chicken, mushroom, and farro soup
creamy or not here we come
Soup season is upon us! Well… not “us” persay — I developed this recipe amid 100 degree temperatures this week here in Carmel Valley, California, while whine-texting Molly and Jillian (my WTC team) whyyyyy did we plan for soup this week?!?! But in general, October is prime time for soup, and this one is GOOD. So good in fact that I didn’t even mind that it was positively sweltering outside when my 2-year-old, Cashel, and I each devoured multiple bowls of the third testing round of this soup for lunch yesterday. I can confirm that this soup is an excellent idea, whether you have a sweatshirt on while cooking it, or are forced to strip down to your skivvies like I was.
A cozy, comforting, nutritious, and satiating soup filled with shredded chicken, tender veggies, hearty mushrooms, and nutty farro, all enveloped in a bright and lemony broth. It has the nourishing vibes of a chicken noodle soup (it’s a perfect meal to take to a friend who’s sick or who just had a baby!), but instead of noodles, we’re incorporating farro, kale, and lemon for elevated flavor, extra vitamins and minerals, and tons of texture. In fact, I’m willing to go ahead and say that this is better than chicken noodle soup because the farro just gets more delicious as it sits in the broth, whereas noodles get soggy and sad!
I know, I know, many of you hate mushrooms! You can leave them out or swap them for a veg listed in the swaps! As always!
The most laborious part of this meal is prepping your veggies. Here are a few tips to make things easier for you:
You don’t need to peel the carrots. I almost never peel my carrots because I want all the nutrients the skin contains included in the meal! Instead, I just wash them really well.
If you're new to cooking with leeks, take a minute to watch this video. It explains how to prep and wash them. They can be gritty inside so they do need a thorough wash.
You can wash your mushrooms with water. You may have heard that mushrooms shouldn’t be washed because they’ll absorb water. Yes, they'll absorb water, but it'll evaporate off as we cook them! And I certainly don’t have time to wipe mushrooms down individually with a towel to clean the dirt off, and bet you don’t either. So instead, I wash them in a colander, shake them dry, slice them, and add them to the pot.
When I was developing this recipe, I couldn’t decide whether I liked it best with a clear broth or with a creamy broth for extra richness. I loved it both ways, so figured I’d let you decide! If you’re in the mood for creaminess, you’ll stir in cream cheese, Parm, heavy creamy, half and half, or plain yogurt — in the recipe, you’ll see measurements for whichever you are working with — at the end. And if you’re in the mood for a lighter soup, or if you can’t eat dairy, you’ll simply skip that step. There’s no wrong answer here, both are fab! Or: eat the first half of the soup with a clear broth, then stir in one of the creamy options listed in the recipe for the second half! Best of both worlds.
Serves 6-8
Cook time: ~1 hour
Tools:
Large pot or Dutch oven with a lid (if you don’t have a lid use a sheet pan!)
2 forks (for shredding chicken)
Ingredients:
4 carrots, finely chopped
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 large leek, halved vertically and thinly sliced
12 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 1/4 cups farro
1 bunch kale, tough stems removed
2 sprigs fresh rosemary or 6 sprigs fresh thyme
2 quarts (8 cups) low-sodium chicken stock (or 8 cups water + 3 tablespoons low-sodium chicken Better Than Bouillon)
1 lemon, juiced
Optional to make it creamy: 1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese, 4 ounces cream cheese, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 1/3 cup half and half, 1/3 cup plain yogurt
Optional: garlicky croutons, cheesy salty honey toast from the cookbook (p. 212), lots of Parm on top, freshly chopped parsley… (I love soup toppings! dumpster dive and find something fun to throw on there! chili crisp!), baguette with salted butter (my personal choice)
Wash and finely chop 4 carrots, 3 celery stalks, 1 leek, and 12 ounces of mushrooms, and mince 4 garlic cloves. Throw them in a large cold pot (off the heat) as you finish chopping them so they don’t overflow off your cutting board.
Once all your veggies are in the pot, drizzle everything with 2 tablespoons olive oil, add 1 teaspoon salt and several grinds of pepper, stir, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 7 to 10 minutes, until everything is looking very tender and the liquid has all evaporated off. If your veggies look tender but there’s still a lot of liquid in the pot, crank the heat up to high and stir constantly until it’s evaporated.
Meanwhile, wash and chop 1 bunch of kale.
Trim any white fat off of 1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs, then add them to the pot along with 1 1/4 cups farro, 2 sprigs fresh rosemary (or 6 sprigs thyme), the chopped kale, and 8 cups chicken stock and bring it to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and place the lid on the pot so that it is just slightly ajar to allow for some evaporation, but not a lot. If you don’t have a lid for your pot, use a sheet pan!
Cook for 20 minutes.
Remove the lid, discard the herb sprigs (the leaves likely all fell off, that’s fine), and transfer the chicken thighs to the cutting board. Use two forks to shred the chicken, then return it to the pot. If the chicken isn’t shredding easily or isn’t fully cooked (it needs to be 165°F), just return it to the pot for a few more minutes of cook time.
Stir in the juice of 1/2 a lemon (to start — I always end up adding the juice of the full lemon because I love lemon flavor!).
Now you have two options: You can either taste your soup, adjust with more lemon, salt, and pepper as desired and be finished…
OR, YOU CAN GO CREAMY: Stir in any of the optional creamy additions listed above! Simmer for a few more minutes to let it incorporate and thicken. It might look curdled at first, but keep stirring! If you went the creamy route, now’s the time to taste and adjust with more seasoning (extra lemon juice, kosher salt, and/or black pepper) until it’s perfect.
Top your bowls with any optional toppings you’ve got and ENJOY!
NOTE: As your soup sits in the pot or in the refrigerator, the farro and chicken will soak up the stock! When you reheat it the next day (or even hours later) stir in more stock to make it brothy again.
link to printer version
Make it in your slow cooker: Add the chopped veggies (not the greens yet) then the farro then the chicken, herbs, and spices on top. Cover with stock. Start with 6 cups liquid — add more if needed to ensure the chicken's totally submerged. Cook on low for 6 hours then remove chicken to shred. Add the shredded chicken back in with the chopped greens, 1/2 lemon juice, and creamy ingredient (if using). Stir and cook for another 30 minutes, then taste and adust seasonings as needed.
Vegetarian: Instead of chicken, add 2 cans of drained white beans — cannellini, navy, or chickpeas would all be great. You could also swap the chicken out for lentils, either 2 cans cooked lentils or 1 cup dried. If using dried, add 2 more cups of stock because they’ll absorb a lot of the liquid. Swap chicken stock for veggie stock too.
Love your leftovers/stock the freezer: This makes a huge pot of soup! Leftovers will be good in the fridge for up to 4 days. It will thicken as it sits — add more stock or water to loosen it up if it gets too thick. You can also stock the freezer with your leftovers. Freeze the soup in quart-sized Ziploc bags. Fill then lay the bags on a sheet pan and stick the pan in the freezer. Once they’re frozen, take them off — they’ll be nice, flat, and easy to store.
Double it: It’s an easy recipe to double, but you’ll need an extra large pot!
Feeding picky eaters/I don’t want the greens: If you’re feeding kids (or adults) who won’t touch anything green, you can omit the kale. I always add greens because I love how they soak up the sauce, get tender and delicious, and add a bunch of extra nutrients. It’s like eating a soup and salad! But the greens are not necessary so feel free to leave it out. If you’re kids won’t touch soup (like my big boys), when you pull out the chicken to shred it, cut up a few pieces for their plate, and serve them chicken + whatever veggie they will eat, while you get to enjoy your soup. My two-year-old LOVES this soup, I just served it to him with less broth!
Gluten-free: Swap the farro out for wild or brown rice. You’ll need to simmer the soup for about 20 extra minutes as they take longer to cook.
Dairy-free: Simply leave out the creamy elements, or use a DF plain yogurt.
Carrots: Parsnips, extra celery
Celery: Fennel, celeriac, 2 extra leeks
Leek: 1 large yellow, white, or Vidalia onion, finely chopped
Mushrooms: Fennel, zucchini, a cup of lentils (but add 2 more cups of chicken stock to cook them, or use canned lentils), or cannellini beans (from a can)
Garlic: 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder or 4 cubes frozen minced garlic
Olive oil: EVOO or a neutral-tasting cooking oil
Chicken thighs: Boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You could also buy a rotisserie chicken, shred it, and add it to the pot instead. If you don’t want chicken, you could use a pound of ground turkey or pork, adding it to the pot after the veggies have sautéed. Use a spatula to break it up into crumbles as it cooks. Once it is nearly browned, add the farro, broth, etc. and keep cooking as written. See “vegetarian” note for more ideas.
Farro: Brown or wild rice would be a great sub! You’ll need to simmer the soup for closer to 40 minutes, or until the rice has cooked through. You could also use egg noodles or spaghetti noodles instead of farro to make it a chicken noodle soup. Add them closer toward the end of cooking as they need less time (see the bag for exact cook time).
Kale: Collard greens, spinach (preferably not baby spinach, which I think gets too stringy in soup!), mustard greens, or omit
Fresh rosemary or thyme: 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary or 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Low-sodium chicken stock: Bone broth for added protein, low-sodium chicken broth, or low-sodium vegetable stock or broth (or water + Better Than Bouillon)
Lemon: A tablespoon or two of any vinegar — even balsamic would work!
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Editor: Molly Ramsey
Pro tip for kids keep some shredded chicken on the side and strain the broth (god forbid they eat kale). Add the shredded chicken back in - both my kids loved! And the parents loved the full version.
Another winner from Caro! I used…goat cheese for my creaminess which was insanely delicious. I subbed chicken breasts and they were a little overcooked, would shorten the cook time on those next time!