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When you’re sick, there’s nothing better than a warm bowl of soup. Packed with chicken 🐔 and veggies 🥕, this healthy flu-fighter chicken soup recipe will have you feeling better in no time! The comforting blend of savory broth and nourishing ingredients makes it the ultimate remedy for cold days or when you’re feeling under the weather. Plus, it’s easy to make and customize to suit your taste. I also have this gut-healing soup and pastina soup for more options.
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Flu-Fighter Chicken Soup Recipe
We also call this soup “Nana’s Cold and Flu-Fighter Soup” because it’s her special recipe that I’m so happy I can share with you. It’s the ultimate comfort food when you’re feeling sick 🤒. During cold season, I always make it to nurse my family back to health. Even my kids love it!
🥣 Flu-Fighter Chicken Soup Ingredients
- Chicken: Buying boneless, skinless chicken tenders saves time since they’re already cut and ready to bake.
- Olive Oil to help cook the chicken and vegetables
- Spices: Garlic powder, ground cumin, salt, black pepper, chili powder, cayenne pepper, dried oregano
- Mirepoix is a fancy French word for diced onion, carrots, and celery, which are the base of many soups.
- Garlic: You need eight garlic cloves for the best flavor and cold-fighting benefits. If you’re not a garlic fan, you can use less.
- Broth: I either make my own or buy one without “natural flavors.” Bonafide Provisions chicken broth and chicken bone broth are my favorite. You can also add water if you prefer soup with more liquid.
- Lemon Juice and Herbs (dill or parsley) for brightness and freshness
👩🍳 How to Make Flu-Fighter Chicken Soup
- Season the Chicken: Combine all the spices in a small bowl. Coat the chicken in olive oil and sprinkle with spices.
- Bake chicken at 375℉ for 20 to 25 minutes. Once cool, shred with two forks.
- Saute the mirepoix veggies and garlic. Add the broth, bring it to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remaining Ingredients: Add the shredded chicken to the pot with the lemon juice and fresh herbs
📹 Watch me make my Nana’s cold and flu-fighter soup here.
🗒 Variations
- 🍜 Chicken Noodle Soup: Add egg noodles after the soup has simmered for 15 minutes. Cook them for seven minutes, then add the chicken, lemon, and herbs. When we include the noodles, we call it “Mom’s Noodle Soup” because that’s how my mom likes to make it.
- 🍚 Chicken Rice Soup: Cook a pot of rice and put a big spoonful into your bowl with the soup.
- 🫛 Vegetarian Soup: Omit the chicken and add noodles. You could also use other vegetables, like spinach, bell peppers, squash, or green beans.
- 🫘 Make it Heartier: If you don’t want to use noodles and want extra protein and fiber, add a can of rinsed black beans or chickpeas. You could also add diced sweet potatoes or butternut squash.
🗒 Substitutions
- Chicken: Replace tenders with chicken breasts or thighs. If using breasts, pound them thin so they cook quicker and more evenly.
- Prefer no spice? Omit the cayenne pepper.
- No garlic powder? Sub onion powder.
- Oil: Swap olive oil with avocado oil.
- No dried oregano? Use dried parsley, thyme, or rosemary.
- Broth: Substitute vegetable broth.
- Onions: Use red onion or shallots.
- Herbs: if you don’t have fresh herbs, you can skip them. You could also use rosemary, thyme, or oregano.
🍽️ Best served with
If you’re sick, this is the best chicken soup for cold and flu. Eat it by itself or with crackers or bread. But, of course, this soup is good when you’re not under the weather, too! If you have more of an appetite (and energy!), make an arugula side salad, air fryer broccoli, or roast a veggie.
👝 How to Store
Leftover chicken garlic soup will last four days in the refrigerator, but it’s also fantastic for freezing. I love keeping small containers in my freezer, so if a cold strikes, I have some ready to go–no cooking required!
The easiest way to thaw it is to put it in the fridge the day before eating it. However, you can also put the frozen container in a bowl of cold water for 30 minutes to quickly thaw it. Then, microwave it until warm.
🤔 Common Questions
1. Nothing is more comforting than a warm bowl of soup when you’re not feeling your best. The hot broth can help soothe sore throats and open nasal passages.
2. Some evidence suggests that garlic can prevent or treat the common cold, so I load up on it. Plus, it tastes good!
3. Since soup is primarily liquid, it keeps you hydrated and thins mucus.
4. This healthy chicken soup is nutritious. You get protein from the chicken (and even more if you use bone broth) and a variety of vitamins and minerals from the veggies.
I like to cook the chicken separately in the oven to prevent it from overcooking and drying out in the soup. I add it at the end right before eating.
Flu-Fighter Chicken Soup
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast tenders
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
Soup
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
- 3 celery stalks, diced
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 32 ounces chicken stock or bone broth
- 4 cups water, optional if you prefer soup with more liquid
- 1 lemon, juiced, plus more for serving
- ¼ cup fresh dill or parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the garlic powder, cumin, salt, black pepper, chili powder, cayenne, and oregano in a small bowl.
- Place the tenders on the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over the chicken and sprinkle with the spice mix.
- Bake tenders for 20-25 minutes, flipping them halfway, until cooked through. Let cool, and then shred the chicken with 2 forks.
- Pour olive oil into a large pot or Dutch oven set on medium heat. Sauté the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic for 7 minutes. Pour in the chicken broth. Bring to a boil and let simmer on low for 15 minutes.
- Stir in the chicken and lemon juice. Sprinkle with fresh dill or parsley.