Cream of Broccoli Soup with Braised Chicken and Vegetables (Low FODMAP)
10 Minutes prep • 60 Minutes cook • Low FODMAP • Gluten-free • Serves 4 • Ok to make ahead: Steps 1-8
This delicious one-pan soup has a wonderfully creamy broccoli base with big chunks of chicken and lots of fresh vegetables. It’s so full of yummy ingredients, it’s hard to say if it’s soup or stew. The rich flavor is complemented and enhanced by the addition of butter and lemon juice to the finish. It’s easy to make and easy to clean up so it’s a perfect weeknight, or any night, meal. It’s definitely a soup the whole family will love (and a great way to sneak a few extra vegetables into your meal).
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
1 teaspoon Kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 small leeks, green part only, cleaned and chopped
1 cup broccoli florets
4 cups low FODMAP chicken broth (I use Whole Foods Organic 365 chicken broth or Gourmend low FODMAP Organic Chicken Broth - use code IBSGC15 for 15% discount)
1 tablespoon rosemary, leaves stripped and finely chopped (or substitute 1 teaspoon dry rosemary)
2 bay leaves (leave whole)
Parmesan Rind (optional but adds excellent flavor)
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons salted butter
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 small summer squash, chopped
1-2 cups baby spinach, long stems removed, roughly chopped
1/2 cup gruyere or Parmesan cheese, grated, for serving
Directions
(1) Prepare: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Chop the vegetables. If chicken breasts are very large (most seem to be these days!) cut them in half before braising. You can cut right through the bone with a strong chef’s knife. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper.
(2) Braise the chicken: Heat a heavy soup pot or Dutch Oven over medium-high heat. Add the oil and when it’s hot, put the chicken, skin side down, in the pan. Season with pepper and salt. Cook, turning once, and cook until browned on both sides, 6 to 8 minutes total. Remove the chicken to a plate and set aside.
(3) Cook the vegetables: Add 1 additional tablespoon of olive oil to the pot. Then add the leek greens and the broccoli to the pot and cook for about 3 minutes.
(4) Add the chicken and broth: Nestle the chicken breasts among the vegetables, skin side up. Add the chicken broth, then add and submerge the rosemary, bay leaves, and parmesan rind.
(5) Bake: Put the pan in the oven and cook, uncovered, for about 30 minutes for bone-in white meat (40 minutes if you’ve used bone-in dark meat instead) until the meat is just cooked (use an instant-read thermometer to confirm white meat is 165 degrees F or dark meat is 175-180 degrees F). If you don’t have an instant-read thermometer then cut into the chicken and make sure the juices run clear rather than pink.
(6) Shred chicken: Once just cooked through, remove the chicken from the pan to a cutting board. Shred the chicken with two forks, discarding the bones and the skin.
(7) Blend the soup: Remove the bay leaves and Parmesan rind. Stir in the cream, lemon juice, and butter. Using an immersion blender (or put the soup in your blender or food processor), blend or pulse until the base is creamy and smooth. Only about 1 minute.
(8) Finish: Return the shredded chicken to the pan. Add the zucchini, summer squash, and spinach and put the soup back in the oven for 10 minutes to heat and allow the vegetables to cook slightly. (You can also do the final heat on the stove if you prefer.)
(9) Plate and Serve: Ladle generous servings into bowls. Top each bowl with a sprinkling of aged gruyere or Parmesan cheese.
Eat and enjoy every bite because you can!
Recipe note: I use Diamond Crystal Kosher salt in all my recipes because it has a wonderful flat and crisp flake that tastes delicious. It is also the least salty salt available so you can use it more liberally as a seasoning than you can table salt or sea salt. If you use another type of salt, you may need to reduce the amount so it is not over-salted.
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