Healthy Crockpot Chicken Soup

 

 

I love chicken soup.  I have always struggled with making a homemade chicken broth because I don't like the added fat that results when boiling chicken in a broth.  To get around this, first I boil boneless chicken breasts seperately.  Then I add the boiled chicken to low sodium chicken broth in a crockpot with vegetables and heat at the low setting for 8 hours.  This results in a soup that tastes great but without all the added fat and excess sodium.  Yields 6 servings at 240 calories/serving.

Healthy Crockpot Chicken Soup

3 boneless chicken breasts with excess fat removed

7 cups low sodium chicken broth

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped green pepper

1/4 cup tomatoes, diced

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped with seeds removed

2 cans cannellini beans (white kidney beans), rinsed and drained

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon oregano

1-2 garlic cloves

salt and pepper to taste

Boil 3 boneless chicken breasts in water until cooked through and tender.

Chop cooked chicken into bite sized pieces for the soup.  Place cooked chicken into the crockpot.

Boil water and add bouillon cubes to make the chicken broth.  Simmer for a couple of minutes.

Next chop green peppers into small pieces.

I used the help of my Kitchen Aid mini food processor to chop the onions.

Chop the jalapeno pepper into small pieces. Careful when handling the pepper.  Remember to wear gloves.  Even hand washing will not remove the potentially irritating juices from your skin.  Remove the seeds and veins from the pepper before chopping.

Chop the tomatoes into small pieces.

Rinse and drain the cannellini beans.

Add all the vegetables to the chicken in the crockpot.

Add the chicken broth, cumin, oregano, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste and cook on the low setting for 8 hours. 

 

 

Yields 6 servings at approximately 240 calories/serving.