Last week, Mac wasn’t feeling well and came home sick from work. This was literally the third time I have seen him sick in our entire relationship. He was hungry but wasn’t interested in eating a lot, so I whipped up a batch of chicken couscous soup. I had both broth and couscous on hand, so it worked out well. This is pretty similar to your standard chicken noodle soup but with couscous as your pasta.
This soup will fill you up and is a great way to warm up on a cold day. The turmeric gives the soup a little bit of a zing. You can add the turmeric taste. I would recommend starting with a teaspoon and then increase it from there if you want more. You also get the health benefits associated with turmeric (including when fighting a cold). Adding in a few shakes of crushed red pepper will give the soup a nice kick.
If you have a box of flavored couscous on hand, toss the seasoning packet in when you add the broth. Just a note: you need to serve the soup right after you fluff the couscous. If you let it hang out, the chicken couscous soup will absorb most of the broth, and you won’t have very soupy soup.
If you think you won’t eat the whole batch of soup at once, I would recommend stirring in half of the couscous. When you reheat the soup, bring it to a boil and stir in the remaining couscous. You can serve the soup with a light salad, oyster crackers, or a loaf of crusty bread (like a baguette). If you have leftovers and reheat them, you won’t have a ton of extra broth. You can stir in a cup or so of broth or water to get the soupiness back.
PrintChicken couscous soup
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup each of diced celery, onions, and carrots
- 1 box of couscous (any flavor)
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 32-ounce cartons of chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon of turmeric
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Pour a few tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom of a large saucepan (enough to coat the bottom). Saute the chicken until cooked to 165 degrees. Remove.
- Add another tablespoon of oil to the saucepan. Saute the celery, onions, and carrots until soft and translucent (around 15 minutes).
- Add the chicken and the broth. Season with the turmeric, salt, and pepper (if you use flavored couscous, stir in the flavor packet now, too). Simmer for 10 minutes and bring to boil.
- Stir in the couscous. Immediately remove from the heat. Stir after five minutes and serve.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 50
Enjoy!
