Tuscan Chicken Potato and Kale Soup

I Love Soup Season

I’m one of those gals who loves soup season.  When the temperatures drop I look forward to whipping up a batch of soup every week to enjoy. It’s so comforting and warm, the perfect cozy meal!  This Tuscan Chicken Potato Kale Soup in particular hits on the cozy vibes I’m looking for in winter. It’s filling from the chicken and potatoes, is loaded with veggies, and is finished with lots of tasty Tuscan flavors, like parsley, garlic, a bit of lemon zest, and parmesan cheese. I loved making a big batch of this soup and getting to enjoy the leftovers – they were just as good in the days after!

Chicken Potato Kale Soup Recipe Tips

When you make this chicken, kale, potato soup, here are a few tips to make sure it comes out delicious:

• Once the insides of potatoes are exposed to oxygen, they can begin to turn brownish-purple. To keep them nice while you’re cooking, add the sliced to a bowl of cold water. Normally, I recommend getting all of your chopping done before you begin cooking, but you can also wait until you start sweating your mirepoix to cut your potatoes to avoid the oxidation as well.
• This soup is thickened with a roux, which is a combination of flour and butter that acts as a thickener to the soup. Most creamy soups you have are thickened with a roux, transforming it from a brothy soup to a thicker one. When making your roux, it’s important to make sure the flour is completely cooked before you add in the broth. Otherwise, you can end up with a floury taste in the soup. It doesn’t take long, a few minutes of cooking while stirring the roux in the pot will result in a cooked through roux.
• After making the roux, you’ll add just a bit of broth in before adding the rest. This helps make sure the roux integrates into the broth completely. Be sure you don’t skip this step, or you could maybe end up with lumps of roux in your soup.
• When adding kale, it will seem like a lot when you first add it to the pan, but don’t panic!  The kale will cook down, shrinking as it cooks. I sometimes even like adding an extra handful of kale to my leftovers, since it will continue to shrink as it cooks.

Recipe Details

Start the Soup

This soup is filled with layers of flavors! It starts with a base of fried pancetta (or bacon if you can’t find pancetta at your grocery store). The pancetta has a delicious, smoky base and releases some delicious fat for you to cook your veggies in. Once your pancetta is crisped up, remove it from the pan and begin to sweat the mirepoix, or the veggie base, of your soup. A mirepoix is diced onion, celery and carrot and is a classic base to many soup recipes!  It gives a sweet, earthy, aromatic base to the comfy bowl of chicken kale potato soup.

Make the Roux

Once your mirepoix is sweated, you’ll add in some garlic and Tuscan style seasonings. These will cook until they’re very aromatic and then you’ll build your roux. The roux is the thickening agent for this soup, giving it a creamy texture at the end. The roux is made of melted butter and flour and cooked until the floury texture is cooked out and is lightly golden in color. Once the roux is cooked, you’ll slowly start to add in chicken broth. Stir in the broth, letting the roux dissolve into the first amount of broth before adding the rest in.

Cook the Chicken and Potatoes

Once this broth comes to a simmer add the potatoes and chicken so they can both begin to cook. The chicken and potatoes need to simmer for about 10-15 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender and the chicken has cooked through. Once your chicken is fully cooked (check by cutting a little slit into one of the pieces of chicken) you’ll remove it from the pan and let it cool slightly.

Finish and Serve the Chicken Soup

To finish up the soup, add a bit of heavy cream and kale and add the pancetta back in. Shred the chicken and add it back into the soup along with chopped parsley, some lemon zest, and grated parmesan cheese. Serve the bowls of chicken potato kale soup with extra parmesan cheese on top and a slice of some crusty bread to sop up any extra soup from the bottom of the bowl.

Save leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, reheating in the microwave or on the stovetop.

I hope you love this chicken soup with potatoes recipe as much as I do!  It’s one of my favorites!

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Tuscan Chicken Potato and Kale Soup

Author: Laura Wilkins Cooking Method: Simmered Cuisine: Italian Courses: Soup

Difficulty: Intermediate Prep Time 15 mins Cook Time 30 mins Total Time 45 mins

Servings: 6

Best Season: Winter

Dietary:

N Nut Free

Description

Hearty chicken, kale, and potato soup loaded with classic Tuscan flavors, like parsley, chili flakes, lemon, and parmesan cheese. This warming bowl of soup is packed with vegetables and chicken, making it a healthy dinner option for any meal of the week.

Ingredients

Scale

1/2x 1x 2x 3x

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 oz pancetta or bacon, roughly chopped
• 1 yellow onion
• 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 3 ribs of celery, chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• Pinch of red pepper flakes, to taste
• 2 large gold potatoes, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 4 cup chicken broth
• 1 lb chicken breasts, cut in half 
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• ¹⁄₂ cup heavy cream
• 2-3 cup chopped kale, hard stems removed
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• ³⁄₄ cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

Build the Soup Base

1. Preheat a large dutch oven or heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the pancetta or bacon and fry, stirring every 1-2 minutes. Once cooked through and crisp, use a slotted spoon to transfer the pancetta to a paper towel lined tray or plate.

2. Add an additional 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan and turn the heat down to medium low.

3. Add the onions, carrots, and celery, and let them cool until soft, scraping off any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook for 7-8 minutes until very fragrant and nearly translucent. 

4. Add the minced garlic, oregano, and a pinch of red pepper flakes and continue to cook until aromatic, about 1 minute.

Cook the Roux and Add the Broth

1. Add the unsalted butter to the pan and let it melt into the vegetables.

2. Sprinkle in the flour and begin stirring immediately to distribute the flour and mix it with the butter. Continue to stir and cook for 2 minutes, letting the flour taste cook out.

3. Slowly pour 1 cup of the chicken broth into the pot and stir until the flour mixture dissolves into the broth. 

4. Pour in the rest of the broth and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.

Cook the Chicken and Potatoes

1. Add the potatoes to the pot and carefully place the chicken breasts into the broth, making sure they are completely submerged in the liquid. Let simmer until the chicken is cooked through and potatoes are just fork tender, checking the chicken after 10-15 minutes for doneness. 

2. Remove the chicken breasts and let cool slightly on a plate or tray.

Finish the Soup and Serve

1. Reduce the heat under the pot to medium and add in the kale and heavy cream. Add the pancetta or bacon back into the pot and stir to combine. Taste the soup and adjust the salt and pepper to your preference.

2. Once the chicken breasts are cooled enough to handle, shred or cube the chicken breasts and add back into the dutch oven. Take the pot off of the heat and add the chopped parsley, grated parmesan and lemon zest, stirring to combine.  Serve right away and enjoy with a slice of crusty bread!