chicken and root vegetable soup in a coconut milk and bone broth base, thickened with arrowroot

Some days the only realistic goal is a meal that happens at all. This one is built for exactly that day: dump everything into the Instant Pot and walk away. Come back a while later to something that tastes like someone took care of you, even if that someone was only you, 45 minutes ago.

The bone broth base is a source of collagen and glycine, which your body uses as raw material to help maintain the one-cell-thick lining of the gut, tissue with a real hand in calming an overactive immune system. That kind of repair happens slowly, bowl by bowl, this one and the one you make next week and the one after that, which is the pace a body actually heals at, dinner by dinner, week by week.

There is one moment that asks for your attention: once the arrowroot goes in, do not let the pot come back to a hard boil, or the broth thins out again. Stay close for that last minute, then step back and let it be a soup that fed you without asking much in return.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb chicken tenders
• 1.5 cups chopped carrots
• 2 cups chopped white sweet potatoes
• 1.5 cups chopped turnips
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 4 cups bone broth
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1.5 cups full-fat coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot starch
• 2 tablespoons water

Method

(Instant Pot)

This started as a pressure-cooker soup, and the Instant Pot is the simplest path. Add the chicken tenders, carrots, white sweet potatoes, turnips, celery, and onion to the pot. Pour in the bone broth and apple cider vinegar, then add the sea salt and dried thyme. Stir once to settle everything.

Seal the lid and set the valve to sealing. Cook on High pressure for about 8 to 10 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally for several minutes before opening the valve the rest of the way. The chicken should be cooked through and the root vegetables tender.

Open the pot, lift out the chicken tenders, and shred or chop them, then return them to the soup. Switch to the Saute setting and bring the soup back to a gentle simmer. Stir in the coconut milk.

In a small bowl, whisk the arrowroot starch with the water until smooth, then stir the slurry into the simmering soup. Let it bubble gently for a minute or two until the broth thickens slightly and looks silky. Add the arrowroot at the end and avoid a hard boil afterward, since arrowroot thins out if it is cooked too long or too hot. Taste, adjust the salt, and serve warm.

Stovetop variation

Bring the chicken, vegetables, bone broth, apple cider vinegar, salt, and thyme to a simmer in a large pot. Cover and simmer gently until the chicken is cooked through and the root vegetables are tender, roughly 25 to 35 minutes. Lift out the chicken, shred it, and return it. Stir in the coconut milk, then whisk the arrowroot with the water and stir it in, simmering another minute or two until the broth thickens. Keep it at a gentle simmer rather than a rolling boil so the arrowroot holds.

Notes

The thickener is arrowroot starch, which is already AIP elimination-compliant. No swap needed.

Use a clean-label or homemade bone broth with no added nightshade, seed-spice, or other off-plan ingredients, since the broth carries much of the flavor and the compliance.

This soup freezes reasonably, though arrowroot-thickened broth can change texture once frozen and reheated. If you plan to freeze a batch, you can hold off on the arrowroot and stir it in fresh when you reheat.

*Adapted from wendisaipkitchen.com*