The ultimate comfort meal: chicken soup, but even better… this one is made in the slow cooker. Celery, carrots, onion, spices, chicken broth, slow cooked shredded chicken breast and herbs come together to flavor this soup. Easy to make, easier to eat, all real ingredients, vegetable packed, and family approved, this recipe is a no-brainer. Use your favorite pasta or whatever you have on hand (or omit it altogether) for this slow cooker healthy chicken soup.
What you’ll need to make this recipe
- celery
- carrots
- onion
- garlic
- dried thyme
- dried bay leaves
- dehydrated minced onion
- This adds more flavor to the dish; if you do not have this on hand, you can omit it.
- turmeric
- This adds a depth of flavor and a warm, golden color to the soup.
- olive oil
- Adding olive oil is optional, but it gives the soup more flavor and a more homemade taste, just like the flavor you are used to.
- kosher salt
- fresh cracked pepper
- reduced sodium chicken broth
- This is important in order to control the sodium of this soup; I add my own amount of kosher salt at the end, to taste.
- chicken breast (raw, uncooked)
- The chicken cooks in the soup, and gets flavored by the other ingredients. Then, shred the chicken at the end and add it back in so that each spoonful of soup gets pieces of chicken as well.
- fresh parsley
- pasta of choice
- I used Ditalini, which is a small pasta shape. You can use noodles or whatever you have on hand.
Made in the slow cooker
The best part of this recipe is that it is made entirely in the slow cooker! There is nothing better than using a slow cooker to prep dinner, whether you are snowed in, or have a busy day ahead of you. Dinner is ready when you are!
There is no prep work required here aside from chopping the vegetables: but hey, if you buy the pre-cut kind, you can even save time on that step. You do not need to pre-cook anything here; it all gets dumped into the crockpot and simmers away to become flavorful and delicious. This is the perfect meal for a cold day, or for a busy weeknight meal for the whole family to enjoy. I made it for my family for dinner, and saved two portions for myself for during the week as lunches. It worked out perfectly! To store for later use, I recommend putting individual portions into glass mason jars right in the fridge.
How to make slow cooker chicken soup
This recipe couldn’t be simpler, since everything is just added to the slow cooker and cooked low and slow. Start out by chopping the vegetables, and adding them to the slow cooker with the spices, chicken, olive oil, and chicken broth. Stir everything together and set your slow cooker to the LOW setting for 5.5 hours. After 5.5 hours, remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred it. Return the chicken to the slow cooker, and add the dry pasta to the soup. Stir to combine, and cook the soup for another half hour on low. When its done, you will have the most delicious chicken noodle soup!
This recipe is delicious on its own, or even better alongside a salad or sandwich for your own “you choose two” at home. The health benefits of this soup are great; this soup contains tons of vegetables and lean protein. There are also health benefits to consuming turmeric. Since this recipe has all real, wholesome ingredients, you can feel comfortable feeding this meal to your entire family, whether they are living a lower-calorie lifestyle or not. This recipe is compatible with all lifestyles and ways of eating, plus everyone loves chicken soup! For a low carb option you can omit the pasta, of course.
Slow Cooker Healthy Chicken Soup
Equipment
- slow cooker or crock pot
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs chicken breast, boneless, skinless, raw uncooked
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cups celery, chopped
- 3 cups carrots, chopped
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp dehydrated minced onion
- 3 dried bay leaves
- 8 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- kosher salt, to taste, I used 2 tsp - reserve for once the soup is cooked.
- fresh cracked pepper
- 4 oz pasta, uncooked, pasta of choice
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley
Instructions
- Chop the celery, carrot, and onions. Mince the garlic.
- Add the chopped vegetables to the bottom of the slow cooker.
- Top with the raw, uncooked chicken breasts.
- Drizzle the chicken breast with the olive oil.
- Add the thyme, turmeric, bay leaves, fresh cracked pepper and dehydrated onions. Reserve the kosher salt for later.
- Add the broth and stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 5.5 hours.
- After 5.5 hours, remove the chicken and shred it.
- Return the chicken to the slow cooker. Add the uncooked pasta.
- Stir to combine. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes on LOW.
- Taste for salt - I used 2 teaspoons.
- Stir in the fresh parsley.
Notes
Nutrition
If you enjoy slow cooker recipes or are looking for other soup recipes, check these out: Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken and Corn Soup Lightened-Up Broccoli Cheddar Soup Healthy Italian Wedding Soup Tortellini Soup with Chicken Sausage and Spinach
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This soup has awesome flavor! My error was using orzo because its what I had in the house. It did not hold up and was mushy quickly but my fault completely! Love this one!
Making this today. Smells so good. I need to use Gluten free pasta. Hope it holds together.
Ok so I made this tonight and it was delicious! I’m not a big chicken noodle soup person but for some reason this looked good, so I gave it a shot. I definitely don’t regret it! I followed the recipe exactly and came out great. Tastes healthy, delicious, and is filling. Served with a baguette.
Another 5-star recipe. The soup is spectacular. My husband and I really watch our salt, so I used the unsalted broth instead of reduced sodium. (Shockingly, I recently learned that reduced sodium chicken broth has 40% sodium and the unsalted has 3%.) And, then I just added a teaspoon of reduced sodium Roasted Chicken Better than Bouillon to give it a bit more salt/flavor. I have said it before, but the best part of your recipes is that everyone will eat it and loves it. No one sees it as a diet food. We love to cook and have a subscription to Cook’s Illustrated, but we are now using more of your recipes than Cook’s Illustrated. Thank you. Great ideas and your explanations are direct and easy to follow.
Will be making this tonight – it looks delicious! Do you think I could cook the pasta seperately and then add. I worry about the pasta getting mushy if there is leftovers.
absolutely!
I’ve made this several times and love this soup! It’s so easy to make and so flavorful! Thank you for another great recipe!