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Autumn Harvest Chicken Stew
Eating “seasonal” can get pretty tricky around the end of November where I live. We stockpile what we can in the summer, and while my freezer is still pretty happy with summer green beans and zucchini, we just enjoyed our last jar of fresh tomato soup from our summer garden, and our local farmer’s markets are either closed until May or only open once or twice a month until spring.

Autumn Harvest Chicken Stew
Our local grocer does really nice job of keeping as much local in season produce as possible from squashes to dark leafy greens, and from about December until April, I really rely on them. I have gotten pretty creative at rotating the autumn/winter produce selection so we can keep our produce budget happy as well as nourish ourselves and enjoy some good food.

Autumn Harvest Chicken Stew
At the beginning of October our chicken farmer harvests the last of their flock and I pile our freezer with about 20 or so chickens to get us until May. Once a month I get 3 of those chickens into my oven roaster and portion out the meat to last us most of the month – it is a big time saver as well as budget guide for me. I usually use a couple handfuls of the shredded chicken to make this stew – it is a popular with the girls and packs well in the school soup thermos for lunch.

Autumn Harvest Chicken Stew
I love the bright, cheery color that the squash puree makes the broth, and it gives a great creaminess and sweet flavor to the stew. There is just something warm and comforting about a bowl of stew as winter rolls in, and this is one of my favorites.

Autumn Harvest Chicken Stew

Renee - www.raisinggenerationnourished.com
Use the flavors of fall in this chicken stew. It'll warm you up from the inside.
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Course Soup
Cuisine American
Servings 8 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 acorn squash
  • 1/3 cup friendly fat to cook in butter, lard, or coconut oil
  • 2 medium onions chopped
  • 4 medium carrots chopped
  • 4 stalks of celery chopped
  • 2 medium Russet potatoes chopped (red or yellow potatoes work too! Use 3 or 4 of those since they are smaller)
  • 1 head of garlic minced (about 8ish cloves or so)
  • 1/4 cup white rice flour tapioca flour if you are grain free
  • 2 quarts chicken bone broth
  • 2 cups cooked shredded or chunked chicken
  • 1/4 to 1/2 pound fresh organic baby spinach depending on how much you want in there
  • 1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper optional but the heat is really good!
  • Sea salt/pepper to taste

Instructions
 

  • Put the acorn squashes in the oven WHOLE at 425 degrees for 1 hour. When you take them out, cut them in half and let them cool to touch while you start making the soup.
  • Sautee the onion, carrot, celery, and potatoes in the butter with a few big pinches of sea salt to bring out their juices and sweeten. Cook on medium/high for about 10 minutes.
  • While the veggies are cooking puree the roasted squash in your processor or blender with a little of the bone broth to be sure it gets fully pureed.
  • Add the garlic to the pot and cook for a minute.
  • Add the flour to the pot and cook for a minute.
  • Add the squash puree, bone broth, chicken, and spices to the pot and bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes.
  • Add the spinach to wilt in and then season sea salt/pepper to taste.
Keyword autumn chicken stew, chicken vegetable stew, chicken vegetable stew recipe
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Tips:

  • This batch makes enough stew for my family to have for dinner plus enough leftovers for another dinner or lunch or two. You can store any extra leftovers you don’t want to finish within a week in the freezer.
  • Don’t forget about the kids 🙂 If you have a little one still working on chewing chunks of chicken you can puree or pulse the stew through a blender. My 15 month old eats bowl after bowl of this – the veggies are nice a soft and I chop them small enough so they can handle it without needing extra cutting or a blender.
  • Squash keeps really well in cool dark storage like a basement or cupboard. If you see them on sale around mid to late autumn stock up! This stew also works using butternut squash too!
  • Use your leftover turkey from Thanksgiving instead of chicken!
  • It is so worth making your own bone broth for soups like this. Not only is the flavor way more superior, but the nutritional benefit far outweighs that of store bought.
  • You could do all your veggie chopping – even your squash roasting the night before if you plan on making this on a busy day. If all that is done the soup comes together super fast.
  • Chopped cabbage or Brussels sprouts work well in place of the spinach or as a change up!

This post was shared at Fat Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday, & Allergy Free Wednesday!

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17 Comments

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  5. 5 stars
    I just made this this morning because we have a busy afternoon and it will warm quick once we get home for dinner. I tasted it, and it is great! I used my leftover shredded turkey from thanksgiving and some of the bone broth I made from my turkey bones. Thanks for always having great recipes that are easy and nourishing!

    Reply
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  8. I’m assuming that once the whole squash has been roasted, you’re supposed to scoop out the seeds and guts and remove the outer skin before you puree it. I don’t see anything specific in the recipe but it makes sense to remove these things. I’m making it for our homeschool group ‘s game night tonight. I’m excited to see how well it goes over. I looks delicious!

    Reply
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  14. This stew is a staple in our household! It is so delicious, creamy and packed with nutrients! It is so filling and the flavors mesh so well! I add thyme and sage for some additional flavor but it’s amazing as written.

    Reply