Surprise…surprise…I’m coming at you with a soup recipe – because they are my FAVORITE THING EVER TO EAT!
This one is no different. It’s creamy, cozy, rich, and just so dang good. Wild rice seems to take forever to cook, I know. Personally, I love the nutty, woodsy flavor it adds to dishes versus your average white or brown rice. If you despise the wild rice, feel free to sub white or brown!
This soup freezes well too – so don’t waste the leftovers. I swear, the soup gets better with time!
In a large dutch oven or soup pot, saute chicken thighs in 2 tbsp oil or butter over medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side. Remove from the pot.
Add onions to the soup pot and saute for 5-6 minutes until softened.
Add the rice, broth, all of the seasonings, and bay leaves to the pot.
Bring the broth to a boil, cover, and cook for 40-50 minutes until the rice is tender.
While the soup cooks, shred your reserved chicken thighs.
Once the rice is tender, remove the bay leaves and add the peas, carrots, and the coconut cream (or nutpods/half & half) and cook for 4-5 minutes.
If your soup isn't thick enough for your liking, stir arrowroot or tapioca powder in with 2 tbsp of water to create a little cloudy slurry. Add this to the simmering soup and stir until thickened
Serve yourself up a big bowl and bask in the coziness that is to come!
Recipe Notes
If you are using half and half or heavy cream, the soup will thicken a bit more as it cooks than it will with coconut cream or nutpods. It will also yield a more rich soup. If you're lactose intolerant only, I recommend checking out the lactose free variety of half&half in your grocery store! It's becoming a lot more readily available!
I’m always looking for ways to make healthy food…taste, for a lack of a better word, UNHEALTHY. Usually making it creamy does the trick!
Rice, in general, is bland. I prefer riced cauliflower to it ANY DAY. Not everyone is that way though! To them, the taste of cauliflower is just not enjoyable. (I used to be that way when I was a wee little one!) Therefore, finding a rice replacement on the paleo diet can be hard! Adding a flavorful cream sauce to cauliflower rice can totally help you out! I have a bunch of different variations of creamy cauliflower rice. It reminds me of a creamy, adult Rice-a-Roni-like side dish (…the San Francisco Treeaaattttt. Anyone else just sing that with me?) … and I LOVE IT! That was one of my favorite things to eat as a kid! TOTAL comfort food right there!
With a little patience to caramelize the onions, and a few ingredients from your cabinet, you can have that same comfort food for your meal! It’ll be packed with nutrients too! What’s better than delicious, nutrient-dense food?! Feeling good about what you put into your body is one of the best feelings!
In a saucepan over medium heat, sauté sliced onions, oil, and vinegar until translucent and caramel in color. This should take about 15-20 minutes. The longer they cook, the more they will reduce and the sweeter they will get. I still like a little texture to the onions for this dish. Therefore, 20 minutes works just right!
When onions have reduced to about 1-1 1/2 cups worth (They shrink A TON!), add in remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes until the cauliflower has cooked through!
It's as simple as that! ENJOY!
Recipe Notes
*If you do not have Nutpods, you can substitute cashew, coconut, or almond milk. Just make sure the variety is plain and unsweetened! Start with 3/4 cup and add more if you need it. Nutpods is thicker and creamier than those milks.
**I use this brand of bouillon. You can find it almost anywhere. It's THE BEST! It has fairly clean ingredients too. Feel free to omit it or replace with broth! It just adds tons of flavor!
Chicken & Noodles is a total comfort food for many people … especially my husband. It’s simple and so yummy! Canned condensed cream of chicken soup used to be a staple in my kitchen. It was always a go to for so many dishes. However, that isn’t the case anymore. I’ve made it a goal to find healthy alternatives to things that we loved to eat! Chicken & Noodles, complete with that overly-processed condensed soup was one of them! I swear that my husband could live off of that and Beef Stroganoff. Even after finding a creamy alternative, it’s been a struggle finding a pasta that wasn’t packed with carbs yet still paleo. There’s a few delicious ones out there, but we keep those to a minimum. I recently stumbled upon a green bean pasta that has only 2 INGREDIENTS – green beans and water! This pasta is so good and packed with protein! It’s now on our dinner menu at least once a week!
I love simple, one-pot dishes! Who DOESN’T love simple tasty meals?! This dish tastes like it’s been cooking forever because of my favorite chicken bouillon paste…and, I promise, you won’t miss the dairy! This paste is liquid gold and goes into so many of my dishes! It’s organic and SO DANG TASTY! Make it a point to grab some the next time you’re at the grocery store!
My Chicken & Noodles meal comes together so quick when you have a leftover rotisserie chicken! However, you are more than welcome to cook a couple chicken breasts or a few thighs, just for this dish! Alright, let’s get to this easy recipe!
In a large pot, bring water to a rolling boil and add pasta. Cook until desired doneness. The pasta that I used cooks in about 4 minutes - it's awesome!
Drain and add the pasta back to your pot.
Add remaining ingredients to the pot and cook for another 10 minutes* over medium heat or until everything is heated through. Taste and add more salt if you'd like! The bouillon paste is usually plenty salty though!
For extra creaminess, add a few tbsp of ghee or grass fed butter - that ALWAYS makes things even better, in my opinion! You can try mixing in some italian herbs or poultry seasonings too. Just be sure to add those in when you add the other ingredients!
You can bulk up this meal buy adding some peas, carrots, or broccoli too! I love to steam a bag of broccoli in the microwave while I'm boiling the pasta and dump it in when I add my chicken. Super easy! It's super versatile and delicious so many different ways!
Recipe Notes
*Be advised, the longer you let this simmer, the more your noodles will cook. Therefore, if you let it simmer for a while on low after it's heated through, you may end up with more broken bits of noodles and a stickier consistency - still delicious. I honestly prefer things this way! haha - A mooshy mess! 🙂
