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A bowl of detox soup topped with fresh cilantro. A spoon rests in the bowl.
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4.53 from 236 votes

Detox Soup

Give your body a reset with this veggie filled detox soup. It’s healthy, filling and packed with anti-inflammatory ingredients like turmeric, ginger, lemon and cayenne pepper. It comes together quickly in just one pot and is perfect for meal prep!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: detox soup
Servings: 6

Ingredients

  • 2 Tablespoons olive or avocado oil
  • 1 large yellow onion chopped
  • 2 large carrots chopped into ½-inch rounds
  • 2 ribs celery thinly sliced
  • 5 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
  • 2 Tablespoons freshly grated turmeric
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1 large red bell pepper thinly sliced
  • 1 lb chicken breasts
  • 6 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
  • 1 bunch curly kale roughly chopped
  • 2 Tablespoons lemon juice juice from half of a lemon
  • 1 Tablespoon tamari coconut aminos or soy sauce
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro plus more for topping

Instructions

  • In a Dutch oven or large pot, add oil. Once hot add onion, carrots, celery and saute for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, ginger, turmeric, cayenne, salt and pepper. Saute for 1 minute longer.
    Garlic, ginger, turmeric, cayenne, salt and pepper added to the onions, carrots and celery in a large pot.
  • Add bell pepper, vegetable broth, coconut milk and chicken to the pot.
    Coconut milk being added to the pot of ingredients.
  • Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked. When chicken is fully cooked, remove from pot and shred using two forks.
    Chicken breasts on a plate being shredded with two forks.
  • Meanwhile, add kale and simmer for 3-4 minutes, or until kale starts to wilt.
    Fresh kale added to the detox soup.
  • Carefully place shredded chicken back into the soup and stir in fresh cilantro, tamari and lemon juice. Serve with extra chopped cilantro on top and side of choice. We like toasted sourdough or crackers.
    Shredded chicken added to the detox soup.

Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker

  • Add oil to Instant Pot and put on sauté setting. Add onion, carrots, celery and sauté for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, ginger, turmeric, cayenne, salt and pepper. Sauté for 1 minute longer.
  • Add bell pepper, vegetable broth, coconut milk and chicken into the Instant Pot. Place the lid on the Instant Pot, lock lid and make sure the pressure release valve is closed. Press cancel on the pressure cooker and set the Instant Pot on high pressure for 15 minutes.
  • Once the timer reaches 0, the cooker will switch to keep warm. Carefully switch the pressure release valve to open to manually release the pressure. (I use tongs for this). Once the steam is released, remove the lid and use a meat shredded or fork to shredded chicken. The chicken should be cooked through and will just fall apart without needed to remove it from the Instant Pot.
  • Add kale, lemon juice, tamari and cilantro to Instant Pot while set to warm. Once kale has wilted a bit, portion soup into bowls. Serve with extra chopped cilantro on top and side of choice. We like toasted sourdough or crackers.

Slow Cooker

  • Add oil, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, ginger, turmeric, cayenne, salt, pepper, red bell pepper, chicken, vegetable broth and coconut milk to slow cooker.
  • Cook for 4 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low. The chicken should be cooked through and will just fall apart. Once this happens turn the slow cooker to warm and kale, lemon juice, tamari and cilantro to slow cooker and stir to combine.
  • Once kale has wilted a bit, portion soup into bowls. Serve with extra chopped cilantro on top and side of choice.

Video

Notes

  • Veggies: Feel free to swap or add in vegetables to this soup. You really can't go wrong! Cabbage or broccoli would be delicious additions. For the greens, I recommend sticking to a sturdier green like swiss chard or lacinato kale so it doesn't get too wilted. 
  • Protein: You can swap the chicken breasts for turkey breasts or another protein of choice.
  • Vegan: To make this soup vegan, swap the chicken with 1-2 cans of chickpeas or white beans. Just add the beans in when you would add the chicken. Tofu or tempeh would also be a good plant-based substitute, I just recommend cooking it separately and adding it in at the end. 
  • Herbs: I love cilantro but if you're not a cilantro fan, parsley would be delicious as well!
  • Ginger: If you can't find fresh ginger, use 1 teaspoon ginger powder. 
  • Turmeric: If you can't find fresh turmeric, use 2 teaspoons dried turmeric powder. 
  • Tamari, soy sauce or coconut aminos: Feel free to skip this if you don't have it on hand. I love the umami flavor it adds to this soup, but it's still delicious without. 
  • Coconut milk:  The coconut milk adds a nice creaminess and delicious flavor, but if you don't have it on hand you can skip this or use unsweetened almond milk or cashew milk instead. If you skip it, make sure to add more broth instead!

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 216kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 773mg | Potassium: 433mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g