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(1,158)
Comments
Read comments

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.

  • or to save this recipe.

  • Subscriber benefit: give recipes to anyone
    As a subscriber, you have 10 gift recipes to give each month. Anyone can view them - even nonsubscribers. Learn more.
    Subscribe

  • Print Options

Advertisement

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.

Powered by
Cooking Newsletter illustration

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

Opt out or contact us anytime. See our Privacy Policy.

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.

Ratings

4 out of 5
1,158 user ratings
Your rating

or to rate this recipe.

Have you cooked this?

or to mark this recipe as cooked.

Private Notes

Leave a Private Comment on this recipe and see it here.

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.

Emily the Cat Lady

We added a lot more lemon juice as well as lemon zest. Used rice not tortellini. Family loved it. And they had fun helping to pull the chicken. Really yummy.

Karen Q.

Not a great flavor considering the wonderful ingredients. I did use chicken thighs with skin & bone which I am sure only helped it. I used spinach instead of asparagus but otherwise followed the recipe. I think the negative was the amount of leeks in the dish. Sautéing the leeks, celery, and spices would have helped. I would try it again and substitute onion for the leek.

Denise

I made this on a snowy day when everything was closed and had to improvise. Defrosted chicken breasts and pounded them so they wouldn’t be “boingy” and cut into mouth-size pieces. Again, I had to use what I had on hand, peas and corn (not asparagus), and threw in chopped up basil and cilantro in the end. It was so delicious with an unexpected Thai flavor. My partner loved it and said it was a nice departure from our usual chicken soup. I will try it again for sure!

Private comments are only visible to you.

Recipe Tags

Advertisement

or to save this recipe.