Chicken Soup with Zucchini Noodles

If you were to ask a classroom full of kids what their favourite kind of soup is, I bet most would say chicken noodle. It’s nutritious "comfort in a bowl," and full of delicious, kid-friendly flavours.

For spring, I wanted to lighten up my go-to quick chicken soup recipe so I decided to replace the pasta with zucchini noodles and it was a huge hit! No one missed the gluten, even my carb-crazy kids, and the bowls looked and tasted so bright and fresh. Once your family tries zucchini noodles – and there are some great inexpensive spiralizing gadgets out there to produce them – you may find they’ll enjoy them in many other ways, like with spicy ginger peanut sauce. Not only is this chicken soup a great way to use up leftover rotisserie chicken, the added bonus is that it’s ready in less than twenty minutes. 

Chicken Soup with Zucchini Noodles

Ingredients:

1 tbsp canola or olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tsp dried thyme or 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
1 medium zucchini, spiralized or shredded

Directions:

• Heat oil in a large pot; add onion and sauté for 2 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic, celery and carrots and sauté 3 minutes more, stirring often.
   
• Add chicken, chicken broth, thyme, salt and pepper to pot. Cover pot with a lid and increase heat to bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low (to maintain a simmer). Cook for 10 minutes.
   
• Remove lid and add zucchini noodles (or grated zucchini) and cook 2 – 3 minutes longer, until zucchini is tender.

Serves 2 – 3; can easily be doubled.

RELATED: Crispy Zucchini Sticks Your Kids Will Devour