Slow-Cooker Lemony Chicken Soup

By Sarah DiGregorio

Updated May 2, 2022

Slow-Cooker Lemony Chicken Soup
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
Total Time
7½ hours
Rating
4(1,172)
Comments
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This lemony, herbal take on chicken soup highlights produce, but the basic technique is useful any time you want chicken soup with minimum effort. Slow-cooking chicken in stock creates a richly flavored, double-concentrated stock. Homemade stock is ideal, but you can also use your favorite store-bought stock or bouillon cubes. This recipe is flexible: If peas and asparagus aren’t available, substitute two cups of quick-cooking vegetables, like fresh or frozen corn, baby spinach or arugula, or thinly sliced zucchini. Instead of tortellini, you can add an equivalent amount of cooked pasta or grains.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings
  • 6cups chicken stock or broth
  • 1¼pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 2leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise then thinly sliced crosswise (about 2 cups)
  • 2carrots, sliced about ½-inch thick
  • 2celery stalks, sliced about ½-inch thick
  • 4garlic cloves, minced
  • ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes
  • ½teaspoon onion powder
  • Black pepper and kosher salt
  • 1lemon, juiced (2 to 3 tablespoons)
  • 1cup sliced asparagus (about 12 ounces, trimmed and sliced ½-inch thick)
  • 1cup fresh or frozen peas
  • 9ounces refrigerated spinach-cheese tortellini (optional; see Tip)
  • ½cup chopped soft fresh herbs, such as dill, mint, tarragon, parsley, chives or a mixture
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

303 calories; 9 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 26 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 29 grams protein; 1159 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker, combine the stock, chicken, leeks, carrots, celery, garlic, red-pepper flakes, onion powder and several generous grinds of black pepper. Add ½ teaspoon kosher salt if using salted stock, 1 teaspoon kosher salt if using low-sodium stock or 2 teaspoons kosher salt if using unsalted stock. Cover and cook on low until the chicken and vegetables are very tender, about 7 hours.

  2. Step 2

    Increase the heat to high. Using two forks, tear apart the chicken into bite-size pieces. Add the lemon juice, asparagus, peas and tortellini, if using, to the soup. Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender to crisp-tender, and the tortellini is cooked through, 6 to 7 minutes. Stir in the herbs; season to taste with salt and pepper. Divide among bowls to serve.

Tip
  • Add only as many tortellini as will be eaten immediately. The tortellini will get too soft if stored in the soup.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,172 user ratings
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Comments

Austin

WHY would you use boneless chicken in this recipe??? That loses you 3/4 of the flavor and half the nutrients. Use bone-in thighs, and just remove the bones (one per thigh, really) when you shred the chicken.

Greg w

I didnt have 7.5 hours so I did it using the Instant pot slow cooker function for 3 hours. I cut the vegetables smaller. The chicken came out perfect (165 degrees) as well as the carrots.

M in Upstate NY

Since it was 51 degrees and raining I decided to try this. I followed recipe except I seared the chicken for several minutes before adding to crock pot. In the same pan I also quickly sautéed the leeks and garlic in a bit of canola oil. Added to the crock pot and set on low for 6 hours. Used the combo of herbs suggested in recipe. Our verdict: really yummy, and looking forward to leftovers.

Doug Young

I added the juice of one lemon and then added a good splash more from the bottle in my fridge. Result was subtle but lemony. I think using bone-in thighs sounds like a good idea and I will try it next time.

Erin

As others suggested, I browned bone-in chicken thighs for this recipe, then quickly sauteed the leeks, carrots, and celery in the drippings. Very happy I did this! Fresh-off-the-cob kernels were DELICIOUS in this. Also added frozen peas and arugula. Didn't have tortellini so I used Banza rice pasta. At the end, I doubled the lemon and added soy sauce for more acid/salt. Still could barely taste the lemon. I would add zest and more lemon juice next time. Yummy, hearty soup.

Tracy Greene

This was so good. Substituted quinoa for the pasta— need to add more next time. So delicious. I used dill, chives abs parsley for my herbs. The lemon, the leeks, the cooking broth all made for such a wonderful soup on a busy summer day.

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