Tomato chicken soup

Today, we're sharing an simple tomato chicken soup recipe that is satisfying and healthy! This healthy chicken soup is dairy-free and gluten-free and a great idea for lunch or dinner.

We were going back and forth on whether we should name this pizza soup or not, but it does taste more like soup than anything else, so we’ll go with tomato chicken soup. But if you like pizza or pasta or lasagna, you’ll probably like this soup as well.

This chicken soup is a mix. A mix of the leftovers we already had in our fridge and some effort. Effort because we blended some cashews in order to make this creamier without using dairy or coconut milk, which we're not sure will go well with tomatoes. We also used a tomato sauce that our dad had frozen a while ago. Probably too long to eat, but too late – it’s been a week and our hunchback is still here writing this. (Yes, that hunchback’s gotten so big, it’s got a blog and a life on its own now.)

As, always, this is not a dictatorship, so do not follow orders. Work with whatever you have, express yourself, and whatever is expiring in your fridge. Also, you don’t need to add the cashews if you don’t want to, but they do thicken up the soup a bit.

Tomato Chicken Soup Ingredients

Here are the things we used and some alternatives if you don’t have them:

• Tomato sauce – any type of tomato sauce that contains fewer whole food ingredients will do. As we mentioned, ours was just 2-3 big tomatoes blended and packed in the freezer for 6 months. Probably.
• Some cooked leftover chicken. We had like 1/2 of a cooked skinless boneless chicken thigh (that sounds terrible, we see it!), we shredded it and we used that. You can use any type of cooked chicken here. Also, if you want to make it vegan – use some chickpeas or beans.
• Green pesto – that, no, we did not make myself, we bought it. It had good ingredients, some walnuts in it, no cheese and we loved it in the soup.
• Frozen green beans – we bought a huge bag of green beans and now they’re making it into every meal we make. This soup, our lunch bowls, the apple crumble we just had for breakfast…everywhere. Must say, not bad, but not a huge fan. We're 1/3 done with the bag, so there might be some recipes coming up.
• Vegetables. We had some cauliflower, onion, zucchini and spinach and they all looked sad and half-eaten. As we know, there are two things in life that cost a lot of money for no reason at all: 1. bitcoin 2. cauliflower. And we will not throw out half a paycheck without eating it first.
• Olives. Yes, we thought we were making pizza soup, so we chopped up some olives and we must say…not a bad choice.
• Garlic, oregano, salt and water. Ah, the magical combo. You can also use stock instead of water. We usually always use water and salt when making soups, because we like to season things myself.
• Cashews. Soak them overnight in regular temperature water or for let them sweat for 10-15 minutes in hot water. We’ll use these cashews later to thicken up the soup. But you can also leave them out. If you want to thicken up the soup otherwise, you can also use some tomato paste or blend one cup of the soup in your blender and let it cook for a while afterward.

How it comes together

Step 1: Prepare the ingredients. Chop the vegetables, shred the chicken, mince the garlic, and soak your cashews in boiling hot water for 20 minutes.

Step 2: Time to cook. Saute the onion and garlic with oregano, green beans and cauliflower. Then add in the tomato sauce and the chicken. Add a good pinch of salt and water (or the stock). Then cover, bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and cook for 20 minutes.

Step 3: In the meantime, turn those cashews into a creamy sauce. For this, you’ll need those soaked cashews and magic. A blender will also work. Remove the soaking water, add the cashews to the blender, add some new water and blend until smooth and creamy.

Step 4: Finish the soup. Add the pesto, zucchini, spinach, olives, cashews and the rest of the garlic. Stir it for a little bit then let cook without a lid for 4-5 more minutes.

Serve hot and enjoy!

How To Serve The Chicken Tomato Soup

We recommend serving the soup with some fresh herbs like basil, dill or parsley and some black pepper or crushed red pepper for some heat.

How To Store

You can store any leftovers of this tomato chicken soup in a closed airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, just do it in the microwave or on the stove.