Turmeric Chicken Noodle Soup

This turmeric chicken noodle soup combines shredded chicken, tender butternut squash, and kale in a rich, flavorful and healing coconut ginger turmeric broth. It's filling, nourishing, flavorful and perfect for a cozy fall or winter weeknight.

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This soup is pretty low effort for a super delicious result. It mostly comes together in one pot, and it's as simple as adding one ingredient at a time. We love easy recipes after busy days, and this recipe is the perfect simple soup to make after a long day.

As an added bonus, this chicken soup is packed with ginger and turmeric, which is a powerful anti-inflammatory ingredient!

Jump to:

• Turmeric Chicken Noodle Soup Ingredients
• How to Make this Turmeric Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
• Substitutions and Variations
• What to Serve with Turmeric Chicken Noodle Soup
• Storage
• Tips and FAQ
• Use a stand mixer to shred the chicken!
• More soup recipes
• Reviews

Turmeric Chicken Noodle Soup Ingredients

• Chicken: We used whole chicken breasts in this recipe, as they're pretty easy to shred. You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs, but they're a little harder to shred. If you want to make this recipe vegan, we like to substitute chicken with 2 cans of white beans instead.
• Chicken broth: If you can, use low sodium chicken broth. You can always add more salt at the end if you soup needs it, but you won't be able to take any out. You can also use vegetable broth if preferred.
• Coconut milk: Be sure to use full-fat coconut milk (the stuff that comes in a can). It makes this soup super creamy and luxurious!
• Noodles: We used wheat ramen noodles, but you can use whatever you have on hand, including rice, orzo, or another variety of pasta. If you would prefer not to add pasta, that's fine, too!
• Kale: Curly kale, lacinato kale, swiss chard, or bok choy all work here.
• Butternut squash: If you don't have any butternut squash on hand, you can also use potatoes, sweet potatoes or even carrots. Pumpkin would also be delicious.
• Onions and garlic: These are sautéed together to create a base of flavor for the soup.
• Lemons: We squeeze these in at the end to add a touch of acidity to the soup.
• Olive oil: This is for cooking the onions and garlic.
• Salt and pepper: Be sure to use kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.
• Ginger: We used fresh ginger, but you can also use a teaspoon of powdered ginger.
• Ground turmeric: This adds a golden color to the soup and a touch of earthy flavor. The soup won't be the same without it! Feel free to use fresh turmeric if you would prefer.

How to Make this Turmeric Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

STEP 1: Add oil to a large soup pot or dutch oven over medium low heat. Once the oil is heated, add onions and cook for 5 minutes, then add garlic, butternut squash, ginger, salt, pepper, and turmeric.

STEP 2: Add the coconut milk, chicken broth and chicken breasts. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook until chicken breasts are done, about 20 minutes. Move chicken breasts to a stand mixer and use the paddle attachment to shred. You can also use two forks to shred the chicken.

STEP 3: Add chicken back to your soup pot and add in the chopped kale and lemon juice. Stir, and cook on low until kale is wilted.

STEP 4: In a separate pot, bring water to a boil and cook your noodles according to package instructions. Add noodles to your soup and enjoy!

Substitutions and Variations

• Kale: You can use curly or lacinato (dino) kale, but if you're not a kale fan, you can use spinach, swiss chard, or even bok choy. You can also leave the greens out, and the soup will still be good.
• Noodles: We used ramen noodles, but you can feel free to use whatever noodles you're a fan of. You can also use rice, orzo, or pasta.
• Vegetarian: If you want to make this soup vegetarian, omit the chicken and add in cubes of tofu or white beans when you add in the kale.

What to Serve with Turmeric Chicken Noodle Soup

This soup is perfect served along side a grilled cheese, and you can try one of the grilled cheeses from our popular sheet pan soups. If you don't want to make a grilled cheese, it's also just delicious with warm, crusty bread!

We also love to serve this soup with a simple side salad. Try this Kale Couscous Salad or this Shaved Brussels Sprout Caesar Salad.

Storage

Kept refrigerated in an airtight container, this soup will keep for 5-7 days in the fridge. You don't need to store the noodles separately, but you may need to add in extra broth when reheating. You can also freeze the soup in an airtight container, and it will keep for 3-6 months.

Tips and FAQ

More tips

• Make sure to cook the pasta separately, otherwise it will soak up too much of the liquid in the soup. We like to ladle the soup into bowls, then add pasta just before serving.
• Add the kale in at the very end so that it doesn't overcook. You just want it to be wilted, not overcooked.
• If you don't have any butternut squash, feel free to use cubed potatoes, carrots, pumpkin or sweet potatoes.
• Turmeric gives this soup its distinctive color, so don't leave it out!
• Make it gluten free: Just use your favorite gluten free pasta!

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