Martha Stewart Chicken Zoodle Soup Recipe

If you love Martha Stewart’s chicken noodle soup but want something lighter, this is the version you make. Martha Stewart’s Chicken Zoodle Soup replaces the pasta with zucchini noodles, poaches chicken breasts in broth with celery, carrots, and onion, shreds the chicken, drops in the zucchini pasta for just 2 minutes, and finishes every bowl with fresh dill, olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon.

I made this on a fall night when I wanted chicken noodle soup but did not want to feel heavy afterwards, and I was surprised how much I did not miss the pasta. This Martha Stewart chicken soup recipe is one of her best chicken recipes for when you want something warm and filling but still light. The dill and lemon give it a brightness that regular chicken noodle soup does not have. One of those Martha Stewart chicken dishes that changes how you think about zucchini.

Try More Soup Recipes:

• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Chicken Soup
• Vegetable Soup

Why You Will Love This Chicken Zoodle Soup:

• All the comfort, none of the heaviness: This tastes like chicken noodle soup but you do not feel weighed down after a full bowl. The zucchini noodles give you the same slurpy experience without the carbs. I was worried it would feel like something was missing, but the dill and lemon make it feel complete in a way I did not expect.
• The zoodles only cook for 2 minutes: You add the zucchini noodles at the very end and they are tender almost immediately. If you leave them longer, they turn mushy and release water into the broth. Two minutes is the line. I set a timer every time because the difference between perfect and soggy is about 30 seconds.
• Dill and lemon change everything: Most chicken soups taste the same. This one is different because of the fresh dill stirred in at the end and the lemon squeezed over each bowl. It lifts the whole thing. You will not go back to plain chicken soup after this.

Chicken Zoodle Soup Ingredients

• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 medium zucchini (1 pound), trimmed and cut into thin noodles (about 5 cups)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• Lemon wedges, for serving

How To Make Martha Stewart Chicken Zoodle Soup

1. Poach the chicken: In a medium pot, combine the chicken broth, 4 cups of water, the chicken breasts, celery, carrots, and onion. Bring to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
2. Shred the chicken: Transfer the chicken to a plate. Let cool slightly, then shred into bite-size pieces.
3. Cook the zoodles: Return the broth to a simmer. Add the zucchini noodles and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes.
4. Finish and serve: Remove from heat. Stir in the shredded chicken and dill. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.

Recipe Tips

• Do not overcook the zucchini noodles: Two minutes is all they need. Past that, they release water into the broth and go limp. The soup gets watery and the noodles lose all their bite. I add them last and watch them the entire time. Pull one out and taste it at 90 seconds if you are nervous.
• Cut long noodles to about 6 inches: Martha’s cook note says to cut the zoodles shorter for easier eating. Full-length spiralized zucchini tangles around your spoon and splashes broth everywhere. I learned this the messy way on the first try.
• Use a spiralizer or julienne peeler: A spiralizer gives you round noodle shapes. A julienne peeler makes flat ribbons. A regular vegetable peeler makes wide ribbons. Martha says any shape works. I use a julienne peeler because I do not own a spiralizer and the ribbons are close enough.
• Squeeze lemon over each bowl, not the whole pot: If you add lemon to the pot, the acid changes the flavor of the leftovers and the broth can taste sour by day two. A fresh squeeze per bowl keeps every serving bright without affecting what you store.

What Goes Well With This Zoodle Soup

A thick slice of sourdough bread for dipping is all this soup needs. The soup is light so the bread adds substance. I warm it in the oven while the soup simmers so it comes out hot and crusty at the same time.

If you want a salad, a quick caesar salad works. But most nights the soup and bread is the whole dinner and nobody leaves the table hungry.

How To Store Leftovers

Store the soup without the lemon and olive oil drizzle. Add those fresh when you reheat. The zucchini noodles soften more overnight but they hold up better than I expected. Keeps 3 days in the fridge.

I reheat in a saucepan over medium heat. Do not bring it back to a boil or the zoodles overcook. Just warm it through gently. I would not freeze this because zucchini gets watery after thawing. If you want to meal prep, freeze the broth and chicken without the zucchini and add fresh zoodles when you reheat.

FAQs

• What is a zoodle? A zoodle is a zucchini noodle, a zucchini cut into thin noodle-shaped strips using a spiralizer or peeler. They cook in about 2 minutes and work as a low-carb replacement for pasta in soups and stir-fries. If you have never tried them, this soup is a good place to start because the broth and chicken carry the flavor and the zucchini just provides the texture.
• Does this taste like chicken noodle soup? It tastes like a lighter, brighter version of it. The base is the same: chicken, broth, carrots, celery, onion. But the zucchini noodles do not absorb the broth the way pasta does, so the soup stays more liquid. The dill and lemon push it in a different direction than traditional chicken noodle. I think it is better, honestly.
• Can I use regular noodles instead? You can, and then it is just Martha Stewart’s chicken noodle soup. But the point of this recipe is the zucchini swap. If you want noodles, try Martha’s classic chicken noodle soup recipe instead. This one is for the nights when you want something lighter.
• Can I use other vegetable noodles? Martha says any vegetable noodle works. Sweet potato noodles, butternut squash noodles, or carrot ribbons would all be good. Just adjust the cook time since some vegetable noodles take longer than zucchini. I have only used zucchini but I would try sweet potato next.

More Soup Recipes:

• Minestrone Soup
• Butternut Squash Soup
• Tomato Soup

Nutrition Facts

(1 serving, serves 6)

• Calories: 180
• Total Fat: 5g
• Saturated Fat: 1g
• Cholesterol: 65mg
• Sodium: 520mg
• Total Carbohydrates: 8g
• Protein: 26g