Combine some immunity-boosting superfoods together to make a delicious immunity soup to keep your family healthy all season long.
Jump to RecipeWhen it comes to foods, there are certain ones that are better at helping your immune system keep you healthy. This immunity soup combines a bunch of them together to give you and your family that boost of superfoods to help keep you healthy all season long.
Chickpeas: Rich in zinc
Dark Leafy Greens: Vitamin C
Garlic: Allicin
Hot Broth: Steaming stock makes your nose run which helps clear out congestion
Crushed Red Pepper: Also helps clear out sinuses
Mushrooms: Vitamin D
I wasn’t so sure about this recipe at first. That’s a lot of “stuff” to put in one soup, but it ended up being really good! Of course, the boys didn’t really care for it much, so we had a lot of leftovers. Luckily, it also reheats well.
When you read through the recipe, don’t be turned off by the amount of garlic in it. When I first saw 10 cloves I thought it must be a mistake. But since it was my first time making it, I followed the instructions. I have since changed a few other things, but the garlic has been the same. There are so many other flavors in the soup, that you have to have that amount of garlic to even get much of a taste. And since garlic is so good for the immune system, you want a lot of it in there.

Immunity Soup Step by Step
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups onion (chopped)
- 3 stalks celery (chopped)
- 2 carrots (chopped)
- 1 lb mushrooms (sliced)
- 10 cloves garlic (minced)
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- 1 lb chicken (shredded)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 12 oz kale (chopped)
Preparation
Start by getting all your ingredients prepped, chopping the vegetables, etc. Everything gets added in pretty quickly. It helps to have it all ready to go before you start. Chop up the onion, carrots, and celery. Mince the garlic. Slice the mushrooms. And chop the kale up into smaller pieces.

In a large stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and cook for a few minutes until they soften slightly.

Then add the mushrooms and garlic, stirring often, for another few minutes. Tyler loves that we are starting to let him help at the stovetop. He got to help add the mushrooms to the soup,. Tyler commented about how they are “silly feeling on my fingers”.



Stir in the broth, thyme, bay leaves, and chickpeas, bringing it all to a slow simmer.

Add the shredded chicken breast and red pepper. Cover the pot and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.

Mix the kale in the soup and simmer until the kale is soft, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you used full leaves for the thyme and bay leaves, find those and remove them from the soup. Then serve the immunity soup warm.


Recipe
Originally Published On: November 17, 2017
Last Updated On: July 27, 2023

Immunity Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups onion (chopped)
- 3 stalks celery (chopped)
- 2 carrots (chopped)
- 1 lb mushrooms (sliced)
- 10 cloves garlic (minced)
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
- 1 lb chicken (shredded)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 12 oz kale (chopped)
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Prepare all the ingredients by chopping the vegetables as needed
- Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat
- Add onion, carrots, and celery and cook for about 5 minutes
- Mix in mushrooms and garlic for another 3 minutes
- Stir in the chicken broth, thyme, bay leaves, and chickpeas
- Add the chicken and cayenne pepper
- Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes
- Add the kale to the soup and simmer for a few minutes, until the kale is soft
- Remove sprigs of thyme and bay leaves and serve warm
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Other Soup Recipes to try
- One-Pot Potato and Cream Cheese Soup
- Slow Cooker Soups and Stews: Over 50 Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Red Lentil Soup
- Zesty Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Sausage Potato and Kale Soup
- Lazy Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe
- Lasagna Soup
- Creamy Artichoke Soup
- Pasta Fagioli Soup (Olive Garden Copycat)
- Green Chicken Soup
- Roasted Tomato and Cheddar Soup
- Leftover Turkey Tortellini Soup
- Easy One Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup (Gluten Free and Dairy Free)
- Immunity Soup
- Kreacher’s French Onion Soup
- Easy Slow-Cooker Potato and Cheddar Soup
- Seafood Gnocchi Soup
- Italian Sausage and Tortellini Soup
- Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup
- Minestrone Soup: The Perfect Warm Vegetarian Soup
- Chicken and Gnocchi Soup
- Tomato Soup (Vegan and Dairy-Free)
More Kale Recipes
- Sausage Potato and Kale Soup
- Kale Beef Stew with Smashed Potatoes
- Hearty Sausage and Kale Pesto Pizza
- Immunity Soup
This soup is filled with so many delicious ingredients that I’m sure it tastes wonderful! Can’t wait to try myself!
It’s yummy and filling, I hope you enjoy it!
I am a sucker for a delicious soup all of the time. Having the added bonus of added immunity is icing on the cake!
That’s exactly what I said too! Soup is perfect this time of the year.
This looks like a perfect recipe to get some immunity in this winter season. I am going to try this recipe but without mushroom. 🙂
I don’t care for mushrooms either but my husband does…. I just ate around them, but it would have been easier without them for me!
That looks like a nice and delicious recipe! I will try this.
Thank you, I hope you enjoy it!
This is so good! It reminds me the chicken soup my grandma used to make: she would use a lot of cilantro so I will take like 10 minutes to take them all out! 10 garlic cloves sounds indeed like a lot! But I’ll give it a try, love soup!
I was so unsure about the 10 cloves of garlic, but in the end, I didn’t really taste it much because of all the other flavors in there.
Just in time for soup season. My favorite time of year.
Yes! Bring on the cooler weather!
This loooks super good — I’ll skip the mushrooms but otherwise it looks amazing!
I’m not a fan of mushrooms either. I was able to eat around them since my husband does like them and wanted them in there.
I make something similar! Looks so yummy I may have to tweak my recipe to try this way
I wasn’t sure about the red onion in it, but it definitely made it delicious!
This recipe packs in so many great ingredients that I love! Definitely saving, looks delicious!
I wasn’t so sure about so many ingredients, but it really comes together.
I just wrote a post on tips for staying healthy during this winter! This soup sounds like a great addition to my plans and it looks delicious!!
Awesome! Feel free to share it if you think your readers would enjoy it… we sure did!
Not just a great “immunity” recipe – but it’s one that is just SO tasty that every member of the family will eat it!
Yes! It just does double duty to keep the family healthy and the tummy full.
Oh! This is so wonderful recipe. I should try this for my family. It’s perfect for winter!
Thanks, I hope you all enjoy it!
I definitely think I need to change my eating habits over the holidays. I am not doing well as I caught some pretty nasty bug that doesn’t seem to want to go away and it causing problems.
Yuck, my husband and youngest son have had the same thing. I hope you start feeling better soon!
This seems so delicious, I don’t mind how much a recipe can have as long as it makes good taste when it gets combined together.
And this one does. It’s a lot of ingredients, but it comes together really well.
My family has gotten sick so much lately! This soup looks pretty tasty and I love all the health benefits it has!
I feel like the plague hit my house last week. We had two with pink eye, an ear infection, a sinus infection, colds for everyone, and my youngest with potential asthma that we are treating. I will definitely be making this again soon to try to give our immune systems a boost after this hit!
Not sure which I like better – the pics of this yummy-looking soup, or of your little helper! This is EXACTLY what we all need at this time of year – no one can afford to be sick around the holidays! 🙂
Thanks! He’s such a great helper. My family was all sick in one way or another last week. I’ll be making this again to give us a boost before it gets really crazy around here.
Oh yeah bring on all the soup! It’s been freezing and I haven’t seen the sun in 2 days!! And yes, bring on all the garlic too. We have this ramen we always order at a Japanese restaurant and it’s chockfull of garlic so delicious! Can’t wait to give this a try at home. PS: Cute little helper you got there 🙂
Oh man, I think that’s one of the many reasons I couldn’t live somewhere that gets real winter weather. I love the sun too much.
What something like Chickpeas? I don’t think Japan has this, or if we do, it is a lot of money as it is a rare food item. What are other Zinc foods?
Chickpeas are also known as garbanzo beans, so I’m not sure if that’s what they are called there. I also found this website with a few alternatives. I haven’t tried any in this recipe, though, so not sure how it would work: https://www.gourmetsleuth.com/ingredients/detail/chickpeas
My grandmother always said there is no such thing as too much garlic! Lol. This soup looks yummy. It’s the perfect time of year to boost the immune system.
I don’t think I’ve ever had anything that I felt had too much garlic either. But it does seem like a lot when you look at the ingredients list!
Ooooo I need to make this ASAP! My daughter has been feeling under the weather and I do not want to catch those germs! Maybe this soup will help my body keep it away
Definitely a perfect time to work on this soup, then! It can help both of you!