Chicken lemon coriander soup is a light and refreshing soup to drive your blues away. Made with fresh broth (not store bought), it has the herby flavors of cilantro and the tang of lemons. Shredded cabbage adds the perfect crunch!
Here's another wholesome, silky smooth chicken soup recipe you might like.
Tender chicken bites, crunchy cabbage, and lots of fresh coriander leaves (cilantro) cooked in a made-from-scratch broth. All of this delicious goodness is spiced up with soy sauce, a dash of vinegar, and white pepper to make a really happening lemony chicken soup when you're feeling slightly under the weather.
Both stovetop and instant pot instructions are included.
Love chicken in soup? Try this chicken and wild rice soup too:)
Ingredients
Note: exact amounts are mentioned in the recipe card further down.
Substitutions and Variations
- Use bone-in chicken (any parts) for even more taste.
- Substitute the white pepper for black if you don't have white pepper.
- For whole spices, I used star anise, whole peppercorns, cloves and black cardamom. However, it's okay if you don't have all these spices. Use the ones you do have or substitute with some others. For example, you can use green cardamom instead of black and omit the star anise and peppercorns altogether.
- Instead of cabbage, you can also use shredded carrot or even mushrooms for a different flavor. Or go for all three for a vegetable loaded chicken soup!
Instructions
Preparation: If you get the prep out of the way first, the soup becomes so easy to make.
1. Cut the chicken into bite-sized cubes.
2. Chop the coriander leaves including the stems. The stems add lots of flavor, so don't discard these even if they are quite thick.
3. Chop the ginger and garlic roughly.
4. Shred the cabbage.
Cooking: You can use a big pot with a lid or an instant pot for cooking the soup.
1. Set a pot on the stovetop and add the chicken, ginger, garlic, coriander, and whole spices. Pour 6 cups water into the pot and bring to a roiling boil on high heat. Skim off the froth as it forms on the top. Let the soup simmer until the chicken is tender.
If using an instant pot, add the above ingredients to the steel insert, pour water, and pressure cook for 6 minutes on high pressure with a 10 minute release afterwards.
2. Remove the chicken from the soup and keep aside. Strain the rest of the soup in a sieve positioned over a bowl, making sure to press down with a spoon to release all the juice. Discard the solids. The chicken broth is ready.
3. Add cooking oil to the pot and heat it till it starts shimmering (sauté on normal for instant pot). Add the cabbage and stir fry it until it wilts but is still a little crunchy.
4. Tip in the chicken and the broth prepared earlier. Also add the soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, salt (if needed), and white pepper powder. Cook for 5 minutes.
5. Lastly, add some more chopped coriander and simmer for 2 minutes. Chicken lemon coriander soup is ready to be served.
Top tips
- I used boneless chicken breast in this recipe, but you can also use bone-in chicken. You will have to debone the chicken once the broth is cooked, but it adds a ton of flavor and nutrition to the soup. Don't worry, deboning cooked chicken, especially falling off the bone chicken is not difficult at all!
- Go easy on the vinegar and white pepper if you want to cut down on the heat and sourness. Use a little less than specified, in this case.
- If you feel that the soup is a little too thin, you can thicken it with cornstarch. Make a slurry by mixing 2 tablespoons cornstarch in 2 tablespoons water and add it to the soup in the last step. Stir until slightly thickened.
More healthy soup recipes
- Mulligatawny soup - an Indo British curry soup with chicken, apples, carrots, and lentils.
- Minestrone soup - Chockfull of vegetables and pasta in a rich tomatoey broth.
- Mushroom soup - comfortingly thick and tasty with an Indian twist!
- Cauliflower soup - A smooth blended soup with the goodness of cauli, butter beans, turmeric, garlic, and herbs.
Want to check out the entire collection of soup recipes on the blog? Go right ahead!
📖 Recipe
Chicken Lemon Coriander Soup
Equipment
- 1 soup pot or instant pot 6-quart
- 2 bowls Pryex
- 1 sieve
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts cut into bite-sized cubes
- 1" piece ginger peeled, roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves peeled, roughly chopped
- 1 bunch cilantro chopped, divided
- 2 black cardamom
- 1 star anise optional
- ¼ tsp black peppercorns
- 4 cloves
- 6 cups water
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 2 cups cabbage shredded
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice more if you like it extra-lemony
- ¼ tsp sea salt adjust to taste
- ¼ tsp white pepper powder
Instructions
Preparation
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized cubes.
- Chop the coriander leaves including the stems. The stems add lots of flavor, so don't discard these even if they are quite thick.
- Chop the ginger and garlic roughly.
- Shred the cabbage.
Cooking
- Set a soup pot on the stovetop and add the chicken, ginger, garlic, coriander, and whole spices. Pour 6 cups water into the pot and bring to a roiling boil on high heat. Skim off the froth as it forms on the top. Let the soup simmer until the chicken is tender. If using an instant pot, add the above ingredients to the steel insert, pour water, and pressure cook for 6 minutes on high pressure with a 10 minute release afterwards.
- Remove the chicken from the soup and keep aside. Strain the rest of the soup in a sieve positioned over a bowl, making sure to press down with a spoon to release all the juice. Discard the solids. The chicken broth is ready.
- Add cooking oil to the pot and heat it till it starts shimmering (sauté on normal for instant pot). Add the cabbage and stir fry it until it wilts but is still a little crunchy.
- Tip in the chicken and the broth prepared earlier. Also add the soy sauce, vinegar, lemon juice, salt (if needed), and white pepper powder. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Lastly, add some more chopped coriander and simmer for 2 minutes. Chicken lemon coriander soup is ready to be served.
Notes
- You can also use bone-in chicken instead of boneless. You will have to debone the chicken once the broth is cooked, but it adds a ton of flavor and nutrition to the soup.
- Go easy on the vinegar and white pepper if you want to cut down on the heat and sourness. Use a little less than specified, in this case.
- If you feel that the soup is a little too thin, you can thicken it with cornstarch. Make a slurry by mixing 2 tablespoons cornstarch in 2 tablespoons water and add it to the soup in the last step. Stir until slightly thickened.
- Add more vegetables if you want - shredded carrots and mushrooms work well.
- If you don't have all the whole spices, use the ones you do have.
- Substitute the white pepper for black if you don't have white pepper.
Thanks for coming! Let me know what you think: