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.

Process shots-- images of the chicken being prepared and cooked through

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.

Process shots of Creamy Chicken Soup-- images of the veggies being sautéed and seasonings and butter being added to the pot

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

Dice veggies small and keep them the same size. This not only ensures even cooking (so there aren’t some crisp and some mushy veggies) but also ensures the veggies will cook down quickly.
Sauté the veggies thoroughly. To avoid crunchy veggies in the end, make sure to really soften them at the beginning of the cooking time. They don’t soften much more throughout the rest of the preparation.
Add fresh herbs. Fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, thyme, or a combination of both add liveliness to this soup. They also help to cut through the thickness and creaminess.
Use frozen veggies. We recommend frozen peas, frozen broccoli, and frozen corn (as opposed to canned or fresh) for the best texture and flavor. The timing of this recipe depends on frozen vegetables.
Use freshly grated sharp Cheddar so you don’t get a waxy soup. (Pre-grated cheese has a cellulose coating that doesn’t melt as nicely in the soup.)

Process shots-- images of the flour and broth being added into the pot

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.

Process shots of Creamy Chicken Soup-- images of the broccoli, corn, peas, and cheese being added into the pot

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.