This is a great soup recipe to make on any rainy or cold day where you want something healthy, quick, and easy. You can make this chicken, kale, and potato soup in about 30 minutes and have a one-pot, nutrient-dense meal on the table.
It’s also perfect as a light dinner and any leftovers can be frozen for up to 3 months. Sound like what you had in mind? Then, let’s get cooking!
How Healthy Is This Soup?
This chicken soup with kale and sweet potato is loaded with healthy nutrients including protein, vitamins A, K, C, and fiber to name a few. The main vegetables are fresh kale and sweet potatoes. Both of which are wonderfully nutrient-dense.
Truth be told. This is a very minimalistic soup recipe, with a total of ten ingredients. But sometimes simple is healthy…and EASY! Using whole foods with minimal ingredients just makes me feel good about what I’m eating.
Plus, being so simple means you can add to this chicken, potato, and kale soup for even more flavor if your heart so desires.
But before we get into how to add to this recipe, let’s take a quick look at the nutritional benefits of the two star vegetables: kale and sweet potato.
What Are the Health Benefits of Kale?
I prefer not to use the word “superfood” however, kale has long been thought of as a superfood. While I do think kale is pretty amazing, I call it a POWERHOUSE food, among many other powerhouse foods to include in a healthy dietary pattern.
This green, cruciferous, nutrient-packed veggie has a long list of nutritional and health benefits. In one cup of raw kale, you will find:
- 9 calories
- 0.6 grams protein
- 0.9 grams carbohydrate
- 0.8 grams fiber
- 52 mg calcium
- 72 mg potassium
- 19 mg vitamin C
- 13 mg folate
- 50 micrograms vitamin A
- 80 micrograms vitamin K
Kale is a good source of lutein and zeaxanthin, antioxidants that can help protect your cells from damaging free radicals. Research also shows that lutein may help reduce blood pressure and protect against atherosclerosis (thickening and hardening of arteries).
In addition to these benefits, nutrients in kale have been linked to other health benefits including:
- weight loss (1)
- brain health (2)
- supporting immunity (3)
- cardiovascular health (4, 5)
- protection against cancer (3)
So yes, kale is pretty darn amazing and there are so many things you can do with it. I suggest trying my Sausage, White Bean and Kale Soup, Kale Salad With Tahini Dressing, or Best Kale Salad Ever! And if those options don’t sound delicious, you can always make tried and true baked kale chips!
A Special Note to Those on Anticoagulants
Since kale is rich in vitamin K, it can cause interactions with blood-thinning medications, including warfarin (brand name Coumadin).
Vitamin K is a natural blood clotting vitamin. Anticoagulants are prescribed to do the exact opposite, which is thin your blood.
If you are taking warfarin, you do not have to avoid vitamin K completely. But it is wise to keep vitamin K intake consistent each day so this does not interfere with the effects of your medication.
What Are the Health Benefits of Sweet Potatoes?
Sweet potatoes are a fiber-packed, complex carbohydrate food choice. FYI, these are also considered “superfoods” because of their nutrient density (6).
In one medium cooked sweet potato (without the skin), you will find:
- 115 calories
- 2 grams protein
- 27 grams carbohydrate
- 4 grams of fiber
- 40 mg calcium
- 27 mg magnesium
- 347 mg potassium
- 9 micrograms folate
- 1190 micrograms vitamin A
- 14,300 micrograms beta-carotene
And if you choose to eat sweet potatoes WITH the skin, you’ll get even more nutrients. Some health benefits associated with sweet potato consumption, include:
- weight loss
- liver protection
- cardiovascular health benefits
- prevention of metabolic disorders
- cancer prevention
- improvements to brain and memory
As you can see, both of these powerhouse foods combine in this chicken, kale, and potato soup to create a healthy and hearty meal.
Ingredients
Here are the whole food ingredients you will need to make this chicken, kale, and potato soup. Most of these are staples which may already have in your kitchen and pantry.
Chicken– I use boneless, skinless chicken breast here, cutting them into bite-sized pieces.
Olive Oil– Just a couple tablespoons to coat your soup pot. A good olive oil is always welcome and provides more heart health benefits.
Salt/Pepper– I do use a little salt and pepper to season the chicken. Otherwise this recipe uses no other salt.
Unsalted Chicken Broth– Try to find unsalted chicken broth or stock. If you can’t, substitute low-sodium chicken broth to help reduce the sodium content.
Garlic– I love using minced garlic in as many recipes as I can. It adds so much flavor and has health benefits of its own.
Onion– Another staple in my kitchen, onions add more complexity to this soup as well as flavor.
Sweet Potato– I peel and dice the sweet potatoes to similar bite-sized pieces as the chicken.
Thyme– Herbs help boost the flavor of this soup as well and the earthiness of thyme pairs well with kale and sweet potato.
Kale– Curly kale is most commonly found in grocery stores, so this is what I use here. You can also use redbor, lacinato, or baby kale if you like.
How To Make Chicken, Kale, and Potato Soup
This one-pot meal is fairly straight forward. Use these easy instructions and have dinner ready in about half an hour.
Step 1: Prep Ingredients
Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Then do the same with the sweet potatoes and onion. Rinse and tear your kale into bite-sized pieces as well. Preparing all your ingredients in this way always helps recipes go that much smoother.
Step 2: Heat Your Pot and Start Adding
Heat a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Coat the pot with olive oil then add the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook the chicken for about 3 minutes. Then add the onion and garlic and cook until the onion becomes translucent. Next add the sweet potatoes.
Step 3: Add Broth and Boil
Pour in the unsalted chicken broth and bring your soup to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer and cover your soup. Simmer the soup for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are almost cooked through.
Step 4: Finishing Things Up
Lastly, add the thyme and kale and cover the soup again until the kale wilts completely. This will only take 1-2 minutes. Test to see if the potatoes are cooked through. Serve your chicken, kale, and potato soup sprinkled with some parmesan cheese and crusty bread with butter. Enjoy!
Prep and Substitutions
I always like to read the directions in their entirety and prep my ingredients before cooking anything or even turning on my stove. It just helps me organize the recipe and my process in my head. If you prefer to prep as you go, that’s totally fine as well. But here are a few preparation tips that may help.
- Make sure to cut the chicken and veggies to your preferred sizes. I like all my ingredients uniformly sized. Too large of pieces and I can’t fit all the ingredients on the soup spoon for a perfect scoop. But adjust this to your own liking.
- If you can find pre-chopped or diced onion and sweet potatoes, perfect. That’ll cut back on prep time.
- If you want to use pre-washed and chopped kale or substitute packaged baby kale or spinach, that will also work great in this recipe.
- I use pre-minced garlic in this chicken, kale, and potato recipe however you can also substitute 1 tablespoon of fresh garlic or 1/2 tablespoon of garlic powder.
- You can substitute other types of potatoes such as baby red potatoes, white potatoes, Yukon, or fingerling potatoes.
Storing and Freezing
This chicken, sweet potato, and kale soup makes about 6 generous servings.
In the Refrigerator: Your soup will stay fresh in your refrigerator for up to 5 days. Just put in airtight containers.
In the Freezer: If you have any soup leftover after 5 days, freeze the rest, which will keep for up to 3 months. Make sure to use a freezer-safe container and allow enough space for any expansion as the soup freezes.
FAQ
Yes. This chicken, kale, and potato soup can easily be prepared in a slow cooker versus on the stove. I just recommend cooking the chicken prior to placing it into the slow cooker, then adding all the other ingredients, except the kale. Cook this for 3 to 4 hours on high, or until the sweet potatoes are cooked through, adding the kale during the last 30 minutes of cooking.
No. This soup is dairy-free, gluten-free, nut-free, and grain-free.
Absolutely. This recipe would taste great using leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or even ground chicken or turkey. I even have a similar recipe that uses sausage.
Want more soup recipes?
- Sausage, White Bean, and Kale Soup
- Unexpectedly Good Dilly Bean Stew with Cabbage
- One-Pot Spicy Vegan Brunswick Stew
Chicken, Kale, and Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ¼ lbs chicken breast boneless, skinless (~2 chicken breast halves)
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 2 sweet potatoes peeled and diced
- 6 cups unsalted chicken broth
- ½ tsp thyme
- ½ bunch kale torn into bite-sized pieces
- parmesan cheese (optional)
Instructions
- Prep your ingredients by dicing your chicken, sweet potatoes, and onion to the desired sizes. Wash and tear or chop kale to the desired size as well.
- Next, bring a large soup pot or Dutch oven to medium heat. Add olive oil and add diced chicken, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes or until almost cooked through.
- Add the garlic, onion, sweet potatoes, and chicken broth to the pot. You can also add the thyme. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until sweet potatoes are cooked through.
- Add kale and cover again for another 2-3 minutes or until kale is wilted.
- Serve with parmesan cheese and some crusty Italian bread with butter if desired and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Because this soup is so simplistic, you can eat as-is, or add to it.
- To make it it heartier, try adding some diced carrots, cannellini beans, and garnish with pepitas. You have to add more chicken broth to cover.
- You can use leftover or rotisserie chicken for this recipe too. Simply add leftover, cooked chicken when you add the chicken broth.
- Serve this soup with my Addicting Garlic Bread or some fresh, crusty Italian bread with butter or olive oil.
- This soup keeps well for up to 5 days refrigerated or freeze for up to 3 months.
- To reduce the sodium content further, try using only 1/2 a teaspoon of salt.
Share with me: Did you try this chicken, kale, and potato soup? Did you do anything differently? Leave me a comment below and let’s chat!
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Kiran Campbell is a registered dietitian and entrepreneur with 13 years of experience. She has a degree in psychology as well as dietetics. She is also a proud member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ and its Cardiovascular Health and Well-being Dietetics Practice Group among others. Kiran proudly presents and promotes the most up-to-date, science-based nutrition information on all things heart-related. She aims to serve not only individuals with heart disease, but also those wanting to protect against it. Learn more about Kiran by visiting her About Page.