Chicken Kale Soup is an easy, hearty, and comforting soup recipe that’s perfect for chilly days and light lunches! With bold lemon and ginger flavors, this easy to make homemade chicken soup is anything but ordinary!
You will love how easy this low-calorie chicken kale soup is to make! Prepared in one pot and ready in about an hour, this is the perfect soup for busy families!
Chicken Kale Soup
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With polar vortexes and tons of snow, it’s really starting to feel like winter out there and that means most of us would love to hunker down with a cuddly blanket, movies, our fuzzy friends and a big pot of warm and comforting soup simmering on the stove. Homemade soups, like Creamy Butternut Squash Soup, Slow Cooker Chicken Wild Rice Soup or Ham and Potato Soup, are so belly warming and taste especially good when the temperature drops!
This low-calorie soup is so so tasty and I love the mix of curly kale, tender carrots, shredded chicken and hearty barley. Lemon, ginger and garlic add lively flavor to every bowl and the best part is it only takes about an hour to prep and cook this yummy soup recipe!
Which Kale Is Best For Soup?
Did you know there are a bunch of different kinds of kale? I’m guessing your local grocer only sells 2 or 3 kinds and probably any of them can be used in this soup recipe without issue, but I recommend using either Curly Kale (most common) or Lacinato Kale (also called Tuscan Kale).
How To Make Kale Soup
This chicken kale soup recipe is really straightforward and easy to make – no crazy kitchen skills required!
- In a large pot, saute the onion, garlic, and celery. Add seasonings, grated ginger and carrots.
- Pour in the chicken broth, bring it to a boil, then add raw chicken breasts and simmer till cooked. Remove chicken, shred and return to pot.
- Stir in barley and simmer for another 20 minutes.
- Add the kale and lemon juice. Simmer for 10 minutes then serve!
Is Kale Soup Good For You?
Not every kale soup is that same and though many are probably lean and healthy, if you throw a block of cream cheese in there, the calorie count is going to go up considerably. This homemade chicken soup with kale has less than 200 calories per bowl – 200!!! Crazy, right?
So yes, I would say this chicken kale soup recipe is good for you, plus it has flu-busting ingredients like lemon and ginger as an added benefit during the cold months! And since your main course was so low-cal, I highly recommend splurging a little on dessert! How about whipping up some Cool Whip Cookies!
More Delicious Soup Recipes to Try
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Minestrone Soup
- Slow Cooker Leek Soup – so easy!
- Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Soup – a classic!
Chicken Kale Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped or pressed
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger grated
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 5 cups chicken broth
- 3 chicken breasts boneless and skinless
- ½ cup pearl barley
- 2 cups kale chopped
- 2 lemons juiced
- 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- In a large dutch oven saute onion, garlic, and celery in olive oil until softened, about 3 minutes.
- Add in salt, pepper, garlic powder and thyme to sweat, about 1-2 minutes.
- Add grated ginger and carrots. Saute for 1-2 minutes until flavors are blended and fragrant.
- Add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Lower to a simmer and add raw chicken breasts.
- Continue to simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
- Remove chicken from pot and use two forks to shred the meat. Add back to the pot.
- Stir in barley and simmer for another 20 minutes or until barley is tender-crisp.
- Stir in kale and lemon juice and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Garnish with lemon wedge and fresh parsley.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
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I can’t do lemons I am allergic will I still get good benefits with this soup can I substitute lemon balm for the lemon.
I am sure that would still be delicious, Kim! Let us how you like it.
I agree it doesnt make enough for 8. Also, its very strong with the lemon. Doubling the broth would balance it out. But its really good!
Hi Grethel, we found this recipe makes 8 servings that are approximately 1 to 1 ½ cups in size. Great for serving with a side dish of salad or a sandwich. You could definitely try doubling the broth to increase the servings sizes and tone down the lemon flavor if you’d like 🙂 Hope you enjoyed it!
I made this soup twice and it is amazingly good especially with the addition of the lemon. So easy to make and everyone loved it. I did add a little extra broth but other than that, it’s perfect.
Thanks for sharing Dawn!
What is the serving size for the nutrition facts? I’m counting my calories, thanks
Hi Jessica, a serving is about 1 to 1 1/2 cups.
The flavors were good. Quite strong lemon flavor. Really needs about double the broth. This recipe says it’s for 8 servings but it was just enough for my family (2 adults, 1 teenager, 2 kids). Next time I would try doubling the chicken broth for sure. Other than that it was great!
Glad to hear you enjoyed it Chris!
Delicious and light. This is the perfect soup!
So happy you think so Sandra! Enjoy.