Creamy Chicken Kale Soup
by Easy and super delicious Creamy Chicken Kale Soup. It’s hearty, healthy, and gluten dairy free. You can easily create variety for the whole family. Perfect healthy holiday leftover recipe !
It’s one day after Thanksgiving so I bet many households are having turkey or chicken for lunch. Sure, you could make a casserole, pot pie, or a focaccia club or you could make something way simpler and healthier like my Creamy Chicken (or Turkey) Kale Soup, using leftovers from your Thanksgiving dinner.
Creamy Chicken Kale Soup – Simple with a healthy twist !
There are many reasons that make this soup great but what I love most about it is that this leftover recipe actually tastes BETTER than many soups made from scratch.
I first crisped up uncured and sugar free hickory smoked bacon from Pederson’s Farms in a 6 qt. Dutch oven and reserved a few tablespoons of bacon fat to saute onions and garlic slices. It adds a nice smoky flavor to create a lovely soup base.
To cook the soup faster and to ensure that the carrots and celery are cooked to perfection (not too mushy, not too tough), I waited until the last cooking step to add thickening flour agent (see more info below). This way you can decide how much flour to add to the soup broth if you prefer a thicker or thinner texture.
I also added curly kale right before turning off the stovetop heat because I like my kale to remain vibrant green and to keep some texture. If, however, you prefer a much softer texture, feel free to cook it longer.
And be sure to add the crispy bacon bits that we previously fried up. Stir-in either shredded chicken or turkey and if you made a big pot, pack them in mason jars for lunch the next day in the office or store extra in the freezer. It’s creamy, hearty, and so so delicious ! And much better than any store-bought soup, but I bet you know that already ! :))
Leave a comment below and rate the recipe if you’ve made any of my dishes ! I’d love to hear from you !! Thanks in advance !
Creamy Chicken Kale Soup (Paleo, Whole30)
Ingredients
- 2-3 cups shredded chicken, , or turkey
- 5 slices of bacon, , I used hickory smoked bacon this time
- 1.5 cups carrots, , diced
- 1.5 cups celery, , diced
- 1.5 cups yellow onion, , diced
- 5-6 garlic cloves, , sliced
- 8 oz. cremini or baby bella mushrooms, , sliced
- 5 cups chicken stock, , about 32 oz. | 1 qt.
- 1 tbsp fresh thyme
- 1 tsp coarse salt
- Black pepper to taste
- Curly kale or green chard, , as much as you like
- Chopped parsley and/or fresh thyme for garnishing
For dairy-free cream:
- 4 tbsp cassava flour
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk
Instructions
- Prep: shred cooked chicken (or turkey). Dice carrots, celery, and yellow onion. Slice garlic cloves and mushrooms. Set aside 1 tbsp fresh thyme. Roughy chop curly kale or green chard. Set aside.
- Bacon: Cook: Preheat a large dutch oven (I use 6 qt.) or heavy soup/stock pot over medium-high heat, when hot, add 5 slices of bacon. Render fat and crisp up the bacon. Once the bacon strips are crisped up, set aside. Leave 2 tbsp bacon fat in the dutch oven and save the remainder of the bacon fat aside for later use.
- Cook: Re-heat the dutch oven, when hot, add sliced garlic cloves and diced onion. Season with a bit salt and saute until fragrant. Add carrots and celery. Season with another pinch of salt. Saute for a few additional minutes. Add cremini mushrooms and 1 tbsp fresh thyme. Give another quick toss then add chicken stock. You should have enough liquid to just cover the ingredients but not completely submerge them. Cover the pot with a lid, cook over medium heat until the veggies turn softer yet not mushy. In the meantime, mix well cassava flour with coconut milk until there are no lumps
- Add chicken, kale, cream & serve: Stir-in shredded chicken and slowly pour the cream over hot simmering soup pot. Give it a gentle stir. Taste and see if more salt or black pepper is needed. Stir-in kale. If you prefer thicker soup, mix more cassava flour with liquid from the soup pot. Garnish with chopped parsley and/or fresh thyme, and don’t forget about the bacon crumbles !
Nutrition
More Ways to Use Shredded Chicken (or Turkey) !
- Cauliflower Yam Chowder
- Sesame Noodles with Shredded Chicken
- Collard Green Chicken Wraps
- Sweet Potato Cakes (best to way use up mashed sweet potatoes and cooked chicken/turkey!)
This recipe has earned a permanent spot in my recipe binder! Amazingly delicious and so versatile depending on what you have on-hand. I subbed arrowroot powder for the cassava flour and left out the celery that I didn’t have. So much flavor and my kids loved it too. Yum x100!!!
Oh wow. Thank you so much! Especially to hear the kids loved it, too! So special 😀
Absolutely divine! I did use heavy cream instead of coconut milk, but even so, I’m sure it would still be great!
Delicious!! Made in Instant pot w still partially frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs (2.25#). Sautéed bacon first. Used high pressure for 12 min w celery, bacon,6 cups broth, chix and seasonings (manual release). Then strirred in kale, carrots, butternut squash (which did get mushy, but still tasty!) – did 3 more min on high pressure w manual release. Stirred in whole can of coconut milk whisked w flour at the end. Great soup!!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing your instant pot tip!
I LOVE this soup! So delicious! It’s my go to whenever I need to make a meal for someone with dietary concerns. And without fail it’s a huge hit!
I have also done variations on it, like skipping the bacon for a family member who can’t eat pork (it was still pretty yummy, but nothing beats the bacon flavor!) I’ve also subbed GF flour for the Casava when I’m not doing Whole30 and it’s works great!
I’ve used dried thyme and it just isn’t the same as fresh so I would definitely recommend getting it fresh if you can!
One of my favorite recipes thanks for sharing!!
Thanks for sharing it with us!
Hi! I love your recipes! Is cassava flour to thicken or add flavor? Can I sub or omit it? Thank you!
Hi Nabie, it’s used to thicken the soup. The cassava flour also adds a nice toasted wheat flour flavor. You can skip it for a thinner soup texture, or use arrowroot starch to thicken it, too. 🙂
This recipe is absolutely AMAAAAZING ❤️
All the flavours and healthy veggies and I’m a
Coconut milk and Kale lover so this was definitely a must try. It did NOT disappoint. I doubled up the ingredients
So its double the pleasure 😁 that much more for me to indulge. My kids loved it as well.
This recipe is absolutely AMAAAAZING ❤️
All the flavours and healthy veggies and I’m a
Coconut milk and Kale lover so this was definitely a must try. It did NOT disappoint. I doubled up the ingredients
So its double the pleasure 😁 that much more for me to indulge. My kids loved it as well.
Thank you so much, Sandra!
AMAZING! Like most of us, I was a bit flexible with this great Recipe. I totally forgot the corn which was fine, and I used regular flour since I don’t have cassava. Also, I have so much Basil growing that I use that as a garnish for almost every recipe and it always subs great. Oh, and I used a good quality store-bought Real Bacon Bits (Pieces) and was able to get a smoky bacon flavor. Thank you so much for this Keeper recipe!
So happy to hear. Thanks for sharing, Rebecca!
AMAZING! Like most of us, I was a bit flexible with this great Recipe. I totally forgot the corn which was fine, and I used regular flour since I don’t have cassava. Also, I have so much Basil growing that I use that as a garnish for almost every recipe and it always subs great. Oh, and I used a good quality store-bought Real Bacon Bits (Pieces) and was able to get a smoky bacon flavor. Thank you so much for this Keeper recipe!
This soup is great it’s easy to make and doesn’t take forever the coconut milk gives it such a great taste my family loves it
This was delicious!! I couldn’t get the cassava flour so i used coconut flour. Will definitely make again.
Thanks for sharing. Appreciate it!
What are your thoughts on freezing this? Specifically the mushrooms and kale?
Hi Maggie, that’s a great question. I haven’t tried freezing it. My guess is it should work. If the texture turns more liquid, you can add a bit more thickener during reheat. 🙂
Delicious. My new favorite soup. I got to use up some garden carrots and thyme. My family loved it too.
Aww that sounds amazing! Fresh thyme and carrots from your own garden!
So good! Lots of flavor. Family loved it!
Have to say it’s my new favorite soup.
I’m so happy to hear that. Thanks so much for sharing, Kristine!
Made this tonight. It was so good. Only modifications I made: no mushrooms and I used skim milk with AP flour. Definitely making this again!
That’s fantastic. Feel free to leave the mushrooms if you don’t like them. 🙂
So, so very delicious! Definitely the best soup I’ve ever made! I changed it up a wee bit- added cabbage and yellow squash, skipped the carrots and bacon, subbed breakfast sausage for the chicken, and arrowroot instead of the flour. This will certainly be a regular dish now that the weather is cooling down. Tastes like Thanksgiving!
Thank you, Noami! That sounds wonderful! YUM!