Cold season calls for healing soups! Nothing is better than a warm cup of soup when you’re battling seasonal sickness and this is the best soup for colds! With healing properties, this Cold Busting Soup recipe is just what the doctor ordered if you’re feeling under the weather.
When cold and flu season hits, you need a comforting soup that is filled with ingredients that will help healing in your back pocket. This is your soup.
This lovely homemade soup recipe is the kind you make when you feel a little something coming on. You know the classic cold symptoms: If your nose is feeling stuffy, there’s a little scratch in your throat, and you want to stay in your PJs all day, this is the recipe you need.
Cold Busting Soup recipe. Yes, ma’am. Or sir.
Your grandma probably told you to make homemade chicken noodle soup when you’re sick. She was right. Well, she was mostly right. The bone broth that’s used to make chicken noodle soup can help heal a cold. The noodles? No, those will just comfort your soul. 🙂 Homemade Chicken Soup without the noodles can be just as comforting!
What makes this the best soup for colds? This Cold Busting Soup is made with nourishing bone broth. Now would be a great time to use homemade bone broth. It’s also packed with foods that are known to boost your immune system and decrease the strength of a cold: garlic, kale (leafy greens), lemon, cayenne pepper, cauliflower, and sweet potatoes.
All of these foods are nutritional powerhouses that can help knock out that cold before it gains too much traction. Let’s take a closer look at the ingredients!
Recipe Ingredients–What You Need
This recipe calls for simple ingredients, but they are powerful and the key ingredients make this the best healthy recipe for soup season.
Coconut or Avocado oil
The fat from the oil used in this best soup for colds will help your body absorb the fat soluble vitamins present.
Onion
Onions contain sulfur compounds that help fight and clear mucus from your airways. It’s also been shown to ease symptoms of a sore throat.
Sweet Potato
Sweet potatoes are high in vitamins C and A, both important for keeping your immune system strong.
Cauliflower
Cauliflower is great to eat when you have a cold as it is rich in glutathione, a powerful antioxidant that helps fight off infection.
Garlic
Garlic has been used medicinally for centuries. It’s filled with compounds that help your immune system fight germs.
Chicken Stock
Bone broth contains vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that strengthen immune function. There’s also evidence that it can help increase the movement of nasal fluids in the upper respiratory tract, so important when you have a cold virus!
Parsley
High levels of vitamin C, chlorophyll, and vitamin K in parsley all help your immune system fight infections.
Thyme
Thyme has antiviral, antibiotic, antimicrobial, decongestant, expectorant properties that can help shorten the time you have your cold. I use dried herbs, but fresh herbs are a great choice, too.
Cayenne Pepper
Cayenne pepper is useful when fighting a cold because it has a compound called capsaicin, which may relieve symptoms such as sneezing, a stuffy nose, postnasal drip, and congestion.
Lemon juice
Lemon juice is thought to have the ability to reduce phlegm as well as decrease the strength of cold and flu viruses.
Sea Salt and Pepper
These bring out the flavor and make the soup taste delicious.
Kale, Spinach, or other Leafy Greens
Leafy greens have a number of benefits, and are nutrient-dense foods that can aid in healing. They are rich in folic acid, vitamin C, potassium and magnesium, and contain a variety of phytochemicals, all of which can help boost your immune system. They are also a good source of beta carotene, which can be converted into vitamin A and has been shown to improve immune function. Kale, spinach, or bok choy are all options.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon is one of the top spices to relieve coughing, colds, and a sore throat. It is rich in antioxidant polyphenols and proanthocyanidins which boost immunity. In addition, it has strong antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal properties. A little bit goes a long way!
How to Make the Best Soup for Colds
- In a large stockpot, heat about a tablespoon of oil over medium heat.
- Add your onion and and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 8 minutes.
- Add the sweet potato and stir so it is coated with some of the oil. Allow to cook about 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower, garlic, stock, parsley, thyme, cayenne, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil.
- Lower heat and simmer about 20-25 minutes.
- Add the kale and lemon juice and cook until the kale, spinach, or other greens are wilted, about 5 more minutes.
- Stir in the dash of cinnamon and serve.
Even if you’re not feeling sick, this is the soup you want to eat to keep yourself healthy. Foods that nourish our bodies just make us feel good. Make this best soup for colds even if you’re feeling well!
Eating foods with anti-inflammatory properties can help you whether you’re sick or not. Check out this article on the anti-inflammatory diet for more information. I also recommend adding elderberry syrup to your routine to keep your immune system strong!
If you have a cough, try my easy Homemade Cough Syrup!
If you make this Cold Busting Soup recipe or any of my other healthy recipes, please share it on Instagram and I’ll feature you! Also, if you try it, please leave a comment with a star rating below! Those star ratings are so helpful in helping my recipes get discovered. I appreciate you!
Print
Cold-Busting Soup
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 8 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This Cold Busting Soup is exactly what you need if you feel sickness coming on. It’s packed with nourishing, immune-boosting foods!
Ingredients
- coconut or avocado oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 sweet potato, cut into small cubes (I don’t peel mine, but feel free to do so if you wish)
- 2 cups cauliflower florets, cut into small pieces
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 8 cups chicken stock, homemade if possible
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 4 stems of kale, deveined and torn into small pieces (or other leafy green)
- dash cinnamon
Instructions
- In a large soup pot, heat about a tablespoon of oil over medium heat.
- Add your onion and and cook until the onion is soft and translucent, about 8 minutes.
- Add the sweet potato and stir so it is coated with some of the oil. Allow to cook about 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower, garlic, stock, parsley, thyme, cayenne, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil.
- Lower heat and simmer about 20-25 minutes.
- Add the kale and lemon juice and cook until the kale is wilted, about 5 more minutes.
- Stir in the dash of cinnamon and serve.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Category: soup
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/8 of recipe
- Calories: 134
- Sugar: 5.9g
- Sodium: 482.8mg
- Fat: 4.8g
- Saturated Fat: 2.3g
- Carbohydrates: 15.6g
- Fiber: 1.8g
- Protein: 7.6g
- Cholesterol: 7.2mg
Another really delicious soup you’ll love is this Greek Lemon Chicken Soup. It’s ready in 20 minutes and has some great healing properties as well!
Note that this recipe was first published in October 2016. Updates were made and a video added March 2022.
Made this when hubby and I had started with a sore throat, we are plantbased so I used veggie stock, added carrots, turmeric, ginger and orzo.
It was delicious and sure helped our sore throat.
My favorite recipe for myself and my family when we are sick. I even have sent it to friends and they love it, too. My husband isn’t big on soups and he loves this one! We make it every time we feel a cold coming on or just feel run down. Sometimes I add chickpeas for extra protein. Thanks so much for sharing this.
Thanks so much for your feedback, Tara! I really appreciate it!
The flavors are great together. I was hesitant when I read the ingredients but thought I’d give it a try. It turned out really good and because I’m not good with spicy I’ll have to use the cayenne lightly. Otherwise, I’m very happy I found this recipe. Better than chicken noodle soup, which is OK but you can only eat so much. I wanted to try something different without the meat and pasta.. I’m excited to make more in the future!
Thank you for your feedback!
LOVE this recipe! Added some ginger, turmeric, and carrots to give it an extra boost.
I never comment on recipes but this soup was amazing!! I did do a little more of each slice just because I really like the flavors. I felt SO much better after eating this when I woke up stuffed up and feeling achy. It’s my go to soup when sick now and the family LOVES it when sick too.
So happy to hear this!
I was feeling very bad a d I asked Google and found this recipe. I must say I feel very good, the taste is outstanding.. I am very hot but feel great. My wife made it for me wow! Thank you so much!!!!!
This recipe is really lacking flavour. Disappointing
The bulk of the flavor comes from the quality of chicken stock you use. If your stock was lacking, the soup would be lacking. The rest of the seasoning the recipe calls for should be adequate for a flavorful soup.
3A.M. Day 4 of this nasty cold. Wanted some hot soup. Saw this, drove to the store and now I am about to get my prep on. 😉 Doubled up the ingredients. Bring on the Cold Busting Soup!
I hope you’re feeling better soon and this soup helps!
This soup most definitely help. Even took some to my place of work where several others are going through the same thing and they absolutely loved it! Thanks for sharing your recipe Maryea 👍🏻
So glad to hear that!
I have never used or cooked kale. Could I substitute with spinach? And how about Kabocha squash in place of sweet potato? The substitutions are more for convenience in this case. I’ve been feeling yucky and already have those on hand!
Yes both of those substitutions will work. I hope you feel better soon!
Delicious! Have made twice in the past week!
So glad to hear that Andy! Thanks for the feedback. 🙂
when do we add the lemon & pepper? also do you cover the pot?
Sorry about that! You add the pepper with the salt and the lemon with the kale. I updated the recipe. 🙂
Oops–no, you don’t cover the pot.
Do you think or know how well this would freeze? By the way it was totally delicious, thank you for the recipe.
With three sick people in my house I gave this a try. It was one of the best soups we have ever had. I could not get over how much flavor the cinnamon added. I also added two chicken breasts for the extra protein. Thank you so much. I will make this again.
I think maybe you want to say “shucked kale” rather than deveined. Since it’s technically not a vein and that’s more crustacea right? Just thought that might be something to think of. Anyways. Making this recipe tonight!
I think de-stemming may be more accurate. I have always seen it called deveining, however, so that’s what I always say. Either way, separate the leaves from the tough part in the middle! 😉
I think maybe you want to say “sucked kale” rather than deveined. Since it’s technically not a vein and that’s more crustacea right? Just thought that might be something to think of. Anyways. Making this recipe tonight!
Haha–sucked kale?! 🙂
If I were to add chicken, at what point would u recommend cooking it?
I would add already cooked chicken near the end. If it’s raw chicken, towards to beginning so it has time to cook.
When do you put in the lemon juice? I just made Olie and just put the juice in before the kale. Is that right? It’s really good.
Looks and sounds wonderful. Going home today and make this. Thank-you.
You’re welcome, Nina! I hope you love this!
How bout some turmeric root added (with black pepper for added benefit)??
GREAT idea!
how long will this keep in the fridge?
It will keep at least 3-4 days in the fridge.