Curried Chicken Cauliflower Rice Soup

Curried Chicken Cauliflower Rice Soup… packed with healing anti inflammatory spices like turmeric and cayenne pepper all while being a filling Whole30 dish!

Well hello to the back end of January! Shoot I’m shaking my head over here about how fast that came and went.  We are welcoming month two the day after tomorrow!  And speaking of that, that means my little sissy Lauren celebrates her 27th Birthday today! Happy birthday Lil D!

January flew and I’m always a bit slow on the goal setting game so this month I am just getting started on my set of Powersheets for 2018.  I’ve filled up that Tending list for the month and intend on filling back to the prep work to do and set goals for the year ahead.  I always like to spend January to sit on goals for a bit and try to figure out how I want to approach the year.  I’m okay with using February as my January 1.  Heck I would even be okay with using April or May as my January 1.  There is nothing special about January 1. So if you are also a slacker with goals like yours truly fear not, just on this train whenever works for you!

Onto the recipe! I am so happy that this winter has been fairly mildly, a stark difference from last year.  Thankfully not much snow but a lot of gloomy and damp days.  You know the humid, wet, cold that leaches right into your bones?  That’s what its like but that’s okay! Because that means it’s still soup weather!!!

Whole30 provides a new adventure for me with creating soups.  I usually add quinoa to my soups for filling but not on Whole30.  Soooo instead I added cauliflower rice and called it good.  So not only is it cauliflower rice but its ROASTED cauliflower rice!! That automatically makes it 100x’s better! Everything tastes better roasted.  I know that you can buy frozen cauliflower already rices but you guys trust me, I’ve made it with both ways.  Buying a head, cutting the florets, seasoning and roasting the veg is going to yield a way more flavorful soup! DON’T SKIMP ON THIS STEP!

This soup is packed with TURMERIC! You remember the latest turmeric loving post I shared… the vegan golden milk?  Well turmeric is back for all those same reasons. This soup is a curry spice packed dish.  I used Muchi Curry because I love the added heat it gives without having to add any myself. .  I’m calling it about a 1/2 star out of 5 on the Thai spice rating, so not too bad.  Muchi Curry includes:

• Turmeric
• cumin
• ginger
• black & white pepper
• coriander
• fenugeek
• garlic
• celery seed
• cloves
• cayenne pepper
• caraway
• mace

All the strong yummy flavors!

I have made this recipe a few times now and I have made it with both spinach and kale.  They are completely interchangeable for here.  You add them both to the soup in the last 5 minutes of cooking just so they can wilt but not cook. You could definitely make this soup vegan without the chicken and subbing in vegetable for chicken broth.  But I love my protein especially for satiety reasons between meals.  So in goes the shredded chicken! You can either shred the chicken by hand or us your stand mixer with the paddle attachment.  I’ve done it both way, achieving the same results.  It really just depends on if I want to wash that huge mixer bowl or not.

I would definitely call this a “detox” soup which is perfect for gearing up for spring this time of year.  You can finish winter strong with this Curried Chicken Cauliflower Rice Soup.  I’m all on board with NATURAL food induced detoxes, I think we need to treat our body way better than we do.  Giving it good fuel it needs to boot up is vital.  This soup needs to be in your recipe box when sickness strikes, winter is weighing on you or you just need a good kick in the healthy booty!

So if you have an hour (half that time you could set it and forget it) and a fridge full of wonderful winter veggies and chicken breast then this might be your next go to soup!  Oh yeah, and the curry spice <— that’s a must.

Time for the Curried Chicken Cauliflower Rice Soup

PS- This can definitely be frozen for future meals.  I love it for lunch because I hate making lunchy meals.

Print Recipe

Curried Chicken Cauliflower Rice Soup

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

40 minutes

Servings

servings

Ingredients

Spice Mixture

• 4 Tbsp curry
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes optional

• 1 head cauliflower cut into florets
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1 medium onion diced
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 3 medium carrots diced
• 3 medium celery stalks diced
• 1.5 lbs chicken breast
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 13.5 oz can full fat coconut milk
• 5 cups kale or baby spinach kale- remove leaves from rib

Prep Time 15 minutes Cook Time 40 minutes Servings servings Ingredients Spice Mixture 4 Tbsp curry 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp pepper 1 tsp salt 1 tsp red pepper flakes optional 1 head cauliflower cut into florets 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tbsp ghee 1 medium onion diced 2 cloves garlic minced 3 medium carrots diced 3 medium celery stalks diced 1.5 lbs chicken breast 4 cups chicken broth 1 13.5 oz can full fat coconut milk 5 cups kale or baby spinach kale- remove leaves from rib

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine all the spices together in a bowl. Set aside
2. Cut cauliflower into florets and place in a bowl (save the remainder of cauliflower for juicing or blending into a smoothie). Drizzle olive oil over cauliflower florets and sprinkle 2 tablespoons of curry spice mixture over florets. Toss to evenly cover. Spread florets over a baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes or until tender but not overcooked, slightly under cooked. Remove and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.
3. While the cauliflower is cooling, prep the rest of your flavorful veggies!!
4. Season chicken breast with 2 tsp of spice between them. Set aside.
5. Next place cauliflower florets in a food processor or blender and pulse a few times until the cauliflower is chopped or "riced." See picture in post.
6. Heat a large stock pot over medium heat. Add ghee until melted. Then add onion and garlic, saute for 5 minutes until fragrant.
7. Next add carrots, celery and remaining spice mix and saute for 5-7 minutes.
8. Make a well in the middle of the veggies for the chicken breasts. Sear on each side for 2-3 minutes.
9. Add broth, coconut milk and cauliflower rice to the stock pot. Bring to a quick boil (no more than 10 seconds because we don't want that milk to cook at all!) then lower to simmer and keep it there for 20 minutes.
10. In the last 5 minutes of simmering add your prepped kale or spinach and stir into the soup until wilted.
11. Garnish with herbs (cilantro or basil would be fab) and nuts or seeds (pepitas would be great!)

Recipe Notes

Here are some tips on how to de-rib kale in my Kale Chip post here.

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