Lemon parsley chicken soup is light and healthy yet comforting and filling, gently on the tummy and full of nourishing meat stock. It brings the zesty fresh taste of spring to your plate.

What is Lemon Parsley Chicken Soup?
Lemon parsley chicken soup is packed with gut-healing meat stock and vegetables, bringing spring’s zesty, fresh taste to your plate.
This lemon parsley chicken soup recipe gives chicken soup the perfect spring-inspired makeover with bright citrus and fragrant herbs. It’s light and healthy yet comforting and filling, gently on the tummy and full of nourishing meat stock. Meat stock is liquid gold for healing the gut lining, high in amino acids and protein. Food is medicine!
Cooking for Gut Health is EASY!
Cooking soup from scratch can be so simple! And this lemon parsley chicken soup is exactly that—EASY! Throw the ingredients into a pot, simmer for 1.5 hours, and you have a delicious gut-healing soup.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s easy – Made in one pot, this recipe is easy and doesn’t require a bunch of dishes (which means clean-up is easy also).
- It’s good for you – The meat stock made during the cooking process has amazing gut healing properties, learn more in my meat stock vs bone broth post.
- It freezes well – This soup recipe freezes and reheats well. Make a double batch and freeze individual portions for later, it’s great for lunch or a quick dinner on busy nights.
Lemon Parsley Soup and the GAPS Diet
This recipe is a delicious addition to your GAPS Diet meal rotation. The celery pieces in this recipe make it suitable for Stage 6 of the GAPS Introduction Diet though the recipe can be modified to be eaten from Stage 2, see variation details later in the post.
To achieve the maximum healing benefits that this soup has to offer I recommend using pasture-raised chicken that is soy, corn and antibiotics free, and organic/ homegrown vegetables and herbs, or the best that you can afford. Choosing these ingredient options helps to reduce the further toxic load on the body so it can focus on healing.
Looking to learn more about the power of food as medicine and root cause healing? Check out GAPS Diet and GAPS Introduction Stages to learn more.
Ingredients

Chicken drumsticks – Drumsticks are our favourite but you can also substitute bone-in chicken thighs.
Lemon – Consider opting for organic lemon since you will be using the whole lemon in the soup.
Parsley – A little fresh parsley goes a long way here and it’s best to add it at the very end of the cooking process.
A full list of ingredients with exact amounts can be found on the recipe card below.
Tools You May Need
- Knife and chopping board
- 6L heavy-based saucepan with lid
- Grater (optional)
How to Make Lemon Parsley Chicken Soup
This recipe is incredibly easy to make! Follow along below for the full how-to.


Heat the ghee in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat, and add the onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes.

Add the chicken drumsticks, cauliflower, ginger, lemon, salt, pepper and water. Increase the heat to high and bring it to a boil.
Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for 1.5 hours.
Remove lemon quarters and stir in the fresh parsley. Adjust the seasoning to taste and serve with a dollop of ghee and sauerkraut.

Recipe Variations and Modifications
Make it dairy-free – Swap the ghee for another animal fat, such as lard, tallow or olive oil.
Make it in a slow cooker – add all the ingredients except the parsley to a slow cooker. Cook on high for 1 hour, then low for 6 hours. Stir in parsley, adjust seasoning and serve.
Make it GAPS Intro Stage 2 – Cut the celery into large chunks to remove at the end of the cooking time, it’s to fibrous to eat on Stage 2 but provides a lovely flavour. Skip sautéing the vegetables and add everything straight into the pot. Swap the ground pepper for 2 teaspoons of peppercorns placed in metal tea strainer for easy removal at the end of the cooking time.
How to Introduce and Serve
Serve in wide bowls topped with ghee and your favourite vegetable ferment.
How to Store and Reheat
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Make sure the chicken is covered in stock to avoid freezer burn. Reheat in a saucepan on low.
Tips for Making Lemon Parsley Chicken Soup
- Choose filtered water. Most city tap water contains chlorine and other additives, reduce your exposure to these chemicals by filtering your water first before adding it to the soup.
- Make sure to wash your lemons well.
- If you find the lemon flavour on serving a little too intense, add a pinch of bicarb soda to cut the acidity of the lemon.
- The get the perfect meat stock gel or wobble in your soup once cooled you’ll want to use a ratio of 1kg to 1.5L chicken to water.
- I like to shred the chicken off the bone before freezing to make reheating later quicker.

FAQ
Can I use other cuts of chicken?
Yes, any cut of meaty bones will make the chicken meat stock a part of the recipe. Drumsticks are our favourite cut but you could also use bone-in thighs, wings, chicken feet or a combination of cuts.
Can I reduce the cooking time?
Yes, if you have homemade chicken meat stock already on hand in the fridge or freezer, you can swap out the water for the meat stock and the drumsticks for chicken thighs reducing the cooking time to 20-30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
Resources
Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride, creator of the GAPS Diet
- Gut and Psychology Syndrome (Yellow Book)
- Gut and Physiology Syndrome (Blue Book)
Did you make this Lemon Parsley Chicken Soup? I’d love to know how it turned out! Leave a comment and a rating below.
Lemon Parsley Chicken Soup

Lemon parsley chicken soup is light and healthy yet comforting and filling, gently on the tummy and full of nourishing meat stock. It brings the zesty fresh taste of spring to your plate.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp ghee
- 1 celery stalk, sliced
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 3-4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1.5-2kg chicken drumsticks
- 2 cups cauliflower florets
- 5 cm ginger, peeled and grated
- 1 lemon, quartered
- 1-2 tsp Celtis Sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 2L filtered water
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Heat the ghee in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat and add the onions, celery, carrots, and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken drumsticks, cauliflower, ginger, lemon, salt, pepper and water. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for 1.5 hours.
- Remove lemon quarters and stir in the fresh parsley. Adjust salt and pepper to taste
Serve with a dollop of ghee and sauerkraut.
Notes
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Make sure the chicken in covered in stock to avoid freezer burn. Reheat in a saucepan on low.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Make it dairy-free – Swap the ghee for another animal fat, such as lard or tallow or olive oil.
- Make it in a slow cooker – Add all the ingredient except the parsley to a slow cooker. Cook on high for 1 hour, then low for 6 hours. Stir in parsley, adjust seasoning and serve.
- Make it GAPS Intro Stage 2 – Cut the celery into large chunks to remove at the end of the cook time, it’s to fibrous to eat on Stage 2 but provides a lovely flavour. Skip sautéing the vegetables and add everything straight into the pot. Swap the ground pepper for 2 teaspoons of peppercorns placed in metal tea strainer for easy removal at the end of the cook time.
GAPS™ and Gut and Psychology Syndrome™ are the trademark and copyright of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride.
The information in this blog post is my personal experience and for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease; and does not consider your individual situation. If you have medical questions, please consult with a qualified medical practitioner.
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