GAPS Diet Chicken Soup – Intro Stages
The fastest and simplest path to gut and allergy healing for our family has been with chicken soup. In fact, my husband has never done the gut-healing GAPS protocol or adhered strictly to the full GAPS protocol, yet he has had a great deal of healing just by consuming this GAPS diet chicken soup recipe regularly. Our children frequently request this soup, and when we host our nieces and nephews for play dates, they often ask for “Uncle Adam’s famous chicken soup” for dinner. Whether you are following the gut healing GAPS protocol or just looking for a delicious chicken soup with whole food ingredients, this recipe is for you.
Meat Stock vs. Bone Broth vs. Chicken Soup
Meat stock, bone broth, and chicken soup are all very nutritious and important for healing our bodies. Bone broth and meat stock vary primarily due to the different cook times. For the GAPS diet, especially intro, we want to focus on the shorter cook times for both meat stock and chicken soup. While bone broth is superior in minerals, it can be harder to digest in those with leaky gut (a great majority of those coming to the diet). Once healing takes place, bone broth is a wonderful thing to introduce! This GAPS diet chicken soup recipe follows the shorter cook time. In fact, the meat and veggies can be strained to make intro meat stock.
Chicken Soup Recipe With Whole Chicken or Carcass
It can be intimidating to make chicken soup from scratch with a whole chicken or bone in chicken for the first time. However, it is simple and easy after making it the first time. We most often make our soup with whole chickens, chicken legs, or a combination. Adding in chicken feet makes a very gelatinous and flavorful broth and contains many nutrients our bodies need to heal. The more bones, joints, skin, and fat the chicken has, the healthier and more nutrient dense the broth will be.
Sourcing High Quality Meat
Using chicken raised in a healthy environment is critical. The closest you can get to free-range, pastured and organic farming practices, the more vitamins, minerals, and nutrients the chicken meat will have. This is what we are aiming for to heal the gut. If possible, buy meat from a local farmer who uses grass-fed and organic practices. If you do not know of a farmer, check your local Weston Price Chapter.
Chicken Soup Recipe From Scratch Ingredients
In addition to the cuts of chicken used, the secret to yummy chicken soup is plenty of good seasoning and a variety of vegetables and herbs. Include any non-fibrous vegetables if you are on stage 1 of the GAPS intro protocol. You can also strain out vegetables and herbs that are not on stage 1. The soup will include the flavor, but the harder to digest veggies can be removed. Our favorite seasonings and veggies include carrots, celery, onion, garlic, parsley, high mineral sea salt, and pepper. Sometimes we add a pinch of basil and oregano and this is a nice variation.
You will need a few tools, such as a 5 gallon stock pot and non-toxic storage containers if you do not already have them in your kitchen. Check out this post for my full list of helpful tools.
Finding Time for GAPS and Healthy Eating
Having good home systems is really important for prioritizing healthy eating. When our families have a busy schedule, battle illness, or enter new seasons like having a baby, it can be so easy to fall back into convenience foods. The best ways we have found to stay on track with healthy eating are to:
- Cook recipes in bulk to eat fresh and have freezer meals available, when possible
- Follow a simple and budget-friendly meal plan
- Have a well-stocked pantry and freezer of go-to GAPS /ancestral foods
- Invest in a few good kitchen tools to save time and money over time
- Cook most meals with the same ingredients, but change the seasonings. For example, we usually cook with a meat and several veggies for dinner, changing flavors from Italian, Asian, Mexican, etc.
GAPS Chicken Breast Recipes
When we make large quantities of chicken soup, as we usually do, we sometimes have extra chicken breast meat. We use this in a variety of dishes, including:
- Chicken egg salad
- Chicken artichoke dip with fermented kefir
- Cabbage or lettuce wrapped chicken with homemade mayo
- Shredded chicken over salad greens
GAPS Diet Chicken Soup – Intro Stages Recipe
Equipment
- stock pot 5 gallon
- non-toxic storage containers
- freezer and oven safe pyrex
- lead-free cooking pot
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken or several chicken cuts with bones and joints (pasture-raised is ideal)
- 2-4 pcs chicken feet (optional)
- 1 gallon water (filtered)
- 2 pcs onions
- 4 pcs garlic cloves
- 4 pcs carrots
- 4 pcs celery stalks
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp parsley (dried)
Instructions
- Add chicken, chicken feet, and salt to large pot and add water.
- Bring the chicken to a boil and allow it to cook for about 1.5-2 hours.
- Chop the veggies and herbs into bite-sized pieces.
- Remove the chicken from the pot and de-bone it, adding the meat back into the pot, and/or reserve some for a different recipe.
- Add the chopped vegetables and herbs and continue cooking until soft (about half hour).
- Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Transfer into glass storage containers for the fridge or freezer.
Notes
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- You can add any variation of seasonings and vegetables to this recipe that your family enjoys. If you are following the GAPS protocol, here is a list of foods allowed on the GAPS diet, including intro.
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- If you or anyone in your family struggle with histamine reactions, eat this soup fresh and freeze leftovers immediately. This limits the amount of histamines in the recipe. I find freezing soup into freezer safe glass containers in portioned sizes very convenient.
Do you have a favorite chicken soup recipe variation? I would love to hear more in the comments! My sister has been adding turmeric to her soup, and it produces a beautiful color broth and mild flavor addition. I would love to hear your family’s recipes!
Resources
Posts
How to Start the GAPS Introduction Diet
What is the GAPS Diet – An Easier Explanation
GAPS Diet Non-Fibrous Vegetables
Large Family Kitchen Essentials + GAPS Diet Must Haves
GAPS Diet Meal Plan
How to Start an Ancestral Diet (without Overwhelm)
GAPS Diet Egg Salad (Whole30, Keto, Paleo Friendly)
Milk Kefir Artichoke Dip
Healthy Homemade Avocado Mayo
How to Make GAPS Diet Meat Stock
Local Farm: Weston Price Chapter
Shop This Post
- 5 gallon stock pot
- non-toxic storage containers
- freezer and oven safe pyrex
- lead-free cooking pot
- sea salt
- parsley flakes
- organic garlic granules
- organic onion granules
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Love chicken noodle soup! Thanks for the delicious recipe!
I love this recipe and I love that it has such great healing properties! Bone broth is so very nutritious and yes, I do use chicken feet in mine too. Thanks so much for sharing!