“Creamy soup” and “healthy” don’t often go hand-in-hand, but we managed to pull it off in this rotisserie chicken soup recipe without sacrificing flavor. Here’s how:
We Bulked Up On Veggies
Vegetables add flavor and color to a soup, but they also add vitamins and heart-healthy fiber. Our soup is packed with 5 cups of onions, carrots, celery and peas which adds tons of flavor and fiber which can help you feel satisfied for longer.
We Use Whole-Wheat Noodles
Whole-wheat noodles are a great choice in a soup like this one that’s packed with flavors that compliment their nutty taste while adding even more fiber to your meal.
We Cut Back On Saturated Fat
Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting saturated fat intake to less than 10% of your daily calories. We keep saturated fat in check by skipping the heavy cream that typically gives creamy soup its silky texture and opted for whole milk instead. We still use butter to cook the veggies in our soup, but we combine it with olive oil, an unsaturated fat that may help keep our hearts healthy.
We Slashed Sodium
Rotisserie chicken is convenient (and delicious) to use in soup, but it can be high in sodium. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that adults get no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium per day, the equivalent of one teaspoon of salt. To keep sodium in check, we call for unsalted chicken broth and use a moderate amount of kosher salt in our soup.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups chopped yellow onion (from 1 large onion)
- 1 cup chopped carrots (from 2 medium carrots)
- 1 cup chopped celery (from 2 large stalks)
- 1 ¾ teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 4 cups unsalted chicken stock
- 2 cups whole milk
- 4 ounces uncooked whole-wheat egg noodles
- 3 cups coarsely chopped rotisserie chicken breast (from 2 rotisserie chickens)
- 1 cup frozen green peas
Directions
- Step 1
Melt butter with olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots, celery and salt and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are slightly softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Add flour and stir to coat. Stir in broth and milk and let mixture come to a boil. Add uncooked noodles to boiling mixture. Cover and cook until noodles are al dente, about 8 minutes. Stir in chicken and peas and cook until pasta reaches desired doneness and chicken and peas are warmed through, about 1 to 2 more minutes. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size:
1 1/4 cups
Per Serving:
258 calories; protein 23g; carbohydrates 24g; dietary fiber 4g; sugars 7g; fat 9g; saturated fat 4g; calcium 101mg; potassium 422mg; sodium 730mg.