This chicken couscous soup recipe is perfect for the first recipe in our winter warmer series! It is hearty and warming and packed with lots of goodness from all the veggies and chicken. This soup is relatively easy to make and no special equipment is needed. All the ingredients for this chicken couscous soup can be found in your local supermarket. Coming home to this chicken couscous soup on the cold winter’s day will bring a smile to your face. We love the couscous in this recipe, but make sure you check out the ‘make it low carb’ section below for a low carb alternative if you prefer that.
Winter Warmer recipes in August
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Couscous
Couscous is a form of pasta made from semolina. It is very fine and has a rice like appearance. It is purchased dried, in the pasta aisle at the supermarket. Couscous cooks very quickly, requiring just a few minutes of steeping in boiling water.
It can make a great side dish combined with roasted vegetables and some seasoning and then served alongside some grilled fish or chicken. Also you can serve it plain as a side for a hearty stew or curry.
Our favourite soup recipes
We really love to have soups for lunch in winter. They are so easy to make and are perfect for batch cooking and meal prep. We love when we make a meal and there is 6 or 8 serves to pop into the freezer and you then have a bunch of meals ready to go.
Chicken soup is one of those meals that is a must-have recipe in your repertoire. Everyone has a favourite chicken soup recipe and this chicken couscous soup will quickly become your favourite winter soup recipe. We love the heartiness of this soup due to the couscous.
Here are some of our other favourite soup recipes;
Tips
- It is helpful to stir the soup well as you are serving it up, as the couscous and veggies can sink to the bottom.
- If you reheat the soup you may need to add some additional stock as it may become thicker as is sits.
- The soup is able to be frozen in individual portions and reheated.
- You can use chicken thighs instead of breast in this recipe, you may just need to adjust the cooking time down as the pieces are smaller.
Suggestions
- Portion out the soup and freeze, then defrost and reheat as required. This is an excellent meal prep option.
Make it low carb
- Replace the couscous with 300g of cauliflower rice.
- Replace the corn kernels with 2 zucchinis, finely diced.
Please note, the texture of the soup will not be a thick without the couscous.
Equipment
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You may need –
Chicken Couscous soup recipe
If you are looking for a hearty, warming soup then this chicken couscous soup is exactly what you need. It is so flavourful from all the vegetables and herbs and then the couscous makes it thick and hearty. We love to make a batch of this chicken couscous soup on a weekend and then portion it up in single serves for the freezer. It is then perfect to grab out a serve to take to work for lunch during the week or for an easy weeknight dinner.
If you like this recipe, please give it a 5 star rating.
If you like this recipe you may also like…
- Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl
- Mexican Chicken Salad
- Mexican tuna salad
- Tuna Salad without Mayo
- Panko Chicken
- Cream Cheese Pasta
- Lemon Chicken Marinade
- Mexican chicken marinade
- Smoked Chicken Salad
- Tandoori Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1 brown onion (medium)
- 1 carrot (large)
- 1 leek
- 2 celery stalks (large)
- 2 bay leaves
- 5-6 thyme stalks
- 50 g butter
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cracked pepper
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 L salt-reduced chicken stock
- 600 g chicken breasts
- 420 g canned corn kernels (drained)
- 1 cup couscous
- 1-2 tbsp parsley leaves, chopped
Instructions
- Finely dice the onion, carrot, leek & celery. You want the pieces of vegetables to be similar in size to corn kernals.
- Heat a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat and add the butter.
- Once the butter is melted, add the onion, carrot, leek, celery, thyme, bay, salt & pepper.
- Slowly saute to soften and develop the flavours, stirring occasionally. It will take 20-30 minutes. You do not want this to brown so adjust the temperature accordingly.
- Add the garlic and cook while stirring for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock and turn up the heat to bring to a simmer.
- Once the stock is simmering, reduce the heat and add the chicken breasts. Cook on low for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. The time may vary depending on the size of your chicken breasts.
- Remove the chicken breasts and set aside to cool slightly.
- Remove the thyme stalks and bay leaves from the soup and discard.
- Using two forks, shred the chicken breast. Then chop it roughly to make sure it is in small bite-sized pieces.
- Add the chicken, corn kernels and couscous into the soup and stir well.
- Continue to very gently cook on low for 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle in the chopped parsley and it is ready to serve. It is helpful to stir the soup well as you are serving it up, as the couscous and veggies can sink to the bottom.
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