A funny thing happened when I started writing this recipe. My only goal was to write a Whole30 version of the standard (albeit somewhat boring) chicken and rice soup. But then my creativity got the better of me. My creativity coupled with my never-ending meatball obsession. If you don’t know by now, I think it’s about time I tell you: meatballs are my love language. I want to make meatballs for myself every single week. Most weeks, I do.

Summer Rain and I went on a ~9 mile hike together once. The turnaround point was a nice picnic area on top of a hill with a beautiful overlook. It was lunch time, we were hungry, so we decided to have lunch. I think she had an energy bar and some cut up vegetables. What did I bring to eat? Buffalo chicken meatballs. I pulled my glass container of meatballs out of my day pack, set it on the table and Summer Rain immediately burst out laughing. I guess it is somewhat of an unconventional snack to bring hiking. But meatballs are the best so I did it then and I can’t wait to do it again.

A few weeks ago at work I opened the refrigerator and saw that someone else had a glass container filled to the brim with meatballs. Insert heart eye emoji here. I don’t know who owned that glass container filled with meatballs, but it made me want to a) eat them immediately (don’t worry, I understand that’s rude and weird so I didn’t) and b) find the owner and befriend him or her. Sadly that container of meatballs sat in the work refrigerator all week long. So every single time I opened the refrigerator, they looked longingly back at me. Maybe I don’t want to befriend the owner of those meatballs after all. What kind of psychopath can bring something as delicious as meatballs to work and then NOT eat them? The human race honestly disappoints me more often than not.

Long stories short, maybe now you understand that I really had no choice BUT to put meatballs in this soup. I didn’t choose the meatball life. The meatball life chose me. Where are my meatball lovers at?! I know you’ll really appreciate what I’ve done here.

Now that the cat’s out of the bag, there’s another ingredient in my soup that you wouldn’t find in a traditional chicken and rice soup. It’s kale! You know I like to shove kale in all kinds of places you don’t usually find kale. Like energy balls, for example. And this soup. Twice! Kale yes!

thehungryhungryhiker

Chicken (Meatball) and Rice Soup

A paleo, Whole30 and unique take on the traditional chicken and rice soup.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Course: Soup
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

For the meatballs:
  • 1 lb ground chicken
  • 1 cup kale, packed, then shredded I use a food processor
  • sea salt to taste
  • fresh ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • ¼ cup almond flour
For the soup:
  • 2 tbsp ghee
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 white onion, large diced
  • 2 carrots, large peeled and diced
  • 2 celery ribs, large diced
  • 2 quarts chicken broth
  • 1 bay leaf
  • sea salt to taste
  • fresh ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 tsp dried rosemary
  • 2 cups cauliflower rice
  • 3 cups kale torn

Method
 

Make the meatballs:
  1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
  2. Combine all of the meatball ingredients in a medium bowl. Mix with your hands until combined. Form 1.5" round balls and place on the sheet pan. You should yield about 24 meatballs.
  3. Bake at 400° F for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and set meatballs aside.
Make the soup:
  1. While the meatballs are baking, heat the ghee in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the garlic, onion, carrots, and celery. Stir occasionally for ten minutes until the vegetables have softened.
  2. Add the chicken broth, bay leaf, sea salt, pepper, thyme, and rosemary. Stir. Increase to high heat. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the cauliflower rice. Stir and simmer for 10 more minutes. Add the torn kale and meatballs and stir. Simmer until kale has wilted slightly, about 5 minutes. Serve warm and enjoy!