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“Kick Your Cold’s Butt” Kale & Chicken Orzo Soup

5 from 3 votes
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This super food orzo soup with kale, chicken, garlic and more is perfect to chase away that winter cold or just give yourself a boost! Not only is it full of everything that helps you beat a cold, it’s also seriously delicious, even the kids will eat it!

Table of Contents
  1. Orzo Soup Ingredients
  2. How to Make Orzo Soup
  3. PIN this recipe to your SOUPS board and remember to FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST!
  4. “Kick Your Cold’s Butt” Kale & Chicken Orzo Soup Recipe
super food orzo soup with kale, chicken and garlic place on a white plate on top of the table

We were so fortunate on our five-week-long vacation that we only caught a bad cold literally the last day of it! How on earth that happened I don’t know, but I suspect it was my militant hand washing regime that I enforced on the kids plus a pack of hand wipes in my backpack at all times. I knew the not-getting-sick honeymoon was over, however, when we were standing in line at Roger Rabbit and had a family of six literally coughing on our backs. Oh you guys, I wanted to bathe in hand sanitizer. A small, dark enclosed line up and a whole family just filling the air….I’m a not a germaphobe, but that just made me literally shiver in squeamishness.

And sick we did get. Horrible sore throats, runny noses, aches. Blech. We most certainly had our flu shots this year, there was no way we were travelling all over the place without it. So most likely we just picked up a cold – or because we had our shots, a milder flu which I suspect since Mike was achy and feverish one night- but we came home sick, sick, sick!

So sick the kids spent another three days at home recuperating instead of going back to school.

During that time, no matter how sick I was, I was so happy to get back into my kitchen. The first thing on my list was a cold butt kicking, nutritional powerhouse soup.

Orzo Soup Ingredients

  • Onions and garlic – Allium superfoods. Garlic has allicin, a powerful antioxidant.
  • Carrots and sweet potatoes:  beta-carotene that our body converts into vitamin A, which is essential for maintaining a strong immune system.
  • Mushrooms: immune-boosting antioxidants, along with potassium, B vitamins, and fiber.
  • Chicken – we need protein to build antibodies and fight infection in the body
  • Kale-  Vitamin K, C and A and so much more that I can’t list all the benefits here.
  • I added orzo to get some carbohydrates into the soup, something else our body needs while fighting a cold. So this is a one bowl meal for colds.

How to Make Orzo Soup

This is literally the easiest soup ever!

  1. Place all of the ingredients into your slow cooker except for the cooked chicken, kale and the orzo.
  2. Cook for 4-5 hours on low or 7-8 on high.
  3. Add in the orzo and cook for another hour.
  4. Add in the chicken and the kale, let the chicken heat up and the kale wilt, then serve!

It was also absolutely delicious and I would make this again and again, especially during cold season, to keep your immunity boosted. Not only that, it’s great for work and school lunches!

So how has everyone been this cold/flu season? Did you get your shots this year and are they keeping the flu at bay?

Happy cooking! Let me know if you make this one and what you think!

Love,

Karlynn

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“Kick Your Cold’s Butt” Kale & Chicken Orzo Soup

Super food orzo soup with kale, chicken, garlic and more to chase away that winter cold or just give yourself a boost!
5 from 3 votes
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
8 hours
Total Time
8 hours 15 minutes
Course
Soup
Cuisine
American
Servings
8
Calories
135
Author
Karlynn Johnston

Ingredients
 

  • 6 cups vegetable stock
  • 1/2 large sweet potato diced
  • 3 carrots chopped
  • 1 onion chopped finely
  • 3 cloves garlic sliced
  • 1 cup mushrooms of choice
  • 2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
  • 3/4 cup orzo
  • 1 cup kale washed and trimmed

Instructions
 

  • Place the first six ingredients into a crock pot. 
  • Cook on low for 8-10 hours. You can either cook the orzo according to the package instructions and add to the crock pot OR place uncooked orzo into the crock pot one hour before serving and cook for one hour.
  • Add in the kale and the cooked chicken ten minutes before serving, cover the crock pot again and let it cook until wilted and soft. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

You can add whatever vegetables you think will taste good in this soup! 

Nutrition Information

Serving: 8g, Calories: 135kcal, Carbohydrates: 17g, Protein: 11g, Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 24mg, Sodium: 579mg, Potassium: 374mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 5820IU, Vitamin C: 13.7mg, Calcium: 33mg, Iron: 0.6mg

All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

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Karlynn Johnston

I’m a busy mom of two, wife & cookbook author who loves creating fast, fresh meals for my little family on the Canadian prairies. Karlynn Facts: I'm allergic to broccoli. I've never met a cocktail that I didn't like. I would rather burn down my house than clean it. Most of all, I love helping YOU get dinner ready because there's nothing more important than connecting with our loved ones around the dinner table!

Learn more about me

Site Index Chicken soup Kale Orzo Slow cooker

Reader Interactions

Comments & Recipe Tips Share a tip or comment!

  1. Les McGuire says

    Every F-ing year there is a new magic remedy. None work except for the magic elixir of time.

    • The Kitchen Magpie says

      Did you bother to read, or just complain? Don’t make it then.

    • Les McGuire says

      I’m not arguing that it is good food, but there is not cold remedy.

    • The Kitchen Magpie says

      Les McGuire No, but science had proven that certain things helps recovery! Like hot liquids and protein to help your body fight off illness aka chicken soup.

  2. Heather Pollock says

    I have the cold but I don’t see me eating that\U0001f606

    • The Kitchen Magpie says

      Oh it’s sooooo goooooood! Trust me!

    • Heather Pollock says

      Planning on making the macaroni cheeseburger soup this weekend\U0001f44d when the kids are home to help eat it

  3. Pam says

    Does this soup have to be cooked in the crockpot?  Or could it be made on the stovetop as well?

  4. Linda Lauritzen says

    I love orzo … but does it need it. Been off of white flour …

  5. Tracey L Bureyko says

    Thanks, ladies, I now have a mission. \U0001f495

  6. The Kitchen Magpie says

    For sure. Food heals us, you just have to eat the right stuff!

  7. Shauna Cowley Filtz says

    I also think between the fluid in the broth and salt also help in getting bacteria to move along. Tryptophan make us sleepy (from the chicken) and the steam makes the nose run. Add a dash of tobasco to your serving or Siracha to really get the nose running and stave off the shivers.

  8. Shauna Cowley Filtz says

    Tracey, don’t be afraid of soup. It is unique every time and an easy way to use up leftover meats from roasts. I have even used basic Lipton Chicken noodle, added frozen mixed veg and stirred in a beaten egg to add nutrition to that. Or used the leftover ramen flavour packet for a broth base (we do double noodles around here) Lol! Sometimes whatever you have on hand will work to make a hearty, warm meal.

  9. The Kitchen Magpie says

    It’s very easy and this soup is seriously good for you. Do it!

  10. Tracey L Bureyko says

    So looking forward to trying this recipe! I must admit that the idea of making soup, any soup, so far, scares me.

  11. Tiffany Mary Rose-Anne says

    I made a similar one all last winter! It’s the only way I enjoy kale lol

  12. CharlotteX says

    This is such a great recipe; it’s got me and my fiance through multiple colds this year, and it’s so tasty! Thank you so much!

  13. Jodee Weiland says

    This soup looks wonderful…my kind of soup. I love the ingredients and how healthy it is! Thanks for sharing!

    • thekitchenmagpie says

      @Jodee Weiland You are so very welcome! Thanks for stopping in! 

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