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Get Cookin’ RV Style: Healthy Chicken & Vegetable Soup

 

Chicken and vegetable soup is the ideal dish when on the road year-round. Whether you’re under the weather, want to incorporate veggies into your spring and summer dishes, or need a nice warm soup on a chilly night around the fire, there really isn’t a time that we don’t recommend this healthy meal. Below we share our favorite, easy to make chicken soup recipe that is (get ready) low sodium, low carb and gluten free. Dig in!

This recipe is part of Rec Van’s YouTube cooking series: Get Cookin’ RV Style. Each road recipe in the series has a short cooking video hosted by an engaging guest chef, who gives you a deeper look at how to make the recipe. Be sure to subscribe to both our Rec Van blog and our YouTube channel for notifications when each new recipe is released.

Disclaimer: Rec Van has no connection to any of the companies, brands or products listed in this recipe, blog post and video, and does not receive any financial consideration from the companies, brands, and products mentioned. No endorsement of Rec Van by the companies, brands and products mentioned should be assumed.

RECIPE: Healthy Chicken & Vegetable Soup

Ingredients for a 4-quart batch (6 servings):

– 1 Tbsp             Olive Oil
– ½ medium       Onion, diced  (about 8-10 oz. total weight) *
– 1                      Leek, chopped *
– 1 medium        Fennel/Anise Bulb, chopped  (about 6-8 oz. trimmed weight)
– 2 packs           Chicken Broth – No Salt Added or Low Sodium (32 oz. Tetra Paks)
– 3 small            Dried Bay Leaves
– 8 oz.                Cut & Peeled Baby Carrots  (half of a 16 oz. bag)
– 4                      Celery Stalks, diced
– ½ can              Cannellini or Great Northern Beans – No Salt Added or Low Sodium (15 oz.can)
– ½ Bag             Frozen Peas – No Salt Added  (10-12 oz. bag)
– ½ Bag             Frozen Cut Green Beans – No Salt Added  (10-12 oz. bag)
– 3 Tbsp             Fresh Curly Parsley, chopped
– 1 Tbsp             Fresh Dill Weed, chopped  (or dried dill weed)
– 8 oz.                Fully Cooked Chicken, Shredded or Cubed
– 1-2 cups          Water, if desired to slightly increase the quantity of soup

Instructions: Step By Step
  1. Dice half of a medium onion and collect it in a bowl. * For a low-acid version of this soup, leave the onion out.
  2. Chop 1 leek and add it to the onion. * Leave this ingredient out for a low-acid version.
  3. If adding the optional cloves of garlic, mince them and set them aside in a small dish. * Again, leave this ingredient out for a low-acid version.
  4. Chop the fennel/anise bulb and collect it in a bowl.
  5. In a 4- to 6-quart Dutch oven pan over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil.
  6. If adding the garlic, sauté the garlic in the oil first, until it just starts to lightly brown.
  7. Then sauté the onion, leek and fennel/anise for about 6- to 8-minutes, until they just start to lightly brown.
  8. Turn the heat down to low and add ½ of one of the chicken broth packs. Keep cooking until the fennel has softened in the broth, about 10-12 minutes.
  9. While the onion & fennel mixture is cooking, dice the carrots and place them in a microwave-safe dish.
  10. Then chop the celery stalks and set them in a bowl.
  11. Heat the carrots on high in the microwave for about 3 minutes to partially cook and soften them.
  12. Once the onion-fennel mixture is soft, add all of the remaining chicken broth (1 and a 1/2 packs) and keep the soup cooking on low heat.
  13. Add dried bay leaves, celery and carrots.
  14. Add the half of a can of Cannellini or Great Northern beans.
  15. In a bowl or dish, heat the half of a bag of frozen peas and half of a bag of frozen cut green beans together on high in the microwave for about 5 minutes, to pre-cook/soften them.
  16. Add the heated peas and green beans to the soup, and continue to cook the soup on low heat.
  17. Chop the fresh curly parsley and add it to the soup.
  18. Chop the fresh dill weed and add it to the soup.
  19. Bring the soup to a boil on high heat, and then reduce the heat and let it simmer on low for 30 minutes.
  20. While the soup is simmering, cut the fully-cooked shredded chicken into bite-size pieces and add it to the soup.
  21. Add the sliced zucchini to the soup, if using it.
  22. With about 10 minutes left of simmering, you can add 1-2 cups of additional water to maximize the quantity of soup.
  23. If you want to add salt to the entire batch of soup, adding it with about 10 minutes left of simmering is a good time. But you can also let each person add salt to their own bowl of soup so they can customize how much salt they want to add to their diet. This recipe is low-sodium by design for those watching their sodium intake.
  24. Add 1- to 2-cups of water if you want to slightly increase the amount of soup.
  25. Leftover soup can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week or you can put it in the freezer for several months.

* Note: For a low-acid version of this soup that is Acid Reflux and GERD friendly, leave out the onion, leek and garlic.

Start-to-Finish Time:  2 – 2.5 hours
Cooking Tools Needed
  • 1 4- to 6- quart Dutch Oven pan
  • Cutting board
  • Chef’s knife
  • Garlic press (if adding garlic)
  • Cooking spoon
  • 1 Tablespoon size measuring spoon
  • Can opener
  • Microwave-safe dish/bowl
  • 1- to 2-cup fluid measuring cup
  • Soup ladle
  • Quart-Size screw-top plastic containers for storing leftover soup

Looking for more Get Cookin’ recipe videos to change up what you eat while RVing? Click here for our YouTube playlist.