Creamy Chicken Kale Soup (Paleo & Whole30)

Easy and super delicious Creamy Chicken Kale Soup. It’s hearty, healthy, and gluten dairy free. You can easily create variety for the whole family. Perfect healthy holiday leftover recipe!

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cups shredded chicken or turkey
• Curly kale or green chard as much as you like
• 5 slices of bacon I used hickory smoked bacon this time
• 1.5 cups carrots diced
• 5-6 garlic cloves sliced
• 8 oz. cremini or baby bella mushrooms sliced
• 5 cups chicken stock about 32 oz. | 1 qt.
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme
• 1.5 cups celery diced
• 1.5 cups yellow onion diced
• 1 tsp coarse salt
• Black pepper to taste
• Chopped parsley and/or fresh thyme for garnishing

For dairy-free cream:

• 4 tbsp cassava flour or yucca flour
• 1 cup full fat coconut milk

Instructions:

1. Prep: shred cooked chicken (or turkey). Dice carrots, celery, and yellow onion. Slice garlic cloves and mushrooms. Set aside 1 tbsp fresh thyme. Roughy chop curly kale or green chard. Set aside.
2. Bacon: Preheat a large dutch oven (I use 6 qt.) or heavy soup/stock pot over medium-high heat, when hot, add 5 slices of bacon. Render fat and crisp up the bacon. Once the bacon strips are crisped up, set aside. Leave 2 tbsp bacon fat in the dutch oven and save the remainder of the bacon fat aside for later use.
3. Cook: Re-heat the dutch oven, when hot, add sliced garlic cloves and diced onion. Season with a bit salt and saute until fragrant. Add carrots and celery. Season with another pinch of salt. Saute for a few additional minutes. Add cremini mushrooms and 1 tbsp fresh thyme. Give another quick toss then add 5 cups chicken stock. You should have enough liquid to just cover the ingredients but not completely submerge them. Cover the pot with a lid, cook over medium heat until the veggies turn softer yet not mushy. In the meantime, mix well cassava flour with coconut milk until there are no lumps
4. Add chicken, cream & serve: Stir-in shredded chicken and slowly pour the cream over hot simmering soup pot. Give it a gentle stir. Taste and see if more salt or black pepper is needed. Stir-in vegetables. If you prefer thicker soup, mix more cassava flour with liquid from the soup pot. Garnish with chopped parsley and/or fresh thyme, and don’t forget about the bacon crumbles!

Source: iheartumami.com