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Who is ready for a new Hungry Lady Soup?!
This is my Lemony Chicken soup that comes loaded with Israeli couscous, fresh dill and parsley, and plenty of feta crumbled right over the top. There’s a lot to like here, and very little asked of you. I could tell you don’t want to make dinner, so let me handle it!
The carrots, celery, and onion get chopped small. (Got someone at your table who picks out the onions? Me too. We’re making it difficult for them.) I use bone-in chicken thighs for more flavor and pull the bones out after cooking, but boneless or skinless thighs work too, so use whatever you’ve got.
The couscous cooks in its own pot so it doesn’t drink all your soup. Couscous for those of you that havent used it before is a small, round pasta made from wheat flour. Takes about 8-10 minutes to boil, and you just follow the directions
This recipe can easily be adapted to vegetarian if you Swap the chicken for chickpeas and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
Spoon couscous into a shallow bowl, ladle the soup on top, followed by crumbled feta. I suggest serving it with a hunk of my crusty Same Day Baguette. Talk about the perfect dinner duo!
This soup should give you plenty of leftovers, which are my favorite. There is nothing better than having dinner already made for you the next night- because lets be honest, I am not doing this again tomorrow! This soup also freezes great…just freeze the soup on its own, then cook a fresh pot of couscous when you’re ready to eat.
As I always say, No diets, just good food. Enjoy my friends!
Ingredients
Olive oil: Just enough to get the vegetables going in the pot.
Celery, carrots, and onion: The classic soup base. Dice them about the same size so they cook evenly.
Garlic: Three cloves, minced. It only needs about 30 seconds in the pot before the flour and thyme go in.
Flour: Two tablespoons, cooked with the vegetables for a minute, gives the broth a little body.
Dried thyme: Added with the flour so it has time to warm through before the broth goes in.
Chicken broth: Use unsalted or low-sodium so you control the salt. Making it vegetarian? Use vegetable broth instead.
Chicken thighs: Bone-in or boneless, skin-on or skinless, you can use any of them. If you go bone-in, pull the bones out after cooking.
Israeli couscous: Also called pearl couscous, these little round pasta pearls cook in their own pot so the soup and couscous can be stored separately.
Lemon: The juice of one lemon, stirred in at the end.
Fresh dill and parsley: Stirred in at the end with the lemon juice. Use as much parsley as you like.
Feta: Good Greek or Bulgarian feta, crumbled by hand over each bowl.
Kosher salt and pepper: Season at the end, once the chicken and lemon are in, so you can taste as you go.
Crusty bread and butter: Optional, but great for dunking.
How to Make my Lemony Chicken Soup with Israeli Couscous and Feta
Instructions
- Set a large stockpot over medium heat and add the oil. Add the celery, carrots, and onion and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the thyme and flour and cook for another minute or so.
- Pour in the chicken broth and stir to dissolve the flour. Add the chicken. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low to simmer.
- Cover the pot almost fully, leaving the lid slightly off center so a little steam can escape. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through (165°F). Bone-in thighs may take a little longer. While the soup simmers, bring a small pot of water to a boil for the couscous.
- Add the couscous to the boiling water and cook, stirring a few times, for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender. Drain.
- While the couscous cooks, move the chicken to a cutting board. Dice it or shred it with two forks, whichever you like best in a soup. If you used bone-in thighs, remove the bones (and the skin, if you’d like). Return the chicken to the pot along with the lemon juice, dill, and parsley. Stir it in, then taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
- To serve, spoon some couscous into a shallow bowl and ladle the soup over and around it. Crumble feta on top and serve right away, with crusty bread and butter if you like.
Commonly Asked Questions
Cooking it in its own pot means you can store the soup and couscous apart. That’s what makes this soup easy to freeze: freeze the soup on its own, then cook a fresh pot of couscous when it’s time to eat.
It’s a small, round pasta, also called pearl couscous. It’s bigger and chewier-looking than regular couscous and cooks in about 8 to 10 minutes in boiling water.
Either one works, with or without the skin. If you use bone-in thighs, they may need a few extra minutes to cook through (165°F). Pull out the bones when you shred or dice the chicken.
Yes. Swap the chicken for chickpeas and use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
Yes. Freeze the soup without the couscous, and let it cool (no more than 2 hours at room temperature) before it goes in the freezer. Cook fresh couscous when you’re ready to serve.
Lemony Chicken Soup with Israeli Couscous and Feta
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 sticks celery, diced
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp flour
- 3/4 tsp dried thyme
- 8 cups unsalted or low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 lbs chicken thighs, about 6 bone-in thighs, bone-in or boneless, skin-on or skinless
- 1 cup uncooked Israeli couscous, rinsed
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, or to taste
- 4 ounces good Greek or Bulgarian feta, crumbled by hand
- Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Set a large stockpot over medium heat and add the oil. Add the celery, carrots, and onion and sauté for 5 to 7 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the thyme and flour and cook for another minute or so.
- Pour in the chicken broth and stir to dissolve the flour. Add the chicken. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low to simmer.
- Cover the pot almost fully, leaving the lid slightly off center so a little steam can escape. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked through (165°F). Bone-in thighs may take a little longer. While the soup simmers, bring a small pot of water to a boil for the couscous.
- Add the couscous to the boiling water and cook, stirring a few times, for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender. Drain.
- While the couscous cooks, move the chicken to a cutting board. Dice it or shred it with two forks, whichever you like best in a soup. If you used bone-in thighs, remove the bones (and the skin, if you’d like). Return the chicken to the pot along with the lemon juice, dill, and parsley. Stir it in, then taste and add salt and pepper as needed.
- To serve, spoon some couscous into a shallow bowl and ladle the soup over and around it. Crumble feta on top and serve right away, with crusty bread and butter if you like.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
