Description
A hearty, creamy soup that tastes exactly like chicken pot pie but comes together in just 45 minutes. Perfect comfort food for chilly days.
Ingredients
For the Soup Base:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion, diced (whatever you’ve got works)
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/3 cup flour
- 4 cups chicken broth (I use the low sodium kind)
- 1 cup whole milk (heavy cream if you’re feeling fancy)
- 2 bay leaves
For the Good Stuff:
- 3 cups cooked chicken, shredded (rotisserie saves your life here)
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 big potato, peeled and cubed (Yukon Gold doesn’t fall apart)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried sage
- Salt and pepper
For Serving:
- Store-bought biscuits or crusty bread
- Fresh parsley if you remember to buy it
Instructions
Toss that butter in your big pot over medium heat. Dump in the onion, carrots, and celery – let them hang out for about 7 minutes until they’re getting soft and your kitchen smells incredible. Then throw in the garlic for another minute because nobody wants raw garlic breath.
Pro Tip: Don’t rush this part! I used to crank the heat thinking I’d save time, but you just end up with burnt bits that taste bitter. Medium heat is your friend here.
Sprinkle that flour right over your veggies and stir like crazy for 2 minutes. It’s going to look weird and pasty – that’s totally normal! This is what’s going to make your soup thick and creamy instead of watery and sad.
Here’s where it gets exciting – slowly whisk in that chicken broth, scraping up any stuck bits from the bottom. Add the milk, bay leaves, thyme, and sage. Let it come to a bubble, then turn it down to a gentle simmer. Keep whisking every now and then so nothing sticks.
Drop those potato cubes right in and let them cook for about 12 minutes until you can easily poke them with a fork. Then add your chicken, peas, and corn. Let everything warm through for about 5 minutes – it should smell exactly like pot pie at this point.
Pro Tip: This is when I do my taste test! Add salt and pepper bit by bit until it tastes just right. My mom always said you can add more but you can’t take it back.
Fish out those bay leaves (nobody wants to bite into one of those) and give everything a final stir. The soup should coat your spoon nicely – if it’s too thin, let it simmer a few more minutes.
Notes
- Rotisserie chicken is your best friend – it’s already seasoned perfectly and saves you like 2 hours
- Don’t murder the vegetables – they need to keep some bite or the soup gets mushy and gross
- Actually cook that flour – 2 full minutes or your soup will taste chalky and weird
- Big mistake I see all the time: dumping cold milk into hot soup too fast makes it curdle and look chunky
- Lazy cook shortcut: grab pre-chopped mirepoix from the produce section when you’re feeling overwhelmed
- Make-ahead magic: double this recipe and freeze half in freezer bags. Future you will thank present you on those awful Wednesdays when nothing goes right
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 285
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 820mg
- Fat: 12g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 22g
- Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 24g
- Cholesterol: 65mg