Paleo Chicken Soup
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Healthy Paleo Chicken Soup is a delicious, Whole30, keto meal. Easily made in the instant pot or slow cooker – it’s a cozy, yummy dinner everyone will love!
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There are only a few things I love more than chicken soup. It’s the ultimate comfort food – and when you load it up with veggies and make it paleo, whole30 and keto friendly healthy chicken soup- that’s even better!
This Paleo Chicken Soup is loaded with flavor, easily made in the crockpot or instant pot, and perfect for people following a variety of diets; it’s naturally low in carbs, but you can easily swap in pasta!
Chicken soup is usually pretty healthy, but this healthy chicken soup recipe takes it up a notch in the nutrition department in a few ways!
Even if you don’t follow a paleo diet, it’s one of our favorites because it has zucchini noodles instead of pasta to keep it gluten and grain-free, lean protein from boneless skinless chicken breasts, tons of veggies like zucchini, carrots, and onions, and plenty of spices that amp up the flavor without adding extra calories.
liz’s top tips for paleo chicken soup
- If you are short on time, use a rotisserie chicken to cut down the cook time.
- 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. 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.
Ingredients
Substitutions
Herbs – You can omit rosemary if you don’t like it. If you don’t have fresh rosemary you can sub with 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
Chicken– You can use boneless chicken thighs or tenders in this recipe if you prefer, but I like it better with chicken breasts. Cooked turkey will also work in this recipe, or you can try this Turkey noodle Soup is a great recipe too!
Carrots– If you are on a strict keto diet and need to reduce the carbs in this recipe further, you can decrease the amount of carrots in the soup
Zucchini Noodles- For best results, I recommend adding the zucchini noodles to the bowl instead of adding to the slow cooker pot. This way your zucchini noodles/spinach won’t get soggy if you eat leftovers. You can also sub pasta for zucchini noodles. If you want to use pasta try our Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
Cooked Chicken – You can use shredded chicken, our crockpot whole chicken, slow cooker shredded chicken, or chicken from a rotisserie chicken. Cut the cooking time in half if you’re not using raw chicken. You could also try this Rotisserie Chicken Soup!
Extra veggies – You could add chopped zucchini, kale, crushed tomatoes or spinach to this recipe too! Check out this Chicken and Vegetable Soup recipe if you want a veggie loaded chicken soup!
Broth – Bone broth is the same thing as stock and can be used interchangeably. Vegetable or beef broth will also work in this recipe
Low Carb: This soup is very low carb but check out this Keto Chicken Soup if you’re looking for more low carb soup recipes!
How To make Paleo Chicken Soup
You can make paleo chicken soup in a few ways. On the stove top, in the crockpot or in your instant pot.
The instructions pictured below are for the crockpot.
- Prep your veggies.
- Sauté veggies in a pan (or instant pot base).
- Add your chicken to the crockpot.
- Add your cooked veggies + spices to the crockpot. Stir in broth + cook on low for 6 hours.
- Once cooked, remove chicken + shred. Add shredded chicken back into crockpot and stir.
- Add your noodles or pasta to a bowl and serve the soup on top of them!
P.S. – If you love crockpot recipes, check out these Healthy Crockpot Recipes or Healthy Crockpot Chicken Recipes
Can I add pasta to this healthy chicken soup?
Yes! You can totally add orzo or 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.
Storage
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! We like these containers for freezing.
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.
Check out our tips on freezing chicken soup.
Other healthy soup recipes:
We love soup SO much that we actually have a free healthy soup ebook! We also have a post filled with Healthy Soup Recipes!
We also have a dedicated blog post to Healthy Chicken Breast Recipes!
Healthy Paleo Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup celery chopped finely
- 1 cup onion chopped finely
- 2 cups carrots sliced in small circles
- ½ tablespoon garlic minced
- 1.5 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or sprigs of thyme leaves
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 bay leaves
- 48 oz chicken broth low or no sodium
- 4 zucchini spiralized (off to the side, do not add to soup until ready to eat)
Instructions
Crockpot Instructions:
- In a pan, heat olive oil. Saute celery, onion, carrots and garlic for about 5 minutes. (This step is optional but highly recommended for best flavor!)
- In the slow cooker base, layer chicken breasts on the bottom. Layer cooked veggie mixture on top. Sprinkle with spices + fill to the top with chicken stock.
- Cook on low for 6 hours.
- Once soup has cooked, remove chicken breasts and shred by pulling apart with forks (they should fall apart easily). Add the shredded chicken back to the pot + stir.
- When ready to serve, add raw, room temperature zucchini noodles, they will warm in the soup!
- Tip: For best results, I recommend adding the zucchini noodles to the bowl instead of adding to the slow cooker pot. This way your zucchini noodles/spinach won’t get soggy if you eat leftovers.
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Turn instant pot on sauté mode for 5 minutes. In pot, heat olive oil. Sauté celery, onion, carrots and garlic for about 5 minutes.
- Once vegetables have sautéd, layer chicken breasts on top of mixture. Sprinkle with spices + fill with chicken stock. (It is recommended to add 2 total quarts of broth if using instant pot, vs 1.5 quarts for slow cooker due to the high pressure cooking
- 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 and throw away.
- Remove chicken from the pot + shred on a cutting board with forks or in a mixer.
- Place chicken back in instant pot, and stir to combine.
- When ready to serve, add raw, room temperature zucchini noodles, they will warm in the soup!
- Tip: For best results, I recommend adding the zucchini noodles to the bowl instead of adding to the slow cooker pot. This way your zucchini noodles/spinach won’t get soggy if you eat leftovers.
Stovetop Instructions:
- In a pan, heat olive oil. Sauté celery, onion, carrots and garlic for about 5 minutes.
- Add chicken breasts into the pot. Stir in spices and add in chicken stock.
- Turn the stove to high heat and bring the soup to a boil. Once boiling reduce to a simmer for 30-40 minutes.
- After soup has simmered, remove chicken breasts from the pot + shred on a cutting board with forks or in a mixer.
- Place chicken back in the pot, and stir to combine.
- When ready to serve, add raw, room temperature zucchini noodles, they will warm in the soup!
Video
Notes
- Rosemary – You can omit rosemary if you don’t like it. If you don’t have fresh rosemary you can sub with 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- Chicken– You can use boneless chicken thighs in this recipe if you prefer, but I like it better with chicken breasts.
- Carrots– If you are on a strict keto diet and need to reduce the carbs in this recipe further, you can decrease the amount of carrots in the soup
- Zucchini Noodles- For best results, I recommend adding the zucchini noodles to the bowl instead of adding to the slow cooker pot. This way your zucchini noodles/spinach won’t get soggy if you eat leftovers.
I made this soups a couple days ago and it was really good. The addition of the red pepper flakes totally enhanced the flavor. Thank you for always including substitutions, faqs and storage info on all your recipes. I find myself making more and more of yours. Your creativity in the kitchen with using good ingredients is amazing!
I just made this soup using the stovetop method. It is SO tasty, filling, and full of protein! I didn’t use zucchini noodles; instead, I used shirataki noodles. The soup has a nice little kick to it! This will be in my meal rotations! Enjoy!
I made this in the instant pot for dinner tonight and it really hit the spot! I used hearts of palm noodles to keep the recipe Whole30, and I used sprigs of lemon thyme rather than regular thyme because it’s what I had in my garden. It was the perfect cozy soup for the first evening of rain we’ve had in months here in the PNW! Super easy and delicious!
This is a day for another hot, healthy and tasty soup like this😛
This is officially my new favorite chicken soup recipe! I used my own organic bone broth and the only tweaks I made were adding about 1 cup of sliced zucchini and an extra cup of sliced carrots. I omitted the red pepper flakes & bay leaves (since we didn’t have on hand) but added a teaspoon of Herbes de Provence. I cooked it in my crockpot for exactly 6 hours on low and it came out perfect! Sautéing the veggies FIRST is the key to making the best chicken soup ever! I also LOVE that the clean eating couple provides such detailed instructions AND different options for cooking this amazing soup.
So happy you enjoyed it!
This soup is so easy and delicious! I enjoyed the zucchini noodles but served it with a little bit of rice for my husband. It was the perfect weekday lunch and I will definitely be making it again.
So glad you liked it, Laura! Thank you!
Love this recipe! It’s easy to prepare and delicious. I will be making this again in the near future!
This is my 3rd time cooking this recipe. It is a family favourite now. My mom and mom in-law love it as well. I added more garlic but that’s the Italian in me lol!
Thank you so much, Trudolph! I’m so glad you liked it!
Sooo yummy! Doubled the recipe so we could have leftovers and I’m so glad I did! Might try it with some gluten free noodles too!
Love that idea, Landry! Thank you so much for giving it a try!!
Just tried this recipe and it is delicious. We used chicken bone broth and after sauteing the veggies and chicken, finished in an instant pot. Came out incredible!
So glad you liked the recipe, Chris!
This is one of two recipes from this site that I used to stock my freezer for surgery recovery. It’s yummy and freezes well. Thanks for the nourishing, easy recipes that you put out for us!
You’re so welcome!! this is the perfect thing to stock your freezer with!
Soooo good on a cold winter evening!! Such good flavor! I wouldn’t have thought of putting the soup over the zucchini noodles. Great idea! Will definitely make again!!
I’m so glad you liked it Eve! It’s the perfect cold weather food 🙂