| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 50 min |
| Prep: | 10 min |
| Inactive: | 5 min |
| Cook: | 35 min |
| Yield: | 4 to 6 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 stalks celery, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 carrot, peeled, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1 small onion, chopped
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
- 1 (14-ounce) can low-salt chicken broth
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 2 chicken breast with ribs (about 1 1/2 pounds total)
- 1 (15-ounce) can organic kidney beans, drained (rinsed if not organic)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a heavy 5 1/2-quart saucepan over medium heat. Add the celery, carrot, and onion. Saute the vegetables until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in the tomatoes with their juices, chicken broth, basil, tomato paste, bay leaf, and thyme. Add the chicken breasts; press to submerge.
- Bring the cooking liquid to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently uncovered until the chicken is almost cooked through, turning the chicken breasts over and stirring the mixture occasionally, about 25 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the chicken breasts to a work surface and cool for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Add the kidney beans to the pot and simmer until the liquid has reduced into a stew consistency, about 10 minutes.
- Discard the skin and bones from the chicken breasts. Shred or cut the chicken into bite- size pieces. Return the chicken meat to the stew. Bring the stew just to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Ladle the stew into serving bowls and serve with the bread.
- Serving suggestion: crusty bread.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 6 servings |
| Calories | 246 |
| Total Fat | 8 g |
| Saturated Fat | 1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 17 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 6 g |
| Sugar | 5 g |
| Protein | 27 g |
| Cholesterol | 66 mg |
| Sodium | 795 mg |
Reviews
I have made this many times and it is fantastic. Even better after it sits in the fridge for a day or 2.
I’ve made this many times, and find this to be the best variation…add 2 pressed cloves of garlic (sauteed for about 1 minute at the end of the saute time for the other veggies), double the tomato paste and basil, and use cannellini beans…a great recipe!!
Excellent recipe! Quick, easy and tasty. I saw the comments on it being bland. Not so. I used unsalted chicken stock, no salt added diced tomatoes and sodium free kidney beans along with the raw chicken and veggies. The salt level was totally under my control which I added to our taste along with the pepper and went a little heavy on the thyme plus I added garlic powder. I think this would do well with some crushed pepper flakes to brighten it up a bit. This one is definitely a keeper.
delicious, healthy, easy…will make this again.
Excellent lunch or dinner. Easy to make. It’s a nice thick stew and I suppose if you want soup, add more broth.
One of my winter faves! I use fire roasted tomatoes and great white northern beans
I made this as written and found it to be extremely bland. I’m curious how other reviewers had any liquid left after simmering uncovered for 35 minutes (I covered mine and the liquid left in the pot was almost non-existent) Will not be making again.
I have made this recipe for years and thoroughly enjoyed it. Some comments say it’s a bit bland and I agree it is, but for young families bland is often good. Tiny tastebuds and all that. It doesn’t take more spices to give it a bit more flavor. Tonight I mixed it up and the results were…pretty awesome. Usually this took at least an hour and a half to make, but starting with a grocery store rotisserie chicken cut the cooking time in half. I pulled all the meat (minus the skin) ahead of time, substituted a fennel bulb (cored and chopped coarse) for the celery, and used 2 medium carrots. Seasoned the vegetables while they sauteed with about a teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon? (10 turns of the pepper mill) of freshly ground black pepper. Added 2 teaspoons minced garlic and the oregano and cooked until fragrant. Added the tomatoes and their juice and cooked about 2 minutes more, until the tomatoes started to darken. 2 14.5 oz cans of low salt chicken broth, added the shredded chicken, white kidney beans, the bay leaf, the basil and the zest of 1 lemon. Brought to a simmer and allowed to simmer for 10 or so minutes until the flavors melded. Whole family, rave reviews!
This recipe is an all time favorite in my house. I usually make a double batch and freeze leftovers for busy weeknights. I make exactly as recipe states except I substitute boneless thigh meat because it is a bit easier and cooks much quicker for me. Love!
I saw others reviews about it being bland so I added minced garlic and red pepper flakes to the veggies, tomato paste with basil, garlic and oregano flavoring, FIRE ROASTED chopped tomatoes, a parmesan rind for simmering and added parmesan shavings to the top at the end. My husband didn’t know how much I had already altered the recipe with added seasonings and said “It’s not bad. A little bland though.” as he was adding garlic powder to his bowl. Dang! Probably won’t make this one again