Spicy Chicken Soup with Lemongrass and Ginger

Lemongrass, ginger, and a bit of red pepper give this Chicken Soup a warmth that will keep you coming back for more.

Nothing says winter like a bowl of chicken soup.

Here in Miami we don’t get a lot of cold weather, but I can still appreciate a good bowl of soup and this soup rocks. We actually ate it twice this week, and may be having it again. This was my first time experimenting with lemon grass, and I will definitely be trying it out in other recipes.

Lemongrass, ginger, and a bit of red pepper give this Chicken Soup a warmth that will keep you coming back for more. Share on X

This particular soup reminds me quite a bit of a Thai soup that we often get when we go out to eat. It is a bit spicy, but you can easily adjust that. The lemongrass, ginger, and garlic give a nice depth of flavor. I pour the broth and noodles over the spinach so that it wilts it, but does not overcook it. If you don’t like spinach, you can always leave it out. It is still really good. Perfect for a cold day or if you are feeling a bit under the weather.

This is the chicken soup you want when you come inside on that one cold Miami day where you actually put on shoes instead of flip-flops.

Super easy to prepare.

There is not a whole lot of prep for this recipe. Everything is put in the pot and forgot about for awhile. I’m betting it could even be made in a slow cooker (though I wouldn’t know, my hubby, as great as he is, doesn’t trust an appliance you turn on and leave on to cook your food all day while you are gone).  The hardest part, if you can even call it hard, is straining the soup so you can get a clear broth.

Of course it is gluten-free!

Everything on this blog is gluten-free! Just a couple quick notes. Always double check to be sure any chicken broth you use is in fact gluten-free. Not all of them are. I use rice noodles for this soup, you could use another type of gluten-free pasta and I am sure it would be great, we just happen to be in love with rice noodles. One last note, I am a huge fan of lemon (on everything) so I added a good squeeze of lemon to mine, while my husband added some extra grated ginger to his. Delicious.

Enjoy!

Print Recipe

4.20 from 10 votes

Spicy Chicken Soup with Lemongrass and Ginger

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Servings: 4 Servings

Ingredients

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 bone in chicken breasts with skin
• salt
• pepper
• 8 cups of water
• 2 cups of chicken broth
• 4 stalks lemon grass smashed
• 4 inch piece of ginger peeled and sliced
• 3 gloves of garlic peeled and smashed
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or up to 1 tsp if you really like it spicy
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black peppercorn
• 1 small onion peeled and quartered
• 1/2 package rice noodles
• 6 oz package spinach

Instructions

• Heat olive oil in large stock pot.
• Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
• Brown, skin side down for about 5 minutes.
• Add 8 cups of water and 2 cups of chicken broth.
• Add lemon grass, ginger, garlic, red pepper, salt, black peppercorns, and onion.
• Bring to boil.
• Reduce heat to low and cover.
• Cook for 45 minutes.
• Remove chicken breasts and set aside.
• Strain broth into a new pot.
• Shred chicken breasts.
• Add chicken back to broth and bring to boil.
• Add desired amount of rice noodles and cook until done.
• Place spinach in bowl and spoon soup over.
• Grate additional ginger or squeeze some lemon if desired.

Notes

Rice noodles will absorb water as they sit in the broth. If you do not plan to eat all of the soup the same day (or you want to freeze it until later) wait to add them until you are ready to eat.

This post is linked to Vegetarian Mama’s Gluten-Free Friday Recipe Link-Up.