Thai Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

This crock pot chicken noodle soup has a Thai spin! It uses butternut squash noodles to keep it gluten free, whole 30 compliant and under 300 calories and 3 SmartPoints! A low-carb option is included!

Do you have your spoon at the ready?

Is your soup loving mouth ready to SLURP?

I hope you used the coconut curry soup or roasted acorn squash soup to polish up those slurpin’ skillz because there are A LOT MORE soup recipes coming at your cozy-comfy-warm-food-loving-faces today.

It’s the time of the month where my blogging pals bring you 6 healthy, paleo-friendly recipes and today, we’re doin’ the SOUP DANCE.  Here’s what we got:

Lindsay has this  Curried Cauliflower Rice Kale Soup! This Curried Cauliflower Rice Kale Soup is one flavorful and healthy soup to keep you warm this season. An easy soup recipe for a nutritious meal-in-a-bowl. Paleo, vegan, and Whole30 friendly! Click here for the recipe!

Lexi has some Green Chile Vegetable Soup! This Green Chile Vegetable Soup is light, flavorful, and packed with hearty veggies! It’s the perfect meatless soup to keep you warm all season long! Customize this soup with your favorite veggies, beans, and/or gluten-free pasta, too! Click here for the recipe

Lee has some tasty Crock-Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup with Kale! Chicken Tortilla Soup never got easier AND HEALTHIER! Throw everything in your crock-pot and you’ve got dinner ready before you know it! Click here for the recipe!

Gina has some Paleo Creamy Broccoli Soup with Crispy Shallots! This easy creamy broccoli soup is rich, comforting and topped with crispy shallots. It’s also paleo, gluten free, vegetarian and vegan! Click here for the recipe!

Finally, Brittany is bringing some Slow Cooker Sausage Kale Soup! Come home to a warm and comforting meal with this slow cooker sausage kale soup! It’s packed with flavor and a breeze to whip up. Get the recipe here.

Now, my soup.

Liiiike, it’s kinda a classic recipe that you know and love and have probably eating approximately eleventy billion times in your everyone-has-eaten-chicken-noodle-soup life.  B-U-T, my classic-food-eating friends in internet-space, have you ever eaten it with a little spicy THAI-TWIST?

There’s a few of the usual suspects: carrots, celery, onion, chicken (umm, obviously) that make me feel comfortable with calling it chicken noodle soup. BUT, then there’s those surprise guests that usually don’t come to dinner.

We’re talking lemongrass, ginger and fish sauce, slowly swimming together in a pot of deliciousness, simmering and infusing the broth with a citrus-y, lemon-lime flavor profile that has a warmth and burst of saltiness that HITS the back of your throat with each spoonful.

THEN, the tender 5-spice rubbed chicken that explodes in fall-apart-without-needing-a-fork-tenderness and an EXTREME level of addictive juiciness.

WITH tender-crisp butternut squash noodles.  You remember the vegan mac and cheese and curried butternut squash salad. Butternut squash noodles are my newest food obsession, which deems them fit to throw in a recipe at LEAST once a week.

They A-L-S-O just so happen to have a sliiiiight sweetness that cuts through the tangy lime juice and salty fish sauce in a way that can only be described as the most perfect thing to ever happen inside your soup-slurping mouth.

In other-you’re-totally-going-to-judge-me-right-now-news: this is the first time EVER that I have cooked chicken thighs.

…See. There’s judgement. I know you.

Not even like “first time on FFF that I’ve cooked chicken thighs.”  I mean “first time in my almost 26 years of life that I have cooked chicken thighs.”  I’m just a chicken-breast kind gal, and this girl sticks to what she KNOWS.

Side note: which means this soup has been tested with chicken breast also. I personally feel like it just as delicious inside your belly. How-EV-ER, Mr. FFF thinks that chicken breast in the crock pot is never okay, and that thighs are what your chicken-soup-making self should be STICKIN’ TOO.

Now you know.

Back up though: the CROCK POT.

Yep, you pretty much have to do no work here because HELLO handy-dandy crock pot to the rescue.

Throw ingredients in –> cover it up –> resist the urge to eat soup with potentially raw chicken in 2 hours because your house is already filling up with cozy warm, citrus-spiced smells –> Put on your patient pants and wait the necessary amount of time –> WORTH THE WAIT.

In other news, the semi-sequel: star anise PODS.  They are in the soup and no you can’t omit them, or use anise seed like the pho slow cooker pulled pork. I don’t care if you have to Amazon Prime them to your doorstep (confession: I did) so that you can make this soup a real thing in your life.

They are necessary. Even to non-Thai chicken noodle soup. It was Grandma’s secret weapon when she made steaming bowls of noodle-licious soup when I grew up.

You know you don’t mess with G-MA.

You A-L-S-O don’t have to mess with dinner because major-super-easy-super-slow-cooker-life-win happening RIGHT. NOW.

Print

Thai Crock Pot Chicken Noodle Soup

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 8 hours

Total Time 8 hours 15 minutes

Servings 4 Servings

Ingredients

• 6 Cups Reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1 1/2 Cups Celery sliced
• 1 1/2 Cups Carrots sliced
• 1/2 Cup Onion diced
• 2 tsp Fresh garlic minced
• 3 Tbsp Paleo fish sauce
• 2 Inches fresh ginger peeled
• 2 Stalks lemon grass each cut into three **read notes
• 6 Star anise pods do NOT omit - these are key
• Black peppercorns
• 1 Lb Chicken thighs trimmed of excess fat *
• 1 Tbsp Chinese 5 spice
• 2 lbs Small Butternut squash peeled, seeded, and spiralized with blade B(about 4 of squash not prepped or just over 1 1/2 lbs prepped) ***
• Juice of half a large lime
• 1 tsp Sriracha or to taste
• Finely sliced mint for garnish
• Finely sliced Thai basil for garnish
• Cilantro for garnish

Instructions

1. Add all the ingredients, up to the star anise, into a 7 quart slow cooker and stir together.
2. Place the star anise pods into a tea ball and fill up an additional tea ball with black peppercorns (no need to measure - just fill it.) Place them into the slow cooker.
3. Pat the chicken thighs dry and rub the Chinese 5 spice all over them. Place into the slow cooker.
4. Cook until the chicken is tender, about 7-8 hours on low.
5. Once the soup is done, stir in the butternut squash noodles and cook another 10-15 minutes, just until the noodles are tender. They cook quickly so keep an eye on them!
6. Then, use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken to a plate. Stir in the lime juice and sriracha.
7. Shred the chicken with 2 forks and stir it back into the slow cooker.
8. Divide the soup between 4 balls, garnish with a pinch of each herb and DEVOUR.

Recipe Notes

*I have also made this with chicken breast. It's all very good, but a little bit less flavorful. **I buy little plastic containers of lemon grass that seem to be only about half of the full lemon grass (they don't have any of the greenery at the end) so keep note of that when determining how much to use. ***You may also use zucchini noodles for a low-carb option.

FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:

• 7-Quart slow cooker
• Inspiralizer
• Star Anise
• Red Boat fish sauce

WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PER SERVING: SMARTPOINTS: 3  POINTS+: 5. OLD POINTS: 7

IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, PLEASE REMEMBER TO TAG @FOODFAITHFIT AND #FOODFAITHFITNESS ON INSTAGRAM! I LOVE SEEING YOUR RECIPE RECREATIONS!

Want more Asian, paleo-friendly dinners?

Asian Tuna Nicoise Salad

Healthy Chicken Stir Fry with Coriander

Vegan Coconut Curry with Sweet Potato Noodles

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