Healthy Detox Soup

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This healthy detox soup recipe is a classic, delicious and nutritious way to eat a bowl of vegetables and chicken. It includes a variety of veggies (plus plenty of ideas on ways to add more or swap some of them). Unlike some recipes that include only veggies, this one is a chicken detox soup for a protein boost. Make a big batch and you’ve got one of the best easy, healthy soup recipes for meal prep.

If you prefer a detox cabbage soup, you can add cabbage to this soup (see instructions below under the Ingredients section). Or try my cabbage soup recipe (made with ground beef), which is also great for detox. For other healthy meals you can prep ahead, try Greek chicken meal prep bowls, mason jar salad, or egg muffins for breakfast.

What Is Detox Soup?

Detox soup is a healthy soup packed with nutritious ingredients, like vegetables and protein. It’s often eaten as a cleansing meal to remove toxins, or kickstart a diet or healthier eating lifestyle. Some people even do a detox soup diet, where you eat only this soup either for all meals, or for 1-2 meals per day, for a few days.

Why You’ll Love This Healthy Soup Recipe

Fresh and light taste
Healthy, nutritious, and packed with vitamins
Super easy to make
Just 136 calories and 5 grams net carbs per serving
Naturally gluten-free, dairy-free, whole30, paleo, low carb, and keto friendly
Makes a great detox soup, or just a healthy soup for any day!

Ingredients & Substitutions

This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for detox vegetable soup , what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.

Olive Oil – For sauteing. Avocado oil also works great.
Onion – I used a white onion, but yellow onion will also work.
Garlic – Use fresh cloves of garlic for the best flavor, or jarred garlic for convenience.
Ginger – This is a great detox soup ingredient because it stimulates digestion and circulation. Fresh ginger has the best benefits and flavor, but you could also substitute frozen ginger cubes or tubed ginger for convenience.
Chicken Breasts – I prefer to use organic chicken (get them shipped directly to you here) in healthy soup recipes for best flavor and nutrition, but any boneless skinless chicken breasts will work. You can also use boneless chicken thighs instead. The chicken gets cooked in the soup, but if you have leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken, or homemade shredded chicken, you can just add that to the soup instead and skip the 20-minute simmering at step 4. Even leftover turkey would work, which would make it a lot like my leftover turkey soup.
Broth – I used chicken broth, but you can also use vegetable broth. For richer flavor and extra nutrients in your healthy soup, use bone broth instead.
Hard Vegetables – We saute these. I used red and orange bell peppers for a pop of color, but you can use any color. Other firmer veggies, like carrots or celery, would be added at the same time.
Soft Vegetables – My detox soup recipe has broccoli and cauliflower, with smaller florets so that they can fit on a spoon. These get added toward the end, so that they don’t get too mushy. Other soft veggies, such as zucchini or green beans, would get added toward the end as well.
Spices – Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, sea salt, and black pepper. If you don’t have Italian seasoning, simply dried oregano works nicely. Turmeric is also a great addition for its benefits.
Lemon – Adds a bright flavor, though you can skip it if you don’t like a lemony soup. Use fresh lemon for the best flavor, or bottled lemon juice for convenience. You can also use lime juice instead.

How To Make Detox Soup

This section shows how to make healthy soup, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.

Saute aromatics. Heat oil in a dutch oven or large pot over medium-high to medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, and ginger until fragrant.
Saute peppers and seasonings. Add bell peppers, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, sea salt, and black pepper and saute for a few minutes.

Simmer. Add chicken breasts and broth. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer.
Shred chicken. Remove chicken breasts from pot and shred, then add back to the pot. Stir in broccoli and cauliflower.

Cook soft veggies. Add broccoli and cauliflower. Cook until tender.
Finish. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice. I like to garnish my healthy soup with fresh parsley or fresh basil to serve. Feel free to add any fresh herbs you have on hand, or even a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Veggie Variations

It’s easy to customize this chicken detox soup recipe to your liking with your favorite vegetables. Here are some other ideas for what you can include in this dish…

Hard Vegetables:

These harder veggies are best to saute, so add them at step 2 with the onions or step 3 with the bell peppers:

Cabbage – Detox cabbage soup is a popular soup addition. Shred the cabbage (or just use a bag of coleslaw mix to save time) before sauteing with the peppers.
Carrots – Note that carrots are not low carb on their own, but I’m fine including them in small amounts in healthy soup recipes. You can dice them finely to cook more quickly, or simply slice into rounds.
Celery – Thinly slice or dice one stalk celery (or a few), and saute with carrots and onions.
Mushrooms – Slice thinly and brown them with the onions.
Potatoes – This is an option if you want a more hearty healthy soup, though it would no longer be low carb. You can use white or sweet potatoes. Keep in mind that adding potatoes may require the soup to simmer for longer.

Soft Vegetables:

These softer vegetables cook quickly, so we add them toward the end (at step 6) so that they don’t get mushy:

Green Beans – Fresh or frozen.
Zucchini – Slice them into half moons or cut into cubes.
Beans – Not low carb, but a healthy soup recipe addition if it fits your lifestyle. Try black beans, white beans, kidney beans, or chickpeas.
Greens – Add kale or spinach just in the last couple of minutes of cooking.

You can find more ideas for healthy veggies to add to healthy soup recipes in the low carb vegetable list.

Storage Instructions

Store: Keep this healthy soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Meal prep: This is a great light meal to make ahead. Portion in individual containers for a ready-to-heat lunch.
Reheat: Reheat soup in the microwave or a saucepan on the stove.
Freeze: Let the soup cool completely, then transfer to freezer bags. Freeze flat until solid, then you an keep anywhere in the freezer for 2-3 months.

More Healthy Soup Recipes

If you like this detox soup recipe, you might also like these other healthy soup recipes:

Healthy Detox Soup (So Easy!)

This easy, healthy soup recipe makes the best detox soup! It’s comforting, flavorful, low carb, and loaded with healthy veggies and chicken.

Prep: 14 minutes

Cook: 36 minutes

Total: 50 minutes

Servings: 6 (adjust to scale recipe)

Recipe Video

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Ingredients

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Instructions

Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.

Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Add the onion, garlic, and ginger Saute for 3-4 minutes, until the garlic is fragrant and the onions are translucent.
Add the bell peppers, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, sea salt, and black pepper. Cook for 3 more minutes.
Add the chicken breasts and chicken broth. Simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove the chicken breasts from the pot and shred using two forks. Add the shredded chicken back to the pot.
Add the broccoli and cauliflower florets. Simmer for 10 more minutes, until the cauliflower and broccoli are tender.
Remove from heat. Stir in the lemon juice.