Chicken Zoodle Soup
All the comfort of chicken noodle soup — tender shredded chicken, herby broth, soft vegetables — with zucchini noodles in place of pasta.
Nutrition per serving
1½ cups- Net carbs
- 5.6g
- Calories
- 226kcal
- Protein
- 26g
- Fat
- 10g
- Total carbs
- 7.6 g
- Fiber
- 1.8 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient (optional ingredients excluded). Brands vary — check your labels if you track closely.
Ingredients
Shirataki noodles: Rinsed shirataki noodles hold their shape in hot broth for days, so this is the version to make ahead.
- Rinse the shirataki well, boil them for 2 minutes and drain (see how to prep shirataki). Snip them into shorter lengths.
- Add the noodles with the shredded chicken and simmer 2 minutes to heat through. Unlike zoodles, they can stay in the soup when you store it.
Greek lemon (avgolemono): Riced cauliflower in place of the rice and a silky egg-lemon liaison stirred in at the end — the Greek chicken soup, kept low-carb.
- Leave out the carrot. After shredding the chicken, add the riced cauliflower instead of zoodles and simmer 3–4 minutes, until tender. Take the pot off the heat.
- Whisk the eggs and lemon juice in a bowl until frothy, then slowly whisk in 2 ladles of the hot broth to temper them. Stir the mixture back into the pot.
- Warm over low heat, stirring, for 2–3 minutes, until the soup turns opaque and silky — do not let it boil or the eggs will curdle. Finish with dill.
Mexican-style (caldo de pollo): Chunky cabbage and zucchini in a cumin-and-oregano broth, finished at the table with lime, cilantro, jalapeño and avocado.
- Add the cumin and oregano with the garlic.
- After shredding the chicken, add the cabbage and simmer 8–10 minutes, until tender, then the zucchini chunks for the last 3–4 minutes.
- Stir in the lime juice and serve topped with cilantro, jalapeño and diced avocado.
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1 small carrotleave out - Also add
- Also add
Estimated cost $16.22 for 6 servings ($2.70 each) · how we estimate
Instructions
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Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrot and cook 5–6 minutes, stirring now and then, until softened. Add the garlic and thyme and cook 1 minute more.
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Pour in the broth, add the bay leaves and nestle in the whole chicken thighs. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer gently 20–25 minutes until the chicken is tender and reads 165°F (74°C) in the thickest part.
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While the chicken simmers, spiralize the zucchini (see how to make zoodles) and cut the strands into 3–4 inch (8–10 cm) lengths so they're easy to eat with a spoon.
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Lift the chicken onto a board, shred it with two forks and return it to the pot. Discard the bay leaves.
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Stir the lemon juice and parsley into the soup and season with salt and pepper. Add the zoodles and simmer just 1–2 minutes until barely tender — or divide the raw zoodles between bowls and ladle the hot soup over them.
Tips for success
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Zucchini noodles soften fast. If you're making the soup ahead, keep the zoodles separate and add them to each portion as you reheat it. - Thighs stay juicier than breasts through a long simmer, but 1½ lb boneless breasts work too — start checking the temperature at 15 minutes.
- No spiralizer? Use a julienne peeler, or swap in well-rinsed shirataki noodles.
Nice to have, not needed
- A spiralizer makes the longest noodles — a julienne peeler or rinsed shirataki noodles work without one.
Storage & meal prepMeal-prep friendly
- Keeps 4 days in the fridge
- Freezes up to 3 months
Reheat: Bring a portion of soup to a simmer, then add a handful of raw zoodles and cook 1–2 minutes.
Prep tip: Store the zoodles raw and separate (up to 3 days) — left in the broth, they turn mushy.
Refrigerate the soup up to 4 days and the raw zoodles separately up to 3 days. The soup base (without zoodles) freezes well for up to 3 months.
Variations
3 variations, each with its own ingredients and macrosShirataki noodles
SwapRinsed shirataki noodles hold their shape in hot broth for days, so this is the version to make ahead.
- zucchini → shirataki noodles
3.5 g net · 213 kcal · 25 g protein · 9.9 g fat · ≈$3.21 per serving (−2.1 g net carbs vs the original)
Greek lemon (avgolemono)
FlavorRiced cauliflower in place of the rice and a silky egg-lemon liaison stirred in at the end — the Greek chicken soup, kept low-carb.
- zucchini → riced cauliflower
- lemon juice → fresh lemon juice
- + 3 large eggs
- + 2 tbsp fresh dill
- no carrot
5.8 g net · 262 kcal · 29 g protein · 13 g fat · ≈$2.80 per serving (+0.2 g net carbs vs the original)
Mexican-style (caldo de pollo)
FlavorChunky cabbage and zucchini in a cumin-and-oregano broth, finished at the table with lime, cilantro, jalapeño and avocado.
- thyme (dried) → dried Mexican oregano
- zucchini → zucchini
- lemon juice → lime juice
- parsley (fresh) → cilantro
- + 1 tsp ground cumin
- + 3 cups green cabbage
- + 1 jalapeño
- + 1 medium avocado
7.3 g net · 275 kcal · 27 g protein · 14 g fat · ≈$2.90 per serving (+1.7 g net carbs vs the original)
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