One-pot Creamy Chicken Soup is thick, hearty, and delicious! Packed with veggies and tender chicken, it’s perfect for dunking in crusty, buttered bread!
If you love creamy soup recipes, you’ll enjoy Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup, and Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup.
Try out this Creamy Chicken Soup recipe, which is part of our collection of favorite soup recipes. Click here to see all the recipes in the collection.
Creamy Chicken Soup
During the cold winter months or a spell of sickness, few things hit the spot like a good chicken soup. And while I love chicken noodle soup, I’m all about switching things up a bit with a few unique recipes.
Last year, this Chicken Curry Soup, creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup, and Chicken and Rice Soup were three of our go-to recipes. And this year, I’m all about this Creamy Chicken Soup, loaded with vegetables. It is comfort food at its best! We fill this soup with all kinds of veggies plus tender seasoned chicken. The soup base is deeply savory, perfectly cheesy, and has just the right amount of creamy thickness.
Variations
Switch Things Up
- Try our favorite creamy vegetarian soup–this Creamy Vegetable Soup.
- Don’t love one of the veggies? Feel free to leave it out and substitute equal parts of that veggie with another one already in the soup (or get creative with your own additions). Avoid adding potatoes (white or sweet), and heartier squashes–they absorb too much of the liquid and change cooking time substantially.
- Make Creamy Chicken Soup with pasta and spinach. If you’d like, boil some pasta in a separate pot, drain, and stir small handfuls into individual bowls. For spinach, mix in a few handfuls of coarsely chopped spinach right before serving–the spinach only needs a minute or two to wilt down nicely. We add the cooked pasta to individual bowls so that leftovers don’t get soggy from the noodles continuing to absorb the broth.
- For a thinner soup, add more milk or chicken broth. We prefer this soup to be fairly thick. If you decide to thin it out a bit, make sure to also adjust seasonings for the additional volume.
The full recipe is written at the bottom of this post, and below are our top tips for preparing this soup.
How To Make Creamy Chicken Soup
- Chop veggies the same size for even cooking and quick softening.
- Cook veggies thoroughly at the start; they won’t soften much later.
- Add fresh herbs like parsley or thyme to cut through the creaminess and brighten the soup.
- Use frozen peas, broccoli, and corn for the best feel and flavor.
- Use freshly grated sharp Cheddar to avoid clumpy soup. Packaged cheese doesn’t melt well.
Shortcuts
Time-saving tips
- Try fresh mirepoix (a combination of finely chopped onions, celery, and carrots) from the produce section of the grocery store. You can even find it in the frozen vegetable section of the store; this really saves time!
- Use room-temperature milk. Cold milk, fresh from the fridge, slows down the heating time in this soup. Before starting this soup, I measure the milk and then set it aside to come to room temperature.
- Slice chicken breasts in half. By slicing the chicken in half widthwise, the chicken cooks so much quicker! It takes only 3-4 minutes per side with the thinner filets.
Storage
Storing Creamy Chicken Soup
- Freezing: This soup doesn’t freeze very well, because of all the dairy in it. If you want less soup, try halving the recipe.
- Reheating this soup: We recommend reheating this soup on the stovetop over low heat, stirring frequently. (Boiling may cause ingredients to separate.) Add a splash of milk or chicken broth if needed to thin. This soup is best enjoyed within 3-5 days.
What To Serve With Creamy Chicken Soup
- Add a side dish of fruit, or try this Winter Fruit Salad.
- Try a good crusty baguette or buttered artisan bread (like this No-Knead Bread), homemade Dinner Rolls, French Bread, or soup crackers /saltines.
- Serve with some kind of quick salad; my favorites include Everyday Salad Recipe, Garden Salad, or Winter Salad.
- This soup pairs beautifully with a really great Grilled Cheese sandwich (for dunking of course!).
More Creamy Soup Recipes
- Cheeseburger Soup with seasoned beef and potatoes
- Broccoli Potato Soup with a cheesy, creamy base
- White Bean and Sausage Soup with spinach
- Potato Leek Soup with golden potatoes
- Chicken Gnocchi Soup made in the slow cooker
Creamy Chicken Soup
One-pot Creamy Chicken Soup is thick, hearty, and packed with veggies and tender chicken. Perfect for dunking hearty, buttered bread!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 medium chicken breasts 3/4 to 1 pound
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning divided
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
- 3 cups mirepoix 1 cup diced of each: carrots, celery, yellow onion—see note 1
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder
- 3 cups chicken stock or broth
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 cups milk 2% or whole
- 2-1/2 cups frozen broccoli florets thawed and very finely chopped
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 cups freshly shredded sharp Cheddar cheese see note 2
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- Fresh parsley or thyme, optional
- Hearty buttered bread optional, for dipping
Instructions
- Remove broccoli from the freezer to begin thawing so it’s easy to chop. Cut chicken breasts in half widthwise to make 4 thinner filets. Use a meat mallet/frying pan/your fist to give each piece a quick pound (Don’t flatten chicken; we just want all the pieces fairly even). Season both sides. (I add 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper per side and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder and Italian seasoning per side.)
- Add 2 tbsp olive oil to a large, wide, heavy-bottomed pot. Once the oil is hot, add the seasoned chicken pieces in one layer. Cook about 3–4 minutes per side or until chicken is cooked through (registers 160°F/juices run clear). Remove to a plate, tent with foil, and rest for about 5 minutes before thinly slicing, dicing, or shredding with 2 forks.
- Meanwhile, back to the pot (don’t rinse it out!), reduce heat to medium and add in remaining 1 tbsp oil plus 1 tbsp butter. Once butter is melted, add onion, celery, and carrot. Season to taste (I add 3/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper). Sauté, stirring frequently, scraping up the browned bits left by the chicken, until very tender, 6–8 minutes. (These veggies won’t get much more tender, so take time here.)
- Add in minced garlic, chicken bouillon, and remaining 1 tsp Italian seasoning. Stir for 30 seconds.
- Add remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Stir until melted. Sprinkle the flour evenly over everything. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Gradually add in chicken stock, stirring until smooth, really scraping the bottom of the pot. Add the milk. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Stir frequently (and continue to scrape the bottom) to keep the base from sticking. Once boiling, reduce heat to a simmer. Add frozen broccoli, frozen peas, and frozen corn. Cook 2–4 minutes longer or until veggies are tender and warmed through.
- Once veggies are tender, turn off the heat. Add cheese, a handful at a time, and gently stir through until melted. Mix in the heavy cream. Finally, add the chicken (along with any juices left behind). Stir through just to rewarm. Taste soup and adjust seasoning to preference.
- Serve warm with freshly chopped parsley and hearty warm bread!
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Use a food processor to quickly chop equal amounts of onion, carrot, and celery, or you can buy this “mirepoix” mix (already prepped onion, celery, carrots) in the produce section or frozen vegetable section of the store.
Note 2: Use sharp or extra-sharp Cheddar (a richer flavor). Shred the cheese fresh; pre-shredded packaged cheese will give the soup a powdery texture and won’t melt as nicely. You can use a food processor to quickly shred cheese! Gently pack cheese into measuring cups to get the right amount.
Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat on the stove over low heat, stirring often. Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw in the fridge before reheating.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 686kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 150mg | Sodium: 979mg | Potassium: 909mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 1467IU | Vitamin C: 45mg | Calcium: 477mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
A new family favorite. Thanks for sharing, looking forward to trying more and enjoying “soup month”.
Awe thank you Cherie! So fun to hear this is a new family favorite! <3