Chicken, white beans, carrots, and spinach in homemade chicken broth, with plenty of garlic, a little mild salsa verde, and a squeeze of lemon. Some of the beans are mashed to give the broth more body.
Makes: 6 generous servings
Prep time: About 15 minutes
Total time: About 1 hour
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 medium carrots, sliced into thin half moons
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 6 cups homemade chicken broth, plus more if needed
- ½ cup mild salsa verde
- 3 cans cannellini beans, 15 ounces each, drained and rinsed
- 5 ounces fresh spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Black pepper and salt to taste
Directions
1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots. Cook for 7 to 9 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens.
2. Add the garlic, cumin, and oregano. Stir for about 30 seconds.
3. Add the chicken, broth, and salsa verde. Bring to a gentle simmer. Partially cover and cook for about 20 to 25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken, until its thickest part reaches 165°F.
4. Transfer the chicken to a plate. Mash 1 cup of the drained beans with a little broth from the pot. Stir the mashed beans and remaining whole beans into the soup. Simmer for 5 to 8 minutes, until the carrots are tender and the beans are hot.
5. Shred the chicken and return it to the pot. Stir in the spinach and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, just until wilted. Add more broth if you prefer a thinner soup.
6. Remove from the heat. Stir in the lemon juice and parsley. Taste before adding salt, since the broth and salsa may already supply enough. Add black pepper and more lemon if needed.
Make it work in your kitchen
Using Swiss chard: Replace some or all of the spinach with an equal weight of chopped Swiss chard. Separate the stems from the leaves. Cook the finely chopped stems with the onion and carrots, and add the leaves with the beans so they have more time to soften.
Using cooked chicken: Use about 3 cups shredded cooked chicken. Simmer the broth and vegetables until the carrots are nearly tender, then add the beans and chicken. Continue until everything is hot, and finish with the spinach, lemon, and parsley.
Cooking for yourself: Keep a portion for tomorrow and freeze the rest in individual containers. Label each with the soup name, number of servings, and date.
Storage: Divide into shallow containers and refrigerate within 2 hours. Keep refrigerated for 3 to 4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and reheat to 165°F. Add a splash of broth if it has thickened.
A note about the broth
Homemade broth is made by boiling chicken bones and skin in water. I like to roast a chicken first, then boil the carcass to make the broth. If that sounds like too much work, buying chicken broth is an easy shortcut.
Estimated nutrition per serving
One serving is one sixth of the finished pot.
Calculated for the recipe with raw chicken breast, spinach, all measured olive oil and about 240 g drained beans per can. USDA ingredient data and representative salsa and packaged chicken broth labels were used. Homemade broth varies with its concentration and how much fat remains, so your soup may differ. Brands, substitutions and portion sizes also change the numbers. Carbs means total carbohydrate and includes fiber.