices in instant pot. Cover with chicken broth. Do not add lemon juice to the pot.
- Cover instant pot and set to sealing, ‘Soup’ OR Pressure Cook for 13 minutes.
- Allow the soup to come to pressure and cook. It should take about 10 minutes to come to pressure, but can take longer if your broth is cold.
- Once the soup has cooked, quick release the pressure if you're in hurry or allow it to natural release for about 20 minutes.
- Remove bay leaves and parmesan cheese rind from the broth and discard. Remove chicken from the pot + shred on a cutting board with forks or in a mixer.
- Place shredded chicken back in instant pot base. Add lemon juice to the pot. Stir to combine.Â
- For serving: Add cooked orzo or zucchini noodles to a bowl. Serve soup on top of the zoodles/pasta. Do not add zucchini noodles/pasta to the pot - they will absorb the liquid and get soggy!
Crockpot Instructions:
- In a pan, heat olive oil over stovetop. Sauté celery, onion + garlic until fragrant and softened, approximately 5-10 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 or high for 4-6 hours
- Once cooked, remove bay leaves and parmesan cheese rind 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 cooked, shredded chicken back in crockpot, and stir to combine.Â
- For serving: Add cooked orzo or zucchini noodles to a bowl. Serve soup on top of the zoodles/pasta. Do not add zucchini noodles/pasta to the pot - they will absorb the liquid and get soggy!
StoveTop Instructions
- Chop all vegetables (I prefer to put mine in the food processor!) In a large pot, heat olive oil in the pan and sauté celery, onion + garlic until fragrant and softened (about 5-10 minutes)
- Once cooked, stir in carrots and spices (including bay leaves).
- Place whole chicken breasts on top of vegetables. Cover with chicken broth. Do not add lemon juice to the pot.Â
- Cover pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and simmer over low-medium heat for 1 hour.
- After one hour, remove bay leaves and parmesan cheese rind from the pot and discard.
- Remove chicken from the pot + shred on a cutting board with forks or in a mixer.
- Place shredded chicken back in instant pot base. Add lemon juice to the pot. Stir to combine.Â
- For serving: Add cooked orzo or zucchini noodles to a bowl. Serve soup on top of the zoodles/pasta. Do not add zucchini noodles/pasta to the pot - they will absorb the liquid and get soggy!
Video
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!
- Broth - Any broth will work in this. You can use bone broth, chicken stock, vegetable stock, etc.
- Vegetarian - You could substitute beans for chicken in this recipe and it would be delicious. You'd also need to sub for vegetarian broth.
Nutrition Facts
