Delicious chicken soup recipes for autumn

As the weather cools down, we instinctively turn to heartier comfort dishes, and nothing says comfort food like a big bowl of soup. Try these great chicken soup recipes.

Chicken has got to be one of Australia’s favourite sources of protein — it’s good for you, readily available and easy to cook. It’s also very versatile and can be used in any number of dishes, from salads to sandwiches to pies to stir-fries. But one of our favourite autumn dishes has to be a hearty chicken soup. It’s the kind of food you crave when you’re feeling sorry for yourself or have the flu, and of course it boasts many health benefits. Read on to try a great basic chicken soup recipe or a more exotic chicken laksa.

Health benefits of chicken

Chicken has one of the lowest counts of calories, fat and saturated fat of all meat sources — and, if you remove the skin, you can reduce its fat count even further. Chicken is also a great source of protein and is packed with nutrients such as zinc, iron, riboflavin, thiamine and niacin.

Grab a few chicken breasts from your local butcher and whip up one of these great soup recipes for dinner tonight. Your family will thank you.

Basic Chicken Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, sliced
• 2 carrots, sliced
• Approximately 500 millilitres chicken stock
• Ground black pepper
• 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Method:

1. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large pot, then fry the onion until lightly browned.
2. Add the celery, carrots, stock and pepper. Taste the soup and add plain water or more stock if required. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil.
3. Add the chicken and lower the heat. Cover the pot and let cook for about 10 minutes or until the chicken just loses its pinkish colouring and the vegies are starting to soften. Remove from heat.
4. Use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken pieces from the pot, allow it to cool and pull it apart into shreds.
5. Throw the chicken back into the pot and cook through. Serve!

Chicken laksa

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 3 cups coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons laksa paste
• 1 small onion, finely sliced
• 1 handful of mushrooms, sliced
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon palm sugar
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 500 grams chicken, diced
• 1 packet rice noodles
• ½ cup Vietnamese mint, torn
• 100g bean sprouts
• 4 lime wedges

Method:

1. Pour a few tablespoons of the coconut milk into a pan. Add the laksa paste and fry for about five minutes or until fragrant.
2. Add the onion and mushrooms, then the rest of the coconut milk and the stock. Bring to the boil.
3. Add palm sugar and fish sauce, then the chicken and poach until the meat is cooked.
4. Blanch the noodles in a separate bowl of hot water, as per instructions on the packet. Drain and add to the laksa soup.
5. Serve in small bowls with the mint leaves, bean sprouts and lime wedges.

More chicken recipes

Bacon wrapped chicken breasts recipe
Chicken pad thai recipe
Quick and easy chicken recipes