AIP Instant Pot Lemon Tumeric Soup
Cold months and sick days are when I crave soup. This has become my “go-to” soup and I am so excited to share this recipe with you after perfecting the recipe.
My mother-in-law taught me how to make homemade chicken and vegetable soup and her grandmother taught her. I love hearing the stories about how Grandma Wilma would go in the backyard, wring a chicken’s necks, roast the chicken and use the bones to make homemade bone broth. So many modern conveniences have made homemade chicken and vegetable soup so much easier.
Nature’s Penicillin
There’s a reason homemade bone broth is known as “nature’s penicillin”. Bone broth has been revered for centuries as a natural remedy due to its rich nutrient profile and potential health benefits. Often referred to as “nature’s penicillin,” bone broth is packed with essential minerals, collagen, and amino acids that support the immune system, gut health, and overall well-being. The slow simmering process of making bone broth allows for the extraction of valuable compounds like glucosamine, chondroitin, and gelatin from the bones and connective tissues, which can help reduce inflammation, promote joint health, and aid in the healing of the digestive tract. Furthermore, the amino acids found in bone broth, such as glutamine and proline, play a crucial role in maintaining the integrity of the gut lining, thus preventing leaky gut syndrome and supporting a healthy immune response. While bone broth may not have the same targeted antibacterial properties as penicillin, its comprehensive nutritional profile and potential to bolster the body’s natural defenses make it a valuable addition to a healthy diet and a compelling reason to consider it nature’s own fortifying elixir.
Store-Bought Bone Broth
With nutritious store-bought alternatives, there are a variety of ways to get true bone broth for this soup. If you are going the store-bought route, just be sure you are using a broth made with high-quality ingredients. Try for at least organic and even pasture raised when possible.
Meal Prep Tips
A meal prep tip is to roast a couple of chickens at the beginning of each week, take the meat off the bone and shred it so it’s ready to go for a variety of soups, salads and easy meals. I like to use chicken carcasses to make Instant Pot bone broth. I simply put the chicken carcass in the Instant Pot and cover with filtered water. Add either some fresh lemon juice and apple cider vinegar. Pressure cook for 90 minutes, release pressure, use a mashed potato masher to mash the carcass. This helps release the bone marrow from the bones making the broth even more nutrient dense. Pressure cook for another 30 minutes, then strain and enjoy! It’s always a win when grocery dollars go a little bit further. By buying the whole chicken, you can save money by using the chicken meat as referenced or the carcass for the broth. It’s a two-for-one special!
Time Saving Tips
While homemade bone broth is always best for the reasons stated above, I sometimes buy organic rotisserie chickens from Whole Foods. After using the meat for meal, I’ll use the carcass for bone broth. Whole Foods does not use any oil on their rotisserie chicken. It’s just salt and pepper – hard to get much cleaner than that!
Simple Ingredients
- White Onion, Carrots, and Celery – These veggies are the basic base used for most soups, also known as “mireproix”. To save time, you can usually find this already diced in most grocery stores. To ensure even doneness of the vegetables, be sure that this set of veggies is roughly the same size.
- Garlic Cloves – Fresh is always best. You really want that pungent flavor of the garlic to come through.
- Turmeric – There are so many healing properties of turmeric. I use the ground spice version of turmeric for this recipe.
- Fresh Thyme or Oregano Leaves – These herbs impart so much flavor into the soup.
- Cauliflower Rice – You can easily adjust the vegetables to your liking. Sometimes I’ll use turnips or sweet potatoes instead.
- Chicken Broth – This adds so much flavor and what makes this soup “nature’s penicillin”.
- Chicken Breasts – You can use rotisserie chicken, or if you are meal prepping be sure to check out this link on how to prepare 5 pounds of shredded chicken with just 5 minutes of hands-on time.
- Lemon Juice – Fresh is always best, especially in this recipe since such a large amount is used.
- Avocado Oil – If tolerated, ghee makes a great substitute. If you opt for coconut oil, just know that the soup will have a slightly sweet flavor.
- Salt – You can always adjust the salt at the end and add more if needed.
Storage
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and freezer for up to 2 months.
AIP Instant Pot Lemon Tumeric Soup
Ingredients
- 1 white onion diced
- 12 carrots pealed and diced
- 4 celery stalks diced
- 3-5 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp fresh thyme or oregano leaves
- 2 cups cauliflower rice
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 2 chicken breasts diced
- ½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- avocado oil for sauteeing
- 1 tsp salt plus more to taste
Instructions
- Put Instant Pot on “saute” mode.
- Add 2 TBS avocado oil.
- Add carrots, celery and onions. Saute 3-5 minutes until just softened.
- Add salt, garlic, turmeric, and fresh thyme or oregano.
- Sute for another 30 seconds.
- Add chicken broth.
- Put the lid on and pressure cook for 4 minutes.
- Release the pressure 10 minutes after contents have pressure cooked for the full 4 minutes.
- Add the chicken and set back to “saute” for about 15 minutes to allow the chicken to soak up all the flavors of the soup and to further tenderize the chicken.
- Add the riced cauliflower and keep on the “saute” mode for about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the freshly squeezed lemon juice.
- Taste and add salt if necessary.