Chicken Kale Soup — 🍗🥬😋 This chicken soup with white beans and kale is easy, hearty, and healthy. Packed with flavor and texture, it’s a full meal in itself!
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Hearty Chicken and Kale Soup Recipe
My family loves soup, and I love making it for them because with soup there are always leftovers. Bonus for the cook and a game-changer on busy days.
This chicken and kale soup is easy, ready in 30 minutes, hearty, healthy, gluten, and dairy-free. The ultimate comfort food, it’s packed with flavor and texture. Even for those who think that soup can’t make a meal, this one will change your mind.
There are many recipes for sausage, kale, and white bean soup online, but I opted to go with the ease of using shredded rotisserie chicken. The beans add heartiness and protein, while the kale, cabbage, and zucchini add texture. Even with soup I need texture and love anything green and the veggies are perfect. I love to serve mine topped with a sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan cheese.
What Readers Are Saying
It’s not just me and my family who love this soup. Take a look at what readers have to say, too! ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
SOOOOOO GOOD!! This recipe is a WINNER!! I will be making this soup again and again.
Barb
Excellent soup! I loved the addition of lemon for a bit of brightness. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Suzan
Great soup! Even my non-soup-loving husband says it’s one of the best. We add grated Parmesan. Also, I love you can freeze it; I immediately froze half of it!
Karen
Chicken Kale Soup Ingredients
To make this chicken kale white bean soup, you’ll need:
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Vidalia onion
- Celery
- Green cabbage
- Garlic
- Chicken broth – I recommend using low-sodium chicken broth to prevent the soup from being overpoweringly salty. If needed, you can substitute bone broth or vegetable broth
- Shredded cooked chicken – I use rotisserie chicken to keep this recipe super quick and easy, but you can use leftover shredded chicken breasts or even skinless chicken thighs
- Cannellini beans – If you can’t find cannellini beans, great northern beans also work well in this soup
- Dried parsley and oregano
- Salt and black pepper
- Kale – I recommend using curly kale or Lacinato kale. Before adding the kale to the soup, remove the center rib. That part is extremely tough to chew and shouldn’t be added to this soup (use just the kale leaves)
- Zucchini
- Fresh lemon juice
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Chicken and Kale Soup
This is such a quick and easy kale chicken soup recipe! Here are the basic recipe steps:
- In a large Dutch oven, sauté the onion and celery until soft.
- Add the cabbage and continue to cook until slightly wilted.
- Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant.
- Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.
- Let the mixture boil until the chicken is warmed through, the zucchini has softened, and the kale has wilted.
What to Serve with Chicken Kale Soup
Recipe FAQs
Yes, this chicken and kale soup recipe is fairly flexible in that regard. If you don’t have kale on hand, spinach or a similar leafy green may be substituted.
Yes, if at any time while making the soup, the overall liquid level is lower than you like and you prefer more broth, adding a cup or two of water is okay because at the end you will adjust the salt level.
Feel free to include extra herbs and spices such as rosemary, bay leaves, or even a dash of red pepper flakes to amp up the flavor even further.
You can store leftover chicken kale soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days.
Yes, this soup will last up to 6 months in the freezer. I recommend freezing it in smaller containers so you can reheat one or two portions at a time.
I recommend reheating your soup thawed in 30-second increments in the microwave. Or, warm larger portions in a pot over medium heat on the stove. Feel free to add more water or broth as needed if it becomes a bit too thick for your liking.
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Chicken Kale Soup
Equipment
- 1 Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups sweet Vidalia or yellow onion, peeled and diced small (about 2 medium/large onions)
- 1 cup celery, sliced thin (about 2 stalks)
- 2 to 3 cups green cabbage, sliced into thin ribbons (about 1/2 small head of cabbage)
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced
- 64 ounces 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 to 4 cups shredded cooked chicken, use about 1 whole storebought rotisserie chicken to save time; or roast or cook your own chicken in a skillet
- two 15-ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoons salt, or to taste
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
- leaves from 4 large stalks of kale, torn into bite-sized pieces (discard the center thick rib)
- 1 cup zucchini, diced small (from about 1 medium zucchini)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, optional (brightens up the flavor)
Instructions
- To a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add the oil, onion, celery, and sauté over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, or until vegetables begin to soften. Stir intermittently.
- Add the cabbage and sauté for about 3 minutes, or until cabbage wilts and softens. Stir intermittently.
- Add the agarlic and sauté for another 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken broth, shredded chicken, cannellini beans, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper to taste, and boil about 5 minutes, or until chicken is warmed through.
- Add the kale, zucchini, optional lemon juice, and boil 1 to 2 minutes, or until kale has wilted and zucchini has softened.
- Taste soup and add salt or herbs, to taste. Amount of salt will vary based on how salty the brand of chicken broth used is, how salty the rotisserie chicken is, and personal preference. At any time while making the soup, if the overall liquid level is lower than you like and you prefer more broth, adding a cup or two of water is okay because at the end you will adjust the salt level. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Soup will keep airtight in the fridge for 5 to 7 days or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Love this soup! Left out the oil and used fry lite so everything ‘free’ on my SW plan! Amazing ❤️
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this worked out great for you!
This was amazing! I have never left a recipe review before, but this was so easy and so delicious, that I had to comment. My whole family enjoyed this. My husband and I ate this for dinner and lunch twice in one week! Gave plenty of leftovers which is always my favorite! Will be making another batch tomorrow.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you loved it enough to leave your first ever recipe review/comment!
Hi! I didn’t see the nutritional facts for the soup. Was seeing if anyone an help? Thanks!
Underneath the directions, big orange box.
I’ve made this soup plenty of times and always turns out sooo good! I even made it for a soup competition and won first place!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad my recipe is winning competitions!
I made this so many times! I’ts become my go to for soup. I also tried to make it in an instant pot and it came out wonderfully as well! It’s a huge hit in the family ^^ Thank you!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this is your go-to soup and that it comes out great in the instant pot as well!
Made this tonight and it was Fabulous! Omitted zucchini just because I didn’t feel like going to the store and added a dash of lemon pepper seasoning because one commenter mentioned it and it sounded great so I did. Amazing bursts of flavor and healthy, Yep! I’ll keep it!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and this was a winner! Lemon pepper is great in here and yes a flexible recipe. No need to go to the store just for a zucchini :)
This was a good hearty soup. I substituted spinach for kale. This definitely on my list of soups to make again.
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you will make it again!
This was a very delicious recipe and I am not really a soup person. I used ground chicken, left out the zucchini and added a couple dashes of cayenne pepper. Definitely keeping this recipe
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it’s a keeper for you!
Any idea what the nutrition on this is? I made it last night and it was amazing. I’ve never had cooked kale, I always eat it raw in smoothies and was reluctant since I do not like cooked spinach, however this was just delicious! Thanks for sharing your recipe.
There is a button that says NUTRITION underneath the recipe. It’s very approximate though…I mean someone could get 16 servings from this pot and another family could get 8. In general, I think this is a very healthy soup though!
Could I use northern beans instead?
Yes.
It snowed in the south today and that means soup! I didn’t want to go get a rotisserie chicken so I did make this partially in the crock pot. I used 5 thighs. I trimmed most of the fat and skin, seasoned them with salt and pepper and put them in the crock pot. I sauteed the onions, celery and garlic in the olive oil and added them, along with half the chicken stock and the spices, to the crock pot and let it cook on low all day. It smelled divine! When I was ready to make dinner I scooped out thighs and put them on a platter to cool. Then I poured the yummy broth into my stock pot and added the rest of the ingredients except for the kale and zucchini. While that boiled, I discarded the bone (the meat just fell off) and skin, diced the meat, and added it to the pot. Then I finished the dish. My husband could not stop complementing it. It was perfect for this snowy night!
I think you get all the compliments on this one since you improvised it into the Crock Pot and then transferred it into a stockpot. Sounds like a winner and glad you loved it!
What would the approximate measurement be if you are using baby kale?
I would say 3 to 4 cups loosely packed kale, of any variety. Play it by ear.
Why does a video show up on the Printer Friendly page? Makes me hesitate to sign up for emails
It’s a technical glitch that my team is working on. But it has nothing to do with signing up for emails…the two are unrelated and you can always un-subscribe with one click at any time.
Does this freeze well?
Soup generally freezes pretty well. However the kale may get a little softer after the thawing process. Just guessing here.
Can’t wait to try this soup plus several of the others that you have posted — thanks for posting them. Love the way you publish, too! BTW — San Diego is our favorite vacation destination .. just a bit jealous!!
Glad you love it here…me too!
Let me start by saying my fiancé and I are not soup people. I fall in the “soup is not a meal” camp. But, I decided to give this recipe a try anyway because it looked hearty and healthy. OMG. We both raved about it – it was so delicious! I did make a few small tweaks: added sliced carrots at the beginning (with the onions and celery), a dash of red pepper flakes, and a dash of lemon pepper (in addition to the fresh squeezed lemon juice). The soup was amazing and we have leftovers for days! So happy I tried this recipe…excited to try a few more now!
I’m so glad you loved the soup and went out on a limb and gave it a try! I love your tweaks, lemon pepper and red pepper flakes, can’t go wrong there.
All of my soups, even the vegetarian/vegan ones, are still satisfying. You definitely will feel full and not like you’re missing a meal. LMK what you try next!