by Kylie PerrottiPosted on January 27, 2023February 2, 2023
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This chicken soup with white beans and kale is a weeknight wonder. This one-pot chicken soup with kale requires very little fussing over the stove, and it can even be made in a crockpot if you like!
There are nights when I don’t feel like cooking and when that happens, I turn to simple, one-pot recipes. This easy chicken and white bean soup with kale is a perfect cure for those nights when you just need a break.
You need just a handful of ingredients, but you can modify this soup endlessly. Here’s what you need to make the basic recipe:
Protein: Boneless, skinless chicken thighs and white beans.
Veggies: Onion, red potatoes, and kale; try it with spinach or escarole!
Finishing touches: A little cream, lemon juice, and fresh parsley round out this one-pot chicken soup’s flavors!
How to make this chicken soup with white beans and kale:
You’ve gathered you’re ingredients and now you’re ready to start cooking! When I tell you this recipe comes together in a jiff, I mean it. Here’s what you’ll do:
Step 1: Brown up the chicken quickly! You just want to get a little Maillard reaction going on the chicken, so you only need to go 5 minutes on the first side. Tip: Make sure you pat the chicken dry and season it with salt and pepper first!
Step 2: Throw in those onions and potatoes and season all over with your garlic pepper, crushed red pepper, and more salt and pepper.
Step 3: Simmer it up! Add the beans and water or veggie stock and bring to a boil. Simmer for 45 minutes until you can shred the chicken.
Step 4: Shred the chicken. You can do this straight in the pot, or you can transfer the chicken to a bowl first. The pieces need not be super small; just break the chicken apart into bite-sized strips.
Step 5: Finish the soup! Add the shredded chicken back in, along with the kale and heavy cream. As soon as the kale wilts, add in the lemon juice and parsley.
Can I make this in a crockpot?
YES. This one-pot chicken soup with kale is super amenable to being made in a crockpot. Throw everything except the kale and cream in the crockpot. Cook it on high for 3–4 hours or low for 7–8 hours. Stir in the kale halfway through cooking. Right before serving, stir in the cream.
This recipe doesn’t require too much fussing over the stove, making it a perfect weeknight wonder recipe.
Heat oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper and add it to the pot. Cook without moving for 5 minutes.
Flip the chicken and add the onion, potatoes, garlic pepper, and crushed red pepper. Season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat and cook for 5 minutes.
Simmer the soup:
Add the beans and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes.
Remove chicken and shred with two forks. They can be big pieces, no need to be fussy about it! Taste and season once more.
Finish the soup:
Add the chicken back to the pot along with the kale and heavy cream. Simmer for 5 minutes until kale is wilted. Finish with lemon juice and parsley. Taste and season once more.
To serve:
Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with more parsley if you like. Enjoy!
What is the thickener in a white bean soup? In this recipe, what really thickens up the soup is the 15 oz of white beans that you are mashing and the starches from the potatoes. We aren't using cornstarch or a thickening agent in this recipe, it really doesn't need it!
Instead, ladle a small amount of broth into a separate bowl and let it cool. Add a few tablespoons of flour or cornstarch to the bowl and whisk until it's blended smooth. Next, bring the soup to a simmer and add the mixture back to the pot. Pro tip: Don't dump in the entire mixture at once.
Lemons are a chicken soup game changer. Why? They brighten up and balance the salty, rich flavors of the dish, and make all of the ingredients come into line. Like a vinaigrette on a salad, the pickle on a burger, and the sour cream in a coffee cake, a squeeze of lemon gives chicken soup a game-changing brightness.
Consider using methods like making a roux, blending beans or legumes, using bread, adding egg yolk, pureeing vegetables, incorporating heavy cream or coconut milk, adding potato flakes or starch, or making a slurry with cornstarch or arrowroot to thicken soups without sacrificing flavor or texture.
To make a thick Chinese soup, all of the ingredients required tend to be added into a pan at once and cooked slowly, allowing the flavours to infuse each other. The soup is further thickened by adding in a thickener such as tapioca starch or cornstarch.
Roux (pronounced roo) is a mixture of equal weights (parts) of flour and fat (usually clarified butter; chicken fat, bacon fat, and margarine are also used) cooked over medium heat and stirred constantly. Roux is the most common thickener for sauces and soups.
This completely versatile starch is used in savory and sweet dishes alike: gelatinizing fruit pie fillings or thickening your hefty, stick-to-your-bones soups.
Substituting Cornstarch for Flour as a Gluten-Free Alternative. If you have someone in the family with an allergy restriction, you may need a gluten-free thickener for your soup recipe. It's important to note that cornstarch has twice the thickening power of flour.
A few great choices are thyme, bay leaf, parsley, and rosemary. 4. Try adding some acidity. A splash of lemon juice or a tablespoon of white wine vinegar can brighten the flavors of the soup.
Change up the usual chicken noodle soup completely by adding frozen corn, tortilla chips and avocados to make Mexican chicken noodle soup. You can even add a can of stewed tomatoes to really enhance the flavor.
Ensure you've added enough salt and black pepper. Too little salt means your soup's flavors will remain hidden. When you know your soup is salty enough, move on to other seasonings like herbs and spices.
Whether it's white wine or vinegar, a touch of acid added to the simmering pot will create a richer finished product. That's because acid helps break down the cartilage and other connective tissues in the bones of the chicken, which helps speed up the formation of gelatin in the stock.
Vinegar, much like salt, is a flavor enhancer — it not only imparts its own taste and acidity to a soup, but in small quantities, it helps to bring out the brightness of other ingredients as well.
Add aromatics: Enhance the flavor of the broth by adding aromatics such as onions, garlic, carrots, celery, and herbs. Sauté them in a separate pan with a little oil until they are softened and slightly caramelized. Then add them to the broth and simmer for an additional 10-15 minutes to infuse the flavors.
There are several ingredients you can add to thicken bean soup while adding flavor at the same time. Try adding tomato paste, pureed vegetables like carrots or potatoes, or even a spoonful of nut butter. These additions will enhance the thickness and taste of your soup.
If your beans are still too watery after prolonged cooking and mashing, consider adding a thickener like cornstarch, all-purpose flour, or arrowroot. To do this, first, make a slurry of equal parts thickener and water, then slowly add it to your refried beans. They should thicken considerably.
Introduction: My name is Greg Kuvalis, I am a witty, spotless, beautiful, charming, delightful, thankful, beautiful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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